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2012 News & Views - 2011 California News - 2011 Riders Points

'Stars And Stripes Club' - Supporting the 2012 World Team Cups

Plans are very well advanced for the 2012 USA World Cup!

The primary goal is to win the qualifying round on May 5th. It won't be easy - the opposition are Slovenia (home team), Finland and Italy. The Slovenians are led by former GP star Meteij Zagar. The Finn's have several Elite and Premier League riders.

The winning team will go to the Main competition - USA would go to Poland and face the Poles, Denmark and Russia. Winner goes to the final in Sweden. 2nd and 3rd to the race off later that week, also in Sweden.

It is the belief of the AMA Committee and the riders that USA is still one of the best 9 countries in the world and so its time to show the world we are not a spent force in this competition. If we qualify, the Polish and Swedish rounds, all between 7 and 14 July, will be on Sky TV feeds.

In 2006 USA had its last big World Cup push. Everyone got behind it and we qualified and finished 6th overall. 2007 was our last year in the final stages.

The budget for such a project is massive. We are seeking corporate sponsors (which includes bib space) and also individual donors. A 'Stars and Stripes Club' has been launched. There are 5 levels of membership, each, as per usual, gives the donor some nice acknowledgments. The committee has put me in charge of fund raising.

Diamond Level is $1,000 - you get a signed race used bib, a commemorative plaque, framed team photo and more.

Platinum is $600 - Signed bib, plaque, framed team photo and more.

Gold is $250 - You get a plaque and team photo and more.

Silver is $100 - It gives a certificate and team photo and more.

Bronze is $50 - you get a certificate of thanks and more.

It's also likely the capers will be added to with the likes of programs, DVD's, etc.

Note that the club also is supporting the Under 21 World Cup and USA Future that goes before it. Down the line we'd certainly love a big fat corporate sponsor to cover the budgets with one check, but in the meantime, fan power prevails.

NOTE - Anyone who signs up at the Gumball Rally gets 10% of these levels!

I have posters for the club available - do what you can, tell your friends, spread the word. Every bit helps and if indeed we progress in the competition there will be a great deal of pride in saying you helped.

Steve Evans dreamteamspeedway@sbcglobal.net (February 3, 2012)

AMA Advisory Committee

The AMA has invited some key speedway people to form a new Advisory Committee. Its purpose is to make recommendations and assist the AMA in key projects for the benefit of American Speedway both domestically and on the International scene.

The Committee consists of six people - Dave Joiner, Richard Child, Billy Hamill, Josh Larsen, Jason Bonsignore and Steve Evans. It will be very hands on and active - each of the members brings unique skills to the table and the blend of experience, top riders and future visionaries is perfect. It is a brand new approach - it won't be a sit in the ivory tower, all words and no action group, but a team who will collectively be prepared to get busy and do a vast amount of work ahead.

The first two projects being worked on are expanding the AMA National Series and 2012 FIM Events. The International events are at the forefront right now as they are occurring in the Spring - the USA will be entering the World Team Cup, the Under 21 World Cup, and will have 2 riders in both the GP & Under 21 Individual Qualifying Rounds.

For the World Team Cup the intention is to track the best team we possibly can with the goal to win the qualifying round in Croatia on May 5th and make the Sky TV stage (July 7th in Poland).

There is also the serious possibility of a 3 match official test match series in the UK the weekend before to prepare the World Cup Squad. This would be USA Vs Great Britain Under 23 and would be the first official series in over 15 years.

The Under 21 team goes back to Ukraine on April 21st. To prepare the team, they will do 4 matches in the UK between April 10th and 15th. The touring team will be called the USA FUTURE (name courtesy of Billy Hamill!) and it will be to groom riders to be our Future World Cup Squad. As we need 5 riders for Ukraine there will be 2-3 spots on the 'Future' team for riders who are over 21 or even 15.

There will be a huge fund raising drive - factually the last time USA had a big World Team Cup push was 2006 and the fans got behind it in massive numbers, and we qualified, made the TV stages and came in 6th place. For this reason a 'Stars and Stripes Club' has been launched with five levels of membership so that any budget can help - and big, medium or small, ALL help is needed and appreciated. More on this in a separate message.

If you wish to have more info, or for younger riders, if you wish to partake in the Under 21 World Cup or USA Future team, please contact myself or one of the other committee members.

Steve Evans dreamteamspeedway@sbcglobal.net (January 31, 2012)

Gumball Rally Information

It's less than one month until the World Famous Gumball Rally, so we wanted to give all riders, mechanics, track staff, sponsors and fans all the needed information.

