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Industry Racing
The Grand Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
2017 Gumball Rally - Kids
February 26, 2017 - Industry Racing
Thanks to Ryan Evans and Tim Kennedy
Photos by Dorcey Wingo Photos and RC Jones
2017 Gumball Rally - Industry Racing, CA, USA - February 26, 2017
Colton Hicks took home the prestigious Junior 250 Gumball Rally Gumball Machine Trophy for the third consecutive year at Industry Racing.
Defending National Champion Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese trapped from gate four and led Hicks, the previously unbeaten Anthony Dion, and Cameron Krezman into turn one. Hicks found plenty of traction exiting turn two and charged under Palmese as they entered turn three and took the lead. Palmese turned in to the hunter and went after the new leader. Hicks was rock solid on the inside line and Palmese was unable to return the favor. Hicks was first to the checkered flag, Palmese settled for second, Krezman was third, and Anthony Dion finished fourth.
Kyle Cunningham kicked off the heats with a victory ahead of Landon Collins. Hicks and Sterling Martin traded the lead in event two before Hicks took the win. Krezman was victorious in the third heat with Aidan McNutt coming in second. Anthony Dion scored a big win over Palmese in event four. Alex Martin beat “Gentleman” Jake Isaac to end round one.
Round two started with Anthony Dion beating Collins for his second straight win. Isaac defeated Michael Wells in the next event. Hicks beat Dylan Wagner for his second win in a row. Palmese defeated Krezman in the next event. Sara Cords beat Alex Martin to complete the second round.
Sterling Martin passed Timmy Dion to win the first race of the third round. Krezman finished ahead of Wagner for his second victory. Palmese made it two straight with a win over Landon Norton. Hicks won his third consecutive race with Keelan Venegas getting second. Anthony Dion beat Isaac to match Hicks’s perfect score after three rounds.
Wells started the final round of heats with a win over Cords. Palmese beat Hicks in a race that would have big ramifications. Sammy Tetrault beat his Team SOS teammate McNutt in the next heat. Krezman won the penultimate heat over Isaac to tie Palmese and Hicks with 11 points. Anthony Dion closed out the heats with a victory that left him with a perfect score and a ticket straight into the Final.
Two runoffs were necessary to set the field for the Championship Round. First, a three-racer runoff was needed to determine the last two direct spots in the Final. Palmese won that and was joined in the Final by the second-placed Hicks with Krezman getting another shot in the Last Chance Race. Sterling Martin defeated Wagner and Cords, respectively, to earn the final spot in the Last Chance Race.
Krezman shook off the disappointment from his runoff by booked his place in the Final by winning the Last Chance Race. Alex Martin was second, Sterling Martin finished third, and Isaac was credited with fourth.
Only four competitors were in the Mini 150 First Division so they raced four heats to determine the order in which they would choose their respective starting positions. Slater Lightcap was the top scorer after the heats and it looked as if it would correlate to victory when he led the first lap of the Final. He had Enzo Sorani glued to his back wheel to his back wheel on lap two. Sorani was still hovering behind the leader on the third lap and he stormed under Lightcap entering turn three. Sorani was leading when the took the white flag but Lightcap went down during his effort to take the lead back. The red flag came out and the victory was awarded to Sorani. Luke Whitcomb was second, Glenn Geist finished third, and Lightcap was relegated to fourth for being the cause of the stoppage.
The first attempt to complete the Mini 150 Second Division Final ended in a heap with Jose Navarrete going down in turn three. Navarrete was able to walk away but he was excluded from the restart. Colton Nelson, who won all of his heats, completed his perfect day by putting together four perfect laps for the victory. Wilbur Hancock finished second and Harley Fisher suffered an engine failure but was still credited with third.
Owen Williams parlayed three wins in four heats to take the overall victory in the Pee Wee Modified Division. Kristian Daniel Jr. was second overall and Levi Leutz finished third overall.
Kristian Daniel Jr. won all four of his heats to claim the overall victory in the Pee Wee Stock Division. Williams, who was handed his only defeat by Kristian Daniel Jr., was second overall, and Leutz was third overall.
