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Industry Racing

The Grand Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California

Salute to Military Night
June 29, 2016 - Industry Racing
Thanks to Ryan Evans and Tim Kennedy

Results from Industry Racing and are Continued Below...

	Dorcey Wingo Photos

1st Division Niall Strudwick pushed off by Hayley Perrault	1st Division action Novratil and M. Ruml	1st Division Nicol and M. Ruml

2nd Division action Kohler and Valdez	250cc action Colton Hicks and Sebastian Palmese	1st Division action Nicol and Janniro

2nd Division winner Rudy Lauer	Pee Wee Main Event	1st Division L. Becker

1st Division Ruml vs Ruml	3rd Division Main Event	3rd Division winner Brent Smith

2nd Division Main Event	2nd Division winner Rudy Lauer	150cc 1st Division winner Lightcap

1st Division Consi action	1st Division Consi action	Pee Wee winner Levi Leutz

150cc 2nd Division Main Event	150cc 2nd Division Main Event winner Glenn Geist	150cc 1st Division Main Event action

1st Division Scratch Main Event	1st Division Main Event action Novratil and D. Ruml	1st Division Main Event action D. Ruml and Novratil

	Billy Janniro with flag

Military Appreciation Night - Industry Racing - June 29 - Ryan EvansS

Following two consecutive weeks with first-time winners, Billy “The Kid” Janniro scored one for veteran racers by winning the Scratch Main Event on Military Appreciation Night at Industry Racing.

Janniro and Austin Novratil both entered the main undefeated. Janniro chose gate one and Novratil would start from gate four with Charlie “The Edge” Venegas and Dillon Ruml in between them. Janniro made his choice of starting position pay off as he led the field in to turn one. Novratil was right behind the National Champion but he also had to contend with Dillon Ruml. The positions were unchanged for two laps and then Dillon Ruml made the outside line work well enough to overtake Novratil for second. That would be as far as he would get, though, as Janniro led to the finish. Dillon Ruml held on to second, Novratil finished third, and Venegas was fourth.

Luke “Little Missile” Becker opened the heats with a win over Tyson Talkington. Janniro defeated Venegas in the second heat. Broc Nicol beat Northern California’s Bob Hicks in event three. Event four had to be restarted when Max Ruml hit back straight fence. Novratil won the restart with “Flyin” Mike Faria finishing second.

Novratil began the second round with a win over Gage Geist. Janniro made it two for two by beating Becker. Venegas beat Dillon Ruml for his first win. Max Ruml used the outside to pass Nicol on the third lap and went on to end round two with a victory.

Novratil remained perfect by starting round three with a win over Venegas. Becker used the ample outside dirt to go around Hicks for the win in event 26. Dillon Ruml beat Nicol to win the penultimate heat. Janniro closed out the heats by holding off Max Ruml for his third win.

Venegas led the first semi for three laps before Janniro swept around the outside to take the lead and his fourth consecutive win. Novratil remained perfect by winning the second semi while Dillon Ruml went around his brother to steal the other transfer at the finish line.

Harold Hartke was leading the Second Division Main Event when the red flag came out. Rudy Laurer took advantage of the second chance and led the restart from start to finish. David Lynch finished second, Hartke was third, and Brad Moreau was credited with fourth.

Brent Smith led all four laps and collected the Third Division Main Event victory. George Yates was second, Kevin Fife finished third, and Steve “Beach Ball” Brown was fourth.
Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese charged through the field from the 40 yard line to win the Junior 250 Main Event. National Champion Colton Hicks finished second, Jake Isaac was third, Skylar Schnakenberg finished fourth, and Michael Wells was fifth.

Dakota Shockley led the Mini 150 First Division Main Event for two laps before Slater Lightcap swept around the outside to take the lead. Lightcap never looked back and led the rest of the way. Luke Whitcomb also got past Shockley to take second.

Gavin Geist led all five laps en route to victory in the Mini 150 Second Division Main Event. Rachel Schnakenberg finished second, Jose “Nitro” Navarrete was third, Sammy “The Bullet” Waddill finished fourth, Travis Horn was fifth, and Andrew Russell finished sixth.

Levi Leutz scored his first Pee Wee Main Event victory of the season with Gavin Dryfka finishing second, Ken Matsudaira getting third, and Conner Salazar coming in fourth.

