1996 Costa Mesa Speedway
May 17, 1996 - Ocean Spray / Bruce Penhall Classic Costa Mesa Speedway
From: Gary Roberts
This was a championship format, with 20 riders competing. Top 5 went to
the main, next 5 to the consolation. Points scored as follows:
Mike Faria 11
Bobby Schwartz 11
Shawn McConnell 11
Steve Lucero 11
Andy Northrup 8
Lance King 7
John Aden 7
Jake Zemke 7
Charlie Venegas 7
Gary Hicks 7
Paul Colston 5
Matt Becker 5
Steve Furman 3
Walt Farnum 3
Don Odom 3
Brian Pappalardo 2
Jerry Black 2
Ronny Kemp 2
Gary Ackroyd 2
David Taylor 1
Tony Wood (res) 4
Main:
1. Bobby Schwartz
2. Shawn McConnell
3. Steve Lucero
4. Andy Northrup
5. Mike Faria
Consolation:
1. John Aden
2. Lance King
3. Charlie Venegas
4. Gary Hicks
5. Jake Zemke
The format of the qualifying races was 12 heats, 5 riders per heat, so
did not enable each rider to race against every other rider. Some had
an easier route than others. In the main Mike Faria was disqualified
for touching the tapes. From where I was sitting, it looked very much
as if McConnell touched it first. Mike Faria was clearly unhappy with
the decision, and so was the crowd. So on the rating that English race
reports have recently included, the referees performance score would
not have been high. My personal view is that he is the referee, you
don't have to agree with him, but you must respect his decision. If a
referee consistently makes wrong decisions, get another one. Until you
do that, you must accept his decision. I have seen instances here of
referees changing decisions to please the crowd. This does not uphold
speedway as a gentlemen's sport.
Unluckiest rider was Paul Colston. After doing reasonably well in his
first two heats, including a good win over Gary Hicks, he broke the
crankcase of a new Jawa in his third heat.
Support Main
1. Mike Reed
2. Charlie Cooley
3. Randy Skinner
4. Craig DePhillippi
5. Ken Hansen
Support B
1. Tom Wetzel
2. Joshua O'Neal
3. David Enloe
4. Paul Binnquist
5. Sean Larned
Gary Roberts - gary_rob@ix.netcom.com
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