Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa Speedway
May 13, 2023 - Costa Mesa
Top photo, story and results by Ryan Evans
The Costa Mesa Scratch Main Event at the tapes (inside - outside):
Broc Nicol, “Mad” Max Ruml, Austin “All Throttle” Novratil, Dillon “Pickle” Ruml.
Former National Champion Broc Nicol went undefeated and was victorious in the Scratch Main Event on a Knobby Night at the World Famous Costa Mesa Speedway.
Nicol and defending National Champion “Mad” Max Ruml, who was also unbeaten entering the main, lined up next to each other on the inside gates.Austin “All Throttle” Novratil, who won the previous main event, started in gate three with Dillon “Pickle” Ruml in gate four.
Nicol launched into the lead when the tapes went up with Max Ruml his closest competitor as they entered turn one. Max Ruml set his sights on the leader on the back straight while Novratil and Dillon Ruml jostled over third. They remained that way through the first lap but the battle was still on. Max Ruml continued to search for an avenue past Nicol but couldn’t find one. Nicol cruised through the next two laps but Max Ruml was still on the hunt as they took the white flag. Nicol was still in front as he exited the final corner, and perhaps unaware of how close Max Ruml was, began to celebrate while Max Ruml made one last charge. Nicol was first to the checkered flag, but perhaps not as comfortably as he thought, because his margin of victory was roughly one bike-length. Novratil finished third and Dillon Ruml was fourth.
Everyone entering the venue was greeted by flags at half-staff to honor the late Gary Hicks Sr. He has a competitor who eventually became an integral part of the success of the Costa Mesa Speedway promotion as well. He was always willing to share his vast wisdom with people whether it was about racing, promoting, or aspects of off-track life. He also built and repaired speedway bikes for the racers as well. He literally married into the speedway family when he wed the former Sandra Milne, daughter of the legendary Cordy Milne. His son, Gary Jr., had a successful speedway career, and his grandson Kyle also raced as well. He is also survived by his two daughters, Bonnie and Jessie, and son Kenneth. He leaves behind a large legacy.
The heats kicked off with Nicol holding off Billy “The Kid” Janniro to win event one. Michael Wells made the best start in event two, but Max Ruml went by him and took his first win. Dillon Ruml defeated Russell Green in the third heat. Novratil ended the first round by defeating Brad Sauer.
Nicol opened up the second round with a win over Justin Almon. Max Ruml defeated Janniro for his second win. Dillon Ruml made it two straight victories by beating Wilbur Hancock. Round two ended with Green beating Novratil.
Nicol remained unbeaten to start round three with a win ahead of Green. Max Ruml also remained perfect by beating Wells. Dillon Ruml matched them with a defeat of Janniro. Novratil closed out the heats by defeating “Fast” Eddie Castro.
Janniro, starting from gate four, made the best start in the first semi but straightened in turn as Nicol and Dillon Ruml went by. Nicol went to victory and Dillon Ruml narrowly holding on to second to move up the program.
Max Ruml led the second semi as they exited turn two but Novratil lifted badly. This led to he, Green, and Hancock entering turn three in tight formation. There wasn’t enough room for all of them which caused Novratil and Green to lock together. Novratil dismounted quickly but his bike slammed into the wall. Green went down as well and suffered injuries to his hand that forced him out of the restart. Max Ruml easily won the restart while Novratil, borrowing a bike from Kevin Fiore, managed to finish second and transfer to the main.
The first attempt to run the Second Division Main Event ended up in a heap in turn one but all four racers were allowed to restart. Rudy Laurer led all four laps of the restart en route to victory. Jordan Vanderham finished second, Eloy Medellin was third, and “Ironman” Brad Moreau finished fourth.
Levi Leutz won both of his heats and defeated Owen Williams in the Junior 250 Main Event. Kayd Fiore held off Hudson Jones to win the Mini 150 Main Event.
The Pee Wees entertained the crowd in both of their heats and received loud cheers in their main event as well. Reed Conner used a late-race pass to score the victory with Bjorn Udall getting second and Brayden Steel finishing third.
Green wasn’t the only competitor to suffer an injury on the evening. Pat “Hawleywood” Hawley, out of retirement last year after several decades away, hit the turn four wall in a Second Division heat race and suffered a broken femur.
Knobby Night included racers from other motorcycle disciplines taking advantage of the rare opportunity to ply their skills on their standard dirt bikes on the world famous oval. The list of racers included Colton Udall, Mason Klein, Ryan Surratt, and four-time Supercross Champion Ryan Villopoto. They had a competed in heats as well as a main event. Villopoto thrilled the crowd by winning his main event.
The next event at Costa Mesa Speedway is this Saturday, May 20. The program will include all divisions of speedway as well as the very popular Hooligans.
RESULTS
Scratch Main Event
98 - Broc Nicol
1 - Max Ruml
7 - Austin Novratil
3 - Dillon Ruml
Scratch Consolation
214 - Michael Wells
117 - Wilbur Hancock
14n - Billy Janniro (non starter)
321 - Russell Green (non starter)
Second Division Main Event (restarted)
182 - Rudy Laurer
123 - Jordan Vanderham
178 - Eloy Medellin
153 - Brad Moreau
Second Division Consolation (restarted)
299 - Rayson Normandin
327 - Tyler Moszer (retired)
34 - Archie Perez (non-starter, restart)
159 - Kevin Fiore (non starter)
Junior 250 Main Event
226 - Levi Leutz
04 - Owen Williams
Mini 150 Main Event
169 - Kayd Fiore
15 - Hudson Jones
Pee Wee Main Event
922 - Reed Conner
55 - Bjorn Udall
8 - Brayden Steel
First Division Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Max Ruml 3 3 3 9
3 – Dillon Ruml 3 3 3 9
7 – Austin Novratil 3 2 3 8
14 – Eddie Castro 1 0 2 3
14n – Billy Janniro 2 2 2 6
21 – Brad Sauer 2 1 1 4
28 – Slater Lightcap 1 E 1 2
98 – Broc Nicol 3 3 3 9
117 – Wilbur Hancock 1 2 1 4
137 – Justin Almon 0 2 0 2
168 – Mark Fillebrown 1 1 1 3
214 – Michael Well 2 1 2 5
249 – John Wilder 0 0 0 0
290 – Harold Hartke F 1 0 2
321 – Russell Green 2 3 2 7
Heat Results
1: Nicol, Janniro, Hancock
2: M. Ruml, Wells, Castro, Almon
3: D. Ruml, Green, Fillebrown, Wilder (tape penalty)
4: (restarted) Novratil, Sauer, Lightcap (penalty line), Hartke (fell)
9: Nicol, Almon, Hartke, Lightcap (engine failure)
10: M. Ruml, Janniro, Fillebrown, Wilder
11: D. Ruml, Hancock, Sauer, Castro
12: Green, Novratil (tape penalty), Wells
17: Nicol, Green, Hancock, Wilder
18: M. Ruml, Wells, Sauer, Hartke
19: D. Ruml, Janniro, Fillebrown
20: Novratil, Castro, Lightcap, Almon
Semi #1: Nicol, D. Ruml, Janniro, Wells
Semi #2: (restarted) M. Ruml, Novratil, Hancock, Green (non-starter, restart)
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