Inland Motor Speedway
National Orange Show
San Bernardino, California

2011 Western States Championship
October 7, 2011
By: Ryan Evans
Photos by: Dorcey Wingo

IMS Young Guns enjoy the bun warmer near turn one: the omnipresent IMS generator!	Back from injuries, Neil Facchini's first heat found him on the pole with the undisputed National Speedway Champ #1 Billy Janniro in lane three.	Billy didn't waste any time, speeding to victory in his first heat.
Pee Wee #275 Jimmy Fishback IV had a hot hand (and shoe) at IMS, all night long.	Youth riders Braydan Galvin (L) and Sebastian Palmese (R) tear around turn one.	In the Last of the Mohicans Challenge, #9 Flying Mike Faria beat a very fast Shawn McConnell and six other riders.
2nd Division: #101 Mike Wiley tastes the legendary DG while his scooter completes the ol' half-a-loop.	3rd Division: Beach Ball Brown gets a wheel up in lane two.	First Division Last Chance: #6 McConnell is on the pole, #86 Facchini is in two. #39 Buck Blair takes off in three and #23 Steve Russell is along the wall.
2011 Western States Final: Billy has the pole and is off like a prom dress. Fishback in two; Blair in three; Faria in four.	The New Western States Champ deserves all the credit - taking on some of the best in the Sport at IMS - and winning convincingly. Fishback was second, Blair took third, and Faria finished fourth.	#25 Jimmy Fishback (left) #1 Billy Janniro (center) and #39 Blair (right) pose briefly with the Trophy Girls, then go for their corks!

2011 Western States Championship - San Bernardino, CA, USA - October 7

National Champion Billy "The Kid" Janniro added another title to his bulging trophy case when he lifted the Western States Championship with a flawless performance at Inland Motorcycle Speedway in San Bernardino.

Janniro, who retained his National Championship the previous weekend, entered the Final with a perfect score and picked gate one. Jimmy "Little Animal" Fishback, who had only been beaten by Janniro, selected gate two. "Flyin" Mike Faria chose gate four which left "Battling" Buck Blair with gate three.

Janniro exploded from the tapes at the start and led the field into turn one. Fishback emerged from the contenders in second and focused on the leader. Janniro had a solid lead after the first lap, and just as he had the entire evening, he stretched his advantage with each circuit. Janniro was first to the checkered flag, Fishback held on to second, Blair finished third, and Mike Faria was fourth.

Aaron Fox made the best start in the first heat but Steve Russell passed him on the final lap to take the win. Janniro gave an early indication of his evening by blazing to victory over Neil Facchini. Mike Faria defeated Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell in event three. Fishback ended the first round by beating Rick "The Rage" Valdez.

Facchini started the second round with a win over Joey "The Bolt" Holt. Janniro defeated Fishback for his second straight win. Blair beat Tyson Talkington for his first victory. Mike Faria defeated his son, Danny Faria to finish round two with his second consecutive win.

Janniro began round three with a defeat of Blair for his third win in a row. Mike Faria matched Janniro's unblemished streak by beating Facchini. Fishback defeated Danny Faria for his second win. Shawn McConnell defeated Talkington for his first victory to end the third round.

The final round opened with Faria leading event 29 for a lap before Fishback stormed past and took the lead and the win. Both riders earned enough points to make the Final. Blair defeated Fox for his second victory of the evening. Shawn McConnell won event 31 ahead of Facchini for his second straight win. Janniro closed out the heats with a dominant victory ahead of Russell to remain undefeated and solidify his spot in the Final.

Blair made a brilliant start in the Last Chance Race and kept Shawn McConnell at bay to get the win and the final spot in the Final. Facchini finished third and Russell was fourth.

Troy "Mad Puppy" McConnell started in gate four and used an excellent outside move in the first turn to take the lead in the Second Division Main Event. It was the closest that his competitors would get to him as he pulled away for the victory. Mike Wiley finished second, Rohn Zellner was third, and Mitch Pierson finished fourth.

