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Victorville Speedway
Wheel2Wheel Raceway
Victorville, California
Eliminapolis 500
May 24, 2008 - Victorville
By: Ryan Evans
Ricky Wells returned from his World Under 21 Qualifier success in Germany and captured the Eliminapolis 500 at Wheel2Wheel Raceway in Victorville.
The main event was comprised of Buck Blair, Dale Facchini, Shawn McConnell and Wells and it used the last-man-out rules. Wells dominated the first start, but Facchini and McConnell had a close finish at the back. After much debate, and a lot of lobbying, the referee determined that McConnell was eliminated. Facchini was eliminated on the next start, leaving Wells and Blair. Wells got the better start in the two lap challenge and shrewdly rode a wide line to prevent Blair from making an outside run through the first corner. Wells entered turn three low and it worked better than Blair’s high line. Blair tried in vain on the final lap to catch the leader, but Wells was first to the checkered flag.
Neil Facchini beat McConnell to win the first heat. Jason Ramirez got the best start in the next heat and was leading Wells and Tim Gomez for two laps before Wells fell in turn four to bring out the red flag. The referee awarded the victory to Ramirez. Blair won his first heat over Dale Facchini to end round one.
McConnell began round two with a victory over Robbie Sauer. Wells defeated Dale Facchini for his first win in the next heat. Blair ended the second round by using the outside to pass Ramirez for a hard-fought second win.
Dale Facchini held off Gomez for the win to start the final round. Blair remained perfect by winning event 17. Wells won his second straight race in the final heat.
Blair got the best start in the first semi and led Wells all the way to the finish and into the main. Dale Facchini and McConnell finished one-two, respectively, in the second semi to transfer to the main. Neil Facchini beat Sauer and Gomez in the Consolation.
Donnie Robinson was leading the Second Division Main Event handily for two laps before Brad Moreau hit the wall hard in turn four and stopped the race. Moreau was able to walk away and Robinson was awarded the victory. Steve Dziadus was second, Mark Sincavage was third, J.C. Masters was fourth, and Moreau was credited with fifth.
Tim McGrath led all four laps and scored a dominant victory in the Third Division Main Event. Chris Thomas finished second, Tony DeAlmeida was third, John Weller finished fourth, Paul Thornton was fifth, and Rick Huspek finished sixth.
The Youth Main Event had to be restarted after Samuel Ramirez fell on the first attempt. Ramirez was unhurt, but didn’t restart. Major Davis beat Erika Lyons in the restart for the victory.
Lyons beat Garrett Nepi in the Pee Wee Main Event by using the outside in a great side-by-side battle that thrilled the crowd. Brandt Fletcher was third, Troy Bienert finished fourth, Marina Braden was fifth, and Kylee Evans finished sixth.
Dave Alexander and Bill Fowler made their first appearance at Wheel2Wheel Raceway a good one by winning the Sidecar Main Event. Brian Motis and Buck Blair finished second, Tommy Thornton and Steve Bumpus were third, Gerard Jackson and David German finished fourth, Scott Driggers and Sean Driggers were fifth.
The First Division semis and all of the main events had to be started by the green light after a sprint car driver lost control of his vehicle, drove onto the infield, and destroyed the starting gate pole. The type of starts raised the obvious concerns about fairness since riders have a reputation for gamesmanship. However, every race started by using the lights had a fair start.
The next event at Wheel2Wheel Raceway is Saturday, July 12. However, Steve Evans is promoting an event at Perris Raceway on Sunday, June 8 and the Firecracker Derby on Friday, July 4 in Ridgecrest.
RESULTS
Sidecar Main Event
22 – Dave Alexander/Bill Fowler
14 – Brian Motis/Buck Blair
31 – Tommy Thornton/Steve Bumpus
66 – Gerard Jackson/David German
13 – Scott Driggers/Sean Driggers (retired)
Pee Wee Main Event
77 – Erika Lyons
5 – Garrett Nepi
7 – Brandt Fletcher
4 – Troy Bienert
117 – Marina Braden
8 – Kylee Evans
Youth Main Event (restarted)
999 – Major Davis
77 – Erika Lyons
22 – Samuel Ramirez (non starter)
Third Division Main Event
186 – Tim McGrath 10
189 – Chris Thomas 10
157 – Tony DeAlmeida 10
310 – John Weller 20
124 – Paul Thornton 20
226 – Rick Huspek 20
Second Division Main Event (restarted, awarded)
388 – Donnie Robinson
212 – Steve Dziadus
213 – Mark Sincavage
202 – J.C. Masters (start penalty)
153 – Brad Moreau (fell)
First Division Scoring 1 2 3 T
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 3 0 5
17 – Robbie Sauer 1 2 1 4
19 – Dale Facchini 2 2 3 7
30 – Tim Gomez 2 0 2 4
32 – Billy Lyons 1 1 0 2
39 – Buck Blair 3 3 3 9
86 – Neil Facchini 3 1 2 6
103 – Tony Bienert 1 1 0 2
142 – Ricky Wells Fx 3 3 6
166 – Jason Ramirez 3 2 2 7
232 – Allen Doss F R N 0
321 – Russell Green 0 0 1 1
388 – Donnie Robinson (R) 1 - - 1
Race Results
3: N.Facchini, McConnell, Lyons, Green
4: (awarded) Ramirez, Gomez, Bienert, Wells (fell, excluded)
5: Blair, D.Facchini, Sauer, Doss (fell)
11: McConnell, Sauer, Lyons, Gomez (fell, remounted)
12: Wells, D.Facchini, Bienert, Green
13: Blair, Ramirez, N.Facchini (tape penalty), Doss (fell)
16: D.Facchini, Gomez, Robinson, Bienert
17: Blair, Ramirez, Green, McConnell (fell, remounted)
18: Wells, N.Facchini, Sauer, Lyons
Semi #1: Blair, Wells, N.Facchini, Gomez
Semi #2: D.Facchini, McConnell, Sauer, Ramirez (start penalty)
First Division Consolation
86 – Neil Faccini
17 – Robbie Sauer
30 – Tim Gomez
166 – Jason Ramirez (non starter)
Eliminapolis 500 Last Man Out Main Event
142 – Ricky Wells
39 – Buck Blair
19 – Dale Facchini
6 – Shawn McConnell
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