FISHBACK WINS 4TH INDUSTRY SPEEDWAY CYCLE MAIN JULY 2011
By noderel:
Industry, CA., July 27, 2011 – Round nine of the 14-week Industry Speedway motorcycle racing season on Wednesday night became the fourth victory of the season for Jimmy “Little Animal” Fishback at the Industry Hills Expo Center indoor dirt track. The 30-year old, second generation racer from Rancho Cucamonga enjoyed a perfect night point-wise, winning all three of his heat races, the semi-final and four-lap main event. He started from lane one and led all four laps. Runner-up Charlie Venegas trailed by two lengths all the way.
Fishback, son of Jim, Sr., known as “The Animal” during his 500cc Division 1 speedway cycle racing career, extended his lead in the combined three-track 2011 point standings. Shawn McConnell, the last chance race winner, came from lane five to run third all four laps. Aaron Fox, 23, placed fourth after passing Mike Faria on the final lap. The five rider field was in close proximity all four laps trying to make forced errors by competitors in front of 460 spectators in The Grand Arena.
Joe Jones and swing-rider Jimmy Olsen led all four laps of the four team sidecar race that was contested in a clockwise direction. Two earlier sidecar heat races produced competitive races in which three of the four teams in each race led the two races. Broc Nicol, 12, from Lomita, won the 250cc main over Braden Sauer, 14, of Bakersfield, who fell on the final lap after catching the second turn wall. The son of D-1 speedway cycle rider Brad Sauer (No. 21) had competed years ago in the 50cc pee-wee division, but he was making his Industry Speedway 250cc debut. Nicol also won the three rider 200cc A level main on his 200cc and under cycle. Michael Wells, 10, of Huntington Beach, won his first 200cc B level main since June 30 last year. He barely avoided contact with race-long leader Sebastian Palmese who fell exiting the fourth turn on the final lap.
Seven street legal Harley-Davidson cycles paraded around the track during intermission and raced a five lap heat race won by 500cc Support Division B rider Craig Sprecher, of Inglewood. Joe “the horny helmet guy” Pape, an annual competitor in Harley night events, was a close second. In the seven rider Harley feature, Sprecher came from a quarter lap back handicap at the start to weave his way through the crowded field and lead the final two laps of a seven-lap event. “Horny guy”Pape started half a lap behind three front row Harley riders and found traffic on the inside line congested. Pape used the outside for his passes all the way and evaded a fallen Harley rider in turn four on the final lap to place third.
Fishback and Faria both scored the maximum nine points in heat racing by winning all three of their events. Fishback won his semi-final, and as high point rider with 12 points picked the main event pole position. Faria placed second to Venegas in the second semi-final and chose lane 3 after Venegas, also with 11 points entering the feature, selected lane 2.
Last Wednesday Industry Speedway competitors and spectators donated more than $4,000 for the family of 11-year old Nick Varner, a winning Junior Division speedway cycle racer. On Sunday, July17 Varner suffered critical head injuries while racing in a motocross race at Glen Helen Raceway near San Bernardino. He succumbed to his injuries July 20. Two other speedway cycle racing tracks—San Bernardino and Victorville—also collected funds during Friday and Saturday speedway cycle events for the grieving Varner family to help defray costs. The three-track collection reportedly exceeded $12,000. Funeral services were held July 28 at 11 am at Friends Church in Yorba Linda.