Costa Mesa Speedway

Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California

Speedway, Sidecar, Juniors
June 8, 2019 - Costa Mesa
Report by Ryan Evans

National Speedway Champion Billy “The Kid” Janniro won the Scratch Main Event for the second straight week at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.

Gino Manzares, making his first 2019 appearance at Costa Mesa Speedway lined up in gate one while the three riders lined up to his right had all made the previous two main events held at the track this season. “Mad” Max Ruml lined up in gate two, Dillon “Pickle” Ruml was in gate three, and Janniro was in gate four.

The field went into turn one in tight formation after the tapes went up. They were still bunched together on the back straight but Janniro, so determined that bouncing off the wall couldn’t slow him, used the outside to take the lead into turn three. He used the cushion through turn four to grab a firm hold of the lead at the end of the first lap. Max Ruml emerged from the pack in second and tried to chase down the leader. He couldn’t gain any ground and Janniro raced away with his second consecutive victory. Max Ruml came in second, Dillon Ruml finished third, and Manzares was fourth.

The evening commenced with Max Ruml starting fast from gate four to win ahead of Jason Ramirez. Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell defeated “Fast” Eddie Castro in event two. Manzares was victorious in event three with Sammy Ramirez getting second. Dillon Ruml and Russell Green, respectively, relegated Janniro to an uncharacteristic third place to end round one.

Round two began with Green holding off McConnell for the win. Max Ruml made it two straight wins by defeating Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz. Sammy Ramirez scored a win over Dillon Ruml in the next event. Janniro found his winning stride by beating Manzares tom finish the second round.

The final round of heats opened with Manzares taking his second win at the expense of Jason Ramirez. Dillon Ruml beat Green for his second victory. Max Ruml made it three for three with a triumph over Sammy Ramirez. Janniro brought the heats to a close by defeating McConnell for his second straight win.

The first semi featured a fantastic side-by-side battle between Dillon Ruml and Gino Manzares. They remained in lock step for two laps before Manzares’s outside line gave him the lead and the win. Dillon Ruml finished second to join Manzares in the Scratch Main Event. Max Ruml and Janniro had their own side-by-side battle in the second semi for the first two laps. Just as in the previous semi the outside proved to be the better line and Janniro benefited and rode it to victory. Max Ruml held on to second to also transfer to the main.

Russell Green made gate one pay off by jumping into the lead and fending off his competitors to win the Scratch Consolation. Sammy Ramirez was second, Jason Ramirez finished third, and McConnell was fourth.

Dylan Black led the first two laps of the Second Division Main Event and victory appeared to be in his grasp. However, he went too hot into turn three the third time and slid off. Mike Miller benefited from the mistake and led the last lap for the victory. Kevin Fiore finished second, Joey Donaldson was third, and a disappointed Black was credited with fourth.

Dennis Osmer led all four laps en route to victory in the Third Division Main Event. Dan Wensloff finished second, Andy Dix was third, and Jake Myers was credited with fourth.

Northern California’s Kyle Cunningham won both of his heats and took home the victory in the Junior 250 Main Event. Slater Lightcap finished second, Dylan Wagner was third, and Wilbur Hancock finished fourth.

Owen Williams put together four smooth laps and won the Mini 150 Main Event. Levi “The Cowboy” Leutz was second, Ken Matsudaira finished third, and Jose Navarrete was fourth.

After enduring two restarts, James Kinne and Joshua Bustos scored a very impressive victory in the Sidecar Main Event. Dillon Osborne and Ashley Gibbons were second, Ace Kale and Jonathan Curry finished third, and National Champions Joe Jones and Josh Flammia were fourth.

