Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
52nd United States National Speedway Championship
October 1, 2022 - Costa Mesa
Photo, story and results by Ryan Evans
The United States National Championship Final at the tapes (inside - outside):
Billy Janniro, Max Ruml, Aaron Fox, Gino Manzares.
The finishing order was Ruml, Manzares, Janniro, Fox
52nd United States National Championship - Costa Mesa, CA, USA - October 1
“Mad” Max Ruml persevered through a horrible start to his evening and captured the 52nd United States National Speedway Championship at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.
Ruml had first choice of starting position for the National Championship Final. He looked at gates one, two, and four and then pondered. Gate two had provided the winners of both semis but it is tough to give up gate one at Costa Mesa Speedway. After thinking carefully, he chose gate two, much to the quiet dismay of “The Kid” Billy Janniro, who was hoping to start from gate two himself. Janniro, who was seeking his seventh National Championship to draw him even with the legendary Mike Bast, quickly took gate one. Gino Manzares, who was the top scorer in the heats, picked gate four. This left two-time National Champion Aaron Fox with gate three.
Ruml’s choice paid off immediately as he exploded from the start and led into turn one. Janniro hugged the inside line while Manzares swept around the outside. Ruml led on the back straight but Manzares was able to squeeze down in front of Janniro for second. The former Under 21 National Champion set his sights on the leader and was ready to pounce on any mistake as they completed lap one. Ruml led through the second lap but Manzares was still planted on his rear tire while also fighting off Janniro. Ruml was able to open some space with just one lap left. Ruml comfortably led on the back straight and pumped his fist as he exited the final corner and clinched the title. Manzares held on for second to match his best finish in this event, Janniro was third, and Fox finished fourth. This was a satisfying victory for Ruml to finally stand on the top of the podium after having flanked the winner on the podium five times previously.
This was the first time that the National Championship had been held since September 28, 2019. COVID-19 restrictions imposed on the Orange County Fairgrounds prevented racing from being held at the iconic venue the past two years. The fans, who had waited 1,099 days from the previous staging of this event, were treated to some fantastic racing and an evening filled with drama and surprising results.
The evening began ominously with the first event requiring three attempts to complete. Bakersfield’s Randy DiFrancesco led the first start before a crash behind him brought out the red flag. “Fast" Eddie Castro thrilled the crowd by using the outside to take the lead on lap one but he slid off in turn one causing another stoppage. The third attempt saw Under 21 National Champion Slater Lightcap lead all the way with Northern California’s Rees Todd stealing second from DiFrancesco at the finish line.
Janniro opened his title defense with a win over fellow Northern California natives Alex Martin and Tyler Warren.
Event three was restarted after turn one bunching caused Ruml to go down. Manzares led the restart with Ruml behind him. Ruml’s pursuit ended after the first lap when he suffered an engine failure and coasted to a stop. Manzares won easily with Dukie Ermolenko getting second.
Event four ended in a heap in turn one with championship contenders Fox and “All Throttle” Austin Novratil going down and the latter’s machine coasting away on both wheels against the wall. Fox was on his feet but Novratil was down for a bit. He was able to walk away but his bike suffered damage. Novratil elected not to restart and eventually withdrew from the meeting. A very unfortunate end for the rider who won the most main events at Costa Mesa Speedway in 2022. Fox was an easy winner on the restart to end round one.
Lightcap got the drop on Ruml to start the round two but Ruml wasn’t going to go away quietly. He stalked the 17-year-old on the inside line and the outside line but couldn’t find a way past. The teenager remained calm under the pressure and kept Ruml at bay for a hard-earned victory. Fox defeated “Mad Dog” Shawn McConnell in event six for his second straight victory. Janniro was in gate three for event seven and made the best start but not good enough to secure the lead. Manzares used the inside line to take control on the back straight. Manzares fought off a relentless attack from Janniro for his second win in a row. Castro momentarily redeemed himself by winning the last race of the second round ahead of Ermolenko.
