Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California

Harley Night
May 18, 2013 - Costa Mesa
By: Ryan Evans

Sidecar Main YouTube Video by Mark Williams - Xtreme Speedway Action

MK Products Harley Night - May 18 - Costa Mesa, CA, USA

At 56 years old and in his 40th year racing speedway Bobby "Boogaloo" Schwartz showed everyone that he can still turn in sterling performances after completing a perfect night by winning the main event in front of a standing-room-only crowd on MK Product Harley Night at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.

Entering the main event undefeated afforded the former National Championship the opportunity to have first choice of starting position and he chose gate one. On the first attempt "Battling" Buck Blair, lined up next to Schwartz in gate two, exploded out of the gate but the red light went on immediately and he was penalized for an unsatisfactory start. Blair refused to accept his penalty and pulled on to the infield instead. Schwartz led the second start and was on his way to victory when Josh Larsen found too much traction exiting turn four on the second lap, went over backward, and brought out the red flag. Larsen was fine but would start on the penalty line for the restart. The third time the tapes went up it was Schwartz again in front and this time he had Tyson Burmeister clamped to his back tire. Burmeister searched for a way around the icon but Schwartz wasn't going to let his lead slip away. Schwartz crossed the finish line first under a thunderous ovation from the large crowd and received the bumps after his victory lap. Burmeister settled for second, Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell was third, Larsen finished fourth, and Blair was credited with fifth.

Russell Green opened the evening with a win over McConnell. Michael Raines defeated former National Champion "Flyin" Mike Faria in event two. Schwartz began his evening with a victory over sixteen year old Max Ruml. Larsen beat Tyson Talkington in event four. Burmeister ended round one with a win over former Under 21 National Champion Austin Novratil.

Novratil began round two by defeating McConnell. Jason Ramirez led the next heat before Faria used the outside to take the lead and the win. Schwartz defeated Brad Sauer for his second straight win. Larsen beat Steve Russell for his second win in a row. Blair finished the second round by beating Ruml.

McConnell started the final round with a win over "Fast" Eddie Castro. Novratil held off Ruml for his second consecutive victory. Schwartz remained perfect after beating Ramirez. Burmeister beat Larsen in event 22 for his second win. Blair made it two wins in a row by beating Russell in the last heat.

Raines and Ramirez finished one-two in a runoff for the final two spots in the semis while Russell finished third and was done for the evening.

Blair won the first semi with Larsen getting second to join him in the main event. Schwartz kept his winning streak alive by winning the second semi and Burmeister took second and the other transfer.

McConnell won the Last Chance to book his place in the main. Faria finished second, Ruml was third, and Novratil was fourth.

Harold Hartke won both of his heats and took home his first Support Main Event victory of the season. Rohn Zellner finished second, Carl Gazafy was third, Dillon Osborne finished fourth, and Justin Hassan was fifth.

Stuart Glass and Jack Straw made the best start in the Sidecar Main Event but had National Champions Joe Jones and Johnny Glover right on their exhaust. Glass and Straw held the off for a lap and a half before Jones and Glover took over the lead. Things got worse for the dispatched leaders as they spun exiting turn four the next lap and brought out the red flag. The victory was awarded to Jones and Glover, Dual Anderson and Ethan Smith were credited with second, Bryan Motis and Josh Bennett were third, and Glass and Straw were relegated to fourth.

There won't be racing at Costa Mesa Speedway this weekend because of Memorial Day Weekend. The next event is Legends Night on Saturday, June 1 and will have all divisions of speedway, sidecar racing, juniors, and pee wees.

RESULTS

Sidecar Main Event (restarted) (awarded)
1 - Joe Jones/Johnny Glover
007 - Dual Anderson/Ethan Smith
2 - Bryan Motis/Josh Bennett
911 - Stuart Glass/Jack Straw

Support Last Chance (restarted)
132 – Justin Hassan
266 – Jonni Jade
153 – Brad Moreau (penalty line)
163 – Ron Davis

Support Main Event
290 - Harold Hartke
118 - Rohn Zellner
176 - Carl Gazafy
164 - Dillon Osborne
132 - Justin Hassan

First Division Heat Scoring123T
2 – Josh Larsen 3328
6 – Shawn McConnell 2237
7 – Michael Raines 3115
9 – Mike Faria 2316
11 – Bobby Schwartz 3339
13 – Nate Perkins 0011
14 – Eddie Castro 1124
21 – Brad Sauer 0213
23 – Steve Russell 1225
26 – Tyson Burmeister 3137
27 – Austin Novratil 2338
37 – Joe Donaldson 1001
38 – Ryan Tovatt 0000
39 – Buck Blair 1337
48 – Tyson Talkington 2114
66 – Jason Ramirez 1225
182 – Rudy Laurer 0000
208 – Geoff Herkner 0000
308 – Max Ruml 2226
321 – Russell Green 3104

Race Results
1: Green, McConnell, Ramirez, Sauer
2: Raines, Faria, Donaldson, Perkins
3: Schwartz, Ruml, Russell, Tovatt
4: Larsen, Talkington, Castro, Laurer
5: Burmeister, Novratil, Blair, Herkner (fell, remounted)
10: Novratil, McConnell, Talkington, Tovatt
11: Faria, Ramirez, Burmeister, Laurer
12: Schwartz, Sauer, Raines, Herkner
13: Larsen, Russell, Green, Perkins
14: Blair, Ruml, Castro, Donaldson
19: McConnell, Castro, Perkins, Herkner
20: Novratil, Ruml, Faria, Green
21: Schwartz, Ramirez, Talkington, Donaldson
22: Burmeister, Larsen, Raines, Tovatt
23: Blair, Russell, Sauer, Laurer
Runoff: Raines, Ramirez, Russell
Semi #1: Blair, Larsen, Novratil, Faria, Ramirez
Semi #2: Schwartz, Burmeister, McConnell, Ruml, Raines (tape exclusion)

First Division Last Chance
6 - Shawn McConnell
9 - Mike Faria
308 - Max Ruml
27 - Austin Novratil (fell)

First Division Main Event (restarted)
11 - Bobby Schwartz
26 - Tyson Burmeister
6 - Shawn McConnell
2 - Josh Larsen (penalty line)
39 - Buck Blair (tape penalty)

Ryan Evans