RESULTS

Pee Wee Main Event
3 - Levi Leutz
6 - Gavin Dryfka
74 - Ken Matsudaira
5 - Conner Salazar

Mini 150 Second Division Main Event
33 - Gavin Geist 0
5 - Rachel Schnakenberg 0
48 - Jose Navarrete 0
52n - Sammy Waddill 20
25 - Travis Horn 20
96 - Andrew Russell 0

Mini 150 First Division Majn Event
3 - Slater Lightcap 20
27 - Luke Whitcomb 10
419 - Dakota Shockley 0 (fell, remounted)

Junior 250 Main Event
18 - Sebastian Palmese 40
1 - Colton Hicks 40
16 - Jake Isaac 10
8 - Skylar Schnakenberg 0
214 - Michael Wells 10 (engine failure)

Third Division Main Event
103 - Brent Smith
136 - George Yates
311 - Kevin Fife
211 - Steve Brown

Second Division Main Event (restarted)
182 - Rudy Laurer
131 - David Lynch
290 - Harold Hartke
153 - Brad Moreau (fell, excluded)

First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Billy Janniro 3 3 3 9
4 – Broc Nicol 3 2 2 7
5 – Max Ruml Fx 3 2 5
7 – Austin Novratil 3 3 3 9
9 – Mike Faria 2 1 0 3
10 – Gage Geist 1 2 1 4
11 – Bobby Schwartz 1 1 1 3
17 – Robbie Sauer 0 0 0 0
22 – Dalton Leedy 0 0 1 1
37 – Joey Donaldson 0 0 0 0
43 – Charlie Venegas 2 3 2 7
48 – Tyson Talkington 2 1 1 4
90 – Niall Strudwick 1 N - 1
111 – Dillon Ruml 1 2 3 6
808n – Bob Hicks 2 1 2 5

Race Results
1: Becker, Talkington, D.Ruml, Sauer
2: Janniro, Venegas, Geist, Leedy
3: Nicol, Hicks, Schwartz, Donaldson
4: (restarted) Novratil, Faria, Strudwick, M.Ruml (fell, excluded)
13: Novratil, Geist, Hicks, Sauer
14: Janniro, Becker, Faria, Donaldson
15: Venegas, D.Ruml, Schwartz, Strudwick (non-starter)
16: M.Ruml, Nicol, Talkington, Leedy
25: Novratil, Venegas, Talkington, Donaldson
26: Becker, Hicks, Leedy (fell, remounted)
27: D.Ruml, Nicol, Geist, Faria
28: Janniro, M.Ruml, Schwartz, Sauer
Semi #1: Janniro, Venegas, Nicol, Hicks
Semi #2: Novratil, D.Ruml, M.Ruml, Becker

Scratch Consolation
4 - Broc Nicol
5 - Max Ruml
22n - Luke Becker
808n - Bob Hicks

Scratch Main Event
1 - Billy Janniro
111 - Dillon Ruml
7 - Austin Novratil
43 - Charlie Venegas

JANNIRO—THIRD TRIUMPH @ INDUSTRY SPEEDWAY – By Tim Kennedy

Industry, CA., Jun. 29 – Billy “The Kid” Janniro, from Nor Cal, came, saw and conquered So Cal speedway bike rivals Wednesday at Industry Speedway. It was his third victory in four tries on his 500cc Jawa this season at The Grand Arena. The reigning and multi-time AMA Speedway National Champion won all three of his heat races for the maximum nine points. He captured his semi-final race to advance to the feature, won the pill draw for starting positions, and picked the pole. The muscular 35-year old professional racer led all four laps, as he did in all five of his races, in front of 820 spectators on “Military Appreciation Night.”

Dillon Ruml, 17, who made two of the best passes all night, finished second in the Division 1 feature on his Jawa. The younger of two talented Ruml brothers from Huntington Beach started from lane three. He passed lane four starter Austin Novratil, 23, on the outside in the final turn on lap 3 of 4. Ruml trailed Janniro by two lengths when Tom Fox waved the checkers. “On throttle” Novratil trailed the runner-up by half a length. Lane two starter Charlie Venegas, 49, ran fourth all four laps.

In the first semi-final, Janniro started on pole and was never threatened seriously. Second lane starter Venegas made an outstanding pass on the outside at the starting line to take second from June 15 feature winner Broc Nicol, who had to settle for third. Auburn's Bob Hicks started from lane three and ran fourth all the way.

The second semi had Novratil, also perfect with nine points after three heat victories, come from the outside lane next to the crash-wall and lead every lap. D. Ruml, from lane two, made the first of his sensational outside passes by dropped his older brother Max, 19, from the final feature berth by nipping him at the finish line. P. 3 Max Ruml, the June 22 feature winner, had to settle for a consolation race ride. Nicol won that money only race by half a length over Max. Luke Becker, from Brentwood, near San Francisco, again drove south in his van with mentor Janniro. The 17-year old rising star placed third, two lengths from second and three lengths ahead of P4 Bob Hicks.

