Industry Racing
The Grand Arena
Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
Speedway and Sidecars
July 17, 2019 - Industry Racing
By Ryan Evans
Former Under 21 National Champion “Mad” Max Ruml ran through the card unbeaten yet again and ran his individual race win streak to 21 on Laidlaw’s Harley Davidson Night at Industry Racing.
Max Ruml and his brother Dillon both entered the Scratch Main Event with perfect scores. Max won the draw for first choice of starting position and quickly selected gate one. Dillon then picked gate four. Tim Gomez chose gate two which left gate three to Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell.
Max Ruml made the best start and led the field into turn one while Dillon Ruml missed the start and found himself mired at the back. Gomez emerged from turn two in second and hoped to challenge for the lead. Dillon Ruml went to the outside and passed McConnell then Gomez to take second. He soon found himself closing in on his older brother. Max Ruml steadily established a comfortable lead and Dillon Ruml had to settle in behind the leader. Max Ruml crossed the finish line for his fourth consecutive Industry Racing main event victory. Dillon Ruml had to settle for second, Gomez finished third, and McConnell was fourth.
The evening began as a harbinger for the rest of the program with Max Ruml winning ahead of McConnell. Bob Hicks led the second event before Dillon Ruml used the outside to take the lead and the win. Gomez held off Northern California’s Blake Borello to win event three. Former Junior National Champion Colton Hicks ended the first round with a victory.
Max Ruml started the second round by defeating Bob Hicks for his second win. Dillon Ruml defeated fellow former Junior National Champion Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese to for his second victory. McConnell and Borello had a fantastic side-by-side four-lap battle with the veteran McConnell narrowly defeating his younger competitor. Colton Hicks used the outside to power around Gomez for the lead and the victory to finish round two.
Dillon Ruml beat Gomez and McConnell to start the round three with his third win in a row.
Max Ruml was awarded his third victory after Michael Wells lifted exiting turn four and hit the fence. He was down for a while before finally being helped from the track. The starting gate became a casualty and the rest of the evening would be comprised of green-light starts instead of the tapes.
Colton Hicks emerged victorious after a great wheel-to-wheel battle with Palmese. His victory meant he matched the perfect score of the Ruml Brothers. It was a Hicks back-to-back as father Bob matched his son’s victory in the previous event to close out the heats.
Max Ruml blazed to victory in the first semi with Gomez following him into the main event. Dillon Ruml made it four straight wins by taking the second semi while McConnell’s second place put him in the main event as well.
Palmese made a great start from gate three in the Scratch Consolation and led all the way for the win. Bob Hicks finished second, Colton Hicks was third, and Borello finished fourth.
Kevin Fiore led the Second Division Main Event until he got to turn four and drifted wide. Eloy Medellin charged up the inside and took the lead. Medellin never looked back from there and cruised to his second straight win. Fiore held on to second, Rudy Laurer finished third, and David Lynch was fourth.
Jake Myers and Brent Smith entered turn one together in the Third Division Main Event but Myers secured the lead on the back straight. Myers was looking for a main event victory for the second week in a row, but his lead was short-lived as Smith took over at the end of the first lap. Smith was mistake-free the rest of the way and was first to the checkered flag. Myers was second, David Newsham finished third, and Dennis Osmer was fourth.
Slater Lightcap led from start to finish en route to victory in the Junior 250 Main Event. Newly-crowned Junior 250 National Champion Cameron Krezman used a great outside pass to finish second, New York’s Jonny Oakden was third, and Luke Whitcomb finished fourth.
Owen Williams kept new Mini 150 National Champion Levi Leutz at bay to win the Mini 150 Main Event. Ken Matsudaira came home third and Jose Navarrete was fourth.
National Champions Joe Jones and Josh Flammia continued their dominance by winning their fourth of four Industry Racing Sidecar Main Events this season. Kevin Kale and Tracy Gallagher were second, Ace Kale and Brent Smith finished third, and Kevin Holman and Shannen Hennessey were fourth.
