Industry Racing
The Grand Arena
Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
Speedway and Sidecars
July 17, 2019 - Industry Racing
MAX RUML PERFECT AGAIN @ INDUSTRY SPEEDWAY – By Tim Kennedy
Industry, CA., Jul. 17 - Max Ruml did it again Wednesday night on Laidlaw Harley-Davidson of Baldwin Park Night at Industry Speedway in the Grand Arena. He won all three of his heats, his semi-final race, and the main event and led every lap in all five of his races. About 700 spectators present marveled at his mastery on his 500cc GM bike.
The 22-year old Garden Grove resident won last Wednesday at Industry and Friday in Auburn. He beat multi-time National and California State champion Billy Janniro in close races both nights. Janniro topped Max Saturday night in Costa Mesa during the Orange County Fair.
At Industry Max has now won 21 consecutive races, including heats, semis and mains, without a defeat. His last loss was June 5 when he finished third in his final round heat and second to his brother Dillon in the feature. Max did not race at Industry June 19 because he received a concussion at Ventura June 15. He now has won four of the seven 2019 Industry features and four of six when he competed.
There was a full moon Wednesday. Crashes sent three riders to local hospitals. Two serious-looking falls caused lengthy red flag delays while ambulance EMTs attended two downed riders for many minutes. In event 19 (500cc Division 2 heat) and event 23 (500cc Division 1 heat) crashes caused about 40-minutes of down-time prior to 9:00 pm.
In event 19, P. 2 Mike Miller and P. 3 Richard Perkins, a 58-year old Carson City, NV resident and first-time racer at Industry, collided in the second turn. Miller fell hard on the track. Perkins veered at speed into and through the plywood crashwall at a building concrete support. Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics arrived and transported the conscious rider to Pomona Valley Medical Center. He was admitted with a broken leg, broken arm and three broken ribs.
During event 23 (Division 1 round three heat) P. 2 Michael Wells collided with the plywood crashwall and starting gate support and fell hard. He also remained on the ground many minutes. He eventually stood and with support on both sides limped to the pits unable to put weight on his right leg. Wells, an 18-year old Huntington Beach resident, went to Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach. Medical examination revealed a broken ankle.
The starting gate right side metal upright was damaged by Wells' impact. Track officials tried unsuccessfully to repair it, so starting gate tapes could not be used. Officials told all riders during a hastily called meeting all starts would use the red light for staging at the starting line and when the green light appeared to begin racing. The system worked flawlessly for the rest of the program.
Laidlaw Harley-Davidson Night included events for “Hooligan Harleys” and for street legal Harleys. Seven hooligan and three street legal bikes raced in two heats and two 5-lap mains for each group. Winners of the two class main events received $250 Laidlaws H-D dealership gift certificates. Laidlaws has been a long-time sponsor of Industry racing.
Another special event Wednesday was a match race between 500cc Division 1 veteran Dukie Ermolenko, 50, and European speedway veteran Ronnie Correy, who was on vacation from England. The best out of three 2-lap races was the winner. Ermolenko won the first and third races and Correy won the second segment. That pushed the total number of races run from 7:30 to 10:18 pm to an Industry record 49.
Division 1 FEATURE:
The first division feature started with M. Ruml on pole and his brother Dillon, 20, next to the crashwall. Tim Gomez, 30, and Shawn McConnell, 60, were in lanes two and three respectively. Max led every lap on the inside. Gomez was second on lap 1, but high-riding Dillon blasted from third to second on lap 2 exiting the fourth turn. He chased his older brother for the final two laps and appeared to be closing a bit on his apartment roomie. However, Max won by three lengths over Dillon. Gomez was third, two lengths in back of Dillon. McConnell, from nearby Brea, was fourth.
The two Division 1 semi-finals went to D. Ruml over Gomez, Bob Hicks and 500cc rookie Sebastian Palmese, 15. M. Ruml launched from lane two and won the second semi-final over lane three starter McConnell. Auburn's Colton Hicks, 17, finished third after starting from pole position. Fellow Nor Cal teen and lane four starter Blake Borello, 18, placed fourth.
Six of the 15 Division 1 riders present won the 12 heat races. C. Hicks and the Ruml brothers all scored perfect nine points by winning all three of their heat races. Palmese won the Division 1 consolation race over B. Hicks and his son C. Hicks, with Borello trailing. Solo heat victories went to McConnell, Gomez and B. Hicks, 53. It took five points this week to make one of the two semi-finals that advanced the top two finishers in each semi to the feature.
