Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California

Jack Milne Cup
August 27, 2011
By: Ryan Evans

Former National Champion "Flyin" Mike Faria turned in a flawless performance and won his fourth Jack Milne Cup in a controversial main event at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.

Faria and former World Champion Billy "The Bullet" Hamill both entered the main event undefeated. Hamill made the best start on the first attempt, but a crash brought out the red flag. The second time the tapes came up "Fast" Eddie Castro was off the starting line first but the red light came on and Castro was penalized for an unsatisfactory start. Castro pleaded his case, but the referee wasn't changing his mind. Castro then lined up at the penalty line as if he would restart facing the opposite direction. The referee wasn't amused by his conduct and banished him to the pits despite protests from Castro and the crowd.

After everything simmered down the tapes finally went up a third time and Faria jumped into the lead with Hamill close behind. Faria led after one lap with Hamill trying to find a way past. Hamill kept the heat on Faria throughout the race, but he couldn't faze the leader. Faria was first to the checkered flag, Hamill had to settle for second, Jimmy "Little Animal" Fishback finished third, and Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell was fourth.

Hamill kicked off the heats with a win over Michael Raines. Shawn McConnell defeated former National Champion Charlie "The Edge" Venegas in the second heat. Faria passed John Marquez to win the third heat. Fishback ended the first round with a win over Jason Ramirez.

Hamill opened the second round by defeating Fishback. Ramirez used the outside to go around Shawn McConnell and won the next event. Faria defeated Venegas for his second straight win. Tyson Talkington led the final race of round two until the final corner before Castro slipped by for the win.

Hamill began the final round with a win over Shawn McConnell for his third consecutive win. Faria beat Bobby "Boogaloo" Schwartz to match Hamill's perfect score. Venegas beat Ramirez in event 17. Fishback defeated Dukie Ermolenko in the final heat.
Hamill beat Fishback for a second time in the first semi but both riders moved on to the main event. Castro made the best start in the second semi, but Faria passed him to take the lead and the win. Castro held on to second to join Faria in the main. Two-time and defending Jack Milne Cup Champion Shawn McConnell won the Last Chance and transferred to the main and gave himself the opportunity at a third consecutive title.

Harold Hartke made the best start in the Support Main Event but Gabe Price charged up the inside of him to take the lead on the back straight. Price was chased by Troy McConnell the rest of the way, but was able to hold on to the victory. Ryan Tovatt finished third and Hartke was fourth.

Mike Salyer led the Support B Main Event through the first corner before Alfonso Marroquin took over the lead on the back straight. Salyer remained within striking distance, but Marroquin never afforded him a chance to retake the lead. Marroquin crossed the finish line first, Salyer was second, Kevin Fife finished third, and Dan Eddy was fourth.
Hayley Perrault led the Youth 200cc First Division Main Event for three laps, but Broc Nicol never gave up hope. Nicol went to the outside in the final corner and garnered enough speed to beat Perrault to the finish line. Braydan Galvin finished third and Dalton Leedy was fourth.

Gino Scopellite led all four laps en route to victory in the Youth 200cc Second Division Main Event. Shea Bendykowski finished second, Michael Wells was third, and Maverick Molloy finished fourth.

Hayley Perrault led the Youth 250cc Main Event while Max Ruml went through traffic and was second on the second lap. Max Ruml went to the outside in turn three but Perrault drifted wide and both racer collided and hit the fence. Both were able to walk away but neither would participate in the restart. Nicol led the restart for three laps before Dillon Ruml went past him for the lead. Dillon Ruml didn't look back from there and claimed the victory. Kurtis Hamill finished third and Braden Sauer was fourth.

The Jack Milne Cup honors the 1937 World Speedway Champion who was an integral part of the founding of Costa Mesa Speedway. A Legends Night was held in conjunction with the event and hadd many figures of American Speedway's past years. Some of the legends included Harry Oxley, Bruce Penhall, Sonny Nutter, and Dubb Ferrell.

