Industry Racing
The Grand Arena
Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
Kids Gumball Rally
February 23, 2020 - Industry Racing
By Ryan Evans
Gumball Rally - Industry Racing, CA, USA - February 23, 2020
Alex Martin, Nick Hohlbein, and Hudson Jones all took home prestigious Gumball machine trophies for winning their respective divisions for the world famous Gumball Rally at Industry Racing.
Martin’s perfect score entitled him to first choice of starting position in the Richie VanderMeeden Junior 250 Gumball Rally Final. Martin chose gate one. Wilbur Hancock, having only been defeated by Martin, then picked gate two. Slater Lightcap selected gate four which left Landon Collins with gate three.
The field entered turn one together with Martin emerging with the lead as they exited turn two. Martin hugged the inside with Lightcap trying the outside for the lead. That proved fruitless for Lightcap and he drifted back into third with Wilbur Hancock taking up the pursuit of the leader. Martin remained solid in front, but Wilbur Hancock made a mistake on lap three that allowed Lightcap to take second. The positions would remain unchanged on the last lap. Martin was first to the checkered flag, Lightcap finished second, Wilbur Hancock was third, and Collins finished fourth.
The Junior 250 heats opened up the day with Lightcap defeating Collins in event one. Wilbur Hancock led the second race but lifted exiting turn four the second time and handed the lead and victory to Martin.
Round two began with Wilbur Hancock trapping from gate four and holding off Lightcap for his first win. Martin led all the way to score his second straight win.
Martin started round three by making a great start from gate four and keeping Lightcap at bay to secure his third consecutive victory. Wilbur Hancock earned his second straight win ahead of Charlie Trana.
The final round started with Wilbur Hancock defeating Dylan Wagner for his third win which brought his point total to 11. Martin completed his heat tally with a perfect 12 points by roaring to his fourth win. Lightcap won the last heat, giving him 10 points and Collins’s second place made his total seven. Both racers earned their place into the Final.
There was a four-way tie at 10 points after the Mini 150 heats were completed. It was simple to figure out who was competing in the Final, but a series of tie-breakers determined the order of gate choice. Hohlbein earned the first gate choice and took gate one. Jose “Nitro” Navarrete then picked gate two. Colton Nelson chose gate three which left Mini 150 National Champion Levi Leutz with gate four.
Hohlbein made the best start and led into turn one. Nelson was second as they raced down the back straight and charged after the leader with Leutz and Navarrete behind. Hohlbein held the lead after the first lap but the racers behind him weren’t giving up. The leader was unfazed by the pack behind him and he led to the finish line. Nelson was second, Leutz finished third, and Navarrete was fourth.
Round one for the Mini 150 division started with Hohlbein defeating Nelson and Navarrete. Leutz slipped past Ken Matsudaira on the second lap to win the next heat. Owen Williams finished the first round by beating Max Anderson.
Navarrete started the second round by beating Leutz. Nelson defeated Williams in the next heat. Hohlbein made it two wins in a row with a win over Jameson Ferris.
Round three began with Navarrete making it two straight wins by holding off Nelson. Leutz beat Williams and Hohlbein for his second win and shook up the point standings. Ferris beat Nick Dunn to end the third round and it put six racers within two points at the top of the score chart.
The last round opened with Navarrete taking his third straight win by defeating Ryder Schultz. Matsudaira led the penultimate heat for two laps before Hohlbein took the lead and a key victory to put himself in the Final and earn first gate choice. Nelson won the final heat ahead of Leutz and Jamison Hutchinson to create the four-way tie at the top.
The Pee Wee Gumball Final racers came to the tapes after four eight-racer heats that had a pattern to them. Duke Makarevich won every heat, Hudson Jones was second in every heat, Solomon Stern was third in every heat, and Karl Hancock had finished fourth in three of the four heats. The heats weren’t without drama, however, as Makarevich and Jones had battled handlebar-to-handlebar in every heats and providing everyone with some thrilling racing.
