BILLY HAMILL WINS 2ND 2011 SPEEDWAY CYCLE MAIN AT INDUSTRY SPEEDWAY JULY 2011
By noderel:
Industry, CA., July 13, 2011 –Billy “the Bullet” Hamill enjoyed a perfect night of speedway motorcycle racing in week seven of a 14 Wednesday nights series at Industry Speedway in the Industry Hills Expo Center. The 41-year old former Monrovia resident, now living in Carlsbad, won all three of his heat races plus a semi-final race for a perfect 12 points. The 1996 World Champion and four-time U.S Champion led all four laps of the five-rider Division 1 feature after starting from lane two. It repeated his opening night victory on June 1 on his 500cc lay-down GM cycle.
D-1 rookie Austin Novrati., 16, started from lane three and ran a close second to the final lap at turn two where he came off the back of his cycle onto the track. The cycle slammed the crash-wall hard and flipped. Novratil reclined on the track momentarily, then walked to the pits without serious injury. Two-time 2011 Industry feature winner Jimmy Fishback matched Hamill in preliminary events and also scored a perfect 12 points in heats and semi-finals. He won a coin toss with Hamill and selected lane one. He inherited second after Novratil's fall and finished two lengths in back of Hamill. Shawn McConnell finished third, last chance race winner Charlie Venegas fourth and non-finisher Novratil fifth.
Carl Gazafy, 59, from Lakewood, led all four laps of the Support A main for his first triumph of 2011. Covina's Kip McClain, 48, took his third Support B feature this season on a JAWA. Max Ruml, a 14-year old rising star from Huntington Beach, won his fifth Industry main of 2011 on hi 250cc JAWA. Two youth mains for 200cc and less cycles went to Broc Nicol, 12. on a 140cc Hagon cycle built by Hamill, and Sebastian Palmese, 7, of Santa Margarita. Newcomer Jake Issac won his first pee-wee main with five riders from age 5 to 11 on 50cc mini cycles. After winning all four of her prior mains at Industry, Alyssa Smith, 9, fell in turn two on the initial lap. She restarted with a ten-yard penalty and finished a closing third.
An annual feature at the tenth-mile dirt Industry Speedway was the appearance of two vintage USAC open-wheel racing cars from the museum collection of Tom Malloy. Veteran midget and sprint car driver Marc Hart, of Lake Elsinore, drove the Grant King-built 1973 No. 1 Viceroy Special champ dirt car with a 255 cu. in. DOHC 4-cam Ford engine. It was a Parnelli Jones / Vel Miletich-owned car for driver Al Unser, Sr. with Phil Casey as chief mechanic. It served as the team's 1973 backup car. Past USAC driving champion Wally Pankratz drove the famous No. 25 Bill Cheesman 4-cylinder 255 cu. in. Offy sprint car from the 1950-60 era. In 1951 Wally's father Bob built the car with the rounded tail and no headrest when Wally was six-years old. Wally enjoyed driving the car for the first time.
Red cones marked the inside of the track above the cycle groove to preserve the track for the two-wheelers. It was the smallest track ever used by both cars and they circled the track in 10-12 seconds alone and at times together. Marc and Wally hung the tails out in the corners and sprayed dirt during their hot laps. Both USAC cars were on display inside the front gate for arriving spectators to inspect. The two cars circled the track before the cycle races and ran two sessions of hot laps during intermissions. Both cars were available for up-close inspection by spectators during trophy presentations in the infield to cycle feature winners.
It was the first time the No. 1 Viceroy car has run at Industry. Car collector Malloy, of Trench Shoring Co., served as grand marshal Wednesday. From 2008-10 he provided the A. J. Watson-built No. 2 Wilke Racing, A. J. USAC 255 cu. in. Offy champ dirt car raced by Rodger Ward. Malloy's designated champ car driver Hart drove it around Industry Speedway. The black and red numeral No. 25 Cheesman Offy sprinter made its debut at Industry. Past drivers of the car include Indianapolis 500 drivers Chuck Stevenson, Johnnie Parsons, Jack McGrath, Jimmy Daywalt, Duane Careter, Sr., Eddie Sachs, Rodger Ward, A. J. Foyt, Elmer George, Don Branson, Jim McWithey, Al Miller, Carl Williams, Gary Congdon and Bruce Walkup. Indy vet Jud Larson lost his life racing the car at Reading, PA in 1966.
Open-wheel drivers present to see the cycle racing and open-wheel car demo runs were: CRA sprint car veteran Steve Howard, midget drivers Jerome Rodela and Jimmy Voitel, and Mark Dolacki from nearby La Puente. Late CRA/WRA president Walt James' daughter Wendy also spectated from the grandstand. Rodela, in his No. 25 Spike/Toyota, and Voitel, in his No. 21 Dave Ellis/Arias, will race their midgets in a VRA event Saturday, July 16 at Ventura Raceway. Pankratz said he will bring his two current USAC Ford Focus midgets to Industry Speedway next Wednesday. Wally will drive his blue No. 37. and Speedway cycle rider Shawn McConnell, Costa Mesa promoter/cycle champion Brad Oxley, and Industry Speedway promoter Jeff Immediato will drive Wally's yellow No. 8 FF midget. Track announcer Bruce Flanders announced that speedway cycles and sidecars races at industry are being shown on the Internet on www.speedwayscenelive.com.