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Industry Hills Speedway
The Grand Arena
Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
Connor Penhall Memorial Cup
August 31, 2022 - Industry Hills Speedway
Results and Photo By Ryan Evans
The Connor Penhall Memorial Cup Final at the tapes (inside - outside):
Max Ruml, Austin Novratil, Louie Mersaroli, Broc Nicol.
The finishing order was Ruml, Nicol, Novratil, Mersaroli
2022 Connor Penhall Memorial Cup - Industry Hills Speedway, CA, USA - August 31
AMA Speedway National Champion “Mad” Max Ruml added to his growing trophy case by capping an evening of spectacular racing in front of a large crowd by winning the Connor Penhall Memorial Cup at Industry Hills Speedway.
Ruml entered the Final with the highest score thus earning him first choice of starting position. After pondering over gates one, two, and four, he decided on the inside gate. Former Under 21 National Champion Broc Nicol, who flew home from Britain specifically to compete in this event, looked at gates two and four before choosing to start against the wall. Austin Novratil, the only racer in the Final to have won this event, took no time in selecting gate two. This left gate three to Northern California’s Louie Mersaroli, who won the Fast Friday’s Track Championship with a perfect score just four days prior.
Ruml led off the starting line with Novratil and Nicol right behind him entering turn one. Ruml continued to lead on the back straight with Nicol setting up his attack on the inside and Novratil on the outside. They remained in those positions through lap one. Nicol and Novratil had a spirited battle for second before Nicol began to close on the leader. Nicol switched his attack to the outside but was unable to gain more ground. Ruml was smooth all the way to the finish and took the prestigious trophy for the first time and the lion’s share of the $12,000 purse. Nicol settled for second, Novratil finished third, and Mersaroli was fourth.
Aaron Fox raised the curtain on the evening by defeating Dukie Ermolenko in event one.
Event two saw four-time Connor Penhall Memorial Cup winner Billy “The Kid” Janniro get the lead at the start. Gino Manzares slipped by on the inside the second time down the back straight then Janniro hit the fence and clashed with Manzares and both went down. The carnage continued because Janniro’s wayward bike then took down Tyler Warren. A complete restart was ordered. Manzares was victorious in the restart with Janniro getting second.
Ruml began his evening with a win over Novratil in event three. Nicol re-acclimated himself to the short tracks with a dominant victory ahead of Mersaroli to end the first round.
Fox started the second round with his second victory in a row while Janniro needed an outside pass of Under 21 National Champion Slater Lightcap to get second. Ruml scored his second straight win ahead of Tim Gomez in the next event. Novratil led Nicol at the start of event nine with the Glasgow Tiger all over him in search of the lead. Nicol looked everywhere for a way by and finally found it on the final lap when he passed Novratil for the lead and his second win to keep pace with Fox and Ruml. Round two ended with Mersaroli using the outside to take the lead from Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell as they entered turn three and he held on for his first win of the night.
Round three opened with Warren making the best start but Novratil used the cushion to take the lead at the end of lap one and scored his first victory. Janniro led the next event from the start but Nicol charged past on the back straight. Janniro used the outside to regain the lead before Nicol took it back for good at the end of lap two. Janniro kept up his pursuit but he ended up on the ground in the final corner but the battle brought the crowd to its feet and it wouldn’t be the last time either. McConnell held off Blake Borello to win the next event. Ruml stalked Lightcap for two laps before using the outside to propel him by the 17-year-old for the lead on lap three. He held on from there for his third straight win.
Manzares defeated Fox to begin the fourth round with his second victory. Novratil swept around the outside of Lightcap and took his second straight win. Mersaroli was the fast-starter in event 21 with Janniro and Ruml behind him. Janniro went to the outside with Ruml seemingly trapped on the inside. The 10-time National Champion’s wide line proved fruitful as he took the lead at the end of lap one. Ruml got by Mersaroli but it was too late to catch Janniro who finally scored his first victory and Ruml dropped his only point. Twice former World Pairs Champion Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz led the last event of round four into turn one but Nicol roared around the outside for the lead and ran away with his fourth straight win.
As the evening entered the final round of heats it was Nicol on top with a perfect 12 points; Ruml was next with 11; Novratil and Fox had 10 points apiece; Manzares was next with 9 points; and Janniro’s tally sat at 7 points.
The final round of heats began with a giant showdown featuring Fox, Nicol, and RumlhFox used gate one to make the best start while Ruml came from gate four and stayed on the outside. Fox led through the first lap before Ruml found enough grip from the outside dirt to propel him into the lead as they entered turn three on the second lap. Ruml was followed closely by Fox and Nicol as the trio moved in a triangular formation throughout most of the race. Ruml collected his fourth victory with Fox getting second and Nicol in third.
Schwartz made another good start but Mersaroli swept around the outside again and took the lead and the victory. Borello led the penultimate heat for a lap before Lightcap went by for the lead and a victory that would put him into the semis. Janniro led the final heat for a lap but lifted exiting turn two, recovered just before hitting the fence, but Novratil capitalized on the mistake and won his third race in a row.
Ruml and Fox were running first and second, respectively, and appeared to be headed to the Final when Janniro found too much traction again, went down, and collected Mersaroli in the process. Janniro was excluded from the restart, thus ending his evening. Ruml led the restart but Mersaroli got the better of Fox this time. Ruml won comfortably but the battle for second was fierce. Fox searched for a way around Mersaroli but couldn’t find the right line. Mersaroli booked his place into the Final in what was easily his best performance on a Southern California track. Novratil led the second semi to the first corner but Nicol emerged on the back straight with the lead and cruised to victory. Novratil kept Manzares at bay to earn the other transfer to the Final.
