By: Ryan Evans
"Gorgeous" Gary Hicks captured all the gold as he won the Handicap and the Scratch Main on Wednesday Night in front of Arrowhead Motor Speedway's largest crowd of the season.
Rudy Laurer started at the tapes and led the eight man Handicap Main field from through the first lap. Hicks had a great start from the 50 yard line and charged to third place at the end of lap one. Laurer continued to lead until he reached the back straight on the third lap when he slowed down. Hicks then took control of the lead and never looked back en route to winning his first main event at Arrowhead Motor Speedway. Dukie Ermolenko weaved through the field to finish second, Shaun Harmatiuk finished third, Bobby Schwartz was fourth, and Gerry Duttweiler was fifth.
With his first Arrowhead main event in the books Hicks didn't want to wait long to win his second. As fate would have it Hicks would line up in gate two with Schwartz lined up on the pole, the same gate positions the combatants had during their incident at Costa Mesa Saturday Night.
Schwartz and Hicks gated together but Hicks found the better drive coming out of turn two and took control of the lead on the back straight. Ermolenko started on the outside and stayed out there throughout lap one and was able to pass Schwartz for second. Hicks steadily pulled away and was an easy winner. Ermolenko finished second, Jim Estes was third, and Schwartz was fourth.
In the Second Division Main, Jeff Blaydes successfully completed a hat trick by winning the race for the third consecutive week. The road to success wasn't very smooth, however. Robert Fiesler was alone at the tapes for the start and took the lead right away. Fiesler led the first two laps but the action behind him was fast and furious. Entering turn one the third time Winston Williams went down with Blaydes laying it down to avoid him. Billy Lyons had nowhere to go and ended up going over the handlebars and doing severe damage to the front end of his bike. All riders were able to walk away, but Lyons was visibly upset with the condition of his machinery.
Fiesler led again from the start and there was a lot of action behind him on the second attempt as well. Blaydes, who started from the 30, tried several times to pass Randy Kreps on the outside but wasn't successful. On the third lap he was able to get by Kreps and he went after Fiesler. On the fourth lap Fiesler went wide coming out of turn two and Blaydes blasted underneath. Blaydes led to the checkered flag for the third week in a row. Mike Lupo finished second, Fiesler was third, and Kreps was fourth.
Rohn Zellner led from start to finish to win the Second Division B Main Event on his first night at Arrowhead. Mike Lewis finished second, Tomasz Hampel finished third, Billy Braden finished fourth, Kodiak Calkin finished fifth, and Kim Stevens finished sixth.
Wednesday Night's crowd was the largest of the season at the new facility as attendance has increased each week. The stands on the front straight as well as turn one were full. The size of the crowd is significant considering that school is still in session and that the hometown Los Angeles Lakers were playing in the NBA Finals on television. With the school year ending for most students this week and without a major television event to compete with, the attendance should continue to increase. The extensive effort that promoter Charlie Venegas has put into the facility has provided speedway in San Bernardino with a bright future.
RESULTS Second Division B Consolation 118 - Scott Tidwell 20 296 - Tom Rossano 20 115 - Mark Baldwin 10 112 - Bryan Baichtal 20 Second Division B Main Event 163 - Rohn Zellner 10 205 - Mike Lewis 10 174 - Tomasz Hampel 20 117 - Billy Braden 20 350 - Kodiak Calkin 10 197 - Kim Stevens 10 Second Division Consolation 148 - Chris Metoyer 10 249 - John Stunkard 10 336 - Bill Green 10 125 - Johnny Lupo 20 100 - Phil Harmatiuk 10 293 - Rick Valdez 0 (fell) Second Division Main Event 173 - Jeff Blaydes 30 162 - Mike Lupo 30 106 - Robert Fiesler 0 165 - Randy Kreps 10 321 - Billy Lyons 30 (non starter) 147 - Winston Williams 10 (fell, excluded) Handicap Main Event 3 - Gary Hicks 50 15 - Dukie Ermolenko 50 139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 20 11 - Bobby Schwartz 50 200 - Gerry Duttweiler 10 182 - Rudy Laurer 0 223 - Bobby Krips 10 (retired) 19 - Richard Jones 20 Scratch Consolation 139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 316 - John DeFries 200 - Gerry Duttweiler 321 - Billy Lyons (non starter) Scratch Main Event 3 - Gary Hicks 15 - Dukie Ermolenko 56 - Jim Estes 11 - Bobby Schwartz
