Industry Racing
The Grand Arena
Industry Hills Expo Center
City of Industry, California
Speedway and Sidecars
June 5, 2019 - Industry Racing
DILLON RUML TOPS @ INDUSTRY SPEEDWAY – By Tim Kennedy
Industry, CA., Jun. 5
Dillon Ruml, 20, beat his older brother Max, 22, at Industry Speedway Wednesday night in the main event during the second week of AMA Speedway 500cc first division racing. It was his first triumph in the Grand Arena of the Industry Hills Expo Center since he won the 2018 California State Speedway Championship last August.
He started from the inside lane on his Jawa and trailed lane three starter Russell Green for one lap. On lap 2, Dillon passed Green and led the final three laps in front of more than 600 spectators. He won by two lengths. Nor Cal rider Green held second for three laps. Max Ruml's GM-mount powered into second spot on the outside in turn four on the final lap and edged Green by a length. Aaron Fox ran fourth in a tight, four-rider pack all four laps.
Eight 500cc Division 1 riders raced this week. Austin Novratil, the May 29 winner, was in Europe to race in Glasgow, Scotland. Northern California riders present on opening night remained at home this week. Gino Manzares was in Las Vegas preparing for a match. Four rounds of heat races were run. Rounds two through four had handicapped starts based on prior heats. All eight 500cc Division 1 riders present raced in the two semi-finals.
Max Ruml scored ten points with three wins and a third place. With first lane choice for the main event, he selected the outside lane next to the plywood crashwall. Asked by the announcer why he selected that lane Max said, “I had success starting from that lane in a heat race.”
Brother Dillon, with eight points in his four heats, was surprised Max did not take lane one. Dillon took it instead of lane four he had expected to select. Green, a former So Cal resident, also scored eight points in his four heats and selected lane three. That left the second lane to Fox, who had six points.
Bobby Schwartz, 62, led all four laps in the Division 1 consolation race. Tim Gomez pressed him all four laps but finished two lengths back. Division 1 500cc rookie Sebastian Palmese, 15, placed third with 16-year old fellow 500cc rookie and 250cc graduate Jake Isaac, from nearby Whittier, fourth.
A full night of 34 races included five 1,000cc sidecar teams that raced three heats, a last chance race for the three teams that trailed the two high-point teams, and a feature. Champion Joe Jones, 39, and his new sidecar “swinger” Josh Flammia, won the four-lap main event. They used an inside pass on the backstretch during lap 3 to drop first two laps leading Kevin Kale and his new rider Jeremy Bell to second. Dad Ace Kale and his new sidecar swinger Mike North, and the team of Dillon Osborne and rider Ashley Gibbons followed.
SUPPORT DIVISIONS:
Seven 500cc second division (intermediate skill) riders and seven Division 3 (entry level) riders raced heats and main events. Mike Miller led laps 2-4 and beat lap 1 leader Eloy Medellin in the Division 2 feature. Bruce Marteney and Rudy Laurer followed. Kevin Fiore, on a Jawa 894, beat Brent Smith, Dennis Osmer and Jake Myers in the Division 3 feature.
JUNIOR DIVISIONS:
Slater Lightcap, 13, led all the way in his 250cc heat races and the feature for his second victory in a row. Luke Whitcomb,13, and Andrew Russell,13, trailed in the feature after swapping second place in the two heats.
All six 150cc riders present raced using handicapped starting grids in the 150cc five-lap heats and main event. Owen Williams, 12, started his Trak Plus bike from the 20-yard line. He led laps 4 and 5 and won the 150cc main for the second consecutive week. Levi Leutz and Jose Navarette also started from the 20-yard line and finished second and third respectively. Ken Matsudaira, Nick Dunn and newcomer Ryder Schultz, 7, all started at the gate and followed in the order.
Three new pee-wee riders raced 50cc bikes. Jenson Horn, 5-year old brother of 2018 150cc Mini Junior National Champion Travis Horn, won both heats and the main event after leading every lap. Rosie Russell, 8-year old sister of 250cc rider Andrew Russell, made her Industry debut and finished second. Her only other race was at Perris Raceway on February 16. Hudson Jones, 3-year old son of sidecar driver Joe Jones, placed third in his first racing experience. His mom said he loved racing and posed later with his dad on the podium.
Nine Harley-Davidson street motorcycles present raced four exhibition races with four or five riders in each race. Five vintage bikes also ran two exhibition races on the eighth-mile dirt track. The purpose was to promote the Thursday, June 20 2:00 to 10:00 pm ESPN X-Games “H-D Hooligan Qualifier” at Industry Speedway.
PIT NOTES:
> Industry promoter Kelly Inman writes a column in the free race program given to spectators and competitors each week. He indicated that veteran 500cc Division 1 riders Shawn McConnell and possibly Eddie Castro would return to Industry Speedway competition soon. Gino Manzares was en-route to Las Vegas to compete Friday in an UFC fight. Austin Novratil is expected back in So Cal following his European racing trip.
> Dylan Black, 27-year old 500cc Division 2 rider from Hesperia, made his first Industry race since the Gumball Rally on March 10, 2018. He had a nasty-looking fall in race four Wednesday. He was in P. 2 on lap 2 when he “high-sided” over the bars of his No. 201 entering the third turn. He landed hard in mid track and remained prone about six minutes with ambulance EMTs caring for him. He rose and walked to the pits unaided. He did not race for the balance of the evening. EMTs said he did not require transportation to a hospital.
> Travis Horn, 11, from La Verne, rode the No. 42 vintage bike once owned by May 29 Industry grand marshal Jeff Ward. Travis ran second in the two vintage motorcycle races Wednesday at Industry. His goal is to race AMA flat track bikes and in a major event during August in Pennsylvania. Travis was in the pits at Industry this week helping his brother win the pee-wee main. Travis did not race his 150cc No. 25 in junior events.
> Five-year Division 3 500cc veteran Ron Mongenel, 58, come out of his seven-year retirement from speedway racing. The El Monte resident last raced on July 27, 2011 at Industry. He raced his No. 158 Jawa to fourth place in both of his heats. In the past, Ron also raced a No. 58 truck at Irwindale Speedway.
> Industry PA announcer Bruce Flanders was absent for the second week in a row (COPD effects). Terry Clanton, Costa Mesa Speedway track announcer, subbed for him again. Bruce's brother Paul is a familiar person each week in the pits. He has worked as a speedway bike tech inspector and photographer.
> Other long-time Industry Speedway officials are back in familiar positions. They are: referee Steve Lucero, two-time Speedway National Champion (1988 and 1996) and four-time California State Speedway Champion in 1985, 89, 95-96), starter Tom Fox, and pit steward Ryan Evans.
> After racing Wed., May 29 in Industry, where Novratil beat Billy Janniro, Max & Dillon Ruml, several riders had busy schedules. They raced Friday, May 31 in Auburn (40 miles north of Sacramento on I-80) and Saturday, June 1 in Costa Mesa at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Scratch main results—Auburn winner Janniro had Max Ruml, Bart Bast and Bryan Yarrow following. The next night in Costa Mesa Janniro won again with M. Ruml, Sammy Ramirez, and D. Ruml following.
> Next Wednesday, June 12 will be another night with all speedway divisions and sidecar competition on BSA Owners Club of So Ca Night.
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