The Gumball Rally is a prestigious event for American youth speedway racers. It is one of the events, along with the National Championship and Silver Cup that make up the “Triple Crown”. The event was created in 1983 by John Gordon and Bill Felts and was held at Ken Maely’s Ranch in Corona, California. It disappeared in the late 1990s but was resurrected by Billy Hamill in 2003 and held at the same location. The event bounced from Perris Raceway to Pirate Speedway but has now found a permanent home at Industry Racing. The vast majority of America’s stars since this event’s inception have competed in the event and continue to support the event today.
RESULTS
Junior 250 Gumball Final
24 - Colton Hicks
1 - Sebastian Palmese
26 - Cameron Krezman
16n - Anthony Dion
Junior 250 Last Chance Race (restarted)
26 – Cameron Krezman
30 – Alex Martin
31 – Sterling Martin
16 –Jake Isaac (fell, excluded)
Mini 150 First Division Gumball Final (awarded)
22 - Enzo Sorani
27 - Luke Whitcomb
33 - Glenn Geist
2 - Slater Lightcap
Mini 150 Second Division Gumball Final (restarted)
45 - Colton Nelson
117 - Wilbur Hancock
36 - Harley Fisher (engine failure)
48 - Jose Navarrete (fell, excluded)
Pee Wee Main Stock Overall
46 - Kristian Daniel Jr.
04 - Owen Williams
3 - Levi Leutz
Pee Wee Modified Overall
04 - Owen Williams
46 - Kristian Daniel Jr.
3 - Levi Leutz
Junior 250 Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 T
1 – Sebastian Palmese 2 3 3 3 11
14 – Sara Cords Fx 3 1 2 6
14n – Dylan Wagner 1 2 2 1 6
16 – Jake Isaac 2 3 2 2 9
16n – Anthony Dion 3 3 3 3 12
17 – Timmy Dion Fx 0 2 0 2
24 – Colton Hicks 3 3 3 2 11
26 – Cameron Krezman 3 2 3 3 11
28 – Aidan McNutt 2 0 1 2 5
30 – Alex Martin 3 2 1 1 7
31 – Sterling Martin 2 1 3 F 6
35 – Kyle Cunningham 3 E - - 3
42 – Sammy Tetrault 1 1 0 3 5
43 – Keelan Venegas Fx 0 2 Fx 2
51 – Greg Moore 1 1 1 0 3
63 – Logan Hedden 0 1 0 0 1
91 – Landon Collins 2 2 0 1 5
115 – Landon Norton 0 1 1 1 3
214 – Michael Wells F 2 F 3 5
Junior 250 Heats
1: Cunningham, Collins, Moore, Wells (fell)
2: Hicks, S. Martin, Tetrault, Norton
3: (restarted twice) Krezman, McNutt, Cords (fell, excluded), T. Dion (fell, excluded)
4: A. Dion, Palmese, Wagner, Hedden
5: (restarted) A. Martin, Isaac, Venegas (fell, excluded)
12: A. Dion, Collins, Norton, T. Dion
13: Isaac, Wells, S. Martin, McNutt
14: Hicks, Wagner, Moore
15: Palmese, Krezman, Tetrault, Venegas
16: Cords, A. Martin, Hedden, Cunningham (engine failure)
23: S. Martin, T. Dion, Moore, Hedden
24: Krezman, Wagner, A. Martin, Collins
25: Palmese, Norton, Wells (fell)
26: Hicks, Venegas, McNutt
27: A. Dion, Isaac, Cords, Tetrault
34: (restarted) Wells, Cords, Wagner, Venegas (fell, excluded)
35: Palmese, Hicks, A. Martin, T. Dion
36: Tetrault, McNutt, Collins, Hedden
37: Krezman, Isaac, Norton, Moore
38: A. Dion, S. Martin (fell)
Runoff for Last Chance: S. Martin, Wagner, Cords (fell)
Runoff for Gumball Final: Palmese, Hicks, Krezman
Mini 150 1st Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 T
2 – Slater Lightcap 1 3 2 3 9
22 – Enzo Sorani 3 2 3 E 8
27 – Luke Whitcomb 2 0 1 2 5
33 – Glenn Geist 0 1 F 1 2
Mini 150 2nd Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 T
36 – Hudson Hollis E 3 2 3 8
42 – Czane Dunbar 1 E E N 1
45 – Colton Nelson 3 3 3 3 12
48 – Jose Navarrete 2 2 3 2 9
76 – Nick Dunn E E E E 0
77 – Hudson Hollis 1 1 1 2 5
96 – Andrew Russell 2 2 0 3 7
