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Perris Raceway
Perris, California
USA U21 Team Match #3
February 5, 2005 - Perris Raceway
By: Ryan Evans
Dream Team USA brushed aside Mad Dog's All Stars with a 56-40 victory at Perris Raceway in their final exhibition match before their tour of Britain next month.
The Dream Team was led by Chris Kerr's perfect 15 points and Dario Galvin's paid 14. Shawn McConnell and Brian Starr led the All Stars with eight points each.
The match began with two straight drawn heats leaving the score even at six points each. The first heat was highlighted by a battle between Denny Scopellite of the All Stars and Shaun Harmatiuk of the Dream Team with Harmatiuk using the outside line to secure the victory.
Race three was Galvin's first time on the track and he battled Buck Blair on the outside line for three laps before securing the lead while taking the white flag. Blair fell in turn one which allowed the Dream Team their first 5-1 of the afternoon.
Kerr scored his first victory in race four by defeating McConnell and the All Stars hit back with a 5-1 of their own in the fifth race with Blair and Nate Perkins leading the way. Two more drawn heats left the score knotted at 21 after seven races.
The tide turned the Dream Team's way after that as Tim Gomez and J.T. Mabry began the onslaught with a 5-1 in race eight. That was followed by Kerr's third victory in race nine that helped secure a 4-2 race, then a Dario Galvin-Neil Facchini 5-1 in race ten to extend the lead to 35-25.
McConnell used his wealth of experience to make himself as wide as possible and held off Shaun Harmatiuk and Tim Gomez to earn a 3-3 in race 11 and the All Stars backed up McConnell's effort by earning a 5-1 with Nate Perkins and Starr.
The Dream Team answered in race 13 with Harmatiuk and Kerr showing excellent team-riding skills to fend off McConnell and secure another 5-1. Blair won race 14 and handed Galvin his only defeat to an opponent of the day.
With race 15 being a double-points race, the All Stars had a chance to tie the match with a maximum heat. Nate Perkins jumped into the lead and held off Kerr and Galvin for two laps in an effort to bring the final score closer.
His effort was not matched by his machinery, however, because he suffered an engine failure in the fourth turn of the third lap. Perkins' misfortune allowed Kerr and Galvin an easy 10-2 and brought the final score to 56-40.
RESULTS
Mad Dog's All Stars (39) 1 2 3 4 5 T
37 - Denny Scopellite 2 - - - - 2
89 - Danny Perkins 1* 2 1 Fx 4+1
389 - Nate Perkins 1 2* 0 3 E 6+1
39 - Buck Blair 0 3 2 3 8
6 - Shawn McConnell 2 2 3 1 8
236 - Robert Mellor 0 1* 0 1 2+1
248 - Brian Starr 3 1 0 2* 1 7+1
115 - Mark Baldwin 1* 1 F 2+1
Dream Team USA (51) 1 2 3 4 5 T
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 3 0 1* 3 7+1
36 - Tim Gomez 0 1 3 2 6
201 - Neil Facchini 2* F 2* 1 5+2
45 - Dario Galvin 3 3 3 2 2* 13+1
27 - Chris Kerr 3 3 3 2* 3 14+1
301 - Dale Facchini 1 0 1 0 2
93 - J.T. Mabry 2 0 2* 0 4+1
Race Results
1: Harmatiuk, Scopellite, D.Perkins, Gomez 3-3, 3-3
2: Starr, Mabry, D.Facchini, Mellor (fell, remounted) 3-3, 6-6
3: Galvin, N.Facchini, N.Perkins, Blair (fell, remounted) 1-5, 7-11
4: Kerr, McConnell, Starr, Mabry 3-3, 10-14
5: Blair, N.Perkins, Gomez, Harmatiuk 5-1, 15-15
6: Kerr, D.Perkins, Baldwin, D.Facchini 3-3, 18-18
7: Galvin, McConnell, Mellor (fell, remounted), N.Facchini (fell) 3-3, 21-21
8: Gomez, Mabry, D.Perkins, Starr (fell, remounted) 1-5, 22-26
9: Kerr, Blair, D.Facchini, N.Perkins (fell, remounted) 2-4, 24-30
10:(restarted) Galvin, N.Facchini, Baldwin, D.Perkins (fell, excluded) 1-5, 25-35
11: McConnell, Gomez, Harmatiuk, Mellor 3-3, 28-38
12: N.Perkins, Starr, N.Facchini, D.Facchini 5-1, 33-39
13: Harmatiuk, Kerr, McConnell, Baldwin (fell) 1-5, 34-44
14: Blair, Galvin, Mellor, Mabry 4-2, 38-46
15: Kerr, Galvin, Starr, N.Perkins (engine failure) 1-5, 39-51
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