Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
Knobby Night
September 10, 2022 - Costa Mesa
Photo and results by Ryan Evans
The Costa Mesa Scratch Main Event at the tapes (inside - outside):
Max Ruml, Austin Novratil, Shawn McConnell, Gino Manzares.
The finishing order was Ruml, Manzares, Novratil, McConnell.
Knobby Night - Costa Mesa Speedway, CA, USA - September 10
“Mad” Max Ruml ended Austin Novratil’s winning streak and scored his second Costa Mesa Main Event victory of the season on Knobby Night at the world famous speedway venue.
Ruml was undefeated entering the main event and started from gate one with “All Throttle” Novratil next to him in gate two. Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell was in gate three with Gino Manzares started in gate four. When the tapes went up Ruml went forward and Novratil’s front wheel went straight up. Ruml was first to the corner while Novratil did well to not run into him. Ruml led on the back straight while former Under 21 National Champion Manzares slipped under Novratil for second. Ruml led at the end of lap one while Manzares and Novratil were searching for ways to attack the leader. Ruml held the lead through the second while the Manzares and Novratil continued to fight for second. Ruml led comfortably to the finish and claimed the victory, Manzares finished second, Novratil was third, and McConnell finished fourth.
The first race of the evening brought “Rocket” Ronnie Correy to the tapes at Costa Mesa for the first time since the 1992 National Championship. He made the start and led on the back straight. He went a little wide entering turn three and 17-year-old Slater Lightcap slipped by for the lead. Correy came charging back on the next lap but slid off in turn three and brought out the red flag. The restart was controlled by Lightcap with Correy’s former Wolverhampton teammate Charles Ermolenko finishing second. Ruml defeated Manzares in event two. Novratil ended the first round by beating McConnell.
McConnell opened the second round by jumping into the lead. Lightcap chased after him but made contact and entering turn one and they both went down with Corry laying his bike down behind them. Lightcap was deemed the cause of the stoppage and was banished to the penalty line. Correy got the drop on McConnell on the restart and led into turn three but bumped the pole, drifted wide, and McConnell pounced into the lead. McConnell scored the victory and Correy got second in what turned out to be his last appearance of the evening as a sore knee suffered from the laydown caused him to withdraw. Ruml defeated Ermolenko in the next event for his second win. Manzares beat Novratil to end round two.
Ruml defeated Randy DiFrancesco to start the final round of heats with his third win. Novratil paid back Manzares to earn his second win. “Fast” Eddie Castro brought a close to the heats with a victory over McConnell, Ermolenko, and Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz. The collective ages of those competitors was 245 years and is mostly likely the highest ever for a single race.
Novratil romped to victory in the first semi with McConnell following him into the main event. Ruml scored his fourth straight win in the second semi and Manzares finished second to also transfer to the main event.
Castro and Ermolenko battled through turns one and two in the Scratch Consolation. Their preoccupation with each other left the inside open and Lightcap stormed underneath them for the lead on the back straight. Lightcap led from there to collect the victory. Ermolenko finished second, Castro was third, and DiFrancesco finished fourth.
John Wilder led the Second Division Main Event but had Mark Fillebrown hounding him throughout the race. Wilder led as they took the white flag but Fillebrown went by for the lead as they entered turn one. Fillebrown kept Wilder at bay on the last lap and held for the victory. Rudy Laurer finished third and Tyler Moszer was fourth.
Jordan Vanderham put together four smooth laps to earn the victory in the Third Division Main Event. Isaiah Canales was second, Alan Bernklau finished third, and Tim McGrath, who was visiting Southern California after moving to Texas several years ago, was fourth.
Kayd Fiore defeated Brandon Soto to win the Mini 150 Main Event.
In addition to speedway racing, Knobby Night included races with electric-powered 50cc bikes and races with competitors on bikes with knobby tires. There was a large contingent of racers from different motorcycling disciplines who took advantage to compete on the world-famous oval.
The next event at Costa Mesa Speedway will be Saturday, September 24 and will have speedway, sidecars, and juniors on the program.
Scratch Main Event
5 - Max Ruml
24 - Gino Manzares
7 - Austin Novratil
6 - Shawn McConnell
Scratch Consolation
28 - Slater Lightcap
15 - Dukie Ermolenko
14 - Eddie Castro
12 - Randy DiFrancesco
Semi #1: Novratil, McConnell, Ermolenko, Lightcap
Semi #2: Ruml, Manzares, Castro, DiFrancesco
Second Division Main Event
168 - Mark Fillebrown
249 - John Wilder
182 - Rudy Laurer
327 - Tyler Moszer
Second Division Consolation
290 - Harold Hartke
227 - Luke Whitcomb
175 - Jake Myers
296 - Andrew Russell (retired)
Third Division Main Event
123 - Jordan Vanderham
106 - Isaiah Canales
69e - Alan Bernklau
186 - Tim McGrath
Third Division Consolation
198 - Mike Boyle
169 - Dan Wensloff
Mini 150 Main Event
169 - Kayd Fiore
5 - Brandon Soto
First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
5 – Max Ruml 3 3 3 9
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 3 2 7
7 – Austin Novratil 3 2 3 8
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 1 0 1
12 – Randy DiFrancesco 1 0 2 3
14 – Eddie Castro 1 1 3 5
15 – Dukie Ermolenko 2 2 1 5
20 – Ronnie Correy 0 2 N 2
24 – Gino Manzares 2 3 2 7
28 – Slater Lightcap 3 1 1 5
137 – Justin Almon 0 0 1 1
214 – Micheal Wells 1 0 0 1
Heat Results
1: (restarted) Lightcap, Ermolenko, Castro, Correy (penalty line)
2: (restarted) Ruml, Manzares, DiFrancesco, Almon
3: Novratil, McConnell, Wells, Schwartz
8: (restarted) McConnell, Correy, Lightcap (penalty line), Wells (fell, remounted)
9: Ruml, Ermolenko, Castro, DiFrancesco
10: Manzares, Novratil, Schwartz, Almon
15: Ruml, DiFrancesco, Almon, Correy (non starter)
16: Novratil, Manzares, Lightcap, Wells
17: Castro, McConnell, Ermolenko, Schwartz
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