Costa Mesa Speedway will take a five-week hiatus and will return with three events on the opening weekend of the Orange County Fair. Friday, July 12 Freestyle Motocross and Sidecars are competing on the opening night of the fair. It will be Freestyle Motocross and Speedway the next night. Then the 47th Orange County Fair Derby will take place as a rare Sunday Night event on July 14. Janniro is the defending champion and has won the coveted Bronze Hat Trophy three times. Other former champions who will be competing that night will be Schwartz (five wins), McConnell (two wins), Aaron Fox (two wins), Castro (one win), and Max Ruml (one win).


RESULTS

Scratch Main Event
1 - Billy Janniro
5 - Max Ruml
3 - Dillon Ruml
24 - Gino Manzares

Scratch Consolation
321 - Russell Green
199 - Sammy Ramirez
66 - Jason Ramirez
6 - Shawn McConnell (retired)

Second Division Main Event
323 - Mike Miller
159 - Kevin Fiore
37 - Joey Donaldson
201 - Dylan Black (fell)

Second Division Consolation
275 - Lawrence McNutt
178 - Eloy Medellin
131 - David Lynch
185 - Kayle LeoGrande (fell, remounted)

Third Division Main Event
303 - Dennis Osmer
169 - Dan Wensloff
101 - Andy Dix (retired)
175 - Jake Myers (non starter)

Junior 250 Main Event
35 - Kyle Cunningham
28 - Slater Lightcap
14 - Dylan Wagner
117 - Wilbur Hancock

Junior 250 Consolation (restarted)
28n - Aidan McNutt
96 - Andrew Russell
7 - Justin Almon (non starter, restart)
91 - Landon Collins (non starter, restart)

Mini 150 Main Event (restarted)
04 - Owen Williams
9 - Levi Leutz
74 - Ken Matsudaira
48 - Jose Navarrete (penalty line) (engine failure)

Mini 150 Consolation
22 - Ryder Schultz
8 - Max Anderson

Sidecar Main Event (restarted twice)
74 - James Kinne/Joshua Bustos
64 - Dillon Osborne/Ashley Gibbons
357 - Ace Kale/Jonathan Curry
1 - Joe Jones/Josh Flammia (retired)

Sidecar Consolation
911 - Stuart Glass/Jack Straw
07 - Kevin Kale/Jeremy Bell
11 - Kevin Holman/Shannen Hennessey
31 - Robert Curry/Laurie Curry

First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Billy Janniro 1 3 3 7
3 – Dillon Ruml 3 2 3 8
5 – Max Ruml 3 3 3 9
6 – Shawn McConnell 3 2 2 7
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 2 1 3
14 – Eddie Castro 2 1 1 4
21 – Brad Sauer 1 1 0 2.
24 – Gino Manzares 3 2 3 8
66 – Jason Ramirez 2 1 2 5
116 – Jake Isaac 1 0 0 1
118 – Rohn Zellner 0 0 0 0
182 – Rudy Laurer 0 0 0 0
199 – Sammy Ramirez 2 3 2 7
214 – Michael Wells 1 1 1 3
249 – John Wilder 0 Nr 1 1
321 – Russell Green 2 3 2 7

Heat Results
1: M. Ruml, J. Ramirez, Wells, Zellner
2: McConnell, Castro, Isaac, Laurer
3: Manzares, S. Ramirez, Sauer, Wilder
4: D. Ruml, Green, Janniro, Schwartz
10: (restarted) Green, McConnell, Wells, Wilder (non starter, restart)
11: M. Ruml, Schwartz, Sauer, Laurer
12: S. Ramirez, D. Ruml (tape penalty), J. Ramirez, Isaac
13: Janniro, Manzares, Castro, Zellner
18: Manzares, J. Ramirez, Wells, Sauer
19: D. Ruml, Green, Castro, Laurer
20: M. Ruml, S. Ramirez, Wilder, Zellner
21: Janniro, McConnell, Schwartz, Isaac
Semi #1: Manzares, D. Ruml, Green, S. Ramirez (fell, remounted)
Semi #2: Janniro, M. Ruml, McConnell, J. Ramirez