Janniro Wins Fifth 2015 Main at Industry Speedway
By noderel:
noderel:
profilepic:
Industry, CA., Jul. 22 – The hottest speedway bike racer in Nor Cal dueled the hottest rider in So Cal Wednesday at Industry Speedway in the Grand Arena of the Industry Hills Expo Center. Northerner Billy “the Kid” Janniro won an intense two-man contest for supremacy with southerner Aaron Fox in the 500cc Division 1 main event. Their thrilling duel in front of 1,050 spectators was the highlight of the track's ninth week on All-Star KIA and Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys Night.
Janniro, who celebrated his 35th birthday July 3, won his fifth 2015 feature at Industry in five appearances. He also has won six of 11 scratch mains this season and two of two handicapped features at his home track--Fast Fridays Speedway in Auburn. Fox, who raced last year in Europe for the Edinburgh, Scotland team in the British League, won the last two Industry features. He made it three feature wins in a row last Saturday in the Costa Mesa Speedway main event during the opening weekend of the Orange County Fair.
Janniro selected lane two for his feature starting spot. Fox, 27, chose the inside lane. Broc Nicol, 17, picked the outside lane, leaving Charlie Venegas, 48, lane three. After the starting gate lifted, Fox shot into the lead entering the first turn. He emerged from turn two on the inside with a narrow lead over Janniro on the outside. At full speed entering turn three, Janniro had the lead and was solidly in front exiting the fourth corner. He led all four laps over pressing Fox, who trailed by three lengths at the 10:05 pm checkered flag. Venegas finished third, five lengths behind Fox. Nicol was four lengths in back of Venegas.
Max Ruml, from the inside lane, led every lap in the D-1 consi. Fast-improving Russell Green, 23, was a pressing runner-up. Tyson Burmeister, making his season debut after an injury, and Buck Blair finished in P. 3-4. No rider scored a perfect nine points by winning all three of his heat races. Three riders—Janniro, Fox and Nicol—tied with eight points for two wins and a second place. It took four points to make the top eight positions and a berth in the two semi-finals.
Nine sidecar teams raced in their usual clockwise direction. Joe Jones and his sidecar swinger Tom Summers led all four laps after starting from the inside lane. Bryan Motis and his swing-man Josh Bennett took second position with an inside pass in turn three on the final lap. James Kinne and his rider Johnny Glover settled for third with Jeff Rowe and Ashley Gibbons fourth.
The No. 74 of Kinne/Glover had to win a run-off race with Jeff Medberry/Niki Davis to earn the fourth starting spot after they tied in points following two rounds of heats. The No. 31 sidecar of driver Robert Curry and swing-man David Dent won the four rig sidecar consolation race. Versatile Curry, from Sacramento, also raced in the 500cc Division 2 main event.
The 500cc Division 2 feature for intermediate-skill level racers produced the seventh different winner in eight races this season. Eloy Medellin, gave himself a 46th birthday present four days early on his Jawa Lay-down Long-stroke. The retired US Marine Corps Sergeant was in front from green flag to checkers. Hayley Perrault, the 18-year old July 15 D-2 winner, ran second all four laps. Ray Richards was third and Robert Curry fourth.
The competitive D-2 field of 16 veteran riders ran two rounds of heats for points, scored 4-3-2-1. Curry won his two heats for eight points and earned an automatic feature spot. Five other riders tied at seven points by virtue of a win and second place. That necessitated a five rider run-off race for three vacant feature positions. The top three finishers were: Perrault, Richards and Medellin. Nathan Siegel and Davey Shaw finished in P. 4-5. Rudy Laurer scored six points and Rick Valdez five points.
The 500cc D-3 field of eight newer riders came down to a four rider main after two preliminary rounds in the night of 47 races, including two run-off races. Steve “Beach-ball” Brown, a 56-year old from Riverside, started on pole and led all the way on his four-valve Jawa. George Yates, Wade “the Rev” Whitcomb, and returning former D-2 rider Brent Smith finished second through fourth respectively.
Three Junior Divisions produced upset winners in each feature for the rapidly improving younger riders. Six 250cc Junior riders competed and five ran in the main event. During the first 250cc heat Michael Wells fell on the backstretch during the initial lap. Sara Cords, 15-year old winner of the July 8 main, struck a wheel of Wells downed bike. She fell forward face first and landed hard. Both riders remained on the ground for a short time before remounting and restarting the race. However, Cords did not race in two subsequent races.
As usual, frequent 250 winner Sebastian Palmese, 11, started 50-yards from the gate. Wells, 14, started ten yards from the gate and led all five laps over fast-closing runner-up Palmese. July 15 winner Jake Isaac, 13, started at the 20-yard line and finished third. Gate starters James Blair and Janniro's 11-year old nephew Dylan Wagner, from Napa, finished fourth and fifth.
