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Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
California Speedway
May 22, 2010 - Costa Mesa
By: Ryan Evans
YouTube Video Main Event
Former National Champion Charlie “The Edge” Venegas claimed the main event victory during another evening of fantastic racing in front of a large crowd at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.
The pressure of the main event intensified when the first attempt was aborted due to an unsatisfactory start. The second time the tapes went up Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz made the best start from gate four and led the field into turn one. Schwartz exited turn two on the outside and Venegas charged up the inside on the back straight to seize the lead entering turn three. Schwartz then had to contend with Jimmy “The Little Animal” Fishback battling him for second. Fishback got past Schwartz, but his progress stopped there as the leader was long gone. Venegas was first to the checkered flag, Fishback finished second, Schwartz was third, “Battling” Buck Blair finished fourth, and Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell was fifth.
Blair kicked off the heats with a victory over Doug “The Destroyer” Nicol. McConnell defeated Gary Hicks in the second heat. “Flyin” Mike Faria led the third heat for three laps before “Fast” Eddie Castro went underneath him for the lead and the win. Venegas ended round one with a win ahead of Fishback.
Round two began with Schwartz being awarded the victory and Fishback getting second. Blair beat Hicks for his second straight win.
Nicol got the best start in event 11 but slapped the turn two wall which caused him to somersault over the top and outside the race track. The veteran rider was on his feet relatively quickly, but suffered a cut on his nose and withdrew from the meeting due to his damaged machinery. On the restart, McConnell and Faria waged a four-lap, inside-outside battle in lockstep with Faria narrowly edging McConnell for the win.
Castro beat Northern California’s Tommy Hedden for his second consecutive win to conclude the second round.
The final round of heats started with Castro beating Schwartz for his third victory in a row. Fishback beat Hedden in the next heat. Blair matched Castro’s perfect score with a win over Faria in event 17. Venegas closed out the heats by defeating McConnell for his second win.
Venegas led the first semi from start to finish with Blair following him into the main event. Schwartz and Fishback finished one-two in the second semi to book their places in the main. McConnell won the Last Chance to take the final place in the main.
Youth National Champion Austin Novratil blazed to victory in the Support Main Event with fellow former youth rider Joey “The Bolt” Holt finishing in second. John Stunkard finished third, “Rattlesnake” Steve Bowen was fourth, and Rudy Laurer finished fifth.
The Support B Main Event may have been the most entertaining race of the evening. Norman Graham made the best start but was chased by Michael Moore on the inside and Ed Lynch on the outside. Graham went wide in turn four and Moore took over the lead. Graham and Lynch then chased Moore but neither could find a way past until Graham went around the outside of the leader exiting turn two the third time. Graham went wide and brushed the turn four wall, but just as he recovered Moore collided with him and both riders went into the path of Lynch. Moore and Lynch both went down hard on the front straight with Graham avoiding the carnage. Moore was awarded the victory, Lynch was declared second, and Graham relegated to last. Yogi Isgro was third and Mike Salyer was fourth. Moore’s victory wasn’t without a price as he suffered an injury in the crash.
There will not be racing at Costa Mesa this Saturday due to the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend. Speedway racing returns to the world famous bullring oval on Saturday, June 5 with the ever-popular Harley Night. The Harley Parade and the legendary Harley races, in which enthusiasts compete on street-legal Harleys, always attract a large crowd.
RESULTS
Support B Main Event (awarded)
161 - Michael Moore
354 - Ed Lynch
236 - Yogi Isgro
333 - Mike Salyer
129 - Norman Graham (excluded)
Support Last Chance (restarted)
177 – Steve Bowen
186 – Tim McGrath
248 – Derrick Klein
208 – Geoff Herkner (penalty line)
Support Main Event
181 - Austin Novratil
244 - Joey Holt
249 - John Stunkard
177 - Steve Bowen
182 - Rudy Laurer
First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
3 – Gary Hicks 3 3 1 7
6 – Shawn McConnell 4 3 3 10
9 – Mike Faria 3 4 3 10
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 4 3 7
11n – John Houston 2 2 2 6
14 – Eddie Castro 4 4 4 12
17 – Robbie Sauer 2 1 2 5
22 – Mike Bloom 1 2 1 4
23 – Steve Russell 2 2 1 5
25 – Jimmy Fishback 3 3 4 10
30n – Devin DeFreece 0 1 1 2
39 – Buck Blair 4 4 4 12
43 – Charlie Venegas 4 1 4 9
98 – Doug Nicol 3 Nr N 3
120 – Doug Greyson 1 1 0 2
220 – Tyson Talkington 1 F 2 3
259 – Michael Raines 1 2 2 5
Race Results
1: Blair, Nicol, Russell, Raines, Schwartz
2: McConnell, Hicks, Hedden, Bloom
3: Castro, Faria, Sauer, Greyson, DeFreece
4: Venegas, Fishback, Houston (tape penalty), Talkington (fell)
9: (awarded) Schwartz, Fishback, Bloom, Greyson, Talkington (fell)
10: Blair, Hicks, Houston, Sauer
11: (restarted) Faria, McConnell, Raines (tape penalty), Nicol (non starter – restart)
12: Castro, Hedden, Russell, Venegas, DeFreece
15: Castro, Schwartz, Sauer, DeFreece
16: Fishback, Hedden, Talkington, Hicks (retired)
17: Blair, Faria, Raines, Russell, Greyson
18: Venegas, McConnell, Houston, Bloom
Semi #1: Venegas, Blair, McConnell, Hedden, Houston
Semi #2: Schwartz, Fishback, Faria, Castro, Hicks (non starter)
First Division Last Chance (restarted)
6 - Shawn McConnell
40 - Tommy Hedden (fell, remounted)
14 - Eddie Castro (fell, excluded)
9 - Mike Faria (non starter)
First Division Main Event
43 - Charlie Venegas
25 - Jimmy Fishback
11 - Bobby Schwartz
39 - Buck Blair
6 - Shawn McConnell (fell)
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