Weekend Schedule:
Sat 25th
8am-noon - Billy Hamill Adult Academy
noon - 4pm - Open Practice
6pm - Big Kids' Gumball Rally (Divisions 1, 2 and 3, Old Skool format!)

Sunday 26th
9am - noon - Junior Speedway Academy
1pm - 2012 Gumball Rally (Junior 250, Junior 200 D1 and Junior 200 D2, Pee Wees and Powder Puffs.

Heat Sponsorships are available - prices below;

Heat Sponsors - $50 each
Pee Wee / Powder Puff / D2 and D3 Main - $100 each
D1 Mains (2) Saturday Night - $150 each
Junior Mains (3) - $200 each

Riders have already been calling to sign up and the D1 program is already over half full - BILLY JANNIRO has just added his name and, of course, I'm sure you all know that GREG HANCOCK will be riding the in Big Kids' Gumball.

If you wish to ride you can e-mail GumballRally2012@yahoo.com or call Steve Evans at 310 309 9418, as he is doing the program for us. For heat sponsors you can use the same e-mail, you can call Steve or us at Hagon Shocks at 760 308 8124. Be sure to call in early if you want to ride!

Gate prices will be similar to last year and we will release these shortly, as well as camping info.

It's going to be another great weekend of supporting the future of American Speedway at the 2012 Gumball - 25/26 Feb at IMS!

hagonshocks@yahoo.com (January 30, 2012)

Grass Roots Speedway

The Hagon Shocks/Joker Machine/Billy Hamill Speedway Academy on January 14 was a huge success. We had 8 new riders attend from 6 to 14 yrs old. Dakota Shockley, Jake Isaac and Tristan Britt are all Pee Wee riders who rode a speedway bike for the first time and improved their skills all day long. We also had Alex Martin and Sterling Martin from Salinas CA that made the long drive down with their father, former rider Steve Martin. They, too, are products of Pee Wee speedway racing from Fast Fridays in Auburn. New to Speedway were Drydan Leo Grande and motocross rider Broc Loftus. Drydan probably did more laps than anybody as we couldn't keep him off the bike and 14 yr. old Broc Nicol showed his motorcycling skills on a speedway bike so much, we put him on a 250 at the end of the day and he was hooked! Hunter and Colt Stanley from Tulare, CA are current flat track racers who showed a lot of promise,speed and skill the whole day. So much they will be racing at the next Winter series event at IMS. Australian International Leigh Adams brought his son Declyn out to spin a few laps on the Hagon machines and rode a 250 for the first time. Declyn showed how technically gifted he is as everybody who watched was in awe of the young rider's skills.

Geoff Arnold, Doug Nicol and I really enjoyed introducing these kids to Speedway for the first time. Max Ruml and Dillon Ruml were on hand all day to help out the young riders as well. Dillon and Kurtis both rode the new Trak Plus Jr speedway Chassis and gave it a big thumbs up.

We are excited to have our first academy of 2012 show so much promise and success. Our next Speedway Academy will be January 28 at 11:00am at IMS. You can R.S.V.P. at hagonshocks@yahoo.com or call 760 308 8124.

hagonshocks@yahoo.com (January 17, 2012)

Fisher Training School at IMS

Ryan Fisher will be conducting a special training school at IMS, San Bernardino Saturday 4th February. It is a unique chance for riders to get personal tuition from the Elite League star. There will be 5 hours of track time from 10am-3pm followed by an hour of instruction on bike prep and maintenance.

Whether you are a Division 1 rider, Division 2 Clubman, Division 3 rookie or Youth/Junior there is much here to learn!

Please e-mail or call me (310) 309 9418 to sign up. Places are limited. We will also be promoting this at the Industry barbecue on Sunday.

Steve Evans dreamteamspeedway@sbcglobal.net (January 17, 2012)

Putty, Malcolm, Machines at BBQ

"I'm just a part time rider - enthusiast and certainly not worth a press release" Malcolm Roe stated when I mentioned posting something about him and the Speedway machines he will be displaying at next Sundays BBQ.

Write something about a real Speedway legend like my friend Putty Mills who is accompanying me to the Industry Expo event insisted the low key rider and supporter who carries number plate180. Malcolm send information on Putty and the bikes to share with the group I suggested. Below is the reply in Malcolm's own words.

