Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
Harley Night #1
June 1, 2019 - Costa Mesa
Report by Ryan Evans
Defending National Champion Billy “The Kid” Janniro won all five of his races en route to victory in front of a standing-room-only crowd on Harley Night at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.
Janniro’s perfect score afforded him the opportunity to pick his starting position first. Even though he has been known to make an unconventional choice, he took gate one. Max Ruml followed by choosing gate two. Dillon Ruml selected gate four which left Sammy Ramirez with gate three.
Janniro left the starting line first when the tapes went up and was followed by Max Ruml. The former Under 21 National Champion applied the pressure and searched for a way past the leader. All of his efforts were to no avail, though, as Janniro was unfazed by Max Ruml’s attack. Janniro was first to the checkered flag followed by Max Ruml, Dillon Ruml, and Sammy Ramirez.
Sammy Ramirez opened the evening with a solid win ahead of Austin Novratil. Janniro defeated Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell in event two. Dillon Ruml was victorious over Jason Ramirez in the next heat. Max Ruml completed the first round by beating Russell Green.
The earned-handicap format meant the racers would be handicapped in rounds two and three based on their finish in the previous round. “Fast” Eddie Castro started without a racer in front of him and the result was a predictable victory to begin the second round. Janniro needed all of one lap to charge through the field and win his second straight race. Former Junior 250 National Champion Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese held off Dillon Ruml to win event 11. Max Ruml chased down Michael Wells on lap three to close round two with his second consecutive victory.
The final round of heats commenced with a wild race between 62 year old Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz and 15 year old Palmese. They had a great inside-outside battle with Palmese seemingly taking the victory. However, while completing the pass for the lead, Palmese was deemed to have put two wheels on the infield and the victory was subsequently awarded to Schwartz. Janniro’s 30-yard handicap only took two laps to make up as he made it three-for-three in the win column. Jason Ramirez started in front of his brother and Dillon Ruml and stayed that way the entire way for a hard-earned win. Russell Green made a quick outside pass during the final heat and it proved effective enough to hand Max Ruml his first defeat.
The Ruml Brothers finished one-two in the first semi with Max leading Dillon into the Scratch Main Event. Janniro stormed to his fourth victory in a row in the second semi while Sammy Ramirez used a great first-turn move to catapult himself into the second transfer spot.
Rudy Laurer put together four smooth laps and was victorious in the Second Division Main Event. Mike Miller finished second, David Lynch was third, and Bruce Marteney finished fourth.
Tyler Moszer won the Third Division Main Event in just his second competitive meeting with Dennis Osmer finishing second and Dan Wensloff coming in third.
Joe Jones and Josh Flammia led from start to finish en route to their second consecutive Sidecar Main Event victory. Dillon Osborne and Ashley Gibbons were second, Kevin Kale and Josh Bell finished third, and Kevin Holman and Shannen Hennessey were fourth.
The evening was the first of several Harley Night events at Costa Mesa Speedway. In addition to speedway and sidecars, there are races involving all different types of Harleys. They include hooligans, street-legal bikes, choppers, and hand-shifters. It is always an extremely popular event and attracts a large crowd every time.
RESULTS
Scratch Main Event
1 - Billy Janniro
5 - Max Ruml
199 - Sammy Ramirez
3 - Dillon Ruml
Scratch Semi 1
5 - Max Ruml
3 - Dillon Ruml
321 - Russell Green
11 - Bobby Schwartz
Scratch Semi 2
1 - Billy Janniro
199 - Sammy Ramirez
66 - Jason Ramirez
14 - Eddie Castro
Second Division Main Event
182 - Rudy Laurer
323 - Mike Miller
131 - David Lynch
242 - Bruce Marteney (fell, remounted)
Second Division Consolation
116 - Jake Isaac
163 - Ron Davis
275 - Lawrence McNutt
153 - Brad Moreau
Third Division Main Event
327 - Tyler Moszer
303 - Dennis Osmer
169 - Dan Wensloff
Sidecar Main Event
1 - Chris Jones/Josh Flammia
64 - Dillon Osborne/Ashley Gibbons
07 - Kevin Kale/Jeremy Bell
11 - Kevin Holman/Shannen Hennessey
Sidecar Consolation
357 - Ace Kale/Mike North
911 - Stuart Glass/Jack Straw (retired)
First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Billy Janniro 3 3 3 9
3 – Dillon Ruml 3 2 2 7
5 – Max Ruml 3 3 2 8
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 1 1 4
7 – Austin Novratil 2 2 N 4
11 – Bobby Schwartz 1 1 3 5
14 – Eddie Castro 1 3 2 6
21 – Brad Sauer 0 0 0 0
66 – Jason Ramirez 2 1 3 6
118 – Rohn Zellner 0 0 2 2
199 – Sammy Ramirez 3 2 Fx 5
201 – Dylan Black 1 F R 1
214 – Michael Wells 0 2 1 3
249 – John Wilder 0 0 1 1
259 – Sebastian Palmese 1 3 X 4
321 – Russell Green 2 1 3 6
Race Results
1: S. Ramirez, Novratil, Palmese, Wells
2: Janniro, McConnell, Black, Sauer
3: D. Ruml, J. Ramirez, Schwartz, Zellner
4: M. Ruml, Green, Castro, Wilder (fell, remounted)
9: Castro [10], Novratil [20], J. Ramirez [20], Black [10] (fell)
10: Janniro [30], S. Ramirez [30], Green [20], Zellner [0]
11: Palmese [10], D. Ruml [30], McConnell [20], Wilder [0]
12: M. Ruml [30], Wells [0], Schwartz [10], Sauer [0]
17: Schwartz [10], Zellner [0], Palmese [30] (excluded), Novratil [20] (non starter)
18: Janniro [30], Castro [30], Wilder [0], Sauer [0]
19: J. Ramirez [10], D. Ruml [20], Wells [20], S. Ramirez [20] (fell, excluded)
20: Green [10], M. Ruml [30], McConnell [10], Black [0] (retired)
|
