Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
53rd U.S. National Championship
September 23, 2023 - Costa Mesa
Top photo, story and results by Ryan Evans
The 53rd U.S. National Championship Final at the tapes (inside - outside):
Max Ruml, Slater Lightcap, Broc Nicol, Billy Janniro.
The finishing order was Ruml, Lightcap, Nicol, Janniro (excluded).
53rd U.S. National Speedway Championship - Costa Mesa, CA, USA - September 23
“Mad” Max Ruml was victorious in an action-packed main event and successfully defended his SRA United States National Championship at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.
Max Ruml had the first choice of starting position for the National Championship Final. He pondered over gates one, two, and four before settling on gate one. Six-times SRA U.S. National Champion Billy “The Kid” Janniro, seeking to tie the legendary Mike Bast with a seventh title, quickly selected gate four. 2017 SRA National Champion Broc Nicol picked gate three and that left 18-year-old Slater Lightcap with gate two.
Max Ruml and Janniro entered turn one together with Janniro going to the outside dirt and Max Ruml hugging the inside pole and Nicol searching for a path between them. Max Ruml and Janniro were even when the exited turn two but Janniro surged ahead and dropped in front of Max Ruml entering turn three. His momentum carried him a little wide through turn four. Janniro led at the end of lap one but Max Ruml had more traction and charged up the inside entering the first corner but all four racers were in tight formation. He bumped into Janniro and both racers lost a little traction. This allowed Nicol to make outside run much like when he won his title six years ago. Max Ruml took the lead entering turn three his focus on Janniro allowed Lightcap to sneak up the inside and they were three-wide at the end of the second lap with Nicol still within striking distance. Max Ruml assertively cut down in front of Lightcap to take control by mere inches. Janniro straightened, went wide and effectively ended his and Nicol’s chances to win the title but they continued to battle for third. Max Ruml separated himself from the pack on the back straight and was comfortably ahead as he took the white flag. Janniro and Nicol tangled entering turn one with Nicol going down. Max Ruml calmly completed the final lap and was first to the checkered flag. Lightcap was thrilled with his second place and the best night of his young career. Janniro crossed the finish line third but the referee ruled that he had caused the final-lap crash and awarded third to Nicol.
Max Ruml’s victory makes him the ninth different racer to win consecutive titles in the 53-year history of SRA National Championships.
The evening began with Northern California’s Timmy Dion, who had never raced at Costa Mesa before, taking the lead in the first event. He was stalked by title contender Austin “All Throttle” Novratil but he didn’t flinch through three laps. Novratil’s patience wore out on the final lap and he forced his way past Dion in turn two. Novratil led the rest of the way for his first victory.
Under 21 National Champion Alex Martin made a great start in event two and thwarted all the efforts that Max Ruml could muster to take an impressive victory. It would be Max Ruml’s only defeat of the night. Dillon Ruml was victorious over Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell in event three.
Janniro got the better of Nicol at the start of event four but the race certainly wasn’t over. Nicol searched inside and outside for three laps before finally settling on an outside attack for the final lap. He found just enough traction on the final corner and narrowly beat Janniro to the line to snatch the victory and earn a loud and appreciative ovation from the crowd.
Max Ruml scored the victory over his brother, Dillon, to open round two. Janniro beat Russell Green in event six for his first victory of the evening. Nicol beat Martin in event seven for his second straight victory. Lightcap used the outside dirt in turns one and two to get around Novratil and he held him off with a victory to end the second round.
The third round began with Lightcap roaring to his second straight win ahead of Green. Max Ruml handed Nicol his first defeat of the evening with a victory in event 10. Janniro scored his second victory in a row ahead of Dillon Ruml. Novratil finished round three with a victory over Martin.
Janniro defeated Martin for his third consecutive win to start round four. Wilbur Hancock was victorious over Brad Sauer in event 14 for his first National heat victory. Max Ruml made gate four work and he held off Lightcap for his third straight win.
The final race of the fourth round came to the tapes with everyone knowing its importance on the top of the score chart. Dillon Ruml left gate one with the lead while Nicol lifted badly in gate four. Novratil followed Dillon Ruml around the low line while Nicol righted himself and stayed on the dirt line. Dillon Ruml led on the back straight but Nicol found plenty of traction exiting turn two and was alongside the leader as they entered turn three. Nicol used the outside cushion to take the lead after the first lap. Dillon Ruml tried to get the lead back in turn one but drifted off his line and that allowed Nicol to get away. The 2017 Champion led comfortably to the finish for his third win of the night.
After four rounds of heats it was Max Ruml, Nicol, and Janniro in a three-way tie at the top with 11 points each. Novratil was next with 10 points. Lightcap and Martin had nine points apiece. Dillon Ruml was next with eight. Hancock and Green each had five and Eddie Castro’s four points gave him some hope for one of the eight spots in the semis.
Nicol began the final round of heats with a comfortable victory over Dion. Lightcap defeated Dillon Ruml and Martin in event 18 but all three would move up the program to the semis. Castro went around Michael Wells in event 19 to score a popular victory with the crowd and earn would turn out to be the final spot in the semis.
The final heat brought out Max Ruml, Janniro, and Novratil. They were all guaranteed spots in the semis but the results of event 20 would impact which semi they were in as well as their choice of starting position. Max Ruml led from the start with Janniro and Novratil in tow. Janniro remained close throughout the race but never posed a serious threat as Max Ruml earned his fourth straight victory.
The first semi had Nicol, Dillon Ruml, Martin, and Janniro lined up in that order. Janniro made a great start while Dillon Ruml lifted badly and Nicol trailed entering turn one. Janniro led on the back straight with Dillon Ruml in second. Nicol cut under Dillon Ruml in turn four to secure second. He turned his sights toward the leader but Janniro was not going to be denied. Janniro was victorious with Nicol joining him in the Final.
