Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
John Matherson Cup
October 5, 2019 - Costa Mesa
Report by Ryan Evans
2019 John Matherson Cup - Costa Mesa, CA, USA - October 5, 2019
National Sidecar Champions Joe Jones and Josh Flammia brought the curtain down on the 2019 Costa Mesa Speedway season by winning the prestigious John Matherson Cup.
After top-scoring in the heats, Joe Jones and Flammia wisely selected gate one as their starting position in the Final. They made it pay off when by making the best start. James “Smylie” Kinne and Joshua Bustos led the charge behind the leaders. Joe Jones and Flammia showed why they sport the number one and didn’t succumb to any pressure. Joe Jones and Flammia were first to the checkered flag, Kinne and Bustos were second, Bryan “Quickie” Motis and Dave Hancock finished third, and Chris Jones and Gino Manzares were fourth.
The evening commenced with Joe Jones and Flammia defeating Chris Jones and Manzares. Motis and Hancock were victorious in the second event over Dan Rapaport and Mike North. Kinne and Bustos ended round one by beating Ace Kale and Brent Smith.
Kevin Holman and Shannen Hennessey started round two by beating Ace Kale and Smith. Stuart Glass and Jack Straw defeated Tyson Talkington and Alfonso Marroquin in the next heat. Joe Jones and Flammia beat Chris Jones and Manzares to finish the second round.
The third round began with Chris Jones and Manzares beating Ace Kale and Smith. Kinne and Bustos handed Joe Jones and Flammia what turned out to be their only defeat in event 19. Motis and Hancock won their second straight race to end round three.
The final round of heats started with Kevin Kale and Tracy Gallagher beating Ace Kale and Smith. Kinne and Bustos beat Chris Jones and Manzares for their third heat victory. Joe Jones and Flammia defeated Motis and Hancock in the last heat.
Chris Jones and Manzares won the Last Chance to book their place in the Final. Ace Kale and Smith finished second, Holman and Hennessey were third, and Kevin Kale and Gallagher finished fourth.
Manzares, doing double duty as a speedway racer and sidecar passenger, kicked off the First Division heats by beating Jason Ramirez. “Mad” Max Ruml beat former National Champion Charlie “The Edge” Venegas in the next heat. “Fast” Eddie Castro then defeated Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell. Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese held off Tim Gomez to end the first round.
The second round started with Manzares beating Palmese for his second victory. Ruml defeated Brad Sauer for his second win. Venegas held off Gomez in the next heat. Ramirez finished round two with a victory over McConnell.
Manzares opened round three by beating McConnell for his third win on the trot. Ruml matched Manzares’s perfect score with a win ahead of Gomez. Castro beat Ramirez for his second win. Venegas concluded the heats by defeating Sauer.
Sixteen year old Palmese scored an impressive victory in the Scratch Consolation. Gomez finished second, Ramirez was third, and McConnell came home fourth.
With Ruml and Manzares tied with perfect scores a draw was necessary to determine first choice of starting position. Manzares won the draw and picked gate one with Ruml choosing gate two. A crash in turn one brought out the red flag. Ruml made the start the second time the tapes went up but had Manzares clamped to his back tire. Manzares kept the pressure on the leader in hopes of a mistake. That error would never happen and Ruml claimed the victory. Manzares settled for second, Castro finished third, and Venegas was fourth.
Mark Fillebrown made the best start in the Support Main Event and led through lap one. Tyler Moszer hovered behind the leader and stormed by him the second time on the back straight. Moszer never looked back from there and went on to victory. Fillebrown held on to second, Kevin Fiore finished third, and Andy Dix was credited with fourth place.
The John Matherson Cup honors a man who was a Sidecar National Champion and long-time sponsor of Costa Mesa Speedway as owner of Mission Motorsports. He tragically perished in a crash while on his way to the venue where he was to serve as Grand Marshall that night. The sidecar competitors cherish the trophy so much that it barely ranks behind the National Championship in importance.
The event also wrapped up the 51st season of speedway at the world famous venue.
