Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa Speedway
June 17, 2023 - Costa Mesa
Top photo, story and results by Ryan Evans
The Costa Mesa Scratch Main Event at the tapes (inside - outside):
Dillon Ruml, Austin Novratil, Max Ruml, Broc Nicol.
The finishing order was Nicol, D.Ruml, Novratil, M.Ruml.
Harley Night - Costa Mesa Speedway, CA, USA - June 17
Former National Champion Broc Nicol completed his hat trick of Scratch Main Events for the week with his main event victory in front of a packed house on Harley Night at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.
Dillon Ruml had first choice of starting position and, despite giving each gate the obligatory look, he took gate one. Austin “All Throttle” Novratil was next to choose and eyed gate four before selecting gate two. Nicol quickly snapped up gate four which left National Champion “Mad” Max Ruml with gate three.
Nicol was seemingly jet-propelled from the start and led the field into turn one. He remained wide and used the outside dirt to extend his lead on the back straight while his competitors scrambled to catch up. Nicol was in control after two laps but Dillon Ruml and Novratil were scrapping for second with Max Ruml close behind. Novratil charged up the inside of Dillon Ruml exiting turn four and was hoping to catch the leader. Those hopes proved fruitless as Nicol held a comfortable lead. Novratil left an inside gap entering turn three the final time that Dillon Ruml exploited. Nicol was first to the finish line, Dillon Ruml was second, Novratil finished third, and Max Ruml was fourth.
It was the third Scratch Main Event victory of the week for Nicol after also collecting wins at Industry Hills Speedway on Wednesday and Fast Fridays Motorcycle Speedway in Auburn the previous night. He also won the Handicap Main at Fast Fridays for a total of four main event triumphs in three nights of racing.
Max Ruml opened the racing with a victory over “Fast” Eddie Castro. Former Youth National Champion Wilbur Hancock held back Austin “All Throttle” Novratil to score an impressive victory in event two. Nicol started his evening with a victory over Dillon “Pickle” Ruml. Round one ended with Billy “The Kid” Janniro being awarded the victory ahead of Brad Sauer after Slater Lightcap fell and forced a red flag.
Max Ruml started round two by defeating Lightcap for his second straight victory. Novratil beat Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell in the next event for his first win of the night. Dillon Ruml beat Castro in event 13. Janniro closed out the second round with a victory ahead of Nicol.
Nicol began the final round of heats with his second victory while also handing Max Ruml his first defeat. Sauer made the best start in event 20 but Novratil blasted around the outside to take the lead and his second win in a row and Lightcap got by Sauer for second. Dillon Ruml romped to victory in the penultimate heat with McConnell passing Michael Wells to get second. The heats concluded with Janniro defeating Justin Almon.
The first semi commenced with the Ruml Brothers racing side-by-side before Dillon took the lead at the end of the first lap. Dillon led the rest of the way and was followed by Max into the Scratch Main Event.
In the second semi, Novratil used the outside in turns one and two and powered to the lead on the back straight with Janniro chasing him into turn three. Janniro ran it hard into the corner but his back tire didn’t stick and he slid off. Nicol was the beneficiary as he now found himself in second. Novratil booked his place in the main with the victory and Nicol’s second allowed him to move up the program as well.
Harold Hartke launched from gate three and held the early lead in the Second Division Main Event. He led after two laps, but had also done so at Industry Hills Speedway earlier in the week before fading back to third. Isaiah Canales was stalking the leader and was hoping lightning would strike Hartke twice. Hartke kept drifting tantalizingly wide but Canales couldn’t take advantage. Hartke was first to the checkered flag, Canales had to settle for second, Tyler Moszer finished third, and Rohn Zellner was fourth.
Rayson Normandin won both of his heats and completed his evening with a victory in the Third Division Main Event. Tony Rutledge finished second, Jacob Wondolowski was third, and Bobby Richards finished fourth.
The Sidecar Main Event began with Ace Kale and Brent Smith leading former National Champions Joe Jones and Tom Summers. Jones and Summers were all over the leaders and trying to find a way through to the front. Jones and Summers were pushing hard on the leaders exiting turn four but the contact became so intense that both teams were sent to the infield. The referee allowed the race to continue while the two teams stewed. Kevin Holman and Weston Farnsworth were the benefactors and they led to the finish. Kevin Kale and Tracy Gallagher finished second, and Ace Kale and Smith and Jones and Summers were credited with third and fourth, respectively.