Two of the three unbeaten racers, Lightcap and Manzares, came to the tapes to open the third round. The two combatants have clashed multiple times during the season and this race would prove no different. Lightcap led from the tapes but Manzares went on the attack right away. He tried different lines throughout the first three laps but found himself in second as they took the white flag. Lightcap, who had skillfully hugged the pole to this point, drifted off the line at the apex of turn two and Manzares was there to pounce. Lightcap turned down but Manzares was already there. They collided and Lightcap went down while Manzares raced away. The final lap continued and Manzares had his third win while Lightcap was left frustrated.
Louie Mersaroli, who had never raced at Costa Mesa Speedway prior to the evening, made a great start from gate three and romped to a solid victory while Ermolenko was second for the third time in a row. Ruml, who had just two points after two rounds, won event 11 with Warren finishing second and the previously unblemished Fox getting third.
Castro was excluded from event 12 for touching the tapes. McConnell was first to turn one, but Janniro went to the outside looking two sweep around for the lead. He found too much grip and lifted. It took all his skill to get his bike down before hitting the wall. The resulting red flag meant Janniro would restart from the penalty line. McConnell cruised to victory while Janniro weaved through traffic for second.
Round four opened with Fox getting across Janniro from gate three and racing to his third win with Janniro getting second. Manzares roared to his fourth consecutive victory ahead of Warren in event 14. Michael Wells scored an impressive victory by holding back McConnell throughout event 15. Ruml ended the fourth round with his second win in a row.
Manzares sat atop the table after four rounds with a perfect 12 points. Fox was next with 10 points while Janniro had nine. Ruml and McConnell had eight points apiece; Lightcap and Mersaroli each had seven; Ermolenko, Warren, Martin, and Wells all had six points to their names.
Lightcap started the final round of heats with his third victory while Warren got second to earn a spot in the semis. Ruml and Janniro met in event 18 in what would prove to be pivotal in the Final. Ruml used gate one to his advantage and scored the victory ahead of the defending champion. This victory ultimately earned Ruml the tiebreaker to determine who had first gate choice in the Final.
The penultimate heat stopped with Martin on the ground in turn one. He was deemed the cause of the stoppage and was banished to the penalty line despite his pleas to the referee. Ermolenko cruised to victory in the restart and earned a spot in the semis in the process.
Fox and Manzares lined up next to each other in the final heat. Fox won his fourth race with Manzares suffering his first defeat. Manzares was the top scorer after the heats and Fox was second overall which meant they would have first choice of gate position in their respective semis.
Fox elected to start from gate one in the first semi while Ruml’s choice of gate two proved more worthy as he shot into the lead from the start. Ruml led to the finish while Fox finished second to join him in the Final. McConnell finished third and Ermolenko was credited with fourth.
Manzares also picked gate one and again, gate two proved to be superior as Janniro got across the former Under 21 National Champion to secure the lead in the first corner. Janniro earned his second victory of the evening and a spot in the Final with Manzares booking his place as well. Lightcap was third and Warren finished fourth.
Eight Support Division racers also competed amongst themselves during the event. John Wilder led from start to finish and scored the victory in the Support Main Event. Mark Fillebrown won both of his heats but had to settle for second in the main, Rudy Laurer finished third, and Kevin Fiore was fourth.
The National Championship event is always pressure-packed and the $12,000 purse added to the intensity of the evening. The racers provided the crowd with excellent racing and some unpredictable action.
The National was not the final event of the 2022 season. There are two more events on the Costa Mesa Speedway schedule. This Saturday, October 8 will have speedway, the Harley Night Finals, and the Sidecar World Championship on the program. That will be followed on Saturday, October 15 with the Fall Classic, which will have all divisions of speedway, sidecars, and juniors.
