Ken Maely's Ranch
Corona, California
Winter Series - Round 6
January 11, 2004 - Ken Maely's Ranch
By: Trish Wells
Firstly I have to apologize to all those on this list that don't live in So. Cal. We had the most beautiful winter weekend, with temps in the low 80's both days. Sorry to all those who are snowed in, rained in, or just too cold to go outside!! The success of Maely's Winter Series has just been astounding, and this week's program saw over 60 riders (many in multiple classes) and 55 races, including 2 run offs. There was a huge crowd there to watch this great day of racing, and I have not seen Maely's ranch this busy in a long time.
#22 Danny (Berserko) Becker dusted off his speedway bike, and entered into first Division. Its obvious he hasn't lost his touch on a speedway bike. The wheel stands down the back straight were proof that he can still live up to his name. He put on a great show against the Winter Series finest. Rumor has it that Becker is coming back to compete in the next round of the Winter Series on January 25th. Mark your calendars as he is a rider you don't want to miss. It is awesome to see more and more speedway riders, young and old, making the trek out to the ranch. It makes us all know that Ken is looking down on the track with a huge smile on his face.
Round one was a little delayed due to a moisture problem, but this was helped out by Donny Odom (Too Tall) and Billy Hamill (The Bullet) driving around in their trucks to help dry it off. I'm not sure who had the most enjoyment...the drivers or the crowd watching them....I know it wasn't the person(s) having the clean the trucks!!! Young (still Junior) hot shot Tim Gomez started Round One beating 1st Division Costa Mesa rider Bobby Krips. Michael Hernandez beat Dario Galvin and Nate Perkins beat out Greg Vandemore. Division 2 saw Paul Colston and Eloy Medellin as winners, with Mitch Melott winning 3rd Division round 1.
Juniors 1st Division had Ricky Wells beating Krystal Cramer. 2nd Division (80cc/200cc class) went to Ricky Wells on an 80cc, and the XR100 Junior round went to Joey Holt.
With 13 PW50 entries, it was decided to split this class up to 2 division. These kids are our future, and both divisions put on a great show. PW50A round one went to Nick Schoonover, with PW50B going to Braydan Galvin.
XR100 adult division round one winner was Ron Viola and the Flat Track races were won by John Lundgren and Jim Wood.
The spectacular racing continued all day. The flat track riders amazed me. These riders range in age from late teens through to mid 70's, and they all complete 8 laps per race, and a 12 lap main...makes me tired just thinking about it. The track held up great all day, which in part was probably due to the soaking it got earlier on.
The races were mainly scratch, but a few of the Junior/PW50 races were handicapped. This proved to be the best lesson this young riders could ask for. The faster riders now had to make their way through the pack, and we were all witness to many great weaving and passing maneuvers. One notable race was Kurtis Hamill who rode around three other riders going up the back straight to take the win. That race proved to be the only PW50B race not won by the unstoppable Braydan Galvin. Nick Schoonover and Parker Colston dominated the PW50A class, each taking 2 wins and 2 2nds, causing a run off for first place. The pressure was on during this final run off, and it showed. The normally cool and calm Schoonover got into the loose dirt and went down on the back straight. He was unhurt, and jumped back on the bike in true speedway fashion, but had lost too much ground to the speeding Colston, who took home 1st place.
Young rider Ricky Wells received a round of applause for laying his Jawa down to avoid hitting Jason Ramirez who had gone down in front of him on turn 3/4. The race was restarted with Jason Ramirez competing. Unfortunately Krystal Cramer "forgot" to turn her fuel back on for the restart and was unable to finish that race. Another notable for these 1st Division Juniors is their ability to ride a wet track with ease. While other riders struggled, these youngsters refused to back down and didn't let off the throttle one bit.
Tommy Kistler, in his 2nd speedway race meeting, has to receive the most improved award for this Winter Series. With 2 wins and 2 2nd's, he took home the 3rd Division honors for the day.
1st Division became a battle to the finish, with Tim Gomez, Bobby Krips and Nate Perkins tied for 1st place at the end of round 3. By some coincidence all three were in separate races during round 4, which they all won. This caused a run off for the win, which was won by Bobby Krips, over Nate Perkins, they Tim Gomez.
RESULTS
Division 1
24 - Bobby Krips
389 - Nate Perkins
36 - Tim Gomez
Division 2
64 - Paul Colston
194 - Tony Bracy (TIE)
- Sam Soltz (TIE)
Division 3
- Tommy Kistler
124 - Mitch Melott
- Steve Johnson (TIE)
- Steve Gonzales (TIE)
Junior 1st Division
142 - Ricky Wells
27 - Krystal Cramer
66 - Jason Ramirez
Junior 80cc/20cc Division
8 - Austin Novratil 200cc
142 - Ricky Wells 80cc
146 - Tyler Odom 80cc
XR100 Junior
146 - Tyler Odom (TIE)
142 - Ricky Wells (TIE)
- Joey Holt
XR100 Adult
1st Jim Wood
2nd Jim Rosa
3rd Larry Spektor
PW50B
1st Braydan Galvin
2nd Kurtis Hamill
3rd Jack Higginson
4th Margi Hamill
PW50A
1st Parker Colston
2nd Nick Schoonover
3rd Joe Roberts
4th Tristan Duncan
Flat Track A Main
1st Joe Steffan
2nd Jim Wood
3rd James Steet
4th John Lundgren
Flat Track B Main
1st Jim Ottele
2nd Art Guilfoil
3rd Lloyd McGregor
4th Doug Douglas
This round brings the overall points a little closer.
Division One
Tim Gomez 74 points
Rudy Lauer 52 points
Michael Hernandez 50 points
Bobby Krips 48 points
Division Two
Steve Dziadus 50 points
Tony Bracy 49 points
Sam Soltz 43 points
Doug Lupo 27 points
Juniors Division One
Ricky Wells 82 points
Krystal Cramer 58 points
Jason Ramirez 28 points
Juniors Division Two
Austin Novratil 26 points
Ricky Valdez 22 points
Joey Holt 14 points
PW50
Nick Schoonover 76 points
Braydan Galvin 74 points
Kurtis Hamill 25 points
Jack Higginson 19 points
XR100
Ricky Wells 21 points
Larry Spektor 20 points
Jim Wood 12 points
Tyler Odom 11 points
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