American Speedway

Industry Racing

2016 California Results Page

Carol Perez

SpeedwayBikes.Com

Industry Racing

The Grand Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California

Speedway
June 21, 2017 - Industry Racing
Thanks to Ryan Evans, Paul Flanders and Tim Kennedy
RC Jones Photo

Industry Racing, CA, USA - June 21

Former Under 21 National Champion “Mad” Max Ruml turned in a flawless performance and captured his second Industry Racing Main Event of the season.

Ruml had first choice of gate position and picked gate one. Aaron Fox chose gate four. Northern California’s Bob Hicks selected gate two which left Tim Gomez with gate three. Gomez usually spends his evenings as Dillon Ruml’s mechanic but with his racer in Europe for the Speedway World Cup he decided to throw his leg over the bike for a few evenings.

Ruml was first off the starting line and entered turn one with the advantage. Fox chased after the leader through the first corner and on the back straight but was unsuccessful in forcing a mistake. Fox hounded the leader the entire way but Ruml never turned a wheel wrong and was first to the checkered flag. Hicks finished third and Gomez was fourth.

The evening opened with Hicks leading race one before falling in turn four and forcing a restart. Fox won the restart with Tyson Talkington getting second. Ruml was victorious in event two with Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz finishing second. Gage Geist ended round one with a victory while second-placed Mike “Spiderman” Bloom saw his evening end with an engine failure after crossing the finish line.

Fox began round two with a win over Geist. Hicks held off Gomez to win the next heat. Ruml completed the second round by defeating Talkington.

Geist started the final round of heats by beating Hicks. Gomez scored an impressive win over Talkington in the penultimate heat. Ruml and Fox had a great inside-outside battle throughout the race with Ruml inching ahead for the win.

Ruml cruised to the victory in the first semi while Gomez used the outside to take second transfer to the main as well. Fox won the second semi and Hicks made a great sweep around the outside in turn one to secure second.

Geist led the Scratch Consolation from start to finish with Talkington finishing second, Shaun Harmatiuk getting third, and Brad Sauer coming in fourth.

Rick “The Rage” Valdez led the Second Division Main Event through turn one but drifted a little wide on the exit of turn two. Eloy Medellin charged through the gap left by the leader and they entered turn three side-by-side. Medellin surged ahead at the end of lap one but Valdez didn’t go away. He made the cushion work and stayed on Medellin’s outside shoulder through lap two. The battle ended there as Medellin secured the lead as they began the third lap. Medellin led the rest of the way for the win, Valdez had to settle for second, Rudy Laurer was third, and Bruce Marteney finished fourth.

Kevin Fife led all four laps en route to victory in the Third Division Main Event. Mike Miller was second, George Yates finished third, and Kevin Fiore was fourth.

The first start of the Junior 250 Main Event ended in turn one with National Champion Sebastian Palmese on the ground. Palmese made the most of his second chance by grabbing the early lead on the restart. Colton Hicks chased after the leader the entire way but Palmese was in control and took home the victory. Jake Isaac finished third, Sara Cords was fourth, and Michael Wells finished fifth.

The Mini 150 Main Event required three starts to complete. Jose Navarrete kept his cool through the red flags as well as from the competitors behind him and was victorious. Glenn Geist was finished second, Luke Whitcomb was third, Andrew Russell finished fourth, and Levi Leutz was credited with fifth.

Conner Salazar led the Pee Wee Main Event for two and a half laps before Ken Matsudaira took over the lead. Owen Williams slipped past Salazar as well but was unable to mount a challenge for the lead. Matsudaira captured the victory, Williams was second, Salazar finished third, Dakota Black was fourth, and debutante Penny Hall finished fifth.

Next week’s event is Military Appreciation Night and will have all divisions of speedway as well as the sidecars.

RESULTS

Pee Wee Main Event
74 - Ken Matsudaira
04 - Owen Williams
5 - Conner Salazar
503 - Dakota Black
313 - Penny Hall

Mini 150 Main Event (restarted twice)
48 - Jose Navarrete 10
33 - Glenn Geist 20
27 - Luke Whitcomb 20
96 - Andrew Russell 10 (penalty line)
9 - Levi Leutz 0 (non starter, restart)

Junior 250 Main Event (restarted)
1 - Sebastian Palmese
24n - Colton Hicks
16 - Jake Isaac
14 - Sara Cords
214 - Michael Wells 20

Third Division Main Event
311 - Kevin Fife
323 - Mike Miller
136 - George Yates
159 - Kevin Fiore (fell, remounted)

Second Division Main Event
178 - Eloy Medellin
293 - Rick Valdez
182 - Rudy Laurer
242 - Bruce Marteney