Kevin Fife made the best start in the Third Division Main Event but Northern California's Chanse Vaccaro set his sights on the leader. Vaccaro closed ground throughout the race but fell when he tried to pass him on the third lap. Fife led the final lap to take the win, Kip McClain was second, Tony DeAlmeida finished third, and Vaccaro was credited with fourth.

Daniel Casey led the Youth Main Event before Sebastian Palmese passed him on the back straight. Palmese's turn at the front didn't last long because Braydan Galvin swept around the outside and took the lead at the conclusion of the first lap. Broc Nicol followed the same path as Galvin to get into second. Galvin was still holding the lead when a confusion regarding the flags and the number of laps caused most of the riders to slow down. Galvin maintained his lead on the final lap and won, but the pack behind him shuffled. Palmese finished second, Dalton Leedy was third, Nicol finished fourth, and Casey was fifth.

Jimmy Fishback IV led from start to finish en route to victory in the Pee Wee Main Event. Matthew Casey finished second, Luke Whitcomb was third, Elaina Williams finished fourth, and Sara Cords was fifth.

RESULTS

Pee Wee Main Event
275 -Jimmy Fishback IV
3n - Matthew Casey
27 - Luke Whitcomb
17 - Elaina Williams
14 - Sara Cords (fell, remounted)

Youth Main Event
45 - Braydan Galvin 20
18 - Sebastian Palmese 10
222 - Dalton Leedy 20
98 - Broc Nicol 30
393n Daniel Casey 0
28 - Adam Herkner0(non starter)

Third Division Consolation
131 – Rod Requejo
390n – John Williams
211 – Steve Brown
188 – Rick Howard
394n – Jason Breedlove

Third Division Main Event
311 - Kevin Fife
316 - Kip McClain
157 - Tony DeAlmeida
392n - Chanse Vaccaro (fell, remounted)

Second Division Consolation
208 – Geoff Herkner
333 – Mike Salyer
391n – Chris Casey
151 – Brandon Leedy (non starter)

Second Division Main Event
114 - Troy McConnell
101 - Mike Wiley
163 - Rohn Zellner
192 - Mitch Pierson

Western States Heat Scoring1224T
1 – Billy Janniro 333312
6 – Shawn McConnell 21339
9 – Mike Faria 333211
11 – Bobby Schwartz 10012
17 – Robbie Sauer 0FR 00
23 – Steve Russell 31127
25 – Jimmy Fishback 323311
28 – Joey Holt 12104
39 – Buck Blair 13239
46 – Aaron Fox 20125
48 – Tyson Talkington 02215
86 – Neil Facchini 23229
105 – Danny Faria 12216
113 – Gabe Price 00101
195 – Drew Coats 01F00
293 – Rick Valdez 21014

Heat Results
1: Russell, Fox, Holt, Price
2: Janniro, Facchini, D.Faria, Talkington
3: M.Faria, McConnell, Blair, Coats
4: Fishback, Valdez, Schwartz, Sauer
12: Facchini, Holt, Coats, Sauer (fell)
13: Janniro, Fishback, McConnell, Fox
14: Blair, Talkington, Valdez, Price
15: M.Faria, D.Faria, Russell, Schwartz
23: Janniro, Blair, Holt, Schwartz
24: M.Faria, Facchini, Fox, Valdez
25: Fishback, D.Faria, Price, Coats (fell)
26: McConnell, Talkington, Russell, Sauer (retired)
29: Fishback, M.Faria, Talkington, Holt
30: Blair, Fox, D.Faria, Sauer
31: McConnell, Facchini, Schwartz, Price
32: Janniro, Russell, Valdez, Coats

First Division Last Chance
39 - Buck Blair
6 - Shawn McConnell
86 - Neil Facchini
23 - Steve Russell

Western States Championship Final
1 - Billy Janniro
25 - Jimmy Fishback
39 - Buck Blair
9 - Mike Faria (retired)