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Industry Speedway
The Grand Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
California Speedway
August 6, 2008 - Industry Speedway
By: Ryan Evans
The racing at Industry Speedway came to a premature end when Scott Driggers and Sean Driggers crashed into the wall at a high rate of speed during the Sidecar Main Event.
Defending Sidecar National Champions Joe Jones and Jimmy Olsen trapped from the outside and led the field down the backstraight. The Driggers were running third when the throttle apparently stuck open. Realizing the gravity of the situation, both driver and passenger tried to bail off the machine before impacting the safety fence. The sidecar demolished the safety fence and the riders were left trapped underneath the fence itself. Track staff, as well as spectators, helped to lift the fence off the riders while the medical personnel attended to the riders. Representatives of both the City of Industry and the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived on the scene to assist the track’s medical staff.
Both riders were transported to the trauma unit of Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles. Sean Driggers, the passenger and nephew of driver Scott Driggers, was treated for a broken nose and released. Scott Driggers remained in the Intensive Care Unit with a broken pelvis and was expected to undergo further testing to determine what other injuries, and their extent, that he may have suffered.
Due to the length of time needed to care for the Driggers, and out of respect to them, the restart of the Sidecar Main Event, as well as the Scratch Main Event, were cancelled.
The First Division heats began with Jason Ramirez scoring an impressive victory over Ricky Wells and Jimmy Fishback. Shawn McConnell took his first victory in the second race. Charlie Venegas and Bobby Schwartz were side-by-side in the last heat race of the round, but Neil Facchini split the pair before he Venegas made it a two-rider battle for the lead. Facchini’s effort was persistent and he eventually went underneath Venegas for the lead and took a hard-earned victory.
Buck Blair began the second round with a win. Wells went by Russell Green on the third lap to grab the lead and his first victory of the night. Castro scored a runaway win over Fishback to finish round two.
Ramirez started the final round of heats with his second victory of the night. Facchini got his second win in the next race while Venegas suffered an engine failure that would keep him out of the semis. McConnell handily defeated Castro in the final heat.
Ramirez got the best start in the first semi and was poised to take the victory before McConnell slipped by on the inside on the final lap. Ramirez held on for second to transfer to the main. Blair cruised to victory in the second semi. Wells dominated the Last Chance to book the final spot in the main event.
Bryan Buffington got the best start in the Second Division Main Event and led all four laps en route to victory. Phillip Harmatiuk returned from a broken arm suffered in April to finish second, Steve Bowen was third, Marvin Sonnier finished fourth, Rudy Laurer was fifth, and Eloy Medellin was sixth.
Chris Thomas led from start to finish for victory in the Third Division Main Event at Industry for the second time this season. Bruce Marteney was second, Tim McGrath finished third, and Toni Hicks was fourth.
Austin Novratil ran away with the victory in the Youth First Division Main Event. Gino Manzares finished second and Brad Pappalardo was third.
Rocco Scopellite won both his heats and completed his perfect evening with a win in the Youth Second Division Main Event. Samuel Ramirez finished second, Nicky Reimer was third, Major Davis finished fourth, and Elijah Harrison-Hicks was fifth.
Matthew Duffy fought off a late challenge to win the Pee Wee Main Event. Reimer finished a close second, Jacob Wondolowski was third, Nick Varner finished fourth, Christian Terranova was fifth, and Alexis Harrison-Hicks finished sixth.
RESULTS
Sidecar Main Event (restart cancelled)
*lineup*
1 - Joe Jones/Jimmy Olsen
13 - Scott Driggers/Sean Driggers
66 - Gerard Jackson/Dave German
31 - Tommy Thornton/Steven Bumpus
Pee Wee Main Event
116 - Matthew Duffy
41 - Nicky Reimer
257 - Jacob Wondolowski
3 - Nick Varner
114 - Christian Terranova
00 - Alexis Harrison-Hicks
Youth Second Division Main Event
9 - Rocco Scopellite
22 - Samuel Ramirez
41 - Nicky Reimer
999 - Major Davis
3 - Elijah Harrison-Hicks
Youth First Division Main Event
8 - Austin Novratil
21 - Gino Manzares (tape penalty)
611 - Brad Pappalardo
Third Division Consolation
124 - Paul Thornton
308 - Hugh Randolph
226 - Rick Huspek
371 - Gary Greenwood
158 - Ron Mongenel (non starter)
310 - John Weller (non starter)
Third Division Main Event (restarted)
189 - Chris Thomas
242 - Bruce Marteney
186 - Tim McGrath
00 - Toni Hicks
Second Division Consolation
202 - J.C. Masters
136 - Kim Stevens
288 - Rick Fritch
153 - Brad Moreau (fell)
187 - Blake Bowen (non starter)
Second Division Main Event
77 - Bryan Buffington 0
149 - Phillip Harmatiuk 0
177 - Steve Bowen 0
52 - Marvin Sonnier 10
182 - Rudy Laurer 10 (fell)
178 - Eloy Medellin 0 (fell)
Last of the Mohicans Last Man Out Challenge
39 - Buck Blair
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk
110 - Jon Stasiefski
43 - Charlie Venegas (engine failure)
First Division Scoring 1 2 3 T
6 - Shawn McConnell 3 E 3 6
11 - Bobby Schwartz 1 2 1 4
14 - Eddie Castro 0 3 2 5
25 - Jimmy Fishback 1 2 2 5
39 - Buck Blair 1 3 1 5
43 - Charlie Venegas 2 1 E 3
66 - Jason Ramirez 3 0 3 6
86 - Neil Facchini 3 0 3 6
110 - Jon Stasiefski 0 0 0 0
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 2 2 2 6
142 - Ricky Wells 2 3 1 6
321 - Russell Green 0 1 0 1
Race Results
10: Ramirez, Wells, Fishback, Castro
11: McConnell, Harmatiuk, Blair, Stasiefski
12: Facchini, Venegas, Schwartz, Green
21: Blair [10], Harmatiuk [20], Venegas [20], Stasiefski [0]
22: Wells [20], Schwartz [10], Green [0], Ramirez [30]
23: Castro [0], Fishback [10], Facchini [30], McConnell [30] (engine failure)
29: Ramirez [0], Fishback [20], Blair [30], Green [10]
30: Facchini [10], Harmatiuk [20], Wells [30], Venegas [10] (engine failure)
31: McConnell [0], Castro [30], Schwartz [20], Stasiefski [0]
Semi #1: McConnell, Ramirez, Fishback, Castro
Semi #2: Blair, Harmatiuk, Wells, Facchini (fell)
Last Chance
142 - Ricky Wells
14 - Eddie Castro
25 - Jimmy Fishback
86 - Neil Facchini
Scratch Main Event (cancelled)
*lineup*
6 - Shawn McConnell
66 - Jason Ramirez
39 - Buck Blair
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk
142 - Ricky Wells
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