First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
5 – Max Ruml 3 3 3 9
7 – Austin Novratil M - - 0
10 – Gage Geist 3 2 3 8
11 – Bobby Schwartz 2 0 0 2
21 – Brad Sauer 1 1 1 3
22 – Mike Bloom 2 - - 2
30 – Tim Gomez Fx 3 2 5
46 – Aaron Fox 3 3 2 8
48 – Tyson Talkington 2 2 2 6
139 – Shaun Harmatiuk 1 1 1 3
199 – Samuel Ramirez 1 1 Fx 2
808n – Bob Hicks Fx 3 2 5

Heat Results
1: (restarted) Fox, Talkington, Ramirez (fell, remounted), Hicks (fell, excluded)
2: (restarted) Ruml, Schwartz, Sauer, Gomez (fell, excluded)
3: Geist, Bloom, Harmatiuk, Novratil (two-minute exclusion)
9: Fox, Geist, Ramirez, Schwartz
10: Hicks, Gomez, Harmatiuk (fell, remounted)
11: Ruml, Talkington, Sauer
17: Geist, Hicks, Sauer, Schwartz
18: (restarted) Gomez, Talkington, Ramirez (fell, excluded)
19: Ruml, Fox, Harmatiuk
Semi #1: Ruml, Gomez, Talkington, Sauer
Semi #2: Fox, Hicks, Geist, Harmatiuk

Scratch Consolation
10 - Gage Geist
48 - Tyson Talkington
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk
21 - Brad Sauer

Scratch Main Event
5 - Max Ruml
46 - Aaron Fox
808n - Bob Hicks
30 - Tim Gomez

Ryan Evans
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	Paul Flanders Photos

Max Ruml takes the main event win.	The main event at the starting gate. Max Ruml on the pole. Bob Hicks in two. Tim Gomez in three. Aaron Fox in four.	Ken Matsudaira won the Pee Wee class. Jose Navarrete won the 150cc Mini Speedway main.

Eloy Medellin won the second division main. Kevin Fife took the win in third division.	Sebastian Palmese grabbed the trophy for the 250cc Juniors.	Dillon Ruml took the night off from racing because he was leaving for England for the Speedway World Cup the next day.

MAX RUML WINS SECOND MAIN @ INDUSTRY – By Tim Kennedy

Industry, CA., Jun. 21 – Max Ruml. 20, won his second AMA Speedway bike main event Wednesday in week four of 14 at Industry Speedway. He switched from the Jawa he rode to victory on June 7. This week he used his 500cc GM (Giuseppe Marzatto of Italy). The Grand Arena at Industry Hills Expo Center had 710 spectators enter through the front gate and 89 more through the pit gate to watch 33 events of multi-division speedway bike racing only. Sidecars will return next Wednesday.

There were 14 first division riders present. Two riders—Austin Novratil and Mike Bloom—blew their engines. Austin did not compete and Mike raced in only one heat. Four usual 500cc D-1 riders were absent this week. Broc Nicol, Gino Manzares, Dillon Ruml and Luke Becker, the US National first round winner at Ventura Raceway last Saturday, are members of Team USA in the World Team Cup Championship. They are in Europe for those upcoming events.

“Mad” Max was the high-point competitor with a perfect nine points after three rounds of heat races. He started on the outside next to the crash-wall and led all four laps in his semi-final event. As high-point rider, he had lane choice and selected the inside (pole) position for the feature. Aaron Fox used the pole to lead all four laps in the other semi-final and chose the outside lane for the feature. That was just the opposite from their semi-final starting spots.

At the start, inside-running Ruml and outside-running Fox were even in the second turn. Ruml pulled away leaving turn two and led all four circuits. Fox continued pressing to the finish and trailed by two lengths. Bob Hicks, from Auburn, came from lane two and ran third all four laps. He trailed the runner-up by four lengths. Tim Gomez started from lane three and ran fourth every lap; he trailed Hicks by four lengths. Racing concluded at 9:32 pm, earliest at Industry in recent memory.

Gomez finished second to Ruml in the first semi-final race. Tyson Talkington and Brad Sauer trailed in P. 3-4. Hicks trailed Fox in the second semi and edged challenging Gage Geist for the final ticket to the feature. Shaun Harmatiuk placed fourth. Fox and Geist tied at eight points in heat racing. Sauer and Harmatiuk tied for seventh place with three points each and made the top eight in points. So they advanced to the two semi-mains.

SUPPORT DIVISIONS: Eloy Medellin, a 47-year old former US Marine, started from pole position and led every lap of the 500cc D-2 main on his lay-down, long-stroke Jawa. It was his second consecutive victory at Industry. Rick Valdez, Rudy Laurer and Bruce Marteney followed.

Kevin Fife, 47, also started from pole position and led every lap en-route to his 500cc D-3 feature for newer riders. Mike Miller, the June 14 D-3 winner, followed closely. George Yates and newcomer Kevin Fiore took third and fourth. The D-3 division now has three winners in three races.