116 – Cole Ayers 1 X 1 2 4
117 – Wilbur Hancock 3 1 2 1 7
Heat Results
6: Hancock, Russell, Ayers, Dunn (engine failure)
7: Nelson, Navarrete, Dunbar, Fisher (engine failure)
17: Nelson, Navarrete, Hancock, Dunn (engine failure)
18: Fisher, Russell, Hollis, Ayers (excluded)
28: Navarrete, Fisher, Hollis, Dunn (engine failure)
29: Nelson, Hancock, Ayers, Dunbar (engine failure)
39: Nelson, Ayers, Hollis, Dunbar (engine failure)
42: Russell, Hollis, Dunn (engine failure), Dunbar (non starter)
Ryan Evans
 
Paul Flanders Photos
JUNIOR SPEEDWAY RIDERS GUMBALL RALLY @ INDUSTRY – By Tim Kennedy
Industry, CA., Feb. 26 – Junior Speedway riders participated in the annual “Kids Gumball Rally” Sunday afternoon at the eighth-mile dirt track in the Grand Arena at Industry Hills Expo Center. The non-points season opener at Industry Speedway had 47 speedway bike competitors in the five classes. About half of the riders were from Northern California. Some riders had two bikes for the pee-wee stock and modified classes. Free grandstand admission lured 204 persons, family and friends, and about 200 more persons in the pits on a partly sunny, 55-degree day with a few light sprinkles.
There were 19 riders in the Junior 250cc class, four mini 150cc first division riders, nine mini 150cc second division (less experienced) riders, seven pee-wees on modified 50cc bikes with adjusted bore and stroke engines, and 12 pee-wees on stock 50cc Honda and Yamaha bikes.
Rider ages ranged from 5 to 16. They raced for pride, Nor Cal vs. So Cal bragging rights, prizes, and coveted gumball-filled trophies for class winners. The 51 races (heats through main events) ran from 12:40 to 3:37 pm. Races were televised live on the Industry Speedway website and at the speedway on the color video screen above the third turn.
Main event winners were:
> Junior 250cc: Colton Hicks, 14, from Auburn on a GM
> Mini 150cc D-1: Enzo Sorani, 11, from Grass Valley
> Mini 150cc D-2: Colton Nelson, 9, from Auburn
> Pee-Wee Modified: Owen Williams, 9, from Costa Mesa (based on overall points)
> Pee-wee Stock: Kristian Daniel, Jr., 8, from Chatsworth
The Junior 250cc division ran a pair of run-off races with three riders in each. The first race field had three riders with six points each after four rounds of heat races. Only the race winner advanced to the last chance race. Alex Martin, 12, from Salinas, led all four laps and beat Dylan Wagner, 12, from Napa. Sara Cords, 16, from Yucaipa, was in P. 2 on lap 3 when she fell in the fourth turn. She rose quickly and pushed her bike to the infield.
The Junior 250cc class had three riders tied at 11-points after four rounds of heats compete for positions in the four rider field with high-point rider Anthony Dion, 14, from Grass valley. National 250cc 2016 champion Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese on a GM, 13, led all four laps. The Mission Viejo resident edged pressing Colton Hicks, 14, from Auburn. Cameron Krezman, 13, from Newcastle, placed third. They joined A. Dion in the final race of the day and raced for the impressive Gumball trophy.
MAINS: The 250cc four-lap feature grid had Dion on the pole. Palmese at the wall in lane four, Hicks in lane two, and Krezman in lane three. Hicks, son of 500cc D-1 expert Bob Hicks, led all four laps over pressing Palmese. Krezman and Dion followed in P. 3-4.
