Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
Jack Milne Cup
May 13, 2017 - Costa Mesa
Report by Ryan Evans
Photos Dorcey Wingo and Paul Flanders
2017 Jack Milne Cup - Costa Mesa, CA, USA - May 13, 2017
Gino Manzares added a prized possession to his trophy case by winning the Jack Milne Cup in the opening event of the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway’s 2017 season.
Austin Novratil, winner of last year’s event, entered the Final with a perfect score and had first gate choice. He made the surprising choice of gate two. Gage Geist quickly took gate one. National Champion Aaron Fox picked gate three and Manzares was happy to be left with gate four.
Manzares showed that his happiness was well-founded by making the best start and leading into turn one. He had to contend with Geist as they raced down the back straight. Manzares led after lap one and his lead was growing. Manzares left little doubt as he stretched his lead with each lap and was first to the checkered flag. Geist was second, Fox finished third, and Novratil was fourth.
A cutthroat format that wouldn’t have semi-finals put a bigger premium on the three rounds of heats. Novratil opened the evening with a defeat of Manzares. Fox beat Geist in event two. Dillon “Pickle” Ruml defeated Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell in the third heat. “Mad” Max Ruml beat “Fast” Eddie Castro to end round one.
Round two started with Novratil beating Castro for his second straight win. Fox made it two for two with a victory ahead of Manzares. Kurtis Hamill beat Tyson Talkington in the next heat. Geist beat Dillon Ruml to finish the second round.
Novratil remained perfect by beating Hamill to begin the third round. Geist booked his place in the Final by beating Castro. Manzares scored a vital victory over McConnell to get himself into the Final. Max Ruml closed out the heats by beating Talkington.
Harold Hartke led all four laps en route to victory in the Second Division Main Event. Chet Kohler finished second, Lawrence McNutt was third, David Lynch finished fourth, and Eloy Medellin was fifth.
Tom Bryant put together four smooth laps and was victorious in the Third Division Main Event. Dennis Osmer was second, Stewart Armas finished third, and Chris Wolfs was credited with fourth.
National Champion Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese claimed victory in the Junior 250 Main Event. Michael “Scooter” Wells finished second and “Gentleman” Jake Isaac was third.
Slater Lightcap cruised to victory in the Mini 150 Main Event with “Lightning” Luke Whitcomb finishing second and Andrew Russell getting third.
Robert Curry and Johnny Glover made gate one pay off when they took the lead at the start of the Sidecar Main Event. That lead was short-lived, though, as National Champions Joe Jones and Tom Summers charged up the inside coming out of turn four. Jones and Summers raced off into the horizon and took home the victory. Dillon Osborne and Blake Cronkrite finished second, Curry and Glover were third, and Bryan Motis and Charlie Davis finished fourth.
The Jack Milne Cup honors the 1937 World Champion who was pivotal in the creation of Costa Mesa Speedway. He helped Harry Oxley pick out and secure the location and he was a fixture at the venue until he passed away in 1995.
Results Jack Milne Cup Final (restarted)
24 - Gino Manzares
10 - Gage Geist
1 - Aaron Fox
7 - Austin Novratil (fell, remounted)
Scratch Consolation
5 - Max Ruml
3 - Dillon Ruml
41 - Kurtis Hamill
14 - Eddie Castro
Second Division Main Event
290 - Harold Hartke
202 - Chet Kohler
275n - Lawrence McNutt
131 - David Lynch
178 - Eloy Medellin
Second Division Consolation
170 – Hayley Perrault
242 – Bruce Marteney
175 – Fred Armenta
176 – Carl Gazafy
311 – Kevin Fife
Third Division Main Event
220 - Tom Bryant
303 - Dennis Osmer
100 - Stewart Armas
143 - Chris Wolfs (fell)
Junior 250 Main Event
1 - Sebastian Palmese
214 - Michael Wells
16 - Jake Isaac (fell, remounted)
Mini 150 Main Event
2 - Slater Lightcap
27 - Luke Whitcomb
96 - Andrew Russell
Sidecar Main Event (restarted)
1 - Joe Jones/Tom Summers
64 - Dillon Osborne/Blake Cronkrite
31 - Robert Curry/Johnny Glover
4 - Bryan Motis/Charlie Davis
Sidecar Consolation
911 – Stuart Glass/Jack Straw
44 – Jeff Medberry/Niki Davis
33 – Adam Duckett/Matt Fishman
13 – Kevin Holman/Ricky Smith
First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Aaron Fox 3 3 1 7
3 – Dillon Ruml 3 2 1 6
5 – Max Ruml 3 0 3 6
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 1 2 5
7 – Austin Novratil 3 3 3 9
10 – Gage Geist 2 3 3 8
14 – Eddie Castro 2 2 2 6
22 – Mike Bloom 0 1 1 2
24 – Gino Manzares 2 2 3 7
37 – Joey Donaldson 1 0 0 1
41 – Kurtis Hamill 1 3 2 6
48 – Tyson Talkington 1 2 2 5
182 – Rudy Laurer 0 0 0 0
199 – Samuel Ramirez 1 1 1 3
293 – Rick Valdez 0 0 0 0
345 – Ricky Richards 0 1 F 1
Heat Results
1: Novratil, Manzares, Hamill, Bloom
2: Fox, Geist, Talkington, Valdez
3: D. Ruml, McConnell, Donaldson, Richards (fell, remounted)
4: M. Ruml, Castro, Ramirez, Laurer (fell, remounted)
8: Novratil, Castro, Richards, Valdez
9: Fox, Manzares, Ramirez, Donaldson
10: Hamill, Talkington, McConnell, Laurer
11: Geist, D. Ruml, Bloom, M. Ruml (fell, remounted)
19: Novratil, Hamill, D. Ruml, Donaldson
20: Geist, Castro, Fox, Laurer
21: Manzares, McConnell, Bloom, Richards (fell)
22: M. Ruml, Talkington, Ramirez, Valdez
Past Jack Milne Cup Winners
2016 – Austin Novratil
2015 – Max Ruml
2014 – Billy Hamill
2013 – Billy Janniro
2012 – Billy Janniro
2011 – Mike Faria
2010 – Shawn McConnell
2009 – Shawn McConnell
2008 – Bobby Schwartz
2007 – Mike Faria
2006 – Charlie Venegas
2005 – Mike Faria
2004 – Mike Faria
2003 – Scott Brant
2002 – Scott Brant
2001 – Gary Hicks
2000 – Charlie Venegas
1999 – Gary Hicks
1998 – Bobby Schwartz
Ryan Evans
Scott Talkington with Gino and Trophy Lady
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