RESULTS
John Matherson Cup Final
1 - Joe Jones/Josh Flammia
74 - Smylie Kinne/Joshua Bustos
2 - Bryan Motis/Dave Hancock
116 - Chris Jones/Gino Manzares
Sidecar B Main
116 - Chris Jones/Gino Manzares
357 - Ace Kale/Brent Smith
11 - Kevin Holman/Shannen Hennessey
07 - Kevin Kale/Tracy Gallagher
Scratch Main Event (restarted)
5 - Max Ruml
24 - Gino Manzares
14 - Eddie Castro
43 - Charlie Venegas (two-minute penalty line)
Scratch Consolation
259 - Sebastian Palmese
30 - Tim Gomez
66 - Jason Ramirez
6 - Shawn McConnell
Support Main Event
327 - Tyler Moszer
168 - Mark Fillebrown
159 - Kevin Fiore (fell, remounted)
101 - Andy Dix (two-minute exclusion)
Support Consolation
242 - Bruce Marteney
349 - Dan Eddy
175 - Jake Myers
220 - Tom Bryant (non starter)
Sidecar Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 T
1 – Joe Jones/Josh Flammia 3 3 2 3 11
2 – Bryan Motis/Dave Hancock 3 1 3 2 9
07 – Kevin Kale/Tracy Gallagher N 1 1 3 5
11 – Kevin Holman/Shannen Hennessey 0 3 2 1 6
48 – Tyson Talkington/Alfonso Marroquin 1 2 1 1 5
74 – James Kinne/Joshua Bustos 3 0 3 3 9
81 – Dan Rapaport/Mike North 2 N N N 2
116 – Chris Jones/Gino Manzares 2 2 3 2 9
357 – Ace Kale/Brent Smith 2 2 2 2 8
911 – Stuart Glass/Jack Straw 1 3 R 1 5
Heat Results
1: J. Jones/Flammia, C. Jones/Manzares, Glass/Straw
2: Motis/Hancock, Rapaport/North, Talkington/Marroquin, Holman/Hennessey
3: Kinne/Bustos, A. Kale/Smith, K. Kale/Gallagher (non starters)
11: Holman/Hennessey, A. Kale/Smith, K. Kale/Gallagher
12: Glass/Straw, Talkington/Marroquin
13: J. Jones/Flammia, C. Jones/Manzares, Motis/Hancock, Kinne/Bustos
18: C. Jones/Manzares, A. Kale/Smith, Talkington/Marroquin
19: Kinne/Bustos, J. Jones/Flammia
20: Motis/Hancock, Holman/Hennessey, K. Kale/Gallagher, Glass/Straw (retired)
28: K. Kale/Gallagher, A. Kale/Smith, Talkington/Marroquin
29: Kinne/Bustos, C. Jones/Manzares, Holman/Hennessey
30: J. Jones/Flammia, Motis/Hancock, Glass/Straw
First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
5 – Max Ruml 3 3 3 9
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 2 2 6
11 – Bobby Schwartz 1 1 1 3
14 – Eddie Castro 3 1 3 7
21 – Brad Sauer F 2 2 4
24 – Gino Manzares 3 3 3 9
30 – Tim Gomez 2 2 2 6
34 – Archie Perez 0 1 0 1
37 – Joey Donaldson 0 0 0 0
43 – Charlie Venegas 2 3 3 8
66 – Jason Ramirez 2 3 2 7
116 – Jake Isaac 1 0 1 2
178 – Eloy Medellin 1 R R 1
249 – John Wilder 1 0 0 1
259 – Sebastian Palmese 3 2 1 6
323 – Mike Miller 0 1 1 2
Heat Results
4: Manzares, Ramirez, Wilder, Donaldson
5: Ruml, Venegas, Isaac, Perez
6: Castro, McConnell, Schwartz, Miller
7: Palmese, Gomez, Medellin, Sauer (fell)
14: (restarted) Manzares, Palmese (penalty line), Castro (tape penalty), Isaac
15: Ruml, Sauer, Miller, Donaldson
16: Venegas, Gomez, Schwartz, Wilder
17: Ramirez, McConnell, Perez, Medellin (retired)
21: Manzares, McConnell, Miller, Wilder (fell, remounted)
22: Ruml, Gomez, Palmese, Perez
23: Castro, Ramirez, Schwartz, Donaldson
24: Venegas, Sauer, Isaac, Medellin (retired)
Ryan Evans
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