1996 Costa Mesa Speedway

August 30, 1996
From: Gary Roberts

Scratch Main
1. Bobby"Boogaloo" Schwartz
2. "Rad" Brad Oxley
3. Shawn McConnell
4. Steve"bad boy" Lucero
5. John Aden

Handicap Main
1. Jake Zemke
2. Jesse Finch
3. Steve"bad boy" Lucero
4. Shawn McConnell
5. Eddie Castro
6. "Rad" Brad Oxley
7. Gary Ackroyd
8. Jason Daniels

Support Class Main
1. Kon Baur
2. Robbie Hackman
3. Randy Skinner
4. David Lynch
5. Jeremy O'Neil
6. Brian Burch

Another great evening of racing at Costa Mesa. Again, lots of close racing with plenty of overtaking. The scratch main was won by Bobby Schwartz with Brad Oxley pushing him all the way. Both these riders seem incredibly fast this year. It will be interesting to see how the UK based Americans get on in the National Championship on September 28. Much of this season Schwarz, Oxley and Lucero have looked very fast and competitive. Maybe the same close battle was going on 2 years ago as well, and I didn't notice it, because I was watching Mike Faria riding round in front of them!

The Handicap Main was again a close race. Jason Daniels got a good gate from the 10 yard line, parked it coming out of turn 4, but kept going. Due to the close formation, everyone else took avoiding action, causing 5 riders to fall. Daniels was disqualified from the re-run, which resulted in a well deserved win for ex-flat-tracker Jake Zemke. Zemke started speedway at the begining of last season. I rode with him at a practice sesssion at Victorville last March. He looked good right from the start and has since become super quick. He has worked hard and its good to see him succeed.

Kon Baur had a comparatively easy win in the Support Class. I saw Kon yesterday at Maely's ranch where I went for my practice ride and he was very fast out there. He is one of the few riders here with a lay down machine and seems to have it running well.

Maely's Ranch is a practice track set in a canyon in Corona, 60 miles east of LA. The temperature at midday at this time of year is around 105, so we tend to go in the late afternoon. The winter is most popular, and where else in the world can a novice rider such as myself go to practice with riders like Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock? Finally, I would like to bring to the attention of Californian speedway fans (and others) an opportunity that is being offered to invest in a Central California speedway track. Details are available on Kim Gregory's www want-ad page at: speedwaybikes.com or send an EMail to DaveChan@ix.netcom.com for details. David Chan is seeking sponsors and investors.