Jones made the start with his three competitors lurking behind him. Stern led the chase after the leader but Makarevich was charging hard. Makarevich relieved Stern of second and set his sights on Jones. He had passed him in the heats but the gap was much larger this time. As they took the white flag the lead was shrinking. Jones’s lead proved to be insurmountable, though, and the four year old was victorious in the race that counted the most. Makarevich settled for second, Stern finished third, and Karl Hancock was fourth.
The Gumball Rally is a prestigious event for American youth speedway racers. It is one of the events, along with the National Championship and Silver Cup, that make up the “Triple Crown”. The event was created in 1983 by John Gordon and Bill Felts and was held at Ken Maely’s Ranch in Corona, California. It disappeared in the late 1990s but was resurrected by Billy Hamill in 2003 and held at the same location. The event bounced from Perris Raceway to Pirate Speedway but has now found a permanent home at Industry Racing. The vast majority of America’s stars since this event’s inception have competed in the event and continue to support the event today.
RESULTS
Richie VanderMeeden Junior 250 Gumball Rally Final
30 – Alex Martin
28 – Slater Lightcap
117 – Wilbur Hancock
91 – Landon Collins
Mini 150 Gumball Rally Final
3 – Nick Hohlbein
45 – Colton Nelson
1 – Levi Leutz
48 – Jose Navarrete
Pee Wee Gumball Rally Final
15 – Hudson Jones
65 – Duke Makarevich
55 – Solomon Stern
17 – Karl Hancock
Junior 250 Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 T
7 – Justin Almon 0 0 1 1 2
14 – Dylan Wagner 0 2 1 2 5
28 – Slater Lightcap 3 2 2 3 10
30 – Alex Martin 3 3 3 3 12
66 – Charlie Trana 1 1 2 1 5
91 – Landon Collins 2 1 2 2 7
96 – Andrew Russell 1 0 1 0 2
117 – Wilbur Hancock 2 3 3 3 11
123 – Catherine Moore 0 0 0 0 0
250 Heat Results
1: Lightcap, Collins, Trana, Wagner
2: Martin, Hancock, Russell, Almon
7: Hancock, Lightcap, Trana, Russell
8: Martin, Wagner, Collins, Moore
13: Martin, Lightcap, Russell, Moore
14: Hancock, Trana, Wagner, Almon
19: Hancock, Wagner, Almon, Moore
20: Martin, Collins, Trana, Russell
25: Lightcap, Collins, Almon, Moore
Mini 150 Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 T
1 – Levi Leutz 3 2 3 2 10
3 – Nick Hohlbein 3 3 1 3 10
04 – Owen Williams 3 2 2 1 8
8 – Max Anderson 2 1 1 0 4
13 – Jamison Hutchinson 1 2 3 1 7
22 – Ryder Schultz 0 1 0 2 3
45 – Colton Nelson 2 3 2 3 10
48 – Jose Navarrete 1 3 3 3 10
74 – Ken Matsudaira 2 1 1 2 6
76 – Nick Dunn 1 0 2 0 3
119 – Caden Cavrikas 0 0 0 R 0
Heat Results
3: Hohlbein, Nelson, Navarrete, Schultz
4: Leutz, Matsudaira, Ferris, Cavrikas
5: Williams, Anderson, Dunn
9: Navarrete, Leutz, Anderson
10: Nelson, Williams, Matsudaira, Cavrikas
11: Hohlbein, Ferris, Schultz, Dunn
15: Navarrete, Nelson, Matsudaira
16: Leutz, Williams, Hohlbein, Cavrikas
17: Ferris, Dunn, Anderson, Schultz
21: Navarrete, Schultz, Cavrikas (retired)
22: Hohlbein, Matsudaira, Williams, Dunn
23: Nelson, Leutz, Ferris, Anderson
Pee Wee Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 T
8 – Rosie Russell 1 1 N 1 3
10 – Bear Brill 3 2 3 3 11
15 – Hudson Jones 7 7 7 7 28
23 – Jenson Horn 4 5 4 4 17
24 – Ryder Manzares 2 3 2 2 9
55 – Solomon Stern 6 6 6 6 24
65 – Duke Makarevich 8 8 8 8 32
Ryan Evans
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