Industry Hills Speedway
The Grand Arena
Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
45th California State Speedway Championship
July 23, 2022 - Industry Hills Speedway
Results and Photo By Ryan Evans
The California State Speedway Championship Final at the tapes (inside - outside):
Aaron Fox, Max Ruml, Austin Novratil, Billy Janniro. The finish was Ruml, Fox, Novratil, Janniro.
The California State Speedway Championship
Presented by Barry Weiss
“Mad” Max Ruml continued his dominant 2022 season by winning his third California State Championship with a stellar performance in front of a large crowd at Industry Hills Speedway.
Lined up at the tapes for the California State Championship Final were Aaron Fox in gate one, Ruml in gate two, Austin “All Throttle” Novratil, and Billy “The Kid” Janniro in gate four. Janniro was seeking his sixth title, which would tie him with the legendary Bast Brothers, Mike and Steve. Fox and Novratil were both attempting to win the title for the first time.
Ruml was out of the blocks first when the tapes went up and went to the inside line in the first bend. Janniro swept around the outside in hopes of finding enough traction to propel himself around the current AMA Speedway National Champion on the back straight. Those hopes were dashed as Ruml was in control as they entered turn three. Fox and Novratil both clung to the inside behind the leader and Janniro began drifting back. Ruml didn’t turn a wheel wrong the rest of the way and collected his sixth win of the night along with the title. Fox finished second, Novratil was third, Janniro finished fourth.
Ruml’s victory makes him the seventh racer to win at least three California State Championships. In addition to the Bast Brothers’ six triumphs apiece and Janniro’s five titles, Mike Faria, Steve Lucero, and Charlie Venegas have each won four.
Northern California’s Blake Borello raised the curtain on the evening with a victory over fellow Northern California racer Tyler Warren and two-time California State Champion Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz. Ruml began his evening by defeating Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell in event two. Janniro opened his account with a win over Novratil in event three. Fox got the best start in event four but Manzares used the cushion to take the lead on the back straight and went on to victory.
Manzares came right back to open the second round with a win over “Fast” Eddie Castro. Tim Gomez led the next event at the start but Borello used the outside dirt to take the lead and his second straight win. The next event brought Janniro, Fox and Ruml to the tapes. Fox led for nearly two laps but Janniro charged up the inside to take the lead. Ruml got himself into second but couldn’t find a way past Janniro who took his second straight win. It was Ruml’s first defeat this season in a race at Industry Hills in which he didn’t incur a tape penalty or suffer an engine failure. McConnell led event 10 into turn one but a mechanical failure brought him to a halt in turn two. Warren took advantage and raced away with the victory.
Round three began with Janniro earning his third victory in as many races ahead of Rees Todd. Novratil and Borello battled bar-to-bar before Novratil secured the lead and then his first victory of the night. McConnell quickly recovered from his previous race to take a solid victory over Gomez. Manzares got the drop on the field and led event 16 for two laps before Ruml roared around the outside at the halfway point and took his second win of the night.
Ruml started the fourth round with his third victory ahead of Novratil. Manzares led the next race for a lap before being victimized again by an outside pass. This time it was Janniro who took the lead and held it for his fourth straight victory. Louis Mersaroli, competing at Industry Hills for the first time, led event 21 into turn one but Under 21 National Champion Slater Lightcap slipped by him as they headed down the back straight. Mersaroli then went to the outside and used the dirt to take the lead back. He led the rest of the way for the win. Fox trapped from the outside in event 22 to finish round four with his first win.
Fox opened the final round of heats with a victory ahead of Lightcap. Ruml used the outside to pass Castro and collected his fourth victory. Novratil beat Manzares and Mersaroli in the penultimate heat for his second victory. Janniro used the outside again to take the lead from Gomez and finish the heats with a perfect score. Gomez’s second place and Warren’s third still gave them enough points to make the semis.
Fox trapped from the outside in the first semi and led Janniro as they raced down the back straight. Janniro appeared to think about an outside attack for the lead but settled into second since he had Manzares right on his back tire. Fox and Janniro moved on to the Final while Manzares and Warren for finished for the evening. Ruml left little doubt in the second semi and won comfortably with Novratil following him into the Final. Borello was third and Gomez finished fourth.
“Speedway” Charlie Trana continued his mastery of Industry Hills Speedway this season by winning two of his three heats as well as collecting Junior 250 Main Event as well. Levi “Cowboy” Leutz earned a heat victory and was second in the main. The ever-improving Nick Dunn finished third in the main.
Ryder Schultz overcame a 70-yard handicap and claimed victory in the Mini 150 Main Event. Kayd Fiore won a heat and finished second in the main. Brandon Soto was credited with third place in the main.
