Visitors since June 21, 2004
By: Ryan Evans
Buck Blair edged "Fast" Eddie Castro to win a breathtaking Scratch Main Event at Wild West Speedway in Winchester on Saturday.
"Cowboy" Bobby Krips entered the main event with a perfect score and selected the pole. It proved to be a wise choice when he blasted to the front at the start. His good fortune was short-lived because he slowed dramatically exiting turn two with a kill switch problem. Blair assumed the lead on the back straight with Castro challenging on the outside. Blair secured the lead entering turn three and guarded his position along the inside for two laps. As he approached the white flag Blair drifted wide and Castro tried to snatch the lead. Blair was able to slam the door on Castro but his speed carried him wide on the back straight. Castro tried the same move entering the last corner and took the inside line. The riders were even as they came off the final corner, but Blair found a little extra grip on the outside and beat Castro to the checkered flag by inches. Justin Boyle was third, Shaun Harmatiuk finished fourth, and Krips was fifth.
The first round of scratch heats began with Krips defeating Blair and Dario Galvin. Nate Perkins beat Boyle for his first win in race two. Harmatiuk beat Castro in race three for his first victory of the evening. Denny Scopellite closed out the opening round with a win over John Stunkard.
Round two began with Krips defeating Scopellite and Castro. Blair earned his first victory ahead of Boyle. Harmatiuk kept pace with Krips by beating Neil Facchini in race 16. Perkins made it two for two by beating Galvin to close out the second round.
The third round began with Scopellite jumping into the lead, but he made a mistake on the final lap and Blair grabbed the victory. Race 28 brought the three undefeated riders to the tapes. Krips ended any drama by scoring a runaway victory over Harmatiuk and Perkins. Castro won his first race in race 29. Boyle closed out the heats with a win over Stunkard.
Boyle defeated Scopellite and Perkins in a runoff for the fourth spot in the Scratch Main with the latter two riders getting another attempt at the main in the Last Chance. Castro made a quick start in the Last Chance and cruised to the win and take the final spot in the main event.
Tim Gomez entered the Second Division Main unbeaten despite being handicapped 10 yards due to his dominance at the first two meetings. It looked as if his winning streak would be stopped when a crash with Sam Soltz forced him to borrow a bike from Neil Facchini. On the restart Geoff Herkner took the lead and led the first two laps. Gomez hunted him down, though, and grabbed the lead entering turn three on the third lap. Gomez pulled away on the last lap to win his third consecutive main event. Herkner held on for second, Soltz was third, Billy Braden finished fourth, and Greg Vandemore was fifth.
Mike Boyle and Steve Dziadus waged a battle that included a lot of side-by-side racing in the Third Division Main Event. Their battle continued all the way to the checkered flag with Boyle earning a narrow victory. Kerry Conner finished in third.
Jason Ramirez held off a very persistent Krystal Cramer to win the Youth First Division Main Event. Nathan Galvin was victorious in the Youth Second Division Main Event with Gino Manzares finishing second, Eddie Conner finishing third, Joey Holt was fourth, and Ricky Valdez was fifth.
RESULTS 50cc Beginner Main Event 7 - Rocco Scopellite 1 - Sean McDonald 401 - Jennifer Facchini 2 - Erica Winter 50cc Expert Main Event 8 - Braydan Galvin 72 - Zac Delacruz 999 - Samuel Ramirez Third Division Main Event (restarted) 198 - Mike Boyle 212 - Steve Dziadus 135 - Kerry Conner Second Division Consolation 138 - Rich Brock 115 - Mark Baldwin 248 - Brian Starr 163 - Rohn Zellner 269 - Ed Martinez Second Division Main Event (restarted) 136 - Tim Gomez (10 yards) 208 - Geoff Herkner 222 - Sam Soltz (penalty line) 117 - Billy Braden (fell, remounted) 209 - Greg Vandemore (fell) Youth Second Division Main Event 134 - Nathan Galvin 0 21 - Gino Manzares 10 135 - Eddie Conner 0 114 - Joey Holt 0 5 - Ricky Valdez 10 (fell) Youth First Division Main Event 66 - Jason Ramirez 13 - Krystal Cramer First Division Scoring 1 2 3 T 14 - Eddie Castro 2 1 3 6 18 - Justin Boyle 2 2 3 8 24 - Bobby Krips 3 3 3 9 37 - Denny Scopellite 3 2 2 8 39 - Buck Blair 2 3 3 8 139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 3 3 2 8 145 - Dario Galvin 1 2 0 3 178 - Eloy Medellin R 1 2 3 201 - Neil Facchini 1 2 1 4 214 - Steve Murray 1 0 2 3 249 - John Stunkard 2 1 1 4 301 - Dale Facchini 1 1 1 3 389 - Nate Perkins 3 3 1 7 Race Results 1: Krips, Blair, Galvin 2: Perkins, Boyle, N.Facchini 3: Harmatiuk, Castro, Murray 4: Scopellite, Stunkard, D.Facchini, Medellin (retired) 14: Krips, Scopellite, Castro, Murray 15: Blair, Boyle, Medellin 16: Harmatiuk, N.Facchini, Stunkard 17: Perkins, Galvin, D.Facchini 27: Blair, Scopellite, D.Facchini 28: Krips, Harmatiuk, Perkins, Galvin 29: (restarted) Castro, Medellin, N.Facchini (penalty line) (fell) 30: Boyle, Stunkard, Murray Runoff: Boyle, Scopellite, Perkins Last Chance: Castro, Scopellite, Perkins, Stunkard, N.Facchini Scratch Main 39 - Buck Blair 14 - Eddie Castro 18 - Justin Boyle 139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 24 - Bobby Krips (retired)