Victorville Speedway Wheel2Wheel Raceway San Bernardino County Fairgrounds Victorville, California
Eliminapolis 500
May 23, 2009 - Victorville
By: Ryan Evans
Jimmy “The Little Animal” Fishback celebrated his Memorial Day Weekend in style by winning all of his races to take home the Eliminapolis 500 at Wheel2Wheel Raceway in Victorville.
The Eliminapolis 500 Final featured its traditional last-man-out format and the first start brought Fishback, John Marquez, Austin Novratil, and Tyson Burmeister to the tapes. When the tapes went up it was Marquez who was pinned at the back and was the first to be eliminated. Burmeister was eliminated on the second start which left Fishback and Novratil for the final two-lap battle. Fishback got the best start and led the first lap. Novratil made a charge on the back straight and tried a cutback move exiting the final corner in an attempt to blast underneath the leader. Fishback won the drag race but the close finish delighted the appreciative crowd.
Four rounds of heats began with Buck Blair leading before pulling up after two laps and handing the win to Novratil. Blair withdrew from the meeting due to lingering injuries from a crash the week before. Fishback held off Marquez to win the second heat.
Fishback scored his second win by beating Robbie Sauer and Novratil and Shawn McConnell beat Marquez and Burmeister for his first win. Fishback made it three in a row with a win over Sauer while McConnell made it two straight wins by holding off Novratil. Fishback remained perfect by beating Novratil and Burmeister and McConnell ended the heats with his third straight win.
The Bump Race began with Burmeister, Marquez, Sauer, and Novratil. Sauer was eliminated and then McConnell joined the fray. The second start would eliminate a rider while the other three would transfer to the Final. To the surprise of everyone, McConnell went down in turn one and was eliminated while Marquez, Novratil, and Burmeister joined Fishback in the Final.
Rudy Laurer patiently worked through traffic from the 40 yard line to win the Support Handicap Main Event. Tim McGrath was second, Joey Holt finished third, Rod Requejo was fourth, Mike Schultz finished fifth, and Paul Thornton was sixth.
Holt led all four laps en route to victory in the Second Division Main Event. Laurer was second, Schultz finished third, and McGrath was fourth.
McGrath started from the 30 yard line, but that didn’t prevent him from claiming victory in the Third Division Main Event. Schultz finished second, Requejo was third, DeWayne Stark finished fourth, and Thornton was fifth.
Samuel Ramirez led from start to finish and won the Junior Main Event. Dillon Ruml was second and Maxwell Ruml was credited with third.
Amanda Ramirez narrowly edged Cassi Novratil at the finish line to win the Powder Puff Main Event while Ally McGrath came in third.
The next event at Wheel2Wheel Raceway will be Harley Night on Saturday, July 18. The next Steve Evans Promotions event will be the Firecracker Derby on Saturday, July 4 at the Desert Empire Fairgrounds in Ridgecrest.
RESULTS
Pee Wee Main Event
34 - Dakota Shockley
Powderpuff Main Event
78 - Amanda Ramirez
288 - Cassi Novratil
186 - Ally McGrath
Junior Main Event
22 - Samuel Ramirez
111 - Dillon Ruml
356 - Max Ruml
Support Handicap Main
182 - Rudy Lauer 40
186 - Tim McGrath 30
244 - Joey Holt 40 (fell, remounted)
131 - Rod Requejo 10
292 - Mike Schultz 20
124 - Paul Thornton 10 (fell)
Third Division Main Event
186 - Tim McGrath 30
292 - Mike Schultz 20
131 - Rod Requejo 10
268 - DeWayne Stark 10
124 - Paul Thornton 10 (fell)
Second Division Main Event
244 - Joey Holt
182 - Rudy Lauer
292 - Mike Schultz
186 - Tim McGrath (engine failure)
First Division Points 1 2 3 4 T
6 - Shawn McConnell 0 3 3 3 9
8j - Austin Novratil 3 1 2 2 8
17 - Robbie Sauer 2 2 2 1 7
25 - Jimmy Fishback 3 3 3 3 12
39 - Buck Blair R withdrew 0
41 - John Marquez 2 2 1 2 7
141 - Josh Abbott 1 withdrew 1
184 - Tyson Burmeister 1 1 1 1 4
Race Results
5: Novratil, Sauer, Abbott, Blair (retired)
6: Fishback, Marquez, Burmeister, McConnell
12: Fishback, Sauer, Novratil (fell)
13: McConnell, Marquez, Burmeister
18: Fishback, Sauer, Marquez
19: McConnell, Novratil, Burmeister
26: Fishback, Novratil, Burmeister
27: McConnell, Marquez, Sauer
Eliminapolis 500 Bump Race (top three finishers transfer)
41 – John Marquez
184 – Tyson Burmeister
8j – Austin Novratil
6 – Shawn McConnell (fell)
17 – Robbie Sauer
Eliminapolis 500 Main Event
25 – Jimmy Fishback
8j – Austin Novratil
184 – Tyson Burmeister
41 – John Marquez
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