Industry Hills Speedway
The Grand Arena
Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
Bruce Flanders Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Night
August 6, 2022 - Industry Hills Speedway
Results and Photo By Ryan Evans
The Industry Hills Scratch Main at the tapes (inside - outside):
Max Ruml, Austin Novratil, Aaron Fox, Billy Janniro. The finish was Ruml, Novratil, Fox, Janniro
AMA Speedway National Champion got his dominant 2022 season back on track by winning the Scratch Main Event on Bruce Flanders Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Night at Industry Hills Speedway.
Ruml selected gate one with first choice of starting position and he made it pay off. He was first off the line when the tapes went up and led into turn one. Austin Novratil, Aaron Fox, and Billy Janniro all chased after the leader on the back straight. Ruml led through the first lap and his competitors weren’t gaining any ground. Ruml left little doubt the rest of the way and he cruised to the victory. Novratil finished second, Fox was third, and Janniro finished fourth.
Former National Champion Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz, just four days shy of his 66th birthday, kicked off the evening with a victory ahead of Rees Todd that thrilled the crowd. Fox defeated Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell in event two. Janniro won the next heat with Louie Mersaroli getting to the line just ahead of Tim Gomez for second. Ruml ended round one with a victory over Novratil.
Novratil began round two with a win over Gomez. Fox won his second straight race with Under 21 National Champion Slater Lightcap getting second. McConnell won the next event but a fierce side-by-side battle behind him saw Russell Green narrowly beating Mersaroli for second. The last race of the second round brought Janniro and Ruml to the tapes. Janniro led through the first bend but Ruml charged up the inside on the back straight for a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.
The third round opened with Green leading for two laps before Lightcap went by for the lead and the win. Janniro defeated Tyler Warren for his second win of the night. Novratil made it two wins in a row with McConnell getting second. Ruml remained undefeated and closed out the heats by beating Fox.
A runoff was required to fill the final spot in the semi and it was Mersaroli defeating Todd to move up the program.
Ruml and Fox were running one-two in the first semi but Lightcap was searching for a way into a transfer position behind them throughout the race. He went to the outside but lifted exiting turn two and hit the fence on the back straight. He was down for a couple minutes but was able to walk away. The race was awarded to Ruml with Fox getting the other transfer to the main. Novratil was victorious in the second semi with Janniro following him into the main by finishing second.
Mersaroli was victorious in the Scratch Consolation with Green getting second and a justifiably frustrated McConnell coasting to a stop with a mechanical problem.
Justin Almon won both his heats and never turned a wheel wrong en route to winning the Second Division Main Event as well. Mark Fillebrown finished second, Jordan Vanderham was third, and Rudy Laurer was credited with fourth.
The first attempt to complete the Third Division Main Event ended in the first corner and left Tony Rutledge down and in need of assistance. He was down for an extended length of time and left everyone in attendance very concerned about his well-being. He eventually left the track on a gurney, however, he was not transported from the track.
Jim Sanders led the restart from the tapes. Isaiah Canales started 20 yards back but quickly found himself in second with eyes toward the lead. Sanders was leading through the third lap but Canales was ready to pounce. Canales went by for the lead as they entered turn one and led to the checkered flag. Sanders held on to second, Steve “Beach Ball” Brown was third, Brent Smith finished fourth, Greg Willis was fifth, and Jake Myers finished sixth.
Levi “Cowboy” Leutz made a great start and took the early lead in the Junior 250 Main Event but Jose Navarrete went down at the back. Leutz completed the first lap with the lead but Navarrete was just remounting his machine as the leader was entering turn one. By the time Navarrete got up to speed, Leutz was right behind him. The black flag was shown to Navarrete but that went unseen and he continued in front of the leaders. Leutz went off the precious inside line as they entered turn three on the third lap and that allowed Charlie Trana to take over the lead. Trana led to the finish, Leutz was second, Darren Armbruster finished third, Nick Dunn was fourth, and Navarrete finished fifth.
Morgan Myers led all four laps and collected the Mini 150 Main Event trophy for the second straight week. Maddux Myers was second, Kayd Fiore finished third, and Ryder Schultz was credited with fourth after suffering a mechanical problem.
