Victorville Speedway
Wheel2Wheel Raceway
San Bernardino County Fairgrounds
Victorville, California

Victorville Track Championship
August 8, 2009 - Victorville
By: Ryan Evans

Jimmy “Little Animal” Fishback crafted a thrilling come-from-behind performance in the main event to win the Victorville Track Championship at Wheel2Wheel Raceway.

Fishback and his MXRC Racing teammate Tommy Hedden entered the main event tied at the top of the scoreboard with 11 points each. Neither rider made the start, however, as Shaun Harmatiuk beat the field to turn one. Fishback tried to get by the leader on the inside on lap one to no avail while Hedden’s bid ended in turn three when he fell. Fishback switched his attack to the outside the second time down the back straight and went deep into turn three.

The former Junior National Champion mustered more momentum from the high-banked corner and splendidly squeezed through a narrow gap for the lead amid a cascade of cheers from the crowd. Fishback’s lead wasn’t threatened until the final corner when he momentarily straightened up, but recovered in time to secure the Track Championship. Harmatiuk had to settle for second, Austin Novratil finished third, and Hedden was fourth.

Harmatiuk led the first heat before Fishback went by on the inside for the lead and his first win. Hedden started his evening with a win in the second heat. Castro passed Justin Boyle to end round one with a win. Hedden held off Fishback to begin round two with his second win. Castro made it two for two with a win over Jason Ramirez. Novratil defeated Harmatiuk to end the second round with a victory. Fishback started the third round by beating Gino Manzares.

Hedden beat Novratil for his third consecutive win in the next heat. Ramirez beat Brad Pappalardo to end round three. Castro began the final round by handing Hedden is first defeat. Harmatiuk beat Ramirez in the penultimate heat. Fishback beat Manzares in the evening’s last heat. Ramirez won the C Final and transferred into the B Final. Manzares finished second, Pappalardo was third, and Boyle finished fourth. Harmatiuk won the B Final with Novratil’s second place finish allowed him to transfer to the main as well. Ramirez finished third and Castro was fourth.

Joey Holt led all four laps en route to claiming the Second Division Track Championship. Rick Fehrman finished second, Rudy Laurer was third, Rohn Zellner finished fourth, and Dylan Black was fifth. Paul Thornton led the Third Division Track Championship Final until Tim McGrath stormed from the back to take the lead at the end of lap one. McGrath never looked back from there and claimed the title. Fehrman finished second, Gene Stone was third, and Thornton finished fourth.

Nicky Reimer led from start to finish and won the Youth Track Championship. Rocco Scopellite finished second, Samuel Ramirez was third, Maxwell Ruml finished fourth, Jacob Wondolowski was fifth, and Erika Lyons finished sixth.

Reimer didn’t limit his success to one division as he won the Pee Wee Track Championship as well. Wondolowski finished second, Brandon Rhea was third, Lyons finished fourth, Gino Scopellite was fifth, Summer Fehrman finished sixth, and Dakota Shockley was seventh.

Lyons proved to be the queen of the evening by winning the Powder Puff Track Championship. Cassi Novratil finished second, Ally McGrath was third, Julie Shockley finished fourth, Amanda Ramirez was fifth, and Summer Fehrman finished sixth.

A crash in turn two brought a premature end to the first start of the Sidecar Track Championship Final and left Joe Jones and Jimmy Olsen on the sideline for the restart with a broken machine. Sean Driggers and Missy Driggers led the restart for two laps before Gerard Jackson and Dave German went by for the lead. Jackson and German led the rest of the way for the victory. Driggers and Driggers were second, and Tommy Thornton and Gene Stone finished third.

The next speedway event at Wheel2Wheel Raceway will take place Labor Day Weekend with the Dream Team Challenge team event on Saturday, September 5.

RESULTS 
  Sidecar Track Championship Final (restarted)
  66 – Gerard Jackson/Dave German
  23 – Sean Driggers/Missy Driggers
  31 – Tommy Thornton/Gene Stone
  1 – Joe Jones/Jimmy Olsen (non starter – restart)
  
  Powderpuff Track Championship Final
  77 – Erika Lyons
  288 – Cassi Novratil
  186 – Ally McGrath
  11 – Julie Shockley
  78 – Amanda Ramirez	(fell)
  8 – Summer Fehrman	(retired)
  
  Pee Wee Track Championship Final
  41 – Nicky Reimer
  251 – Jacob Wondolowski
  9 – Brandon Rhea
  77 – Erika Lyons
  7 – Gino Scopellite
  8 – Summer Fehrman
  34 – Dakota Shockley
  
  Third Division Track Championship Final
  186 – Tim McGrath		30
  240n – Rick Fehrman		40
  231 – Gene Stone		20
  124 – Paul Thornton		10
  
  Second Division B Final
  182 – Rudy Laurer 363 – Butch Waymire
  
  Second Division Track Championship Final (restarted)
  244 – Joey Holt 240 – Rick Fehrman
  182 – Rudy Laurer (penalty line)
  163 – Rohn Zellner 201 – Dylan Black (retired)
  
  Track Championship Scoring	1	2	3	4	T
  14 – Eddie Castro 3	3	1	3	10
  17 – Robbie Sauer 1	0	0	0	1
  18 – Justin Boyle 2	1	1	1	5
  25 – Jimmy Fishback 3	2	3	3	11
  40 – Tommy Hedden 3	3	3	2	11
  66 – Jason Ramirez 0	2	3	2	7
  139 – Shaun Harmatiuk 2	2	1	3	8
  145 – Brad Pappalardo 0	1	2	0	3
  149 – Philip Harmatiuk 1	0	0	1	2
  163 – Rohn Zellner 0	-	-	-	0
  181 – Austin Novratil 2	3	2	F	7
  182 – Rudy Laurer 0	-	-	-	0
  221 – Gino Manzares 1	1	2	2	6
  
  Race Results
  4: Fishback, S.Harmatiuk, Sauer, Pappalardo
  5: Hedden, Novratil, Manzares, Ramirez
  6: Castro, Boyle, P.Harmatiuk, Zellner
  13: Hedden, Fishback, Manzares, Sauer
  14: Castro, Ramirez, Boyle, P.Harmatiuk
  15: Novratil, S.Harmatiuk, Pappalardo, Laurer
  20: Fishback, Manzares, Castro, P.Harmatiuk
  21: Hedden, Novratil, S.Harmatiuk, Sauer
  22: (restarted) Ramirez, Pappalardo, Boyle
  29: Castro, Hedden, Novratil (fell)
  30: S.Harmatiuk, Ramirez, Pappalardo, P.Harmatiuk
  31: Fishback, Manzares, Boyle, Sauer

First Division C Main
66 - Jason Ramirez 
221 - Gino Manzares 
145 - Brad Pappalardo 
18 - Justin Boyle 

First Division B Main
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 
181 - Austin Novratil 
66 - Jason Ramirez 
14 - Eddie Castro (fell)

Victorville Track Championship Final
25 -  Jimmy Fishback 
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 
181 - Austin Novratil 
40 -  Tommy Hedden (fell, remounted)