Industry Racing

The Grand Arena
Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California

Bruce Flanders Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Nights
July 24, 2019 - Industry Racing
By Ryan Evans

Industry Racing, CA, USA - July 24 Ryan Evans

California State Champion Dillon “Pickle” Ruml brought his brother’s winning streak to an end by winning the Scratch Main Event on Bruce Flanders Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Night at Industry Racing.

Former Under 21 National Champion “Mad” Max Ruml was riding a four main event winning streak and his undefeated evening brought his individual race winning streak to 25 as the four competitors for the Scratch Main Event chose their starting positions. After checking out gates one and four, Max Ruml chose gate two. Russell Green had the next pick and selected gate one. Dillon Ruml quickly took gate four which left Austin “All Throttle” Novratil with gate three.

Max Ruml made the best start and led the field to turn one. Concerned about his brother making an outside run, Max drifted into the cushion but Dillon was one step ahead of him. Dillon wisely got his wheels in line and cut underneath Max exiting turn two and took the lead. Dillon Ruml led through lap one but Max Ruml wasn’t surrendering his winning streak without a fight. He went to the outside and gained some ground on Dillon on lap two. Max would get close but couldn’t quite find enough traction to get by. Dillon Ruml was first to the checkered flag, Max Ruml settled for second, Green finished third, and Novratil was fourth.

Green kicked off the evening by defeating former Junior 250 National Champion Colton Hicks. Max Ruml beat Bob Hicks in event two. Dillon Ruml finished the first round with a win over Tim Gomez.

Novratil opened the second round by beating Green. Max Ruml got the better of his brother in the next event. Colton Hicks held off Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell to end round two.

The final round began with Novratil getting the advantage over Max Ruml at the start. Novratil stayed in front but Max Ruml showed determination and used the outside to stalk the leader. Max Ruml’s persistence paid off when he swept round the leader the final time through turn two, then bounced off the fence but held on for the win and Max Ruml was the recipient of a loud ovation from the appreciative crowd. Green used the outside to pass Gomez for the lead and his second win. Dillon Ruml found plenty of traction in the cushion to power around Colton Hicks to win the final heat.

Max Ruml blazed to his fourth consecutive victory in the first semi with Novratil following him into the main event. Green scored an impressive win in the second semi with Dillon Ruml’s second putting him in the main event as well.

Gomez was victorious in the Scratch Consolation with Colton Hicks getting second, Bob Hicks finishing third, and McConnell getting fourth.

Rudy Laurer led the Second Division Main Event when a crash behind him brought out the red flag. The referee determined that the race had completed enough laps and Laurer was awarded the victory. Kevin Fiore was second, Eloy Medellin finished third, and Kayle LeoGrande was credited with fourth.

Kevin “Rip” Fife, who has worked on the track staff all season, made his only on-track appearance this season pay off with a victory in the Third Division Main Event. Fife had previously announced that this would be his final competitive speedway race so his career concluded with the best possible result. Brent Smith finished second, Dennis Osmer was third, and Steve “Beach Ball” Brown finished fourth in his 2019 Industry Racing debut.

The first attempt of the Junior 250 Main Event came to a premature end. Greg Moore would banished to the penalty line for the restart. The second time the tapes went up Alex Martin led from start to finish and took the trophy back to Northern California. “Lightning” Luke Whitcomb was second, Moore finished third, and Andrew Russell finished fourth.

Nick Dunn led the five-racer Mini 150 Main Event at the start. Newly-crowned Mini 150 National Champion Levi “Cowboy” Leutz quickly blitzed through traffic and was in second by the end of lap one. Leutz went to the outside on lap two but couldn’t get around the leader. Leutz kept the pressure on through laps three and four but Dunn didn’t flinch. Leutz tried the outside on the final lap but couldn’t find the steam to take the lead. Dunn crossed the finish line first and collected his first main event victory, Leutz was second, Owen Williams finished third, Jose “Nitro” Navarrete was fourth, and Max Anderson finished fifth.

The event honored legendary motor sports announcer Bruce Flanders. He has announced speedway races for 50 years and has been the official voice of Industry Racing since speedway racing began at the facility in 2004. Flanders has announced many types of motor sports throughout the world and many consider him the best in the business. He continues to announce the Long Beach Grand Prix. He has not announced at Industry Racing this season but this unique tradition certainly carried on because the sport and the people involved in it love and respect him so much. The evening included an Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Contest that was contested during the intermission.

The next event at Industry Racing will be Heroes and Legends Night. This will have many speedway racers from the past, and a few who continue to race, in attendance. They will be greeting fans and signing autographs near the entrance of the race track. Some of the many who are scheduled to attend include former World Champion Bruce Penhall, “Wild” Bill Cody, Sonny Nutter, Dubb Ferrell, and Billy Gray.

RESULTS

Scratch Main Event
3 - Dillon Ruml
5 - Max Ruml
321 - Russell Green
7 - Austin Novratil

Scratch Consolation
30 - Tim Gomez
24n - Colton Hicks
808n - Bob Hicks
6 - Shawn McConnell (retired)

Second Division Main Event (restarted twice) (awarded)
182 - Rudy Laurer
159 - Kevin Fiore
178 - Eloy Medellin
185 - Kayle LeoGrande (fell)

Third Division Main Event
311 - Kevin Fife
103 - Brent Smith
303 - Dennis Osmer
211 - Steve Brown

Junior 250 Main Event (restarted)
30n - Alex Martin
27 - Luke Whitcomb
51n - Gregory Moore (penalty line)
96 - Andrew Russell

Mini 150 Main Event
76 - Nick Dunn 0
9 - Levi Leutz 30
04 - Owen Williams 30
48 - Jose Navarrete 20
8 - Max Anderson 0

Sidecar Main Event
64 - Dillon Osborne/Kevin Fiore
11 - Kevin Holman/Shannen Hennessey
357 - Ace Kale/Brent Smith (non starter)