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Costa Mesa Speedway Orange County Fairgrounds Costa Mesa, CA
1998 SRA National Championship
October 3, 1998 Costa Mesa Speedway
From Linda Love
(Also see reports from
Ryan Evans and
Gary Roberts for more details!)
What a night! A near sell out crowd gathered at the Orange County
Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Ca. on the night of Oct. 3rd 1998.
The only section that did not fill was the Reserve seating section
(go figure?).
The night started out with the Coors Ski Diving Team making a drop
in appearance. There were 4 divers with the last two making a
"stacked" entry. It was really cool!!! They also had some
intermission entertainment lined up as well from "Medieval Times".
A Band up in the stands at turn 3 played on and off throughout the
program. The Coors "girls" were there riding around the track in
the back of brand new Toyota trucks holding signs with the number
of each event. Seemed like something you'd see at a boxing match.
It was all nice but I have to admit, I was there for one reason
and one reason only. That reason was to see speedway racing! I
got what I wanted and then some!!
The night of racing that was ahead was some of the most (if not
the most) exciting speedway racing I have ever seen. Well worth
the ticket price and more. This was some of the most aggressive
riding I have ever seen. These riders were hungry for this title
and it showed. You get the idea, now for my report -
20 top riders (2 reserves), 20 events. 2 semi's, 1 last chance,
and the Main Event. (A little different than I am used to but
that was fine.) 5 of the riders that were there were from the
North. You know I was stoked to see that, being from there originally.
It was almost like a No. vs. So. rematch (hehe).
Here is best I can remember it:
Bart Bast, Mike Faria, Charles "Dukie" Ermolenko, John Aden
Charlie Venegas, Jim Sisemore, Eddie Castro, Shawn McConnell
Josh Larsen, Bobby Schwartz, Gary Ackroyd, Tommy Hedden
Chris Manchester, Brad Oxley, David Taylor, Robin Nicolaides
Bobby Hedden, Gary Hicks, Andy Northrup, Randy Difrancesco
Josh Larsen, Charlie Venegas, Kon Baur-R , David Taylor
Mike Faria, Jim Sisemore, Andy Northrup, Tommy Hedden
Charles Ermolenko, Bobby Hedden, Brad Oxley, Eddie Castro
Chris Manchester, Randy DiFrancesco, Gary Ackroyd, John Aden
Gary Hicks, Bobby Schwartz, Shawn McConnell, Robin Nicolaides
Chris Manchester, Josh Larsen, Jim Sisemore, Charles Ermolenko
Bart Bast, Brad Oxley, Bobby Schwartz, Randy D.
Charlie V., Bobby H., Mike F., Robin N.
Gary H., Tommy H., Eddie C., Cooley-R
Andy N, Shawn Mc, Kon Baur-R
Josh L, Eddie C, Randy D, Robin N
Bart Bast, Shawn Mc, Cooley -R, Kon Baur -R
Mike F, Gary H, Brad O, Gary A
Bobby S, Andy N, Charles E, Charlie V
Bobby H, Jim Sisemore, Cooley-R, David T
Event 5: Randy D. was battling hard at 2nd , going into the last lap his
chain broke which gave him the Goose Egg for Round One.
Event 6: Venegas had a good start which put him out front in the first
lap, but going into turn 4 he was rammed by Bart Bast and they both went
down. I have never seem Bart race like that. He is aggressive but not
usually reckless. Bast was DQ-ed and the race was restarted.
Unfortunately for Charlie though, because Josh Larsen snaked in for the
win.
Event 11: This was an exciting race! Going into this event (which I guess
you could say was Round 3), there were only 2 riders that had perfect scores
and that would end for one of them at the end of this race. Chris Manchester (who Mike Rooney refers to as "the Wizard") was working his magic tonight!
He had three awesome starts and was racing flawlessly. He came out the
victor over Josh Larsen to keep up his, so far, perfect score of the night.
This was soon to change though!