The bikes I'm bringing are:

A Champion framed 1978 Weslake built by Marty Lewis (Lazer frames) and Terry Knight (Knight frames) shortly before Champion owner Doug Schwerma's untimely death.

My Jawa 897 Ventura ride that has parts from the 1930s to present day.

The Rat bike. I must admit the custom speedway bike that appeared in Daytona got me going. I thought what a waste of a speedway bike as well as a dreadful looking machine. So not having money for chrome and glitz I built a "Rat Hole" machine for fun. Except mine gets raced instead of just getting stared at. It has a heavy brass twin float Amal 27 013 carburetor, Fisher twin coil over shock leading link, big wide 1960s bars from a J.A.P. grasser, 2 Valve tank, NOS Cody primary cover, grasstrack seat and modified rear fender, homemade metal front fender, dirt shield and engine guard. It is also open pipe allowed at Ventura. It looks ugly, it's dirty and I love it.

My 1977 250cc Antig Bultaco. There is one other in the States at Hughes Bultaco. The one they have is museum fodder while mine has been raced and will be raced again. Not a significant bike by itself it was for Antig. Those were the days of strong schoolboy grasstrack clubs as well as senior racing. Antig knocked it out of the park with the 200 and 250cc Bultaco powered bikes.

A RTS SOHC A/W. The chassis is one of RTS Racing Products long wheelbase models Antig's cross town rivals once owned by Tig Perry's brother Selwyn and called Ansel. This chassis with my 884-5 Jawa in it was tested by Carl Stonehewer before being sent over to me. He loved it so much he used them in the GPs. The bike now has a retro look. It is #2 of only two A/W factory built SOHC Laydown engines. These were raced by A/W factory rider Martin Hagon. Former 2nd Div Central Valley speedway racer Ken Thiebaud rode this bike at Ventura last year after his bike failed to start. First time on it he beat former 1st Div rider Bryan Thompson in their heat and lost the main by a tire width. It has potential so long as I'm not riding it.

Can't say enough about my friend Putty Rutledge Mills who is one of six remaining pre-war riders alive in the world. Not too many chaps left who watched Lou Wilson, Mutt Kelly, Al Lauer and Milnes race in the 1930's. Putty starting with Ray Grants 1932 championship Peashooter and a Crocker before ending up in Colorado on Two valves and Weslake.

1st Division in Colorado he has seen the best and raced Mike Bast. He even competed with Steve McQueen in an MX race. Putty was in Patton's 3rd Army, got shot at by Pot farmers in Hawaii while flying overhead mapping the earth for the U.S. Geological Survey. He helped built the Lunar Rover trainer for Apollo's 15-17 and train the Astronauts to drive on the moon. Putty also raced dirt track beating the 1940's Harley Wrecking crew. He is also a pilot and heads the Secret Order of Quiet Birdmen in Santa Barbara. Charles Lindberg belonged to this chapter.

Putty knew him and Von Braun, Neil Armstrong and the rest. He was never a big name in speedway but he is huge in my eyes. He served his country in more than one way and has served motorcycle racing for 80 odd years.

Need more? Ask the Santa Margarita, California residents for yourself when you see them next week and please be sure to say hello to Putty Rutledge Mills. A true Speedway legend.

Bringing a machine of your own to display Sunday? E-mail me with some facts and I'll share them with those who can't get enough of part numbers and history.

Industry Racing welcomes anyone wishing to display a banner or set up a display. Please contact Kelly or myself so we can coordinate. A little pre planning could go a long way on these two matters.

See you next Sunday, January 22nd and thanks again for being a part of American Speedway

Howie howie@razvideo.com (January 15, 2012)

2012 Gumball Rally

World Famous Gumball Rally will be the weekend of February 25 and 26, 2012.

We will have a full schedule of activities throughout the weekend. The location will be Inland Motorcycle Speedway in San Bernardino CA.

2011 World Speedway Champion Greg Hancock will be racing with us just as he did last year. Stay tuned for more information. Thanks Billy

hagonshocks hagonshocks@yahoo.com (January 11, 2012)

2012 Industry BBQ
2012 Industry Meet and Greet Luncheon
Printable Flyer

Toys for Tots

This picture was taken Saturday at Prairie City Track. Big Time Speedway did a toy drive for the US Marines Toys for Tots. All the toys were give to the local recruiting office in Rancho Cordova. All the riders had a great day of sliding into Christmas. Happy Holidays.

