Victorville Speedway
Wheel2Wheel Raceway
Victorville, California

Harley Night
July 12, 2008 - Victorville
By: Ryan Evans

Buck Blair overcame Mother Nature and his fellow competitors to win the Scratch Main Event on Harley Night at Wheel2Wheel Raceway in Victorville.

Blair and Shaun Harmatiuk left the starting line together, but Blair used the banking in the turn to his advantage and went around the outside of Harmatiuk in turn two to grab the lead on the back straight. Blair left the competition in his wake and pulled away with each successive lap and cruised to the victory. Harmatiuk was second, Jason Ramirez finished third, and Eddie Castro was fourth.

Brad Sauer led the first heat before Ramirez passed him for the lead and the win. Harmatiuk beat Neil Facchini in the second heat. Blair defeated Greg Ayers to end the first round.

The second round began with Facchini beating Robbie Sauer. Ayers defeated Harmatiuk in the next heat. Tony Bienert used a brilliant inside move to pass Blair and Billy Lyons to complete round two with a victory.

The rain changed the track conditions for round three, but Castro adapted quickly for the win. Sixteen year old Ramirez showed a lot of speed and stayed upright for the win while Harmatiuk and Jay Pickard floundered and fell behind him. Blair beat Facchini for his second victory in event 25.

Blair got the best start in the first semi, but Ramirez bravely rode the outside line and shocked the Colorado native with an impressive pass for the lead. Ramirez held on for the win with Blair following him into the main event by finishing second. Harmatiuk won the second semi while Castro used the outside to take second and the final transfer into the main.

Defending National Champions Joe Jones and Jimmy Olsen used their experience to their advantage and performed brilliantly in the challenging conditions to defeat Dave Alexander and Phil Herman in the Sidecar Main Event.

Ominous clouds filled the high desert sky all afternoon and the rain finally began to fall shortly after the second round of First Division heats had been completed. Although the rain only fell for approximately 35 minutes, the track had a significant amount of water on its surface. Following a delay to let the track dry and the running of several car races, the majority of the riders were satisfied with the track conditions and elected to give the paying fans their money’s worth. However, the extended delay forced the cancellation of several main events as well as the Scratch Consolation.

RESULTS 

Sidecar Main Event 
1 – Joe Jones/Jimmy Olsen
 22 – Dave Alexander/Phil Herman
 13 – Scott Driggers/Sean Driggers	(non starter)
 31 – Tommy Thornton/Steven Bumpass	(non starter)
 66 – Gerard Jackson/Dave German	(non starter) 
 
 Pee Wee Main Event (cancelled due to curfew)
**Lineup**
  4 – Troy Bienert
  7 – Brandt Fletcher
 12 – Nathan Remington
 20 – Warren Kardos
 41 – Nicky Reimer
 77 – Erika Lyons 
 
 Youth Main Event (cancelled due to curfew)
**Lineup**
 22 – Samuel Ramirez 
 77 – Erika Lyons
999 – Major Davis 

Third Division Main Event (cancelled due to curfew)
**Lineup**
157 – Tony DeAlmeida 20
186 – Tim McGrath		20
226 – Rick Huspek		10
292 – Mike Schultz		10 

Second Division Main Event (cancelled due to curfew)
 52 – Marvin Sonnier 20
177 – Steve Bowen 20
153 – Brad Moreau		10
202 – J.C. Masters		10
252 – Jeff Remington 10 

First Division Scoring	1	2	3	T 
14 – Eddie Castro 1	0	3	4
 17 – Robbie Sauer 1	2	withdrew
 21 – Brad Sauer 2	1	withdrew
 32 – Billy Lyons 0	1	1	2
 39 – Buck Blair 3	2	3	8
 66 – Jason Ramirez 3	0	3	6
 69 – Jay Pickard		R	0	1	1
 86 – Neil Facchini 1	3	2	6
 99 – Greg Ayers 2	3	1	6
103 – Tony Bienert		2	3	2	7
139 – Shaun Harmatiuk 3	2	2	7
232 – Allen Doss 0	1	0	1 

Race Results 6: Ramirez, B.Sauer, Castro, Pickard (retired)
 7: Harmatiuk, Facchini, Bienert, Lyons
 8: Blair, Ayers, R.Sauer, Doss
14: Facchini [10], R.Sauer [10], Doss [0], Castro [10] (fell, remounted)
15: Ayers [20], Harmatiuk [30], B.Sauer [20], Pickard [0]
16: Bienert [20], Blair [30], Lyons [0], Ramirez [30]
23: Castro [0], Bienert [30], Ayers [30], Doss [10]
24: Ramirez [0], Harmatiuk [20] (fell, remounted), Pickard [0] (fell, remounted)
25: Blair [20], Facchini [30], Lyons [10] 

Semi #1: Ramirez, Blair, Facchini, Lyons 
Semi #2: Harmatiuk, Castro, Bienert, Ayers 

Scratch Consolation (cancelled due to curfew)
**Lineup**
 86 – Neil Facchini 
 32 – Billy Lyons 
 103 – Tony Bienert
 99 – Greg Ayers 
 
Scratch Main Event 
39 – Buck Blair 
139 – Shaun Harmatiuk 
66 – Jason Ramirez
14 – Eddie Castro (fell, remounted)