HAMILL WINS US NATIONAL SPEEDWAY CYCLE CHAMPIONSHIP @ COSTA MESA SPEEDWAY SEPT. 22, 2012
By noderel:
Costa Mesa, CA., Sept. 22 – Billy “the Bullet” Hamill, the 1996 World Speedway Champion, led the final two laps of the 44th annual U.S. Speedway Cycle Championship Saturday night at Costa Mesa Speedway. He surprisingly won the four-lap race at the Orange County Fairgrounds site that has hosted the event since 1969. Hamill won the 2002 and 2007 US Nationals at the Costa Mesa 185-yard (one-tenth mile) oval with a clay base and smooth decomposed granite surface. The winner, who has been a part-time racer until this season, earned the right to use No. 1 on his cycle and leathers next season.
Race leader Billy Janniro, 32, from Rancho Cordova, slowed on lap 3 in the second turn when his chain broke, causing him to pull into the backstretch infield. He finished fourth. Hamill was close to Janniro's back wheel and later said, “I'm amazed I missed his back wheel I was so close when he slowed suddenly.” Hamill, a 42-year old Carlsbad resident, won by 15-yards over runner-up Jimmy Fishback and third place Bryan Yarrow. Janniro was racing for his third consecutive victory in the prestigious event. He won the 2004, 2008, 2010-11 events at Costa Mesa. He congratulated Hamill, one of his past teammates in Europe, and walked to the pits behind the backstretch grandstand.
A huge crowd of 5,000 filled all available seats in the front and back straight grandstands and in the turns 1-2 and 3-4 bleachers. A standing room only crowd on the premises brought the crowd to an estimated 6,000. The event, sponsored by Monster Energy drink and Performance Machine, offered the richest purse ($20,000+) in U.S speedway cycle racing history. The championship feature alone paid the participants $11,000. Twenty Division 1 riders and two reserves all participated in the financial payout.
The battle between the two dominant Billys--Hamill and Janniro—lived up to all the pre-race hype. Janniro enjoyed success early in the evening by winning all four of his heat races from different starting lanes behind the starting gate. He accumulated the maximum 12 points via the 3-2-1-0 scoring system. The three riders with the most points earned automatic transfers into the four rider championship feature. Fishback, with 10 points, via two wins and two seconds, also moved directly to the feature.
Hamill experienced heart-break early and success at the end of the night. In round one of four heat race rounds, Hamill was leading on lap 3 when his ignition failed and caused him to pull into the turn two infield with a dead engine. He used his backup cycle the rest of the evening, but he was at a definite disadvantage for making the top three in points. After scoring no points in round one, Hamill won his heats in the next three rounds for a total of nine points. He tied Bryan Yarrow and forced a runoff race to determine the third and last direct transfer to the feature. Yarrow scored 2-3-1-3 while Hamill tallied 0-3-3-3. Yarrow started the runoff on the inside and led all four laps over contending Hamill. That forced the eventual 2012 U.S National Champion to win the last chance race for the riders ranked 4-5-6 in points for the fourth and final feature starting berth.
Hamill started the last chance race on the pole and led all four laps over 19-year old Gino Manzares, two-time U.S. National Champion Charlie Venegas, and Tyson Burmeister, the semi-main race winner. Burmeister, 28, won his first two heats and was second in his third heat, but he scored no points in his fourth ride. Five riders tied at 8-points and forced a five rider runoff race in which the first two finishers advanced to the last chance race with Hamill. Venegas and Manzares finished one-two in the five rider runoff and joined Hamill in the pursuit of the final feature starting position.
The 8-point riders runoff race P. 3-5 finishing positions went to three-time U.S. National Champion Mike Faria, 55, from Nevada, Burmeister and Aaron Fox, 24. All three moved to the semi-main event. They were joined by two-time U.S National Champion Bobby Schwartz, 56, who tallied 7-points in his four heat races. Burmeister started the semi from lane two and led all four laps over Faria, Fox and Schwartz to earn his spot in the last chance race. Riders who did not move beyond the heat races (with their point totals) were: 6-point riders Chris Kerr, 17, and Tommy Hedden, 39; 5-point rider Eddie Castro, 53, and 4-point riders Shawn McConnell, 53-year old 2012 Costa Mesa track champion, Charles Ermolenko, 43, and Buck Blair, 34. The 20 heat race winners were: Janniro (4), Hamill (3), Burmeister, Faria, Fishback and Yarrow (2), and Ermolenko, Manzarea, McConnell, Schwartz and Venegas (1).
Other racing classes included Junior Division riders on 200cc and 250cc cycles with two rounds of heats for each class. A six rider field of pee-wees (ages 5-8) on 50cc mini cycles also ran a main event. “Lightning”Luke Whitcomb, 6, of Anaheim, thrilled the appreciative crowd as usual by starting from the back row on his No. 27 Suzuki 50cc. He passed laps 1-3 leader Carter Cooper, 6, on the inside in the final turn to win the four lap race. Jaden Tice, 6, finished third in the six rider field. Gino Scopellite, 10, was the surprise winner of the 200cc main after first three laps leader Braydan Galvin, 14, the winner of the two 200cc heats, fell in the second corner on the final lap and did not finish. Michael Wells and Maverick Molloy finished second and third.
The 250cc main went to Kurtis Hamill, 13-year old son of the 2012 U.S Speedway National Champion. Hamill led all four laps after starting from lane three in a five rider field. Max Ruml. 15, won the pair of 250cc heats earlier and incurred a starting gate penalty before the 250cc feature. He came from the penalty line and almost overcame the penalty by finishing a closing second, only two lengths in back of Hamill. Broc Nicol, 14, Dillon Ruml, 13, and Hayley Perrault, 15, followed. Miss Perrauslt fell hard in the fourth turn during both heat races, but she limped to the pits and returned to finish the feature.
U.S Speedway National Grand Marshal Shawn McConnell, the Costa Mesa Speedway 2012 track champion, gave the “Gentlemen Start Your Engines” command at 7:30 before the first of 20 Division 1 heats. A total of 32 races were run, including the two D-1 runoff races. The final checkered flag flew at 9:40 pm. The top three riders in the finale sprayed champagne on supporters at the elevated podium in the infield. Other division winners also joined the winning Hamill father and son Hagon Shocks team and accepted their awards. A happy crowd went to the pits for autographs with entertainment by a live band serenading them well into the evening. The 24-page printed race program listed the 2013 Costa Mesa 45th season tentative schedule. The 16 race dates run from the April 13 spring classic opener to the October 5 US National Speedway Championship season finale.