By: Ryan Evans
It was the dawn of a new era of speedway at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino and Scott Brant and Andy Northrup took home the top honors on International Speedway's first night promoting at the Orange Show Speedway.
Brant was lined up in the pole position and used it to launch into the lead at the start of the Scratch Main Event. Brant moved quickly through the first corner and held a big lead on the back straight. His Kelly Dunagan Racing teammate, Eddie Castro, suffered from a bad start from gate four but used the inside line to get into third on the back straight and then take second from Shawn McConnell at the end of lap one. By that time Brant had already established a comfortable lead, but the diminutive rider didn't give up easily. Castro inched closer throughout the race but never seriously challenged Brant who took the victory. McConnell finished third, Dukie Ermolenko was fourth, and Gary Hicks finished fifth.
The eight-man Handicap Main Event was a battle of attrition as much as it was a battle of fellow competitors. Hicks was a nonstarter as he suffered an arm injury during the Scratch Main. The starting field of seven became a finishing field of four, but only three on the lead lap.
There were three riders on the 30 yard line, which was the lowest handicap for the main, and their fierce battle into turn one brought "Cowboy" Bobby Krips to the front. Krips pulled to a several-length advantage after one lap, but shed both chains on the back straight of lap two. Andy "The Enforcer" Northrup then inherited the lead and faced constant pressure from behind. However, his competitors seemed to drop off one by one. First, Shaun Harmatiuk slid off and remounted only to eventually pull over for the field and fall a lap behind. Then, Randy DiFrancesco broke his clutch sprocket, but amazingly didn't lose either chain in the process. Next, Ermolenko suffered an engine failure to reduce the field even more. All of this overshadowed the fact the Northrup, a Los Angeles County Police Officer, rode eight solid laps to capture the win. Brant finished second, McConnell was third, and Harmatiuk finished fourth.
In the Support Main Event Phil Bast got an excellent start from gate one to take the lead on the first lap. Doug Benjamin and Rudy Laurer battled for second with Benjamin eventually grabbing the position. Benjamin went after Bast and closed in on the leader throughout the race. Bast wasn't fazed, however, and went on to the victory. Benjamin finished second, Laurer was third, Randy Kreps finished fourth, and Tomasz Hampel was fifth.
Tony Bracy took the early lead in the Support B Main Event. Keith Mullally fell in turn two and it looked as though the race would be stopped. The race continued, though, and Carl Gazafy went in to the lead. Gazafy held the lead until Neil Facchini went by on the back straight on the last lap. Facchini held on through the last corner to take the win. Bracy was able to pass Gazafy to take second, DeWayne Stark was fourth, Steve Dziadus finished fifth, and Mullally was credited with sixth.
In Youth action, Skyler Greyson had dominated all of the heats so he was the odds-on favorite to win the main. Dario Galvin had other ideas, though, and jumped to a large early lead. Jason Ramirez went down in turn three and referee Bryan Galvin, who is Dario's father, stopped the race. Greyson took advantage of his second chance and grabbed the lead on the restart. He opened up a comfortable lead and cruised to the victory, Galvin finished second, Ramirez was third, Tamara Krips finished fourth, Dylan Stark was fifth, and Tyler Odom finished sixth. After the race, Galvin playfully blamed the referee for costing him the victory.
Friday's meeting was the first of 13 events being promoted by International Speedway inside the Orange Show Speedway stock car stadium. The Spring Classic was held as part of the annual Orange Show Fair. The event was important enought to bring the Godfather of U.S. speedway, Harry Oxley, up from his home in Mexico to witness the racing.
There were a few holes and rough spots on the track, but for a debut event, the riders expressed overall satisfaction with the track. The racing was excellent and featured a lot of passing. Brad Oxley stressed that he will be hard at work on the track to have it ready by Opening Night which is Friday, June 6 and will have the Freestyle Motocross Jumpers and will certainly bring in a large crowd.
RESULTS Support B Main Event 201 - Neil Facchini 20 194 - Tony Bracy 10 176 - Carl Gazafy 20 244 - DeWayne Stark 10 212 - Steve Dziadus 10 185 - Keith Mullally 20 (fell) Support Last Chance 174 - Tomasz Hampel 198 - Mike Boyle 117 - Billy Braden (fell, remounted) 125 - Doug Lupo (fell) Support Main Event 183 - Phil Bast 128 - Doug Benjamin 182 - Rudy Laurer 165 - Randy Kreps 174 - Tomasz Hampel Youth Main Event (restarted) 2 - Skyler Greyson 145 - Dario Galvin 66 - Jason Ramirez (penalty line) 223 - Tamara Krips 19 - DeWayne Stark 146 - Tyler Odom Handicap Main Event 166 - Andy Northrup 30 10 - Scott Brant 50 6 - Shawn McConnell 40 139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 30 (fell, remounted) 15 - Dukie Ermolenko 40 (engine failure) 12 - Randy DiFrancesco 40 (retired) 24 - Bobby Krips 30 (retired) 3 - Gary Hicks 50 (non starter) Last Chance 6 - Shawn McConnell 24 - Bobby Krips 166 - Andy Northrup 12 - Randy DiFrancesco (retired) Scratch Main Event 10 - Scott Brant 14 - Eddie Castro 6 - Shawn McConnell 15 - Dukie Ermolenko 3 - Gary Hicks