The next event at Costa Mesa is the John Matherson Cup which honors the former sidecar competitor who was also the owner of Mission Motorsports, a longtime sponsor of Costa Mesa Speedway. The event will feature the 2011 season's largest field of sidecar because the event is particularly prestigious to those competitors because Matherson was a sidecar competitor and former champion.

RESULTS

Youth 200cc Second Division Main Event
7 - Gino Scopellite
23 - Shea Bendykowski
214 - Michael Wells
34 - Maverick Molloy

Youth 200cc First Division Main Event
98 - Broc Nicol
0 - Hayley Perrault
45 - Braydan Galvin
222 - Dalton Leedy

Youth 250cc Main Event (restarted)
111 - Dillon Ruml 20
98 - Broc Nicol 10
104 - Kurtis Hamill 10
21 - Braden Sauer 0
308 - Max Ruml 20(non starter - restart)
0 - Hayley Perrault 0(non starter - restart)

Support B Main Event
219 - Alfonso Marroquin
333 - Mike Salyer
311 - Kevin Fife
349 - Dan Eddy

Support Main Event
113 - Gabe Price
114 - Troy McConnell
389 - Ryan Tovatt
290 - Harold Hartke

First Division Heat Scoring123T
6 – Shawn McConnell 4239
9 – Mike Faria 44412
11 – Bobby Schwartz 1337
14 – Eddie Castro 1416
15 – Dukie Ermolenko 1034
17 – Robbie Sauer 22Fx4
18 – Justin Boyle 0123
23 – Steve Russell 1113
25 – Jimmy Fishback 43411
34 – Archie Perez F022
41 – John Marquez 3003
43 – Charlie Venegas 33410
48 – Tyson Talkington 02F2
63 – Michael Raines 33Nr6
66 – Jason Ramirez 34310
98 – Doug Nicol 2114
104 – Billy Hamill 44412
120 – Doug Greyson 0011
141 – Josh Abbott 2125
321 – Russell Green 2226

Race Results
1: Hamill, Raines, Abbott, Russell, Talkington
2: McConnell, Venegas, Nicol, Castro, Perez (fell)
3: Faria, Marquez, Green, Ermolenko, Boyle
4: Fishback, Ramirez, Sauer, Schwartz, Greyson
9: (restarted) Hamill, Fishback, Green, Nicol (penalty line), Greyson
10: (restarted twice) Ramirez, Raines (penalty line), McConnell, Abbott, Marquez (penalty line)
11: Faria, Venegas, Sauer, Russell, Perez
12: Castro, Schwartz, Talkington, Boyle, Ermolenko
15: (awarded) Hamill, McConnell, Boyle, Castro (fell, remounted), Sauer (fell, excluded)
16: Faria, Schwartz, Green, Greyson, Talkington (fell)
17: (restarted) Venegas, Ramirez, Abbott, Nicol, Raines (non starter – restart)
18: Fishback, Ermolenko, Perez, Russell, Marquez
Semi #1: Hamill, Fishback, McConnell, Schwartz, Green
Semi #2: Faria, Castro, Ramirez, Venegas, Raines

First Division Last Chance
6 - Shawn McConnell
66 - Jason Ramirez
11 - Bobby Schwartz
43 - Charlie Venegas (retired)

Jack Milne Cup Main Event (restarted)
9 - Mike Faria
104 - Billy Hamill
25 - Jimmy Fishback
6 - Shawn McConnell (retired)
14 - Eddie Castro (excluded)

Past Jack Milne Cup Winners
1998 - Bobby Schwartz
1999 - Gary Hicks
2000 - Charlie Venegas
2001 - Gary Hicks
2002 - Scott Brant
2003 - Scott Brant
2004 - Mike Faria
2005 - Mike Faria
2006 - Charlie Venegas
2007 – Mike Faria
2008 – Bobby Schwartz
2009 – Shawn McConnell
2010 – Shawn McConnell