Perris Raceway
Perris, California

2008 Friends of Speedway Spring Classic
April 13, 2008 - Perris Raceway
By: Ryan Evans

Ricky “The Kiwi Kid” Wells was a perfect five for five in all his races, including the main event, in a thoroughly dominant performance at the 2008 Friends of Speedway Spring Classic at Perris Raceway.

Wells selected the pole for the main event and used his preferred starting position to launch off the starting line first. Wells was followed by Nate Perkins whose only defeat of the day was to Wells. Wells opened up a comfortable lead on the back straight and left Perkins to switch his priority to holding off the hard-charging Jason Ramirez. Ramirez gained a little ground with each lap, but couldn’t get close enough to mount a serious challenge. Wells cruised to the victory, Perkins was second, Ramirez finished third, and J.T. Mabry was fourth.

Perkins opened the day with a win in the first heat over Ramirez. Wells beat Mike “The Spider Man” Bloom in the second heat. Brad Sauer beat Russell Green to complete round one.

Round two began with on a down note. Philip Harmatiuk led into turn three before falling in front of Perkins. Perkins had nowhere to go and hit the prone Harmatiuk. The result was a broken upper left arm and separated shoulder for Harmatiuk.

On the restart, Perkins defeating Bloom for his second victory. Wells beat Mabry for his second win in the next heat. Ramirez overcame a bad start to beat both Sauers to end the second round.

The third round began with Perkins leading Wells for three laps before Wells went by on the inside to take the lead and the win. Ramirez beat Robbie Sauer for his second win in heat 14. Mabry used the outside to pass Donnie Robinson and earn his first win to close round three.

Mabry started the final round with his second straight win. Wells made it four in a row in the penultimate heat. Perkins fended off a major challenge from Ramirez to win the final heat.

The Last Chance began with Robinson falling in turn one and Ramirez being forced to take evasive action which immediately took him out of contention. The red flag came out when Robinson failed to get off the track quick enough. John Marquez led the restart before Ramirez blasted up the inside at the end of lap one and ran off with the win to earn the final spot in the main.

Steve “Rattlesnake” Bowen led all four laps of the Second Division Main for the victory. Rudy Laurer finished second, J.C. Masters was third, Jeff Remington finished fourth, Jim Painter was fifth, and Mark Lane was credited with sixth.

The first attempt to run the Third Division Main ended in a heap in turn four with Jonni Jade and Greg Vandemore getting locked together and going down hard. On the restart, Vandemore was a runaway winner with Jade finishing second and Tony DeAlmeida coming in third.

The Youth Divisions were run together and Austin Novratil, the only First Division rider, getting the overall victory. Rocco Scopellite won the Youth Second Division with Samuel Ramirez finishing second and Major Davis getting third.

Garrett Nepi scored an impressive win in the Pee Wee Main Event. Marina Braden was second, Nathan Remington finished third, Gino Scopellite was fourth, and Kylee Evans finished fifth.

Perris Raceway will host the annual Gumball Rally with an open practice on Saturday, April 19 and the race meeting on Sunday, April 20. The next race meeting to feature all divisions will be Sunday, June 8.

RESULTS
 
Pee Wee Main Event
  5 – Garrett Nepi
117 – Marina Braden
 12 – Nathan Remington
  7 – Gino Scopellite
  8 – Kylee Evans
 
Youth Second Division Main Event                   
  9 – Rocco Scopellite  
 22 – Samuel Ramirez
999 – Major Davis
 
Youth First Division Main Event
  8 – Austin Novratil
 
Third Division Main Event (restarted)
209 – Greg Vandemore
266 – Jonni Jade
157 – Tony DeAlmeida
 
Second Division Consolation (restarted)
153 – Brad Moreau
288 – Rick Fritch
181 – Billy J. Vaughn
Dylan Black                  	(non starter)
212 – Steve Dziadus           	(non starter)
 
Second Division Main Event
177 – Steve Bowen
182 – Rudy Laurer
202 – J.C. Masters
252 – Jeff Remington
172 – Jim Painter
326 – Mark Lane           	(non starter)
 
First Division Scoring		1          2          3          4          T
 13 – Nate Perkins        	3          3          2          3          11
 17 – Robbie Sauer            	R          1          2          0          3
 21 – Brad Sauer           	3          2          1          2          8
 22 – Mike Bloom             	2          2          E          N          4
 41 – John Marquez          	0          1          1          2          4
 66 – Jason Ramirez          	2          3          3          1          9
 93 – J.T. Mabry            	1          2          3          3          9
142 – Ricky Wells            	3          3          3          3          12
149 – Philip Harmatiuk     	1          N          -          -          1
232 – Allen Doss           	1          1          0          1          3
321 – Russell Green          	2          0          1          1          4
388 – Donnie Robinson         	0          R          2          2          4
 
Race Results
 1: Perkins, Ramirez, Doss, R.Sauer (retired)
 2: Wells, Bloom, Mabry, Marquez
 3: B.Sauer, Green, Harmatiuk, Robinson
 7: (restarted) Perkins, Bloom, Doss (fell, remounted), Harmatiuk (non starter)
 8: Wells, Mabry, Marquez, Green
 9: (restarted) Ramirez, B.Sauer, R.Sauer (penalty line), Robinson (retired)
13: Wells, Perkins, Green, Doss
14: Ramirez, R.Sauer, Marquez
15: Mabry, Robinson, B.Sauer, Bloom (engine failure)
19: Mabry, Marquez, Doss (fell)
20: Wells, Robinson, Green, R.Sauer
21: Perkins, B.Sauer, Ramirez (fell), Bloom (non starter)
 
First Division Last Chance (restarted)
 66 – Jason Ramirez
 21 – Brad Sauer
 41 – John Marquez
321 – Russell Green         	(non starter)
388 – Donnie Robinson          	(non starter)
 
First Division Main Event
142 – Ricky Wells
 13 – Nate Perkins
 66 – Jason Ramirez
 93 – J.T. Mabry