Division 2: The 500cc Division 2 field had 12 riders in two rounds of heats for points. The main event went to Gardena resident Rudy Laurer, 59, on his Jawa for the second time this season in four Division 2 races. David Lynch, two heat race winner Harold Hartke, and “Big” Brad Moreau placed in P. 2-4 respectively. Hartke led the initial lap. Second-running Moreau fell hard in turn four and rolled several times. The two following riders, Laurer and Lynch, contacted Moreau's bike and also fell together. They avoided Moreau, who remained on his back for several minutes, before rising slowly and walking to the pits. The three remaining riders restarted and raced to the finish with Laurer out front all the way.

The 500cc Division 3 had eight riders present and ran two heat race rounds. Brent Smith, a 46-year old Pomona resident, rode his No. 103 GM bike to his first feature win of 2016. He started from lane four at the wall and led every lap. It was his first triumph at Industry since August 12, 2015. George Yates, Kevin Fife and Steve “Beach-ball” Brown followed.

JUNIORS: The five-lap Junior 250cc field had five riders and all started the main. Juniors champion Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese, 12, came from the 40-yard line. He led all but the first lap, which Skylar Schnakenberg, 17, led from the starting gate. Auburn's Colton Hicks, 14, came south with his dad Bob again as he did on June 8 when he won the 250cc feature. He also started from the 40-yard line based on past success and ran a close second. Jake Isaac, Schnakenberg, and lap 5 second turn fall victim Michael Wells finished in that order. Palmese has won four of five Industry mains this season.

The Junior 150cc Division 1 main winner was Slater Lightcap, 10, who led the last three laps for his third feature victory in five races. June 22 winner Luke Whitcomb, 10, placed second. Dakota Shockley, 10, led lap 1; he was second on lap 3 when he fell, remounted and finished third.

The newer mini 150cc Division 2 riders had a field of six. “Gorgeous” Gavin Geist, 10, led every lap on his SSR 150 after starting from the gate. Fast-improving Rachel Schnakenberg, 10, finished second with Jose Navarrete third. Visitor Sammy Waddill, 9, from Vallejo, took fourth, with Travis Horn, 8, fifth after the latter two riders started from the 20-yard line and could not catch the leaders in four laps. Andrew Russell was sixth.

A 50cc field of four was sure to provide a new winner with the absence of three-time 2016 winner Kristian Daniel, Jr. on vacation. “Cowboy” Levi Leutz, 7, gladly stepped into the void and won both heat races and the main event in flag-to-flag rides out front on his Yamaha 50cc. Gavin Dryfka, 5, was second on a Yamaha as well.

PIT NOTES: The second round of the four round AMA Speedway National Championship Series was Saturday, June 25 at scenic Ventura Raceway, promoted by Jim Naylor and Steve Evans. Janniro won round two as he did in round one during April at Costa Mesa. A serious crash took place during the 1,000cc sidecar feature in turn four (turn one for car racing). It involved the No. 1 Suzuki rig of champion S/C driver Joe Jones and his sidecar swing-man Tom Summers, 52, from Rialto. Both were dumped onto the track and a closely following rig ran over them. They were transported to a local hospital.

Jones was released the next day. Summers received serious injuries including bleeding in his brain, fractured facial bones and eye socket, contusions and a concussion despite using a full-face helmet. After several days in a Ventura hospital, Tom was transported by ambulance (a $3,000+ charge) to a hospital in Fontana near his home and family. A long recuperation period is anticipated.

Industry Speedway and speedway fans at The Grand Arena Wednesday took up a collection to help defray some of Tom's medical expenses. Division 1 riders went through the grandstand during one of three intermissions for track preparation. Rider Tyson Talkington, Summers cousin, had his yellow helmet filled with greenbacks. According to Kelly Inman, Industry Racing Director, more than $2,500 was collected June 29 at Industry.

Additionally, a www.GoFundMe/TomSummersMedicalFund.com was established to assist Tom's recovery expenses. By June 30, $9,605 was contributed to the fund by 96 donors. Track announcer Bruce Flanders told spectators at Industry and those watching live via the Internet that Tom was watching the June 29 Industry racing via Internet from his hospital bed.

TEAM USA RACING: It was announced this week that Billy Janniro and Luke Becker will be departing July 20 for two weeks of speedway team racing as members of Team USA in World Cup Speedway Team Championship events in Sweden and England. Other Team USA members will be Greg Hancock, Ricky Wells and Ryan Fisher who all race professionally full-time in Europe. Reserves if needed include Industry Speedway veterans Aaron Fox, Gino Manzares, Broc Nicol and Max Ruml. The first event will be July26 at Vastervik, Sweden with races in Manchester, England the following week. Other nations involved include current team champion Sweden, plus Australia and Germany.

