Sideways Saturdays Speedway
Cal Expo
Sacramento, California
Sideways Saturdays Speedway
Cal Expo - Sacramento, CA
Saturday July 31, 1999
Ryan Fisher wins the Main Event!
I predict that July 31, 1999 will be seen by historians as significant because it was the date that Ryan Fisher won
his first Scratch Main. It was not handed to him on a plate! Jim Sisemore got the gate, but Ryan had a better line
out of turn two, and by then he had Bart Bast glued on his tail. Bart stayed there for the remaining three and half
laps. Bart actually got ahead for a brief few yards mid race, but Ryan managed to pull ahead again. A great
victory, for the young man.
For anyone who has not been following California Speedway before now, this year, Ryan is 15 years old, a three
times Junior National Champion, and America's best long term future prospect, in the opinion of many of us.
The rest of the evening was entertaining, but not without problems. The track was better than last week and
significantly better than the week before, but still a long way from perfect. The sound system was a disaster. This
is the responsibility of Cal Expo, not the promoter, and I suggest that if anyone else is as disappointed as I am in
fixing this important enabler to our Speedway enjoyment, we contact Cal Expo directly and complain! I will try to
get a name or better, an Email address tomorrow, or if anyone else can help, please contact me. The promoters
at Sideways Saturdays have been invested a lot of money in keeping this track alive and I think we, the
supporters should help them wherever we can, in matters such as this.
Missing, this week, was Mike Faria, who collected a sore neck at Fast Fridays the night before.
Unofficial results:
Scratch Main
1. Ryan Fisher 2. Bart Bast 3. Jim Sisemore 4. Bob Hicks
Scratch Consi
1. Bobby Hedden 2. Ian Ferris 3. Robert Curry 4. Harlan Bast Junior
Harlan looped it at the gate and was disqualified from the re-run. Bobby Hedden easily took the lead, leaving Robert Curry and Ian Ferris to put on a good display for second place. A couple of times they demonstrated
what happens when venturing outside the blue groove into the loose dirt, where there was absolutely no traction.
Handicap Main
1. Ian Ferris 2. Harlan Bast Junior
3. Tommy Hedden 4. Jim SIsemore
5. Chad Felicio 6. Ryan Fisher Ian Ferris started just as the tapes went up and gained about 10 yards on Harlan Bast Junior. By this time there
was a limited racing line around the track, allowing Harlan to preserve his second place by blocking everyone
else, so Ian pulled away in front, leaving Harlan and the rest in a tight bunch.
Handicap Consi
1. Bobby Hedden 2. Bart Bast 3. Bob Hicks 4. Matt King 5. Scott McNeil 6. Dave Faria
Division 2 Main
1. Terry McCurdy 2. John O'Connell 3. Harlan Bast Senior
4. Shawn Eldridge 5. Bill Thomas 6. Mike Browne Despite the long drive from Bakersfield, Terry McCurdy again showed up and took the second division trophy
home. He rode well.
Division 2 Consi
1. Rachalle Kerr 2. Bill Dixon 3. Josh West 4. Richard Powell 5. Greg Howell 6. Derek Silva
Division 3 Main
1. Harry Bradwell 2. Greg Hooten
3. Ron Woodsford 4. Kevin Fereira 5. Gary Hubbert 6. Vince Bertolucci
Division 3 Consi
1. Brian Leventon 2. Mark Thomas 3. Mike Hooten
4. Rich Mignano 5. Lenny Bourassa
6. Kimi Valentine
Division 1 Juniors
1. Bryan Yarrow 2. Chris Kerr 3. Jon Curry JJ Martynese was a non starter.
Division 2 Juniors
1. Greg Hooten Alex Marcucci fell down on the last corner, while in second place taking third place man Brenton Bast with him.
Division 3 Juniors
1. Mark Carrillo 2. Danny Easley 3. Jeff Butler
Next week Sideways Saturday holds their Track Championship. It's a shame that the season will be over so
early, just as they have started to develop a still small but loyal crowd. Sideways Saturdays assure us they will be
back next year.
Gary Roberts - gary_rob@ix.netcom.com
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