Just as it had earlier in the season, Harley Night produced another large crowd at Costa Mesa Speedway. The crowd was thoroughly entertained by the great speedway racing as well as the street-legal Harleys and the Hooligans. Many Harley owners relish the opportunity to take to the world famous bullring oval despite some of them ending up on the ground.
The evening was also part of an all-day Celebration of Life of the late Gary Hicks Sr. that included a pre-race barbecue attended by many of his family and friends. Gary Hicks Sr. was a competitor who eventually became an integral part of the success of the Costa Mesa Speedway promotion as well. He was always willing to share his vast wisdom with people whether it was about racing, promoting, or aspects of off-track life. He also built and repaired speedway bikes for the racers as well. He literally married into the speedway family when he wed the former Sandra Milne, daughter of the legendary Cordy Milne. His son, Gary Jr., had a successful speedway career, and his grandson Kyle raced as well. He is also survived by his two daughters, Bonnie and Jessie, and son Kenneth. His family and close friends were ubiquitous in their presence wearing white shirts that honored him. Gary Hicks Jr. also served as the Grand Marshall of the evening.
Costa Mesa Speedway will be on a two-month break due to the Orange County Fair. The next event will be during the Fair itself and will be the 49th annual Fair Derby on Saturday, August 12 when the racers will compete for the annual bronze hat trophy given to the winner of the event. Novratil is the defending Fair Derby title holder and other former Fair Derby champions who are scheduled to compete are Max Ruml, Janniro, Castro, McConnell, and Schwartz. General admission seating in the turns and on the back straight is free with paid fair admission. Tickets on the front straight are not included with the fair admission, but please refer to the OC Fair website for those prices.
RESULTS
Scratch Main Event
98 - Broc Nicol
3 - Dillon Ruml
7 - Austin Novratil
1 - Max Ruml
First Division Semi Final 1
3 - Dillon Ruml
1 - Max Ruml
6 - Shawn McConnell
14 - Eddie Castro (tape exclusion)
First Division Semi Final 2
7 - Austin Novratil
98 - Broc Nicol
117 - Wilbur Hancock
14n - Billy Janniro (fell)
Second Division Main Event
290 - Harold Hartke
106 - Isaiah Canales
327 - Tyler Moszer
118 - Rohn Zellner
Second Division Consolation (restarted)
147 - Rick Farron
170 - Hayley Gudgel (fell)
242 - Bruce Marteney (fell)
178 - Eloy Medellin (non-starter, restart)
Third Division Main Event
299 - Rayson Normandin
113 - Tony Rutledge
250 - Jacob Wondolowski
108c - Bob Richards
Sidecar Main Event
11 - Kevin Holman/Weston Farnsworth
07 - Kevin Kale/Tracy Gallagher
357 - Ace Kale/Brent Smith (retired)
7 - Joe Jones/Tom Summers (retired)
First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Max Ruml 3 3 2 8
3 – Dillon Ruml 2 3 3 8
6 – Shawn McConnell 1 2 2 5
7 – Austin Novratil 2 3 3 8
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 0 0 0
14 – Eddie Castro 2 2 1 5
14n – Billy Janniro 3 3 3 9
21 – Brad Sauer 2 1 1 4
28 – Slater Lightcap F 2 2 4
37 – Joey Donaldson 0 0 0 0
60 – David Clark 1 1 R 2
98 – Broc Nicol 3 2 3 8
117 – Wilbur Hancock 3 1 0 4
123 – Jordan Vanderham 1 0 1 2
137 – Justin Almon 1 0 2 3
214 – Michael Wells 0 1 1 2
Race Results
1: M.Ruml, Castro, McConnell (fell, remounted), Donaldson
2: Hancock, Novratil, Vanderham, Schwartz
3: Nicol, D.Ruml, Clark, Wells
4: (awarded) Janniro, Sauer, Almon, Lightcap (fell)
11: M.Ruml, Lightcap, Wells, Vanderham
12: Novratil, McConnell, Clark, Almon
13: D.Ruml, Castro, Sauer, Schwartz
14: Janniro, Nicol, Hancock, Donaldson
19: Nicol, M.Ruml, Castro, Clark (retired)
20: Novratil, Lightcap, Sauer, Hancock
21: D.Ruml, McConnell, Wells, Donaldson
22: Janniro, Almon, Vanderham, Schwartz
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