Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, CA

Freestyle Motorcycle Jumping
Costa Mesa Speedway
June 1, 2002
From Ryan Evans

Shawn McConnell ran his main event winning streak to three as he won the Scratch Main Event in front of a standing room only crowd at the world famous Costa Mesa oval Saturday night.

McConnell lined up on the pole for the Scratch Main with Scott Brant alongside him, Eddie Castro in gate three, Mike Faria in gate four, and Josh Larsen on the outside. Turn one got physical as several riders made contact and Castro ended up on the ground as the race continued. McConnell's inside position proved beneficial as he was able to get to the fast inside line before Larsen. Larsen, the Costa Mesa season points leader, stalked McConnell throughout the race, but was unable to force a mistake. McConnell was first to the checkered flag and, along with his consecutive Handicap Main victories, ran his main event victory streak to three. Larsen finshed second, Brant was third, Castro finished fourth, Faria was fifth.

Andy "The Enforcer" Northrup started from the 30 yard line and made short work of 20 yard riders Mark Adams and Bryan Yarrow to take the lead. Dukie Ermolenko followed Northrup through traffic and put the pressure on the man who is a policeman when he isn't going sideways. Larsen had worked through traffic from the 50 and was now pressuring Ermolenko. Ermolenko seemed to ride more defensively which allowed Northrup some breathing room. Larsen passed Ermolenko at the end of lap six but had a lot of ground to make up on Northrup. Larsen closed the gap significantly, but couldn't get close enough to try for the lead as Northrup won his first main event of the season. Ermolenko held on to third, Castro was fourth, and Faria was fifth.

After Northrup, Gary Hicks, and Ermolenko were eliminated, the Denim Doctor Challenge came down to Larsen and McConnell. McConnell got the gate and looked like would plant himself on the inside line. However, he drifted a little wide in turn two and opened the door for Larsen to take the lead on the back straight. McConnell went low in turn three to try to answer Larsen back but it wasn't to be and Larsen raced away with the victory.

David Lynch showed again why he is the man to beat in the Support Division by winning the Support Main Event easily. John Stunkard finished second, Rod Lenz was third, Jeff Blaydes finished fourth, and Billy Braden was fifth.

Brian Hunt rode a very smooth four laps and led throughout the Support B Main Event and earned his first ever main event victory. Eloy Medellin finished second, Rusty Hall was third, Michael Novratil finished fourth, Tom Hamilton was fifth, and Carl Gazafy was sixth.
Defending National Champion Chris Manchester was involved in a crash during his Scratch Semi which left him unable to compete in the rest of the meeting due to sore ribs. The incident also forced Gary Hicks out of the Last Chance race due to an injured hand.

The always-popular Freestyle Motocross Jumpers produced another full house as they performed their amazing aerial stunts for the capacity crowd. The crowd was completely entertained by the action in the air and on the ground as the racing was good and the jumpers were fantastic.

Next week is the annual Jack Milne Cup which honors the 1937 World Champion who helped immensely with the re-birth of speedway in the United States. The current holder of the prestigious trophy is Gary Hicks, who is related to Milne and wants to keep the trophy in the family.

RESULTS

Support B Consolation
105 - Michael Hernandez             10
169 - Dan Wensloff                  10
155 - Kevin Templeton               10  (fell)
102 - Jim Lavender                  10  (non starter)

Support B Consolation
103 - Brent Smith                   20
133 - Craig Collier                 20
108 - Mike Hernandez                20
112 - Bryan Baichtal                20  *started on the 30
107 - Monte McKeon                  20  *started on the 30
126 - Doug Lupo                     20  *started on the 30

Support B Main Event
332 - Brian Hunt                    10
178 - Eloy Medellin                 20
164 - Rusty Hall                    10
181 - Michael Novratil              20
144 - Tom Hamilton                  20
176 - Carl Gazafy                   10

Support Consolation
106 - Robert Fiesler                10
118 - Scott Tidwell                 20
165 - Randy Kreps                   10
180 - Malcolm Roe                   20
296 - Tom Rossano                   20
100 - Phil Harmatiuk                10  (retired)
243 - Sean McDougall                20  (non starter)

Support Last Chance
117 - Billy Braden
125 - Johnny Lupo
163 - Rohn Zellner
338 - Dave Delbridge       (penalty line)  (fell)

Support Main Event  (restarted)
131 - David Lynch
249 - John Stunkard
196 - Rod Lenz
173 - Jeff Blaydes
117 - Billy Braden     (fell, excluded)

Denim Doctor Challenge
  2 - Josh Larsen
  6 - Shawn McConnell
 15 - Dukie Ermolenko
  3 - Gary Hicks
166 - Andy Northrup

Handicap Main Event
166 - Andy Northrup                 30
  2 - Josh Larsen                   50
 15 - Dukie Ermolenko               30
 14 - Eddie Castro                  40  (penalty line)
  9 - Mike Faria                    50
  8n - Bryan Yarrow                 20
 23 - Mark Adams                    20
  6 - Shawn McConnell               50  *started on the 60     (fell)

Last Chance
 10 - Scott Brant
  8n - Bryan Yarrow
  3 - Gary Hicks          (non starter)
  1 - Chris Manchester    (non starter)

Scratch Main Event
  6 - Shawn McConnell
  2 - Josh Larsen
 10 - Scott Brant
 14 - Eddie Castro        (fell, remounted)
  9 - Mike Faria          (retired)