Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California

Former National Champion Mike Faria won his second consecutive Scratch Main in front of a large crowd at Costa Mesa Saturday night.

Faria started on the pole and that would prove advantageous with the blue groove on the track. Faria was the first rider to turn one and some incidental contact among the other competitors left Faria with a sizable lead on the first lap. Scott Brant emerged from the pack second and tried to make an impression on Faria's lead. The 46 year old was not going to be caught and he cruised to the victory. Brant finished second, Gary Hicks was third, Dukie Ermolenko was fourth, and Bobby Schwartz finished fifth.

The Handicap Main required three attempts to complete the eight laps. Shaun Harmatiuk was lined up on the 20 yard line and led the pack into turn one after a start that seemed to catch several riders napping. Randy DiFrancesco fell in turn two, but the race continued. On the fourth lap the red light came on without a visible reason. Evidently, the green staging light had not come on prior to the tapes going up, which explains the strange start, and it couldn't get communicated to the referee before several laps had been completed. Since the malfunction impacted the start of the race, the referee ruled that it would be a complete restart and all eight laps would have to be completed.

The restart didn't get past turn one as Shawn McConnell went down entering turn one leaving Brant nowhere to go and he tumbled over the highside and landed awkwardly. Brant was down for a couple minutes, but was able to get up and participate in the restart.

The third attempt found Harmatiuk in the lead again and fighting off every attempt that DiFrancesco could muster. Harmatiuk stood his ground until the end of lap seven when he drifted wide exiting turn four. He managed to recover and hold the lead entering turn one the final time but his momentum carried him past the groove and DiFrancesco nudged him as he went by on the inside. This forced Harmatiuk to slide off and DiFrancesco to straighten up and lose several spots. Andy Northrup had the lead fall into his lap and he led the final lap for the victory. McConnell finished second, Brant was third, DiFrancesco finished fourth, and Castro was fifth. Harmatiuk was obviously disappointed after leading 12 of the 13 laps that were run and only a DG sample as a reward.

In the Support Main, Gerry Duttweiler and Rick Valdez jumped in front of their competitors and battled into turn one. Duttweiler exited turn two on the inside line and found enough traction to get into the lead. Valdez stalked Duttweiler throughout the race, but couldn't find an opening. Duttweiler, probably the tallest speedway rider in Southern California, held off Valdez for the victory. Dave Delbridge was third, Robert Fiesler finished fourth, and Chris Metoyer was fifth.

Keith Mullally took the early lead in the Support B Main Event. Mullally, who is a police officer, held the lead for three laps, but Phil Harmatiuk was challenging when they took the white flag. Mullally left some room on the inside and Harmatiuk made him pay as he shot underneath for the lead. Harmatiuk held on for the victory while Mullally had to settle for second. Mike Boyle finished third, DeWayne Stark was fourth, Sam Stavros finished fifth, and Fred Schmitthammer was credited with sixth.

The world famous oval hosted a large crowd for the second straight meeting as the Freestyle Jumpers made their second appearance of the season. Next week is the Jack Milne Cup and Vintage Cycle Show. The Jack Milne Cup honors the 1937 World Speedway Champion who was also an integral part of the beginning of Costa Mesa and its subsequent success. He was a fixture at the track until he passed away several years ago. Scott Brant is the defending Jack Milne Cup champion.

RESULTS  

Support B Main Event
100 - Phil Harmatiuk		20
185 - Keith Mullally            10
198 - Mike Boyle                20
244 - DeWayne Stark             10
339 - Sam Stavros               20
223 - Fred Schmitthammer        20	(penalty line)

Support Consolation (restarted)
165 - Randy Kreps
180 - Malcolm Roe
117 - Billy Braden	(penalty line, retired)
102 - Jim Lavender      (fell)

Support Consolation (restarted)
164 - Rusty Hall
125 - Mike Lupo
389 - Nate Perkins
118 - Scott Tidwell     (penalty line, fell)

Support Last Chance
106 - Robert Fiesler
182 - Rudy Laurer
178 - Eloy Medellin
114 - Paul Hitchcock

Support Main Event
200 - Gerry Duttweiler
293 - Rick Valdez
338 - Dave Delbridge
106 - Robert Fiesler
148 - Chris Metoyer

Handicap Main Event (restarted twice)
166 - Andy Northrup             30
  6 - Shawn McConnell           40
 10 - Scott Brant               40
 12 - Randy DiFrancesco         30
 14 - Eddie Castro           	40
  9 - Mike Faria                50
 11 - Bobby Schwartz            40
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk		20	(fell)

Last Chance
 11 - Bobby Schwartz
  6 - Shawn McConnell
 14 - Eddie Castro
 24 - Bobby Krips

Scratch Main Event
  9 - Mike Faria
 10 - Scott Brant
  3 - Gary Hicks
 15 - Dukie Ermolenko
 11 - Bobby Schwartz