Ken Maely's Ranch
Corona, California

Winter Series - Round 7
January 25, 2004 - Ken Maely's Ranch
By: Trish Wells

What another amazing day of racing at Maely's Ranch yesterday. The weather was great, the track was great and there was some excellent riding. There was a full day with 52 races, including 500's, Juniors, XR100's, Flat Track, Speedway Sprint Cars, and of course the crowd favorites, PW's. The track was extremely fast, which made for some close racing, and even closer finishes!! There were at least 3-4 races that ended with inches between 1st and 2nd places. Tim Gomez continued with this winning ways, with another perfect score, taking 1st place overall in Division One. Gomez (who is still a Junior), Dario Galvin and Dale Facchini (first year 500's)continue to prove their ability to ride against the experienced 500 riders, with all three finishing in the top 5 of 1st Division. Watch out guys, the young guns are coming!! Paul Colston, Bobby Krips and Rudy Lauer didn't give up easily, and all rode excellent races.

2nd Division saw our closest finishes between Sam Soltz and Tony Bracy. Both these riders battled each race, with one race finishing with Soltz approximately 2 inches in front of Bracy. Bracy ended up with 2nd Division honors for the day.

Lee Crecelius, who hasn't raced since 1974, dusted off his bike and rode in 3rd Division. I guess the 30 year gap between races for Lee wasn't a problem, as he took 1st place overall in his Division. Newcomer Tommy Kistler was one point behind him for 2nd.

Juniors Krystal Cramer and Ricky Wells were both on form, and rode together like a well choreographed ballet. It's such an awesome sight to see them sliding around the corners a foot apart in perfect unison. When Krystal gets the start and keeps on the pole, she is unpassable.

Joey Holt, who has only been riding an 80cc speedway bike for a couple of months, took home Division 2 honors. This kid is starting to fly and is improving each round of the Winter Series. Another laydown was required this meeting by Ricky Wells on the 80cc to avoid hitting fellow rider Tyler Odom, who had gone down in turn two. Both riders restarted the race and were uninjured.

Now...the PW50 class. These young hot shots were split into three divisions, and the competition was tough in all three. Margi Hamill was the happy recipient of 1st place in PWB. She rode a great race, and there was plenty of passing between Margi, Jack Higginson and Caitlyn Pitts. Just heard news that Jack is fine after a nasty accident at the end of the day. We're glad you're OK Jack. PWA was equally as exciting. Braydan Galvin, Parker Colston, Kurtis Hamill and Joe Roberts all had their eye on the winner's trophy. Galvin took a tumble in turn four of round 2, but jumped back on the bike and finished the race in true speedway style. Hamill, Galvin and Colston continuously battled for real estate, and the maneuvering was outstanding. Hard to believe these kids are only 5-6 years old. Galvin took home the PWA trophy for the day. Nick Schoonover and newcomer Caleb Farclough dominated the PWAA class...now these guys were flying. Farclough ended the day with a perfect score and a PWAA trophy. Great racing guys.

XR100 class saw Larry Spektor and Ricky Wells leading the pack each race, with Spektor winning all four rounds, and Wells coming 2nd in all four rounds. Does that kid never get tired??

And lastly, our flat track riders. These riders finished a total of 36 laps throughout the day...and the speedway guys think 4 laps is tiring. Honors went to James Ottele with two wins and two 2nd places.

Many, many thanks to our referee, Dave Delbridge (both for his refereeing and the best beef jerky) and our many other volunteers, including Ryan, Gino and Billy. Without these guys, and many more I have forgotten, these events would not be as successful as they are...thank you.

RESULTS

Division One
 36 - Tim Gomez
389 - Nate Perkins
 24 - Bobby Krips
 
Division Two
194 - Tony Bracy
111 - Sam Soltz
    - Randy Porsley
 
Division Three
Lee Crecelius
Tommy Kistler
Brian Starr
 
Division One Juniors
142 - Ricky Wells
 27 - Krystal Cramer
 
Division Two Juniors
    - Joey Holt
142 - Ricky Wells
146  - Tyler Odom AND 8 - Austin Novratil
 
PWB
1st - Margi Hamill
2nd - Caitlyn Pitts
3rd - Stephanie Cancino
 
PWA
1st - Braydan Galvin
2nd - Parker Colston
3rd - Kurtis Hamill
 
PWAA
1st - Caleb Farclough
2nd - Nick Schoonover
3rd - Austin Novratil
 
XR100
1st - Larry Spektor
2nd - Ricky Wells
3rd - Tyler Odom
 
Flat Track
1st - James Ottele
2nd - James Steet
3rd - Allan Girdler