Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa Speedway
April 29, 2023 - Costa Mesa
Top photo, story and results by Ryan Evans
The Costa Mesa Scratch Main Event at the tapes (inside - outside):
Dillon “Pickle” Ruml, Austin “All Throttle” Novratil, “Mad” Max Ruml, and Billy “The Kid” Janniro.
The finishing order was Novratil, M.Ruml, D.Ruml (fell, remounted), and Janniro (fell)
The famous Speedway legend Jean Fink tells Bobby Schwartz, another legend, a tall tale!
Former Under 21 National Champion Austin “All Throttle” Novratil took home the gold in front of another large crowd on Harley Night at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.
Dillon “Pickle” Ruml had first choice of starting position in the Scratch Main Event and he chose gate one. Billy “The Kid” Janniro was next to choose and selected gate four. Novratil picked gate two and that left National Champion “Mad” Max Ruml with gate three.
Novratil entered turn one first but Dillon Ruml’s proximity forced him up the track a bit and contact between Novratil and Janniro caused the latter to slide off. The race continued despite Janniro’s hopes for a red flag for first turn bunching. Max Ruml deftly cut back and was leading exiting turn two. Novratil recovered quickly and pulled alongside Max Ruml as they entered turn three. Novratil found plenty of traction on the outside and was even with Max Ruml as they came off of turn four. Novratil hugged the wall and found enough dirt to propel himself into the lead at the end of lap one. He carried so much speed into turn one that he seemingly left the door open for Max Ruml to retake the lead on the back straight. Novratil dropped in front of Max Ruml entering turn three the second time. Novratil stuck closer to the pole as they began lap three but Max Ruml wasn’t going away. Dillon Ruml parked in turn one thus ending any chance of victory for himself. Max Ruml switched his attack on the leader to the outside but that didn’t work. Novratil held on through the final lap to score the victory. Max Ruml had to settle for second, Dillon Ruml finished third, and Janniro was credited with fourth.
Novratil’s evening didn’t start as well as it ended. He was leading the first heat on his favored outside line when “Fast” Eddie Castro stormed underneath to snatch the lead and the win. Max Ruml was victorious over Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell in the second heat. Dillon Ruml defeated Janniro in the third heat. Russell Green was set to win the final race of the opening round but a temporary issue with his bike handed the lead to Justin Almon. Green sorted it out and scrambled through the field to regain the lead. He chased down the leader but came up just short while Almon scored an impressive win.
Novratil beat Green to start the second round. Max Ruml won his second consecutive race ahead of Castro. Janniro defeated former Youth National Champion Wilbur Hancock in the next heat. Dillon Ruml ended round two with a victory over Almon.
Novratil began the final round of heats with a victory over Dillon Ruml. Max Ruml’s pursuit of a third victory ended on the starting line with a broken chain. Green went on to victory over Michael Wells. Janniro made it two wins in a row by beating Castro. Harold Hartke led the final heat but his bid for an upset victory ended when he fell. McConnell dominated the restart and earned a comfortable victory ahead of Almon.
Janniro stormed to victory in the first semi with Novratil finishing second to join him in the main. The second semi saw the Ruml Brothers finish one-two with Dillon leading Max into the main event.
John Wilder led from start to finish and cruised to victory in the Second Division Main Event. Tyler Moszer was second, Rudy Laurer finished third, and Kevin Fiore was fourth.
David Newsham won both of his heats and completed his perfect evening by winning the Third Division Main Event. Damon Barry finished second and Rayson Normandin was credited with third.
Lawrence McNutt and Dana Miller made the trip from Reno, Nevada and went unbeaten on their way to victory in the Sidecar Main Event. Kevin Kale and Tracy Gallagher were second and Kevin Holman and Weston Farnsworth finished third.
Harley Night always delivers large crowds at Costa Mesa Speedway and this evening was no different. There was a large crowd at the for the second consecutive week. The 2023 season is off to a great start. The next event at Costa Mesa Speedway will be Knobby Night on Saturday, May 13. In addition to speedway and sidecars, there will be racers from different motorcycling disciplines taking to the track. The evening typically attracts professional racers who want to try their hand on the iconic oval.
Scratch Main Event
7 - Austin Novratil
1 - Max Ruml
3 - Dillon Ruml (fell)
14n - Billy Janniro (fell, remounted)
Semi 1
14n - Billy Janniro
7 - Austin Novratil
6 - Shawn McConnell
137 - Justin Almon
Semi 2
3 - Dillon Ruml
1 - Max Ruml
321 - Russell Green
14 - Eddie Castro (tape penalty)
Sidecar Main Event
28 - Lawrence McNutt/Dana Miller
07 - Kevin Kale/Tracy Gallagher
11 - Kevin Holman/Weston Farnsworth
Second Division Main Event
249 - John Wilder
327 - Tyler Moszer
182 - Rudy Laurer
159 - Kevin Fiore (fell, remounted)
Second Division Consolation
34 - Archie Perez 0
153 - Brad Moreau 0
275 - Lawrence McNutt 0
106 - Isaiah Canales 20
170 - Hayley Gudgel 20
178 - Eloy Medellin 20
Third Division Main Event
111 - David Newsham
150 - Damon Barry
299 - Rayson Normandin (fell)
124 - Brad Langston (non starter)
First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Max Ruml 3 3 E 6
3 – Dillon Ruml 3 3 2 8
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 1 3 6
7 – Austin Novratil 2 3 3 8
11 – Bobby Schwartz 1 1 1 3
14 – Eddie Castro 3 2 2 7
14n – Billy Janniro 2 3 3 8
37 – Joey Donaldson 0 0 1 1
117 – Wilbur Hancock 1 2 1 4
123 – Jordan Vanderham 1 0 0 1
137 – Justin Almon 3 2 2 7
168 – Mark Fillebrown 0 0 1 1
214 – Michael Wells 1 1 2 4
290 – Harold Hartke 0 1 Nr 1
321 – Russell Green 2 2 3 7
Heat Results
1: Castro, Novratil, Hancock, Donaldson
2: M.Ruml, McConnell, Wells, Hartke (fell, remounted)
3: D.Ruml, Janniro, Vanderham
4: Almon, Green, Schwartz, Fillebrown
12: Novratil, Green, Hartke
13: M.Ruml, Castro, Schwartz, Vanderham
14: Janniro, Hancock, McConnell, Fillebrown
15: D.Ruml, Almon, Wells, Donaldson
21: Novratil, D.Ruml, Hancock, Vanderham
22: Green, Wells, Fillebrown, M.Ruml (engine failure)
23: Janniro, Castro, Donaldson
24: (restarted) McConnell, Almon, Schwartz, Hartke (non starter – restart)
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