Steve bigtimespeedway@aol.com (December 19, 2011)

Big Time Speedway

Sunday July 8th Pro-Am Invitational Event will be open to all riders, all classes and Pee Wees as well. We will post a pre entry form on our web site approx. 45-60 days before the event. Classes will be somewhat limited in size, as we want all riders to experience what the Pro's get - An awesome track to show case yourself on and have fun. Enjoy the Big Time Experience! (Track prep through out the event is a must).

Important Note: All Big Time Events are AMA Sanctioned and will require AMA card. All other Events will be Pro's Event's. Big Time Speedway goal is to enhance the sport of Professional Speedway Racing and to elevate it's Motorsports Identity. We strongly believe that theses type of Events are the future of Speedway racing in the USA. With that being said, we still want to give back in the way of hosting events that everyone can participate from time to time. More to follow about 2012 Events Soon!

Steve.S@bigtimespeedway.com (December 17, 2011)

Slide into Christmas Party

Season's Greeting Speedway Friends!

First annual "Slide into Christmas Party"

Speedway only practice party day. Please join us in celebrating the Holiday Season for a day of speedway practice,
visit with your speedway family, and enjoy a BBQ hotdog lunch.

Saturday December 17th, 2011. 11am-3pm.

McAllister Motorsports dirt track in Prairie City OHV park Rancho Cordova, CA.

$40 per rider includes 4 hours of riding, hot dog lunch, and one gallon of race fuel.

Spectators are free, lunch available for $5.

Please RSVP
Mac Ostrom
rodeoup_34@hotmail.com
530-305-1348

Prairie City OHV 13300 White Rock Rd. Rancho Cordova CA 95624

Mahcoya Ostrom rodeoup_34@hotmail.com (December 12, 2001)

Big Time Speedway News:

Big Time Speedway News: Who Needs Hollywood! San Francisco Bay Area based Robert McWilliams Productions Inc. to help Big Time Speedway and Speedway in general get some public and TV exposer for our sport. Rob is a long time friend both personally and professionally and told us yesterday that he wants to help us with our Speedway Events. Check out his credentials at www.mcwilliamsproductions.com and you'll see. Look at his Clients and On Location tabs Rob's company is a leader in the industry and is no stranger to Motorsports.

Robert McWilliams productions was who put together the Worldwide LIVE Broadcast of the 2007 Moto-X De Nations just to mentions one of his many achievements. We are extremely excited and looking forward to Rob's support and expertise. Ready .... Cameras, ACTION. Let's go racing! Come and join us in the winners circle.

For more information, contact us at Steve.S@bigtimespeedway.com (December 9, 2011)

IMS Practice

British Style Team Racing Encore at IMS - Sunday 8th January

Because Saturdays team racing so well received we are going to do it again for one last time this winter.

The date is Sunday 8th January - we're doing it on Sunday as its Supercross on the Saturday and I know a lot of riders will be at A1.

The format will be similar to last time. Team events for D1 /D2, lower D2 / D3 and Juniors.

It's possible that there will be a full D3 team coming from up North for a North Versus South D3 match.

Also we will give the juniors a full 15 heat British match IF enough riders sign up (that's two teams of seven). It would be great schooling for league racing where surely some of these kids are headed.

We will have a 10-15 break between each match so that the track staff and team managers get a breather. Tentative starts time is 12:30pm, if we end up with three 15 heat matches we'll bring it to noon.

Pee Wees of course will run, might even do teams there too!

Sign ups are open already and we'll have it set up that riders can also sign up at Perris and IMS for their upcoming races.

Steve Evans dreamteamspeedway@sbcglobal.net (December 5, 2011)

Prairie City - GUNSLINGERS

Big Time Speedway will be participating and assembling a Team for Steve Evans team racing events in 2012. Prairie City GUNSLINGERS will be the Teams name and the team captain (SHERIFF) will be none other than the US CHAMPION, Billy "The Kid" Janniro. He knows a little bit about Team Racing.

We will be announcing the rest of his posse soon as well as dates and tracks where these outlaws can be seen.

BIG TIME SPEEDWAY (December 1, 2011)

2012 Ice Racing

Charlie "The Edge" Venegas goes after the Ice Racing crown for the 12th time in January 2012. The 11 time Ice Racing Champion will be in the Awards Arena, St.. Louis on Jan 28 to start the Ice Racing season. The next two races after that will be Feb. 2 in Dodge City, Kansas then a week later in Elmira, New York. XIIR.COM will have the complete schedule shortly.

RC Jones (November 30, 2011)