Event 14: John Aden was DQ-ed for breaking the tape but then lined up for
the restart. I missed what had happened but I heard that when they told
him he was DQ-ed, he rode through the tapes after they had just fixed them.
He was the DQ-ed for the rest of the night. He had not scored any points
so far that night anyway.
Event 15: Gary A. was DQ-ed for touching the tape.
Event 17: This had to be the most heart breaking event of the night.
I nearly cried! Manny was in rare form! I was so excited to think that
maybe, just maybe, he was going to sweep this night and take home the title.
But much to my disappointment, Chris got taken out by Tommy H. coming out
of turn 4. Chris went into the wall and was down, but conscious, for a long
time. Tommy was DQ-ed. Chris ended up having his leg splinted and was
carried off on a stretcher and taken to the local hospital. A very sad end
to such an awesome night for Chris.
Event 19: Another heart wrenching race. Charlie V. had a near perfect
score going into this event. He has got to be one of the most tenacious
riders out there. He had a bad gate but that did not stop him. He was
working Bobby S. every lap. Then you could start to hear some backfiring
coming from Charlie's bike and my heart sank. First Manny is out and now
Charlie having engine trouble. This gave Bobby the 3 points he well needed
to contend.
Intermission: Jousting Knights from "Medieval Times" (pretty cool)
Event 21: Bobby H, Brad O, Charlie V, Bobby S, Gary H. (first 2 trans.
to the main, second 2 to the Last Chance) Charlie once again plagued with
engine trouble but squeaked out a last chance slot.
Event 22: Josh L, Bart B, Andy N, Mike F, Jim Sisemore. Jim went down and
so did Faria, but Faria was able to finish to make the last chance.
Event 23-Last Chance: One of these 4 will make it to the Main Event!
Here are the riders in order as finished:
Mike F, Schwartz, Venegas, Northrup.
I think I heard that Charlie borrowed a bike, not sure. He was showing
the stuff that makes him the super rider that he is. Again, the word
tenacious comes to my mind when I think of how he was riding tonight.
Unfortunately though, tonight would not see him the Crown. Mike Faria will go on to the Main event along with B Hedden, Oxley, Larsen and Bast.
And now for the moment you have been waiting for - who will be the 1998
US National Champion at Costa Mesa, Ca.???
Event 24: It was about as close as racing can get! Before I forget,
3 of the 5 riders in this main event were from the North!! Yeah baby, you
got that right! ( hehe, ok, so I'm a little biased!) This battle for
Number 1 would be like a dual to the death (which fit quite well with the
entertainment at intermission!). This battle would be fought by two
great warriors, Oxley and Bast. From the gate is when it began. It was
quite evident that Bast was on fire this night and taste victory. Except
for his DQ, he scored 3's in all his races for the night. Everyone was on
their feet for this event. It was a fight all the way to the checkered
flag and I mean a fight! It was a very close finish and the Victor that
emerged was none other than a cousin to former National Champions Mike
and Steve. You know it has to be Northern California's own Bart Bast!!!
Bart got what he came for and went away with a National title under his
belt. After the race, he was hoisted up in the air and tossed up several
times by his crew and some of the other North riders. Truly a spectacular
night of racing!!!
I don't really know too many of the south riders so that is why I didn't
comment much on them. I do have to say that Randy fought hard but seemed
to not have things go in his favor. Eddie Castro is always great to watch
and these two guys really make it enjoyable for the fans. They are very
fan friendly. Josh Larsen scored the most points for the night at 11.
He had good starts and was very fast but I just think that Bart wanted the
win more and his skill and experience earned him the title.
My favorite riders of the night had to be Chris Manchester, Charlie Venegas, Bobby Hedden, Bart Bast, Brad Oxley, and Randy DiFrancesco. Josh Larsen showed that he has what it takes to be a
contender for the Title next year if he continues like he did this night.
They all fought hard and really gave the fans what they came to see.
That is the night, as best I remember it.
Enjoy. Linda Love (coyotesgrrl@hotmail.com)
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