SUPPORT DIVISIONS:
Laps 2-4 leader Eloy Medellin, 49, won his second Division 2 500cc main in a row. Lap 1 leader Kevin Fiore, Rudy Laurer and David Lynch placed second through fourth. The 500cc Division 3 main for newer riders went to Brent Smith for his second main at Industry this season. Smith, who also rode as a sidecar swinger for the second time ever, led every lap over July 10 winner Jake Myers. David Newsham and Dennis Osmer followed.
SIDECARS:
Four 1,000cc sidecar teams raced a pair of heats and four-lap feature. Joe Jones/Josh Flammia won a heat and led every lap of the main over Kevin Kale/Tracy Gallagher, first heat winner Ace Kale/Brent Smith, and Kevin Holman/Shannen Hennessey. Jones/Flammia have won all four sidecar mains at Industry this season.
JUNIORS:
Slater Lightcap, 13, beat new 2019 250cc National Champion Cameron Krezman, 15, from Nor Cal. Upper New York state resident Jonny Oakden, 15, took third spot from Luke Whitcomb, 13, by inches at the finish line. Owen Wildman, 12, led all the way in the 150cc main and edged new 2019 150cc National Champion Levi Leutz. Ken Matsudaira and Jose Navarette took third and fourth positions. Fast Fridays Speedway in Auburn hosted the 250 and 150cc National Championships event Friday, July 12.
PIT NOTES:
> Dylan Black, 27, from Hesperia, was promoted this week from Division 2 to Division 1. He looked comfortable racing against more experienced riders and scored two points via second place in round one.
> First-time riders at Industry this week, in addition to injured Richard Perkins, included 500cc Division 2 rider Casey Cornilsen, 31, from Roseville. He is a graduate of CSU Sacramento and is a special education teacher in Roseville. He raced his No. 116n Jawa Laydown for two years from 2009-2011 and took five years off. He returned to speedway racing in 2016 and has raced each year since then on his white/blue No. 116 bike that he bought new in England.
> Fast Fridays veteran Perkins has raced from 2015-2019 at Perris Raceway primarily and July 17 at Industry. He is a journeyman millwright. Hopefully, he has a speedy and complete recovery.
> Don Darkcloud Nemarnik, of Norco, is a 58-year old Navajo Indian who has raced most recently from 2016 each year at Perris Raceway primarily. He made his first Industry start July 10 on his No. 107 Jawa upright; this week was his second race at Industry. The friendly rider told me Darkcloud is his Navajo tribe name; his step-father's surname is Nemarnik.
> Another new rider in 2019 is Junior Division rider Max Anderson, 10, of Huntington Beach. He rides a Shupa 150cc bike No. 8. He and his dad watched speedway racing and Max said he would like to try it. They bought a 150cc bike and raced once at Costa Mesa and twice at Industry on July 10 and 17. The fifth grader has looked competitive and finishes his races on the lead lap. Look for him to make rapid improvement as he gains more experience.
> Car maker Mazda sponsored students at local schools in their building of motorized vehicles. They had about five vehicles they built on display in the front courtyard at the Grand Arena. Incoming speedway fans were very interested in the handiwork of the budding engineers.
> The three upper New York state visiting riders competed at Industry July 10 and 17 and in Auburn July 12. They also checked out Perris Raceway and Costa Mesa while out west. Asked how they ranked the California speedways, they agreed they liked Industry, Costa Mesa and Perris Raceway best, but Auburn not as much.
> New Yorker Dave Oakden, 46, fell in round one and finished third and fourth in his other heats and scored one point. Spencer Portararo, 19, finished third in all three of his heats to score three point this week. En-route home they are going to race at Dacono, Colorado (north of Denver). Their home track is Champion Speedway, in Owego. N.Y, southwest of Syracuse. Their home track schedule is too short for their liking. The track promoter is Jason Bonsignore.
> The LA County Sheriff Dept. was out in force with four or five patrol cars in front of the Grand Arena this week on Harley night. Could it be a new supervisor was anticipating something? There was no need for the show of force. As usual, the orderly, family-oriented speedway racing crowd was more tame than a normal Friday or Saturday night at Dodgers Stadium.
> Expect more Nor Cal 500 Division 1 and Junior Division riders to race at Industry July 24 and 31 to gain more experience at Industry. The track will host the Saturday, August 10 Division 1 second of three rounds of the 2019 AMA National Speedway Championship. Also, Junior 150 and 250cc only riders will race Sunday, August 11 from noon to about 3:00 pm for the annual Silver Cup Championship. Grandstand admission is free for spectators at the August 11 Juniors-only event.
> Next Saturday, July 24 at Industry is the annual Bruce Flanders Ugly Hawaiian Shirt contest with prizes for persons judged to be wearing the top three ugly Hawaiian shirts.
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