The inside to outside lineup for the second semi was Max Ruml, Lightcap, Castro, and Novratil. The never got going but the red light came on and it was Novratil excluded for touching the tapes. The second time of asking it was Max Ruml cruising to his fifth consecutive win while 2021 Under 21 National Champion Lightcap would finish second to earn his place in the Final.
An abridged Support Division were also present on the evening. Jordan Vanderham staked his claim to a permanent position in the top division with an impressive performance. He comfortably won his heat and then went around everyone in turn one after starting in gate four and took home the main event victory. John Wilder was second, Eloy Medellin finished third, and Mark Fillebrown was fourth.
There is one more event on the Costa Mesa Speedway calendar. The Fall Classic will be held Saturday, September 30 and will have all divisions of speedway, juniors, pee wees, and sidecars.
RESULTS
U.S. National Championship Final
1 - Max Ruml
28 - Slater Lightcap
98 - Broc Nicol
14n - Billy Janniro (excluded)
Semi 1
14n - Billy Janniro
98 - Broc Nicol
3 - Dillon Ruml
30n - Alex Martin
Semi 2
1 - Max Ruml
28 - Slater Lightcap
14 - Eddie Castro
7 - Austin Novratil (tape exclusion)
Consolation
3 - Dillon Ruml
14 - Eddie Castro
30n - Alex Martin
7 - Austin Novratil (non starter)
Support Main Event
123 – Jordan Vanderham
249 – John Wilder
178 – Eloy Medellin
168 – Mark Fillebrown (tape penalty)
Support Consolation
37 – Joe Donaldson
327 – Tyler Moszer
290 – Harold Hartke
Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 5 T
1 – Max Ruml 2 3 3 3 3 14
3 – Dillon Ruml 3 2 2 1 2 10
6 – Shawn McConnell 2 1 0 0 1 4
7 – Austin Novratil 3 2 3 2 1 11
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 – Eddie Castro 1 1 1 1 3 7
14n – Billy Janniro 2 3 3 3 2 13
21 – Brad Sauer 0 0 1 2 0 3
28 – Slater Lightcap 1 3 3 2 3 12
30n – Alex Martin 3 2 2 2 1 10
98 – Broc Nicol 3 3 2 3 3 14
117 – Wilbur Hancock 0 1 1 3 1 6
137 – Justin Almon 1 0 0 1 0 2
214 – Michael Wells 0 1 0 1 2 4
217 – Timmy Dion 2 0 1 0 2 5
321 – Russell Green 1 2 2 0 0 5
168 – Mark Fillebrown (R) Did Not Ride
37 – Joe Donaldson (R) Did Not Ride
Race Results
1: Novratil, Dion, Almon, Wells
2: Martin, M.Ruml, Green, Sauer
3: D.Ruml, McConnell, Castro, Schwartz
4: Nicol, Janniro, Lightcap, Hancock
5: M.Ruml, D.Ruml, Hancock, Dion
6: Janniro, Green, McConnell, Almon
7: Nicol, Martin, Wells, Schwartz
8: Lightcap, Novratil, Castro, Sauer
9: Lightcap, Green, Dion, Schwartz
10: M.Ruml, Nicol, Castro, Almon
11: Janniro, D.Ruml, Sauer, Wells
12: Novratil, Martin, Hancock, McConnell (fell, remounted)
13: Janniro, Martin, Castro, Dion
14: Hancock, Sauer, Almon, Schwartz
15: M.Ruml, Lightcap, Wells, McConnell
16: Nicol, Novratil, D.Ruml, Green
17: Nicol, Dion, McConnell, Sauer (fell, remounted)
18: Lightcap, D.Ruml, Martin, Almon
19: Castro, Wells, Hancock, Green
20: M.Ruml, Janniro, Novratil, Schwartz
Past U.S. National Champions
2023 – Max Ruml (2)
2022 – Max Ruml
2021 – Not held due to COVID-19
2020 – Not held due to COVID-19
2019 – Billy Janniro (6)
2018 – Billy Janniro
2017 – Broc Nicol
2016 – Aaron Fox (2)
2015 – Aaron Fox
2014 – Bryan Yarrow
2013 – Billy Hamill (4)
2012 – Billy Hamill
2011 – Billy Janniro
2010 – Billy Janniro
2009 – Ricky Wells
2008 – Billy Janniro
2007 – Billy Hamill
2006 – Charlie Venegas (2)
2005 – Chris Manchester (3)
2004 – Billy Janniro
2003 – Scott Brant
2002 – Billy Hamill
2001 – Chris Manchester
2000 – Charlie Venegas
1999 – Brad Oxley (2)
1998 – Bart Bast
1997 – Mike Faria (3)
1996 – Steve Lucero (2)
1995 – Greg Hancock
1994 – Sam Ermolenko (2)
1993 – Sam Ermolenko
1992 – Chris Manchester
1991 – Mike Faria
1990 – Mike Faria
1989 – Bobby Schwartz (2)
1988 – Steve Lucero
1987 – Brad Oxley
1986 – Bobby Schwartz
1985 – Alan Christian
1984 – Kelly Moran (2)
1983 – Kelly Moran
1982 – Shawn Moran
1981 – Bruce Penhall (2)
1980 – Bruce Penhall
1979 – Mike Bast (7)
1978 – Mike Bast
1977 – Mike Bast
1976 – Mike Bast
1975 – Mike Bast
1974 – Steve Bast (2)
1973 – Mike Bast
1972 – Rick Woods (2)
1971 – Mike Bast
1970 – Rick Woods
1969 – Steve Bast
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