A best-of-three match race with Dukie Ermolenko and “Rocket” Ronnie Correy, who is vacationing in Southern California from his home in England, was also held during a very busy evening of racing. Ermolenko took the first and third races to claim the overall but both former USA International competitors impressed the onlookers with skill and speed that showed just how talented they are.
In addition to the regular program, Laidlaw’s Harley Davidson Night included Hooligan Races and street-legal Harley Races. The winner of each those two main events won a $250 gift certificate to Laidlaw’s.
The evening was marred by two big crashes. Mike Miller got into Rich Perkins, who was making his first appearance at Industry Racing, which sent the latter through the turn two fence. After being down a lengthy amount of time Perkins was transported to a nearby hospital with a likely broken lower leg. Miller was later transported after showing concussion-type symptoms. The second crash was the aforementioned crash with Wells who appeared to have a lower leg injury.
The two incidents bookended a 40-minute stretch during which only five racers were completed. Despite the long delays the 49-event program was still completed within a reasonable amount of time.
Next Wednesday’s event at Industry Racing will be the annual Bruce Flanders Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Night. The event honors the legendary announcer who has been a fixture at speedway and many other motor sports events for 50 years. Fans and racers are encouraged to wear an ugly Hawaiian shirt to celebrate a man who many consider to be the best motor sports announcer.
RESULTS
Scratch Main Event
5 - Max Ruml
3 - Dillon Ruml
30 - Tim Gomez
6 - Shawn McConnell
Scratch Consolation
259 - Sebastian Palmese
808n - Bob Hicks
24n - Colton Hicks
27n - Blake Borello
Second Division Main Event
178 - Eloy Medellin
159 - Kevin Fiore
182 - Rudy Laurer
131 - David Lynch (fell)
Third Division Main Event
103 - Brent Smith
175 - Jake Myers
111 - David Newsham
303 - Dennis Osmer
Junior 250 Main Event
28 - Slater Lightcap
26n - Cameron Krezman
309e - Jonny Oakden
27 - Luke Whitcomb
Junior 250 Consolation
117 - Wilbur Hancock
96 - Andrew Russell
7 - Justin Almon
Mini 150 Main Event
04 - Owen Williams
9 - Levi Leutz
74 - Ken Matsudaira
48 - Jose Navarrete
Mini 150 Consolation
76 - Nick Dunn
22 - Ryder Schultz
8 - Max Anderson
Sidecar Main Event
1 - Joe Jones/Josh Flammia
07 - Kevin Kale/Tracy Gallagher
357 - Ace Kale/Brent Smith
11 - Kevin Holman/Shannen Hennessey
First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
3 – Dillon Ruml 3 3 3 9
5 – Max Ruml 3 3 3 9
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 3 1 6
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 1 1 2
21 – Brad Sauer 1 0 2 3
22 – Mike Bloom 0 1 0 1
24n – Colton Hicks 3 3 3 9
27n – Blake Borello 2 2 2 6
30 – Tim Gomez 3 2 2 7
38e – Spencer Portararo 1 1 1 3
201 – Dylan Black 2 0 0 2
214 – Michael Wells 1 0 F 1
259 – Sebastian Palmese 1 2 2 5
327e – Dave Oakden F 1 0 1
808n – Bob Hicks 2 2 3 7
Race Results
1: M. Ruml, McConnell, Palmese, Bloom
2: D. Ruml, B. Hicks, Sauer, Oakden (fell)
3: Gomez, Borello, Wells, Schwartz
4: C. Hicks, Black, Portararo
11: M. Ruml, B. Hicks, Schwartz, Black
12: D. Ruml, Palmese, Portararo, Wells
13: McConnell, Borello, Oakden
14: C. Hicks, Gomez, Bloom, Sauer
22: D. Ruml, Gomez, McConnell, Black
23: (awarded) M. Ruml, Sauer, Wells (fell)
24: C. Hicks, Palmese, Schwartz, Oakden
25: B. Hicks, Borello, Portararo, Bloom
Semi #1: D. Ruml, Gomez, B. Hicks, Palmese
Semi #2: M. Ruml, McConnell, C. Hicks, Borello
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