The second annual AMA/FIM Junior Speedway Silver Cup Championship took place Sunday afternoon from 12:30 to 3:05 pm at Industry Speedway in the Grand Arena. With Junior Division riders only on the program, Industry Hills Expo Center management made parking and admission free for the 300+ attendees. A balmy, 88 degree day had breezes from the open sided building with a roof protecting spectators from the sun and preserving the track surface for junior riders.

Fields included ten 250cc riders (seven from So Cal and three from Nor Cal), 11 150cc first division riders (five each from north and south and one from England), plus nine 150cc second division riders (five from So Cal and four from Nor Cal). Four of the northerners were competing at Industry for the first time. All riders had four heat races that awarded points on a 3-2-1-0 basis. The four highest riders in points for each class competed in the three main events. Huge trophies for the top three finishers dwarfed some of the junior recipients during podium presentations shortly after the final race.

Feature winners were two from So Cal and one from Nor Cal. They were:

> Dillon Ruml, 15, of Huntington Beach, took the 250cc P. 1 trophy.

> Sterling Martin, 9, from Salinas, won the 150cc first division hardware.

> Keelan Venegas, 10, of San Bernardino, collected the 150cc second division P. 1 trophy.

250 MAIN: Ruml, the younger brother of impressive 500cc first division rider Max Ruml, started from pole position and led all four laps. Kurtis Hamill, 15, from Carlsbad, finished second. Braydan Galvin, 16, from Corona, fell hard while running third on lap 2 and was excluded from restarting by referee Steve Lucero per AMA rules. He was sore but remained track-side and accepted his P. 3 trophy on the podium. Luke Becker, 15, of Brentwood, started on the outside and fell on the opening lap after contact by a rider next to him. He restarted but fell on the opening lap in turn three and did not rejoin the race. He placed fourth.

Ruml won all four of his heats to score the maximum 12 points. Becker, the 250cc Silver Cup winner last year, won three heats and had a second place for 11 total points. Hamill won twice and Galvin once. They tied at seven points to qualify for the final two feature berths. Sammy Ramirez, 14, earned six points. Gage Geist, 15, and Courtney Crone, 13, tied at five points. Nor Cal riders Chase Guerrero, 15, and Blake Borello, 13, tied at three points. Riverside's Adam Herkner, 13, had no points. Ruml later received cash envelopes that totaled $475.

150 D-1 MAIN: Sterling Martin, the younger by one minute of the 9-year old fraternal twins from Salinas, led all four laps of the main event for more experienced 150cc riders. “I knew if I got the hole shot I could win it,” he told the crowd when interviewed over the infield microphone. Sebastian Palmese, 11, of Mission Viejo, took second place on lap 3 and beat Slater Lightcap, 8, of Huntington Beach, to the finish line. Palmese was the event winner in the 2013 inaugural Silver Cup. Alex Martin, the elder twin by a minute, ran fourth all four laps. He won his way into the main event in a run-off race with Tristan Britt, 11, of Huntington Beach. They had tied at eight points after their four heat races.

Lightcap won three of his four heats to tally the most points with 10. Palmese also won three of his heats but fell hard in round two after contact, scoring no points in that race. S. Martin won two heats and had two seconds. A. Martin, Britt, Sara Cords, 14, of Yucaipa, and Kyle Cunningham, 10, of Auburn, each won a single heat race. Non-main event riders (with heat race points in parenthesis) were: Cords and Jake Isaac, 12, of Whittier (six each), Cunningham (five), Landon Norton, 9, of Citrus Heights (three), Sam Hagon, 9, from Essex England, (two), and Dylan Wagner, 10, from Napa, (one) after engine problems forced him to miss two heats.

150 D-2 MAIN: ”Lil' Edge” Venegas, 10-year old son of 500cc star Charlie “the Edge”, inherited the feature lead on the final lap. First year speedway rider Cameron Krezman, 11, of Newcastle (near Auburn), won three of his four heat races and had a second in the other for high points--11--in the heats. He had lane choice and picked the pole for the feature. He led the first three laps easily and on the final lap stopped abruptly at turn two. Later his dad said they forgot to turn on the fuel valve and he ran out of fuel. Venegas beat his friend “Lightning” Luke Whitcomb, 8, of Anaheim, to the finish line by several lengths. It was his biggest victory to date. Dakota Shockley, 9, from Victorville, placed third and also made the top three finishers podium ceremonies. He also received one of the large trophies that were taller than the riders.