Nice guy Robbie Sauer, 49, came south from his home in Bakersfield to race his No. 17 GM bike at Industry for the second time this year on June 29. He raced on June 15 in Division 2 to get reestablished after a three-year layoff. He last raced at Industry on July 11, 2012 and then battled the infamous San Joaquin Valley “valley fever” that saps the strength of those afflicted. He returned to 500cc Division 1 this week as one of the 16 Division 1 riders; he ran a close fourth in all three of his heats. Robbie told me he still is not 100%, but he has returned to work at UPS where he now does clerical work.

Robbie's younger brother Brad raced 500cc Division 1 (No. 21) and Brad's son Braydan raced 500cc Division 2 (No. 217) combining the numbers of his dad and uncle. I asked Robbie about the current health status of his nephew Braydan One year ago on July 1, 2015 at Industry another rider got into Braydan's bike on the backstretch during the initial lap of the main. Braydan fell hard and tumbled down the backstretch almost to the third turn. He was conscious, but said he had no feeling in his legs and remained on the ground many minutes. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Braydan was transferred later to a Bakersfield facility to recuperate. Doctors said the injury was a nerve problem that was made worse by a prior injury. Gradually feeling started to come back in his legs after a month. He used a walker and then a cane to get around. Robbie said Braydan now walks without any aids.

Braydan was scheduled to start college last fall in So Cal, but his injury prevented that. Now age 19, he has not started college yet, but hopes to do so. Braydan was a fast-improving Division 2 rider and won a June 24, 2015 Division 2 feature at Industry a week before his serious crash. He also won two other Division 2 Industry mains in July, 2013. He won in Division 2 at Pirate Speedway in 2014. Robbie said Braydan would still like to race his speedway bike in the future. However, college and racing are now on hold.

A first-time Division 1 500cc rider at Industry June 29 was Niall Strudwick, 26, from Crowborough, Sussex, England. He was running third in his first heat when he went down with a mechanical problem. He scratched his No. 90 GM bike for the night with a broken clutch. Niall raced at Perris Raceway in Riverside County during 2014-15-16. He. told me in the pits that he plans to race three more times in California. The dates are Sunday, July 3 (6 pm) on a 300 meter track inside the Santa Maria Speedway third-mile oval in speedway team racing on a program with flat track bikes also on the card. He will race on Monday,July 4 at Wheel-to-Wheel Raceway in Victorville. His final Industry Speedway race will be Wednesday, July 6. He shipped his own GM bike via British Airways air freight from England to California. The cost was 420 pounds (or about $500 some US dollars).

No. 170 Division 2 500cc rider Hayley Perrault, 18, has returned to So Cal after spending her freshman year at the University of New Mexico as a nuclear engineering major. She changed her major to Registered Nursing with an emphasis on surgical nursing. She is now attending Saddleback Junior College in Mission Viejo (southern Orange County).

Some veteran 500cc Division 1 riders have not raced in 2016. Buck Blair (No. 39) said he is taking the year off from speedway bike racing according to his Jawa owner. Buck has been racing a motorcycle engine-powered speedway midget at Wheel-to-Wheel raceway in Victorville and is the 500cc Pro Class point leader. The group has winged and non-winged speedway midgets and dirt karts and raced once at Industry last year. They will race at Industry again in 2016 on a Saturday reportedly.

Absent Billy Hamill reportedly has been doing some road racing this year. His son Kurtis is recuperating at home from a freak injury on his bike and broken bones at Costa Mesa. ... Troy McConnell, 29-year old son of Division 1 veteran Shawn McConnell, got married and has not raced since 2014. Shawn was in the Industry pits without his bike because his dad had a health problem during the week and that concern was his focus.

Popular Eddie Castro, a 56-year old Division 1 500cc winner, fought cancer last year. After chemotherapy he was strong enough and cleared to race his No. 14 Jawa at Ventura Raceway recently. He finished fourth at Ventura on Saturday, June 18 in the A-main won by Luke Becker over Broc Nicol and Gage Geist.

Wally Pankratz, an open-wheel champion and USAC Ford Focus Midget car owner, was in the pits at Industry June 29. He annually brings his yellow No. 8 and blue No. 37 FF Midgets to Industry Speedway to run demonstration hot laps on Industry's eighth-mile dirt track. Wally and former speedway bike Junior Division rider Courtney Crone drove them quickly last year at Industry during an intermission. Wally talked to Billy Janniro and asked him to drive one of his midgets at Industry along with Courtney when he brings them to Industry in late August. Billy was listening. We all will have to wait and see if Billy trades in his two-wheel ride for four wheels, even if just for a trial run.

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Quick Results from Industry Racing.

Ryan Evans