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Industry Speedway
The Grand Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
Off Road Night
July 16, 2008 - Industry Speedway
By: Ryan Evans
Off Road Night at Industry Speedway brought a variety of off road motor sports to blend in with the speedway bikes and it also brought a variety in the speedway results as well.
The best speedway action occurred in the semis. Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz started in gate one and took the lead into turn one. The former National Champion found too much traction in turn two and wheelied down the back straight. By the time he got his front wheel back on the ground he went deep into turn three and forced Buck Blair to go wide. Jimmy Fishback and Eddie Castro took advantage and finished first and second, respectively, to transfer to the main. In a show of sportsmanship, Schwartz apologized to Blair on the cool-down lap.
Neil Facchini used gate one to his advantage in the second semi and jumped into the lead. Unbeknownst to Facchini, his muffler had disconnected from his headpipe and despite convincingly finishing in front of the field, he was disqualified for the muffler malfunction.
The Last Chance Heat was brimming with talent as veterans Blair, Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell, and Charlie “The Edge” Venegas met sixteen year old Russell Green for the last spot in the main event. McConnell started on the inside and stayed there all four laps to transfer to the main and leaving Venegas, winner of eight Industry main events, and Blair, one of only two riders to defeat Venegas in an Industry main event, on the outside looking in.
With gate one proving to be a clear advantage in the previous three scratch races, the draw for the Scratch Main Event was vital. Shaun Harmatiuk was lucky enough to pluck the number one position and he used it to lead into turn one. McConnell stalked Harmatiuk throughout lap one, but couldn’t make his way past. McConnell made a run up the inside on the back straight and was inches from the leader entering turn three. McConnell could’ve gotten physical and forced his way past, but elected to take the gentlemanly route and waited for an error. McConnell remained within striking distance the final two laps, but opportunity never presented itself and Harmatiuk was victorious. Ricky Wells finished third, Castro was fourth, and Fishback finished fifth.
McConnell began the heats with his first win of the evening. Fishback ran away with the win in the second heat. Wells cruised to victory to complete the first round.
Brad Sauer held off Wells for the victory to start the second round. Harmatiuk won the next heat. Venegas took what would prove to be his only victory ahead of Facchini to end round two.
McConnell defeated Green for his second win to start the final round. Castro held off Fishback to win event 28. Schwartz beat Blair to win the final heat. Venegas, who struggled all evening, defeated Sauer in a runoff for the final spot in the semis.
The competitors in the Second Division Main Event had the added incentive of winning an extra $50 donated by Tom Foster. The first attempt was stopped when “Rattlesnake” Steve Bowen fell. The restart was all Allen Doss as he led all four laps to win the main for the second straight week. Bowen finished second, Eloy Medellin was third, and Vince Giamformaggio was fourth in his first appearance of 2008.
Blake Bowen turned his first race meeting of 2008 into a success by dominating the Third Division Main Event. Bruce Marteney was second, Tony DeAlmeida finished third, and Chris Thomas was fourth.
Upon entering the venue the fans were greeted jumps and an abundance of orange cones dotted the infield. The fans soon discovered that there was a method to the madness as the cones were temporarily extended to the speedway track to form a course for the Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) Trophy Carts. Although they are named carts, the actually have mini desert truck bodies and their young drivers put on a great show for the fans.
During intermission, the fans were also treated to several forms of desert race vehicles jumping into The Grand arena from a dirt ramp that had been built outside the turn two wall. Also making some parade laps around the track were Robby Gordon Racing’s Hummer chase vehicles.
The next race meeting at Industry Speedway will include the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale NASCAR Camping World West Series display.
RESULTS
Second Division Pee Wee Main Event
111 – Matthew Duffy
39 – Jack Giamformaggio
22 – James Walter
7 – Gino Scopellite (non starter)
First Division Pee Wee Main Event
3 – Nicholas Varner
41 – Nicky Reimer
114 – Christian Terranova
51 – Trent Hunter
Youth Main Event
9 – Rocco Scopellite
Third Division Consolation
310 – John Weller
308 – Hugh Randolph
124 – Paul Thornton
288 – Rick Fritch (non starter)
Third Division Main Event
187 – Blake Bowen
242 – Bruce Marteney
157 – Tony DeAlmeida
189 – Chris Thomas (fell)
Second Division Last Chance
232 – Allen Doss
178 – Eloy Medellin
136 – Kim Stevens
153 – Brad Moreau
202 – J.C. Masters
Second Division Main Event (restarted)
232 – Allen Doss
177 – Steve Bowen
178 – Eloy Medellin
309 – Vince Giamformaggio
First Division Scoring 1 2 3 T
6 – Shawn McConnell 4 2 4 10
11 – Bobby Schwartz 3 1 4 8
14 – Eddie Castro 2 1 4 7
17 – Robbie Sauer 1 0 1 2
21 – Brad Sauer 1 4 1 6
25 – Jimmy Fishback 4 2 3 9
39 – Buck Blair 3 3 3 9
43 – Charlie Venegas 1 4 1 6
52 – Marvin Sonnier 0 0 0 0
66 – Jason Ramirez F 1 R 1
86 – Neil Facchini 2 3 2 7
139 – Shaun Harmatiuk 3 4 2 9
142 – Ricky Wells 4 3 2 9
321 – Russell Green 2 2 3 7
Race Results 10: McConnell, Blair, Green, B.Sauer, Sonnier
11: Fishback, Harmatiuk, Facchini, Venegas, Ramirez (fell)
12: Wells, Schwartz, Castro, R.Sauer
20: B.Sauer [0], Wells [30], Fishback [30], Ramirez [0], R.Sauer [0]
21: Harmatiuk [20], Blair [20], Green [10], Schwartz [20]
22: Venegas [0], Facchini [10], McConnell [30], Castro [10], Sonnier [0]
27: McConnell [10], Green [10], Harmatiuk [30], Venegas [30]
28: Castro [0], Fishback [10], Wells [20], R.Sauer [0], Sonnier [0] (fell, remounted)
29: Schwartz [0], Blair [20], Facchini [20], B.Sauer [30], Ramirez [0] (retired)
Runoff: Venegas, B.Sauer
Semi #1: Fishback, Castro, Green, Blair, Schwartz
Semi #2: Harmatiuk, Wells, Venegas, McConnell, Facchini (excluded)
Last Chance
6 – Shawn McConnell
321 – Russell Green
43 – Charlie Venegas (retired)
39 – Buck Blair (retired)
Scratch Main Event
139 – Shaun Harmatiuk
6 – Shawn McConnell
142 – Ricky Wells
14 – Eddie Castro
25 – Jimmy Fishback
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