RESULTS
United States National Championship Final
5 – Max Ruml
24 – Gino Manzares
1 – Billy Janniro
46 – Aaron Fox
Semi Final 1
5 – Max Ruml
46 – Aaron Fox
6 – Shawn McConnell
15 – Dukie Ermolenko (retired)
Semi Final 2
1 – Billy Janniro
24 – Gino Manzares
28 – Slater Lightcap
25n – Tyler Warren
Support Main Event
249 – John Wilder
168 – Mark Fillebrown
182 – Rudy Laurer
159 – Kevin Fiore (fell)
National Championship Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 5 T
1 – Billy Janniro 3 2 2 2 2 11
5 – Max Ruml E 2 3 3 3 11
6 – Shawn McConnell 1 2 3 2 1 9
7 – Austin Novratil Nr - - - - 0
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 1 0 F 0 1
12 – Randy DiFrancesco 1 0 1 1 1 4
14 – Eddie Castro 0 3 T 0 1 4
15 – Dukie Ermolenko 2 2 2 0 3 9
24 – Gino Manzares 3 3 3 3 2 14
25n – Tyler Warren 1 1 2 2 2 8
28 – Slater Lightcap 3 3 F 1 3 10
30n – Alex Martin 2 1 2 1 1 7
46 – Aaron Fox 3 3 1 3 3 13
173 – Rees Todd 2 0 0 1 2 5
188 – Louie Mersaroli 1 1 3 2 0 7
214 – Michael Wells 2 0 1 3 0 6
37 – Joey Donaldson (Reserve) 0 0 0 0 0 0
182 – Rudy Laurer (Reserve) 1 - - - - 1
Heat Results
1: (restarted twice) Lightcap, Todd, DiFrancesco, Castro (penalty line)
2: Janniro, Martin, Warren, Schwartz
3: (restarted) Manzares, Ermolenko, McConnell, Ruml (engine failure)
4: (restarted) Fox, Wells, Mersaroli (fell, remounted), Donaldson, Novratil (non-starter, restart)
5: Lightcap, Ruml, Schwartz, Donaldson
6: Fox, McConnell, Martin, DiFrancesco
7: Manzares, Janniro, Mersaroli, Todd
8: Castro, Ermolenko, Warren, Wells
9: Manzares, Martin, Wells, Lightcap (fell)
10: Mersaroli, Ermolenko, DiFrancesco, Schwartz
11: Ruml, Warren, Fox, Todd
12: (restarted) McConnell, Janniro (penalty line), Laurer, Donaldson, Castro (tape exclusion)
13: Fox, Janniro, Lightcap, Ermolenko
14: Manzares, Warren, DiFrancesco, Donaldson
15: (restarted) Wells, McConnell, Todd, Schwartz (fell)
16: Ruml, Mersaroli, Martin, Castro
17: Lightcap, Warren, McConnell, Mersaroli (fell, remounted)
18: Ruml, Janniro, DiFrancesco, Wells
19: (restarted) Ermolenko, Todd, Martin (penalty line), Donaldson
20: Fox, Manzares, Castro, Schwartz
Overall Standings
1. Max Ruml
2. Gino Manzares
3. Billy Janniro
4. Aaron Fox
5. Slater Lightcap 10+1 pts
6. Shawn McConnell 9+1 pts
7. Dukie Ermolenko 9 pts
8. Tyler Warren 8 pts
9. Louie Mersaroli 7 pts
10. Alex Martin 7 pts
11. Michael Wells 6 pts
12. Rees Todd 5 pts
13. Eddie Castro 4 pts
14. Randy DiFrancesco 4 pts
15. Bobby Schwartz 1 pts
16. Austin Novratil INJ
R. Rudy Laurer 1 pts
R. Joe Donaldson 0 pts
Support Main
1. John Wilder
2. Mark Fillebrown
3. Rudy Laurer
4. Kevin Fiore
Eloy Medellin 2 pts
Harold Hartke 1 pts
Brad Moreau 0 pts
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