JUNIORS: The five-rider Junior 250cc feature went to 2016 AMA Junior National Champion Sebastian Palmese, 13. He fell on the first lap in turn one with Sara Cords, 17, also hitting the dirt. Both made the complete restart. Palmese, the June 7 Industry winner, led every lap over June 14 winner and Auburn resident Carson Hicks, 15. Jake Isaac, Cords in pink-leathers, and Michael Wells finished third through fifth.

Jose Navarrete, 7, gave himself an early birthday present. He would turn eight Saturday and started from the 10-yard line in a five-rider handicapped start for the 5-lap 150cc feature. He led every lap. Glenn Geist and Luke Whitcomb started 20-yards from the gate and finished second and third. Gate starter Andrew Russell fell in turn four, remounted and placed fourth. Levi Leutz stalled at the gate on the original start. He was in P. 4 on lap 3 when he fell in the second turn and went to the infield.

PEE-WEES: The five rider 50cc pee-wee division main event went to Ken Matsudaira, 6, for the second week in a row. He led the final three laps after passing early leader Conner Salazar. Past winner Owen Williams, from the 20-yard line, also passed Salazar and was a close second when starter Tom Fox waved the checkered flag. Two girls in their first season finished fourth and fifth. P. 4 Dakota Black, 6, finished on the lead lap in her two heats and the main.

Penny Hall, 4, wanted to race after seeing a pee-wee event. Her family bought a used Yamaha 50 and she rode her first laps at Industry. The shy youngster from Monrovia was lapped on her first lap by the leaders in her two heat races and the main event. However, she stayed next to the infield and upright in each race. She ran to mom smiling after her first race. Penny turned four three months ago on March 26 and is undoubtedly the youngest speedway racer on earth. She uses No. 313 for the month and year of her birth.

PIT NOTES: AMA flat track great Sammy Tanner, of Fontana, received a telephone call Wednesday, June 21 and learned that 1960-70s AMA TT rider Skip Van Leeuwen (12/20/38-6/21/17) had died from cancer that morning. Skip, a then Bellflower resident, started racing Triumphs in 1962. He raced right/left turn steeplechase (TT) races on a No. 59 Triumph. He won four AMA National TTs from 1967-69, including two at his home track—Ascot Park in Gardena. He also raced in the Daytona Beach 200 and other road races.

Skip was best friends with fellow AMA Pros the late Dick Hammer (No. 16) and “the Flyin' Flea” Tanner, now 78. Skip retired from racing in 1972 to operate his successful motorcycle accessories business. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. Skip was a participant at the annual Industry Speedway “Legends & Heroes Night” and each year signed autographs for fans with other motorcycle greats. That event will be August 2 this year. Details for his funeral on Saturday, June 24 were being arranged by his family.

D-1 500cc veteran Brad Sauer, 47, from Bakersfield, raced for the third time this season at Industry. The Coors salesman scored three points with third place rides in his three heats. He finished third and Bobby Schwartz fourth in round three (event 17) and that one point was the difference in making a semi-final over “Boogaloo” Schwartz, who scored two points in his three rides.

Brad said his son Braden, who was seriously injured in a backstretch fall in a July 1, 2015 race at Industry Speedway, is now back to normal. He recovered from partial paralysis of his legs for the second time after a racing accident. Braden, 20, had won a D-2 500cc main event at Industry one week prior to his serious injury. He seemed destined for elevation to D-1 status. Brad said Braden is now living and working in Ventura and rides, but does not race any longer.

Industry Speedway announcer Bruce Flanders was absent for the second week in a row. He also missed his Saturday, June 17 announcing duties at Irwindale Speedway. Tommy Mason handled the mic at Irwindale in Bruce's absence. Everyone wishes Bruce, an ex-speedway bike racer himself, a speedy return to good health. Terry “Ike” Clanton, the Costa Mesa Speedway announcer, ably filled in for Bruce at Industry for the second week. Ike is a distant relative of the Clanton brothers, who had the famous 1881 gunfight with Wyatt Earp and his brothers and Doc Holiday at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.

Dillon Ruml was present June 21 in the Industry pits to watch Max race but he did not race. Ike interviewed him. The 18-year old June 14 D-1 feature winner had an early flight June 22 to Europe to join the rest of Team USA. Other team riders flew out Sunday, June 18 after racing in Ventura Saturday night.

An extended family was among the new paying spectators in the Industry Speedway grandstands this week. IHOP Restaurant in Covina waitress Jennifer and her six-month old son Thomas, plus her dad and mom and other family members sat near turn one. It was their first time at Industry Speedway, an annual June through August speedway motorcycle racing venue since 2003. They said they really loved the racing and will return soon for more speedway racing action.

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