Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa Speedway
June 4, 2022 - Costa Mesa
Report and Photo by Ryan Evans
The Scratch Main at Costa Mesa had multiple restarts.
At the tapes (inside - outside): Austin Novratil, Gino Manzares, Slater Lightcap, Aaron Fox.
Harley Night - Costa Mesa, CA, USA - June 4
Austin Novratil took home top honors in front of another standing-room-only crowd on Harley Night at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.
Two-time former National Champion Aaron Fox had first choice of starting position in the Scratch Main Event and he surprised everyone by picking gate four. Novratil was next to choose and he took gate one. Slater Lightcap took gate three which left Gino Manzares with gate two.
Fox’s unconventional choice appeared to pay off when he trapped the field and led into turn one. The race was red-flagged, though, after Novratil and Manzares came together and went down. The next time the riders came to the starting line Fox got into the tapes and was excluded. The second time the tapes went up Novratil jumped into the lead with Manzares and Lightcap battling for second. Manzares and Lightcap went down as they entered turn three and stopped the race again. They were both allowed to restart and the three combatants came to the tapes again. Novratil led from the start again and this time all four laps were completed. Novratil was never seriously challenged and was first to the checkered flag. Manzares finished second and Lightcap was third.
National Champion Billy “The Kid” Janniro opened the heats with a win over Rees Todd. Manzares defeated Randy DiFrancesco in the second heat. Lightcap opened his account with a victory over Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell. Fox finished the first round by defeating Novratil.
Novratil started the second round by holding off Janniro for the win. Manzares beat “Fast” Eddie Castro in the next heat. Lightcap made it two for two by beating DiFrancesco. Fox won his second straight race to end round two.
Janniro began the final round of heats with a win ahead of McConnell. Manzares remained undefeated by beating Novratil. Lightcap kept pace with Manzares’s unblemished evening by defeating New York native David Clark. Fox matched the perfect scores of Manzares and Lightcap by beating Castro to end the heats.
Fox made an incredible start in the first semi and led all the way with Lightcap getting second to join him in the main. Novratil started in gate four in the second semi and swept around the outside to take the lead. Manzares had his hands full with Janniro and trying to hold on to second. Novratil raced to the win and Manzares held on to second to transfer to the main.
John Wilder led all four laps en route to victory in the Second Division Main Event. 16-year-old Andrew Russell finished second, Harold Hartke was third, and Brad Moreau was credited with fourth.
Jonny Oakden won both of his heats then capped his perfect evening with a victory in the Third Division Main Event. Jim Sanders was second, Alan Bernklau finished third, and Tony Rutledge was fourth.
Kevin Holman and Weston Farnsworth led the Sidecar Main Event into turn one and emerged on the back straight with the lead as well. National Champions Joe Jones and Tom Summers were chasing after them as they entered turn three. Holman and Farnsworth left a gap as they exited turn four and the Jones and Summers stormed up the inside for the lead. They didn’t look back from there and raced away with their second straight main event victory. Holman and Farnsworth held on for second, Ace Kale and Thomas Yeager were third, and Kevin Kale and Tracy Gallagher finished fourth.
The evening was jam-packed with fans for the second consecutive event. Harley Night has consistently brought large crowds and it did not disappoint on this evening. The next event will be the Saturday, June 11 and will honor Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz for his many years of racing and for all that he has done to help fellow racers and the sport itself.
RESULTS
Scratch Main Event (restarted twice)
1. 7 Austin Novratil
2. 24 Gino Manzares
3. 28 Slater Lightcap
4. 46 Aaron Fox (tape exclusion)
Scratch Semi 1
1. 46 Aaron Fox
2. 28 Slater Lightcap
3. 14 Eddie Castro
4. 6 Shawn McConnell (dnf)
Scratch Semi 2
1. 7 Austin Novratil
2. 24 Gino Manzares
3. 14 Billy Janniro
4. 12 Randy DiFrancesco
Support B Main Event
1. 309 Jonny Oakden
2. 138 Jim Sanders
3. 69e Alan Bernklau
4. 113 Tony Rutledge
Division 2 Main Event
1. 249 John Wilder
2. 296 Andrew Russell
3. 290 Harold Hartke
4. 153 Brad Moreau (dnf)
Division 2 Consolation
1. 182 Rudy Laurer
2. 159 Kevin Fiore
3. 168 Mark Fillebrown
4. 178 Eloy Medellin
Sidecar Main Event
1. 1 Joe Jones / Tom Summers
2. 11 Kevin Holman / Weston Farnsworth
3. 357 Ace Kale / Thomas Yergler
4. 07 Kevin Kale / Tracy Gallagher
First Division Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Billy Janniro 3 2 3 8
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 2 2 6
7 – Austin Novratil 2 3 2 7
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 0 1 1
12 – Randy DiFrancesco 2 2 0 5
14 – Eddie Castro 1 2 2 5
15 – Dukie Ermolenko 1 1 1 3
24 – Gino Manzares 3 3 3 9
28 – Slater Lightcap 3 3 3 9
37 – Joey Donaldson 1 0 0 1
46 – Aaron Fox 3 3 3 9
60 – David Clark 0 1 2 3
63 – Michael Raines 1 0 N 1
137 – Justin Almon 0 1 0 1
173 – Rees Todd 2 1 1 4
214 – Michael Wells F F N 0
Heat Results
1: Janniro, Todd, Donaldson, Clark
2: (restarted) Manzares, DiFrancesco, Raines (penalty line), Wells (fell)
3: (restarted) Lightcap, McConnell, Ermolenko (penalty line), Almon
4: Fox, Novratil, Castro, Schwartz
12: Novratil, Janniro, Ermolenko, Wells (fell)
13: Manzares, Castro, Almon, Donaldson
14: Lightcap, DiFrancesco, Todd, Schwartz
15: Fox, McConnell, Clark, Raines
21: Janniro, McConnell, Todd, Almon
22: Manzares, Novratil, Schwartz, Raines (non starter)
23: Lightcap, Clark, Ermolenko, Donaldson
24: Fox, Castro, DiFrancesco, Wells (non starter)
Semi #1: Fox, Lightcap, Castro, McConnell (fell)
Semi #2: Novratil, Manzares, Janniro, DiFrancesco
Scratch Main Event (restarted twice)
7 – Austin Novratil
24 - Gino Manzares
28 - Slater Lightcap
46 – Aaron Fox (tape exclusion)
Ryan Evans
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