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Wild West Speedway
Winchester, California
Wild West Track Championship
October 2, 2004 - Wild West Speedway
By: Ryan Evans
Chris Manchester added more inventory to his trophy case by winning the 2004 Wild West Track Championship on Saturday.
Manchester entered the Final undefeated in four races after winning all three of his heats and his semi. When the tapes went up Manchester was first off the line, but Northern California's Bryan Yarrow challenged the former National Champion on the outside in turn one. Manchester found more traction in turn two and established a comfortable lead after one lap. Yarrow dropped down to the inside before Charlie Venegas could overtake him for second. Manchester extended his lead enough that he was able to overcome running out of fuel in the final corner to win the title. Yarrow was second, Venegas finished third, and Eddie Castro was fourth.
The first of three qualifying rounds began with Castro winning after starting on the outside. Yarrow, also starting on the outside, adapted quickly to a track he had never raced before by defeating Justin Boyle. Manchester took his first win in race three ahead of Buck Blair. Venegas was an easy winner in the final race of round one.
Venegas made it two wins in a row by defeating Castro to start the second round. Manchester kept pace with Venegas by defeating Yarrow in the next race. Blair held off Boyle to win race 12 and 16 year old Skyler Greyson finished round two with an outside pass of John DeFries en route to victory.
Castro secured a place in the semis with a win over Yarrow at the beginning of the final round. Denny Scopellite held off Greyson for his first win in race 20, while Steve Murray was victorious in race 21.
The expected showdown between Manchester and Venegas in the final heat fizzled after two restarts. Venegas was leading the first try when Boyle lifted in turn four and went down, thus bringing out the red flag. On the second attempt, Venegas touched the tapes and was banished to the penalty line. The drama was over at that point as Manchester won easily to maintain his perfect score.
In the Second Division Final, Dale Facchini led the field on to the back straight, but suffered from bike problems that allowed Rich Brock into the lead and ultimately led to Facchini's pulling off the track. Brock held off the challenges of Brian Starr to win the Second Division Track Championship. Mark Baldwin finished third and Facchini was credited with fourth.
Steve Dziadus Sr. and Kim Stevens traded the lead for two laps in the Third Division Final before Stevens went wide in turn two allowing Dziadus to grab the lead for good. Mike Boyle went by Stevens for second, but never got close to Dziadus who took home the trophy. Stevens was third, Damon Barry finished fourth, and Steve Dziadus Jr. was fifth.
Ricky Valdez had the Youth Second Division Track Championship wrapped up until he suffered an engine failure while leading the final race. His misfortune gave Eddie Conner, who was second entering the final race, the lead that he never relinquished as he went on to take win. Valdez still earned enough points to take second overall and Dylan Black was third overall.
Braydan Galvin captured the Youth Expert Track Championship with Rocco Scopellite finishing second overall and Eloy Medellin III getting third. Blaise Murray defeated Richard Gibbons in a runoff for the Youth Beginner title and Sean McDonald earned third overall.
The Track Championship was not the final event on the Wild West calendar. Events will be held on October 9 and 23. In addition, the Second Annual Toy Drive and Chili Cookoff on Saturday, October 16. All proceeds will benefit the local Children's Burn Foundations. United Speedway Association will be holding some exhibition races between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The Cookoff will end early enough for fans to attend the SRA National Championship at Costa Mesa.
RESULTS
Pee Wee Beginner Track Championship (Overall)
429 - Blaise Murray
1 - Richard Gibbons
7 - Sean McDonald
2 - Erica Winter
Pee Wee Expert Track Championship (Overall)
8 - Braydan Galvin
7 - Rocco Scopellite
178 - Eloy Medellin III
77 - Dakota Bauman
Youth Second Division Track Championship (Overall)
135 - Eddie Conner
5 - Ricky Valdez
7 - Dylan Black
21 - Gino Manzares
114 - Joey Holt
Third Division Track Championship Final
212 - Steve Dziadus Sr. 0
198 - Mike Boyle 10
136 - Kim Stevens 0
150 - Damon Barry 0
909 - Steve Dziadus Jr. 10
135 - Kerry Conner 10 (non starter)
Second Division Consolation
209 - Greg Vandemore
269 - Ed Martinez
208 - Geoff Herkner (fell, remounted)
163 - Rohn Zellner
Second Division Track Championship Final
138 - Rich Brock
248 - Brian Starr
115 - Mark Baldwin (fell, remounted)
301 - Dale Facchini (retired)
First Division Scoring 1 2 3 T
8n - Bryan Yarrow 3 2 2 7
14 - Eddie Castro 3 2 3 8
16 - John DeFries 2 2 2 6
18 - Justin Boyle 2 2 0 4
37 - Denny Scopellite 1 1 3 5
39 - Buck Blair 2 3 1 6
43 - Charlie Venegas 3 3 1 7
110 - Jon Stasiefski 0 F 2 2
120 - Skyler Greyson 0 3 2 5
130 - Chris Manchester 3 3 3 9
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 1 F N 1
145 - Dario Galvin 1 1 1 3
178 - Eloy Medellin 1 1 F 2
214 - Steve Murray 0 0 3 3
249 - John Stunkard 2 1 0 3
Race Results
1: Castro, DeFries, Scopellite, Stasiefski (fell, remounted)
2: Yarrow, Boyle, Galvin
3: Manchester, Blair, Harmatiuk, Greyson (fell, remounted)
4: Venegas, Stunkard, Medellin, Murray
10: Venegas, Castro, Galvin, Harmatiuk (fell)
11: Manchester, Yarrow, Scopellite, Murray
12: Blair, Boyle, Stunkard, Stasiefski (fell)
13: Greyson, DeFries, Medellin (fell)
19: Castro, Yarrow, Blair, Medellin (fell)
20: Scopellite, Greyson, Galvin, Stunkard
21: Murray, Stasiefski (fell, remounted), Harmatiuk (non starter)
22: (restarted) Manchester, DeFries, Venegas (tape penalty), Boyle (penalty line)
Semi #1: Venegas, Castro, Blair, Greyson (fell)
Semi #2: Manchester, Yarrow, Scopellite, DeFries
Wild West Track Championship Final
130 - Chris Manchester
8n - Bryan Yarrow
43 - Charlie Venegas
14 - Eddie Castro
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