Event 50 was the mini 150cc D-1 final. Slater Lightcap, 11, from Huntington Beach, led the first two laps. Enzo Sorani, 11, from Grass Valley, made a determined and impressive inside pass entering the third turn and led the final two laps. Second place Lightcap fell on lap 3 at turn two and did not finish. P. 3 “Lightning” Luke Whitcomb, 11, from Anaheim, went down to avoid Lightcap. He restarted and finished second. Lightcap finished third. Glenn Geist, 10, was fourth.
The mini 150cc D-2 final went to Colton Nelson, 9, from Auburn, in a green to checkers run. Wilbur Hancock, 11-year old son of reigning Speedway World Champion Greg Hancock, finished second. Harley Fisher, 8, from England where his dad Ryan Fisher races speedway in the British League, and Jose Navarrete, 7, from Industry, were third and fourth. Leader Navarette fell on the first lap in turn four in a one bike incident and by rule was excluded from the restart.
The pee-wee modified race had seven starters on 50cc bikes. Kristian Daniel, Jr., 8, won the race by a wheel over fast-closing friend Owen Williams, 9, of Costa Mesa. However, Williams (No. 04) earned the title by three points based on overall points. He had three heat victories to second place rides by Daniel.
The pee-wee stock victory went to Daniel on his No. 46 bike after he led every lap over fellow So Cal riders Levi Lentz, 7, and Go Go Gavin Geist. Newcomer Drake Conner was fourth. Harli Facchini, 6-year old daughter of 500cc D-1 veteran Neil Facchini, of Riverside, made her first Industry appearance and finished fifth, a lap down. Gracie Janniro, 6-year old of D-1 champion Billy Janniro, made her second pee-wee start at Industry and finished fourth on the lead lap in her last race.
Neil Facchini, 32, also had two stepsons via his girl friend make their first starts at Industry. Asher Hollis, 9, rode the No. 72 in the pee-wee stock class. His brother Hudson Hollis, 8, raced the No. 77 in the mini 150cc D-2 division. Both scored points and helped step-sister Harli get acclimated to two-wheel racing. Other rookies were Czane Dunbar, 9, from Orange, in the 150 D-2 plus Deegan Walker in the pee-wee modified class.
HEAT WINS:
250cc class: (20 races)
4- Anthony Dion
3- Sebastian Palmese, Colton Hicks, Cameron Krezman
1 – Sara Cords, Jake Isaac, Alex Martin, Sterling Martin, Kyle Cunningham, Sammy Tetrault, Michael Wells.
150cc D-1 class: (4 races)
2 – Slater Lightcap, Enzo Sorani.
150cc D-2 class: (9 races)
4 – Colton Nelson
2 – Harley Fisher
1 – Jose Navarrete, Andrew Russell, Wilbur Hancock.
Pee-Wee 50cc Modified and Stock class: (7 races)
Kristian Daniel, Jr. and Owen Williams split the victories in both classes.
POINT STANDINGS:
250cc division:
12 points – Anthony Dion
11 - Sebastian Palmese, Colton Hicks, Cameron Krezman
9 - Jake Isaac
7 - Alex Martin
6 - Sara Cords, Dylan Wagner, Sterling Martin,
5 - Aidan McNutt, Sammy Tetrault, Landon Collins, Michael Wells
4 - Landon Norton
3 - Kyle Cunningham, Greg Moore
2 - Timmy Dion, Keelan Venegas
1 - Logan Hedden.
150cc D-1:
1. 22 - Enzo Sorani
2. 27 - Luke Whitcomb
3. 2 - Slater Lightcap
4. 33 - Glenn Geist
150cc D-2:
12 - Colton Nelson
9 - Jose Navarrete
8 - Harley Fisher
7 - Andrew Russell, Wilbur Hancock
5 - Hudson Hollis
4 - Cole Ayers
1 - Czane Dunbar
0 - Nick Dunn.
Pee Wee Modified:
Champion Owen Williams over Kristian Daniel, Jr. - others Levi Leutz, Gavin Geist, Ken Matsudaira, Hudson Hollis, Deegan Walker.
Pee Wee Stock:
Champion Kristian Daniel, Jr. over Owen Williams – others Levi Leutz, Conner Salazar, Gavin Geist, Jake Salazar, Jameson Hutchinson, Gracie Janniro, Harli Facchini, Asher Hollis, Ken Matsudaira, Drake Conner.
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