Disappointed Krezman pushed his bike to the pits beyond turns three and fourth and was awarded fourth place. The impressive family team on their first visit to Industry agreed they will be back next year for the only all-junior division event in the country. He won three heats. Venegas and Whitcomb won two heats each. Shockley and Andrew Russell, 9, of San Pedro, scored single heat victories. Non-main event riders and heat race points earned were: Landon Collins, 8, from Auburn (six), Greg Moore, 10, from Carmichael (five), A. Russell (three), Ryder Tovatt, 7, of Huntington Beach, and “Speedway” Charlie Trana, 7, from Folson, (two each).

The Silver Cup format utilized FIM rules and format like a Grand Prix event in Europe. It is the only junior speedway race in the United States recognized by FIM, the world's leading motorcycle federation. The event was web-cast via Internet on live stream nationally and worldwide. The top three bikes in each main event were taken to an impound area and subject to inspection with a $700 rule in place to claim a motor. The winning bikes of Ruml and Martin were torn down and passed inspection prior to the awards ceremonies about 3:30 pm.

Kelly Inman, Industry Speedway Racing Director, presented the nine huge trophies and awarded envelopes containing cash donations to numerous riders. Cash donations from sponsors and junior program backers topped $2,600 prior to Sunday. Helmets, goggles, apparel and other merchandise also went to nearly all competitors. The 30 junior riders who raced Sunday topped the inaugural Silver Cup event rider count last August 17 by two riders.

SPECIAL AWARDS: Three unique plaques were presented by Inman.

> Hard Charger – went to Dylan Wagner for his persistence despite motor problems.

> Edge Award – went to hard luck Cameron Krezman, who had his perfect day ruined by lack of fuel.

> Grin Award – went to 150cc rookie Luke Whitcomb “for putting his heart and soul into riding and giving it his all.” He also received cash and a helmet that made him flash his infectious grin.

> Special Award – went to Alex Martin, who made a determined outside pass on lap 3 to take the lead from early leader Britt and earn the final spot in the 150cc D-1 main. All competitors went home with cash or other awards.

PIT NOTES: The Silver Cup Grand Marshal was “Uncle” Bill Hancock, a major backer of junior speedway racing. He is called a junior speedway pioneer, visionary and patriarch. Billy Hamill, Carol Perez of Industry Hills Expo Center, and Kelly Inman also qualify as major backers of junior division racing. ... Hamill was present helping his son Kurtis; Charlie Venegas assisted his son Keelan, who graduated from pee-wee ranks this season. Billy Janniro, winner of the round three AMA National Championship race a night earlier, stuck around to help his nephew Dylan Wagner, of Napa.

The free 12-page program handed to spectators at the front gate and to people at the pit gate had six pages of color photos with most of the junior riders present pictured in head shots, on their bike, or at play. ...Four first-time competitors from Nor Cal at Industry were 250 rider Chase Guerrero, and 150 riders Kyle Cunningham, Cameron Krezman and Greg Moore. All said they loved the Industry facility and color video replays screen above turn three. They called Industry their new favorite track.

Sebastian Palmese, 11, returned from England where his grandfather accompanied him on his first racing trip abroad. “I had fun,” he told me in the pits. He used a borrowed 150cc bike that had a shifter. He raced at two big quarter-mile tracks that are “four-times as large as Industry Speedway.” At Lakeside he had finishes of third, first and second; at Eastbourne in team racing with Tom Brennan, 12, they won by six points with finishes of third, second, first and third. Brennan, from Hassicks, England, loaned Sebastian his backup bike.

The first Silver Cup winners last August were 250cc rider Luke Becker, 150 first division Sebastian Palmese, and 150cc second division Sterling Martin. Most of the riders returned and all seemed to enjoy themselves again on their day to headline speedway bike racing. The third annual Silver Cup date has not been announced yet but with competitor and spectator counts rising slightly the event is tracking upward.