The mini 150cc main event was the first 150cc feature victory for “Lightning” Luke Whitcomb, 9, from Anaheim. He has been racing five years since age 4. He won 50cc pee-wee main events 32 times at various So Cal tracks and was Industry Speedway pee-wee champion. He has raced 150cc bikes since 2014 and has won D-2 150 mains elsewhere, but this was his first 150cc feature victory at Industry. He started at the ten-yard line and led all five laps.
Frequent 150cc winner Slater Lightcap, 9, started at the 50-yard line and was 25-yards in back of “Lightning Luke” when the checkers flew. Skylar Schnakenberg, 16, enjoyed her best feature finish—third. Dakota Shockley, “Speedway Charlie” Trana, Keelan Venegas and Rachel Schnakenberg, 9, finished fourth through seventh.
The 50cc pee-wee main also had a seven-rider field. All riders except frequent winner Travis Horn, 7, started at the gate. Horn started his Honda XR50 from the 50-yard line. Fontana resident Jose Navarette, 6, shot into the lead immediately on his Yamaha 50 and led all four laps. It was his initial feature triumph at Industry. Recent winners Cole Ayers, 9, and Levi Leutz, 6, followed. Six-time 2015 Industry winner Horn experienced difficulty advancing past slower riders and finished fourth. Conner Salazar, 7, lapped Gavin Dryfka, 4, and downed rider Richard Stephens, 9, completed the field.
PIT NOTES:
Six-year speedway veteran Dave Clark, a 33-year old resident of Berkshire, N. Y., was a first-time Industry Speedway D-1 competitor July 22. He rode his No. 60e Jawa and raced impressively in his first heat, finishing second for two points. He ran fourth in round two. In round three Venegas fell in turn four; Clark's front wheel clipped a wheel of Venegas' downed mount. As Venegas wheeled his bike to the infield, Clark raced into turn four and fell hard near the pit gate. He was pinned under his bike with the throttle stuck open. Assistance arrived quickly and shut off the engine. Clark did not make a semi-final.
Fan-favorite “Fast” Eddie Castro, 55, from Ojai, has been absent from speedway races this season. He has been battling cancer that started as back pain. His doctors feel that recent surgery has removed all cancer cells. Eddie's wife Roxanne was at Industry this week plugging the Saturday, August 1 testimonial race for Eddie at Perris Raceway. All divisions, plus sidecars, will race. Heat race sponsorship opportunities are available for $100. All funds raised will go towards defraying Eddie's mounting medical bills.
Another D-1 rider missing at Industry July 22 was Rocco Scopellite, 19, from Huntington Beach. On July 18 at Costa Mesa Speedway he crashed. The impact broke the crash-wall and also broke his back. A lengthy absence from racing is expected. Everyone wishes the popular teen a speedy and complete recovery. Rocco won the June 10 D-1 handicapped feature at Industry.
Next Wednesday, July 29 at Industry Speedway will be the annual Bruce Flanders Ugly Hawaiian Shirt Contest with prizes for the top three shirts as voted upon vocally by grandstand fans.... The announced Industry Speedway D-1 point leader for the last two weeks is D-1 rookie Dillon Ruml, 16. Janniro was second in points after racing in only five of nine events. ... Aaron Fox won the D-1 OC Fair main in Costa Mesa July 18 over Buck Blair, Broc Nicol and Mike Faria.
A special thank you from everyone at Industry and especially sidecar teams goes out to grandstand fan Steve Summers. He added $400 to the July 22 purse for sidecar riders. ... A four-rider two-wheel bicycle race (not tricycles as in past years) was run prior to the D-1 semi-final races. B. O'Connor, 37, led all the way in the one-lap race. Junior 250 rider Sebastian Palmese, 11, wore his No. 18 leathers, peddled hard, but finished a close second.
Brent Smith (No. 103) led every lap in his two D-3 heat victories at Industry July 22. Then he was a close fourth in the main in only his second outing since retiring in 2004 to raise a family. He had raced from 1996-2004 and advanced to D-2. His 10-year old daughter watched him race July 15 when he did not make the D-3 main. A week later he won his two heats and made the feature. He could return to D-2 status soon.
So Cal Oval Karters (SCOK) will race at The Grand Arena in the IHEC Saturday, July 25. Practice starts at noon and racing at 1:00 pm. Two types of racing vehicles will compete for the first time at The Grand. Dirt karts and “speedway sprints” with cages and motorcycle engines will race for points. The Grand is round seven on the 14 race schedule.
SCOK series oval races are held at John Aden's Wheel2Wheel Raceway in Victorville, Perris Raceway at 1205 Burton Rd in Perris (5-miles from The PAS), once on the PAS road course (May 30), plus the July 25 Industry Hills oval under The Grand roof. USAC-CRA 410 sprint driver Brody Roa, of Garden Grove, won two 1014 mains in the KT100 No. 84, a number used by his dad Brent on his CRA sprint car in the 1980s.