Jett Ferre led the Pee Wee Main Event from the tapes with Jenson Horn starting with a large handicap. Ferre led the first couple laps with Horn chipping away at his lead. Ferre was leading on the last lap but Horn was ready to strike. Horn took the lead in the last corner to claim victory. The crowd gave both of the young racers a loud ovation for their efforts.
Dillon Osborne and Kevin Fiore led the Sidecar Main Event through lap one before National Champions Joe Jones and Tom Summers took over. Jones and Summers steadily increased their lead with each lap and were first to the finish line. Osborne and Fiore finished second and Kevin Holman and Brent Smith were credited with third.
That evening honored legendary announcer Bruce Flanders, who announced speedway races for 50 years and was the official voice of Industry Racing from its inception in 2004 through 2018. Flanders announced many forms of motor sports in addition to speedway. The evening also included the ever-popular Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Contest.
The next event at Industry Hills Speedway will be the second round of the AMA Speedway National Championship on Saturday, August 13. Defending Champion Ruml won the first round, however, ten-time Champion Janniro actually leads the series by three points. Fox, Manzares, and Mersaroli are third, fourth, and fifth in points, respectively.
RESULTS by Ryan Evans
Scratch Main Event
1 – Max Ruml
7 – Austin Novratil
46 – Aaron Fox
14n – Billy Janniro
Scratch Consolation
188 – Louie Mersaroli
321 – Russell Green
6 – Shawn McConnell (engine failure)
28 – Slater Lightcap (non starter)
Barry Weiss Last Man Out Challenge
7 – Austin Novratil
1 – Max Ruml
14n – Billy Janniro
28 – Slater Lightcap
Second Division Main Event
137 – Justin Almon
168 – Mark Fillebrown
123 – Jordan Vanderham
182 – Rudy Laurer (retired)
Second Division Consolation
159 – Kevin Fiore
111 – David Newsham
290 – Harold Hartke
178 – Eloy Medellin
Third Division Main Event (restarted)
106 – Isaiah Canales 20
138 – Jim Sanders 0
211 – Steve Brown 0
103 – Brent Smith 20
215 – Greg Willis 0
175 – Jake Myers 20
113 – Tony Rutledge 0 (non starter, restart)
Junior 250 Main Event
66 – Charlie Trana
226 - Levi Leutz
23 – Darren Armbruster
76 - Nick Dunn
48 – Jose Navarrete (fell, remounted)
Mini 150 Main Event
175 – Morgan Myers 0
175x – Maddux Myers 0
169 - Kayd Fiore 0
22 – Ryder Schultz 90 (engine failure)
Pee Wee Main Event
23 – Jenson Horn
25 – Jett Ferre
First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Max Ruml 3 3 3 9
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 3 2 7
7 – Austin Novratil 2 3 3 8
11 – Bobby Schwartz 3 0 0 3
14 – Eddie Castro 1 0 1 2
14n – Billy Janniro 3 2 3 8
15 – Dukie Ermolenko 0 1 1 2
25n – Tyler Warren 0 1 2 3
28 – Slater Lightcap 0 2 3 5
30 – Tim Gomez 1 2 0 3
46 – Aaron Fox 3 3 2 8
117 – Wilbur Hancock Nr - - 0
173 – Rees Todd 2 1 1 4
188 – Louie Mersaroli 2 1 1 4
309 – Johnny Oakden 1 0 0 1
321 – Russell Green 1 2 2 5
Heat Results
1: Schwartz, Todd, Oakden, Lightcap
2: Fox, McConnell, Green, Warren
3: (restarted) Janniro, Mersaroli, Gomez, Hancock (non starter, restart)
4: Ruml, Novratil, Castro, Ermolenko
12: Novratil, Gomez, Warren, Schwartz
13: Fox, Lightcap, Ermolenko
14: McConnell, Green, Mersaroli, Castro
15: Ruml, Janniro, Todd, Oakden
24: Lightcap, Green, Castro, Gomez
25: Janniro, Warren, Ermolenko, Oakden
26: Novratil, McConnell, Todd
27: Ruml, Fox, Mersaroli, Schwartz (tape penalty)
Runoff: Mersaroli, Todd
Semi 1: (awarded) Ruml, Fox, Green, Lightcap (fell)
Semi 2: Novratil, Janniro, Mersaroli, McConnell (engine failure)
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