“Speedway” Charlie Trana warmed up for Saturday’s Youth National Championship by winning both of his heats and the Junior 250 Main Event. “Cowboy” Levi Leutz was second.
Kensei Matsudaira, who recently returned from road racing in Spain, dominated his division with runaway victories in his heats and in the Mini 150 Main Event. Kayd Fiore was second and Brandon Soto finished third.
Braxton McKeown made an auspicious debut at Industry Hills Speedway by winning the Pee Wee Main Event. Hudson Jones weaved through traffic from his 60-yard handicap to finish second, Jenson Horn was third, Jett Ferré finished fourth, Brinleigh McKeown was fifth, and Roxen McConnell finished sixth.
Dillon Osborne and Jamie Morabito were victorious in the Sidecar Main Event with Chris Jones and Tom Summers finishing second and Kevin Kale and Tracy Gallagher credited with third.
The event was held in remembrance of Connor Penhall who was tragically killed by a drunk driver in 2012 while he was working construction on a local freeway. Connor, the son of speedway icon Bruce Penhall, briefly raced junior speedway nearly two decades ago. The Penhall family was in attendance and presented a large trophy that is topped by a custom painted Troy Lee Designs helmet. This event has become one of the biggest on the American Speedway calendar and attracted many American speedway dignitaries. Scott Autrey, third in the world in 1978 and a member of the 1982 World Team Champions, was the grand marshal of the event. Among the many in attendance were seven-time National Champion Mike Bast, three-time National Champion “Flyin” Mike Faria, World Finalists Rick Miller and John Cook, and “Wild” Bill Cody. Troy Lee himself was also in attendance.
The next event at Industry Hills Speedway will be this Wednesday, September 7. It will be Harley Night and will be the final regular season event of the season at the venue. All speedway divisions, juniors, pee wees, and sidecars will be on the program. It will also include street-legal Harley races as well.
RESULTS
Connor Penhall Memorial Cup Final
1 - Max Ruml
98 - Broc Nicol
7 - Austin Novratil
188 - Louie Mersaroli
Semi #1: (restarted) Ruml, Mersaroli, Fox, Janniro (fell, excluded)
Semi #2: Nicol, Novratil, Manzares, Lightcap
Junior 250 Main Event
66 - Charlie Trana
226 - Levi Leutz
Mini 150 Main Event
74 - Kensei Matsudaira
169 - Kayd Fiore
5 - Brandon Soto
Pee Wee Main Event
226 - Braxton McKeown
15 - Hudson Jones
23 - Jenson Horn
25 - Jett Ferré
219 - Brinleigh McKeown
186 - Roxen McConnell
Sidecar Main Event
64 - Dillon Osborne/Jamie Morabito
116 - Chris Jones/Tom Summers
07 - Kevin Kale/Tracy Gallagher
Scoring 1 2 3 4 5 T S T
1 – Max Ruml 3 3 3 2 3 14 3 17
6 – Shawn McConnell 1 0 3 0 F 4 - 4
7 – Austin Novratil 2 2 3 3 3 13 2 15
11 – Bobby Schwartz 1 0 0 2 F 3 - 3
14 – Eddie Castro 0 2 T R 0 2 - 2
14n – Billy Janniro 2 2 0 3 2 9 Fx 9
15 – Dukie Ermolenko 2 0 2 1 1 6 - 6
24 – Gino Manzares 3 1 1 3 2 10 1 11
25n – Tyler Warren 0 1 1 1 N 3 - 3
27 – Blake Borello 1 0 2 0 2 5 - 5
28 – Slater Lightcap E 1 2 2 3 8 0 8
30 – Tim Gomez 1 2 1 1 1 6 - 6
46 – Aaron Fox 3 3 2 2 2 12 1 13
98 – Broc Nicol 3 3 3 3 1 13 3 16
137 – Justin Almon 0 1 1 0 1 3 - 3
188 – Louie Mersaroli 2 3 0 1 3 9 2 11
94 – Fred Cook (R) 0 - - - - 0 - 0
117 – Wilbur Hancock (R) 0 - - - - 0 - 0
Heat Results
1: Fox, Ermolenko, Borello, Castro
2: (restarted) Manzares, Janniro, McConnell, Warren
3: Ruml, Novratil, Schwartz, Almon
4: Nicol, Mersaroli, Gomez, Lightcap (engine failure)
7: Fox, Janniro, Lightcap, Schwartz
8: Ruml, Gomez, Warren, Ermolenko
9: Nicol, Novratil, Manzares, Borello
10: Mersaroli, Castro, Almon, McConnell
13: Novratil, Fox, Warren, Mersaroli
14: Nicol, Ermolenko, Almon, Janniro (fell, remounted)
15: McConnell, Borello, Schwartz
16: Ruml, Lightcap, Manzares, Cook, Castro (tape exclusion)
19: Manzares, Fox, Gomez, Almon
20: Novratil, Lightcap, Ermolenko, McConnell
21: Janniro, Ruml, Mersaroli, Borello
22: Nicol, Schwartz, Warren, Castro (retired)
25: Ruml, Fox, Nicol, McConnell (fell)
26: Mersaroli, Manzares, Ermolenko, Schwartz (fell)
27: Lightcap, Borello, Almon, Hancock
28: Novratil, Janniro, Gomez, Castro
Past Connor Penhall Memorial Cup Winners
2022 - Max Ruml
2019 – Austin Novratil
2018 – Billy Janniro
2017 – Billy Janniro
2016 – Billy Janniro
2015 – Billy Janniro
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