The 45th California State Championship returned to Industry Hills Speedway, and the speedway calendar in general, after a two-year absence due to COVID-19 restrictions keeping many venues dark the past two seasons. This was the fifteenth time that this event was held at this facility. The event was presented by Barry Weiss, one of the stars of the “Storage Wars” television show. Weiss is a longtime supporter of speedway and has spontaneously given cash to racers throughout the past several years. Weiss was presented with a special helmet by Industry Hills Speedway Director of Racing Kelly Inman just before the Final. Dedicated speedway fan Gregory Giles and his grandson, Jacob, had procured signatures from many of the riders prior to the event.
Racing returns to Industry Hills Speedway this Wednesday, July 27 with all of the speedway divisions, Junior 250s, Mini 150s, and Pee Wees competing.
RESULTS
California State Championship Final
1 - Max Ruml
46 – Aaron Fox
7 – Austin Novratil
14n – Billy Janniro
California State Championship Semi 1
46 – Aaron Fox
14n – Billy Janniro
24 – Gino Manzares
25n – Tyler Warren
California State Championship Semi 2
1 – Max Ruml
7 – Austin Novratil
27 – Blake Borello
30 – Tim Gomez
Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 5 T
1 – Max Ruml 3 2 3 3 3 - 14
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 R 3 0 1 - 6
7 – Austin Novratil 2 2 3 2 3 - 12
11 – Bobby Schwartz 1 1 1 0 0 - 3
14 – Eddie Castro 0 2 0 2 2 - 6
14n – Billy Janniro 3 3 3 3 3 - 15
24 – Gino Manzares 3 3 2 2 2 - 12
25n – Tyler Warren 2 3 1 1 1 - 8
27 – Blake Borello 3 3 2 1 1 - 10
28 – Slater Lightcap 1 1 0 2 2 - 6
30 – Tim Gomez 1 2 2 1 2 - 8
46 – Aaron Fox 2 1 1 3 3 - 10
173 – Rees Todd 0 1 2 1 0 - 4
188 – Louis Mersaroli 0 0 1 3 1 - 5
251 – Greg Moore 1 0 R 0 0 - 1
309 – Johnny Oakden 0 0 0 0 0 - 0
37 – Joey Donaldson (R) Did Not Ride
Heat Results
1: Borello, Warren, Schwartz, Mersaroli
2: Ruml, McConnell, Moore, Oakden
3: Janniro, Novratil, Lightcap, Castro
4: Manzares, Fox, Gomez, Todd
7: Manzares, Castro, Schwartz, Moore
8: Borello, Gomez, Lightcap, Oakden
9: Janniro, Ruml, Fox, Mersaroli
10: Warren, Novratil, Todd, McConnell (retired)
13: Janniro, Todd, Schwartz, Oakden
14: Novratil, Borello, Fox, Moore (retired)
15: McConnell, Gomez, Mersaroli, Castro
16: Ruml, Manzares, Warren, Lightcap
19: Ruml, Novratil, Gomez, Schwartz
20: Janniro, Manzares, Borello, McConnell
21: Mersaroli, Lightcap, Todd, Moore
22: Fox, Castro, Warren, Oakden
26: Fox, Lightcap, McConnell, Schwartz
27: Ruml, Castro, Borello, Todd
28: Novratil, Manzares, Mersaroli, Oakden
29: Janniro, Gomez, Warren, Moore
Junior 250 Main Event
66 – Charlie Trana
226 - Levi Leutz
76 - Nick Dunn
Mini 150 Main Event
22 – Ryder Schultz 70
169 - Kayd Fiore 0
5 – Brandon Soto 0 (fell)
Past California State Champions
1968 – Sonny Nutter
1969 – Steve Bast
1970 – Steve Bast
1971 – Steve Bast
1972 – Steve Bast
1973 – Mike Bast
1974 – Steve Bast
1975 – Steve Bast
1976 – Mike Bast
1977 – Mike Bast
1978 – Mike Bast
1979 – Mike Bast
1980 – Alan Christian
1981 – Bruce Penhall
1982 – Lance King
1983 – Mike Bast
1984 – Bobby Schwartz
1985 – Steve Lucero
1986 – Bobby Ott
1987 – Mike Faria
1988 – Sam Ermolenko
1989 – Steve Lucero
1990 – Mike Faria
1991 – Bobby Schwartz
1992 – Mike Faria
1993 – Chris Manchester
1994 – Mike Faria
1995 – Steve Lucero
1996 – Steve Lucero
1997 – Charlie Venegas
1998 – 2005 Event Not Staged
2006 – Josh Larsen
2007 – Charlie Venegas
2008 – Charlie Venegas
2009 – Ricky Wells
2010 – Billy Janniro
2011 – Billy Janniro
2012 – Billy Janniro
2013 – Charlie Venegas
2014 – Billy Janniro
2015 – Billy Hamill
2016 – Max Ruml
2017 – Billy Janniro
2018 – Dillon Ruml
2019 – Max Ruml
2020 & 2021 – Event Not Staged
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