Costa Mesa Speedway

Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California

Harley Night #1
June 3 - Costa Mesa
Report by Ryan Evans
Photos Dorcey Wingo

Costa Mesa, CA, USA - June 3, 2017

Former Under 21 National Champion Austin “All Throttle” Novratil claimed victory in front of a packed house on Harley Night at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.

Gino Manzares entered the Scratch Main Event undefeated and had first choice of starting position. Inspired by his gate-four victory at the previous Costa Mesa event he shocked everyone by picking that spot to start from. Novratil, who had won his semi from gate four, went to the opposite end of the grid and chose gate one. Dillon Ruml picked gate two which left Samuel Ramirez with gate three.

Novratil certainly felt like he had been handed a gift when he exploded into the lead when the tapes went up. Manzares’s strategy backfired as he found himself mired in third behind Dillon Ruml. The pack tried valiantly to catch the leader throughout the race but it was to no avail. Novratil blazed to an impressive victory. Dillon Ruml was second, Manzares finished third, and Ramirez was fourth.

The evening commenced with Manzares beating Dillon Ruml. Max Ruml passed defending Under 21 National Champion Luke “Little Missile” Becker to win event two. National Champion Aaron Fox beat Novratil to end round one.

Round two started with Manzares beating Becker for his second win. Dillon Ruml defeated Fox in the next heat. Max Ruml scored his second straight win, this time ahead of “Fast” Eddie Castro, to finish the second round.

The third round began with Fox earning his second win by beating Max Ruml. Manzares made it three for three with a win over Novratil. Dillon Ruml brought the heats to a close with a victory over Becker.

Novratil started in gate four and swept around the outside to take the lead and the victory in the first semi. Dillon Ruml finished second to join Novratil in the main. Manzares roared to his fourth victory in the second semi with Ramirez scoring an impressive second to make the main as well.

Ricky Richards led from start to finish and went home with the victory in the Support Main Event. Hayley Perrault was second, Rick “The Rage” Valdez finished third, Rohn Zellner was fourth, and Rudy Laurer finished fifth.

Dennis Osmer was awarded the victory after the red flag came out with him in the lead on the final lap of the Support B Main Event. Stewart Armas was second, Mike Miller was third, and Steve “Beach Ball” Brown was credited with fourth.

National Champions Joe Jones and Tom Summers won both of their heats and completed their perfect night by winning the Sidecar Main Event. Kevin Holman and Josh Bennett finished second, Stuart Glass and Jack Straw were third, and Bryan Motis and Johnny Glover finished fourth.

RESULTS

First Division Semi 1
7 - Austin Novratil
3 - Dillon Ruml
1 - Aaron Fox
14 - Eddie Castro

First Division Semi 2 (restarted)
24 - Gino Manzares
199 - Samuel Ramirez
5 - Max Ruml
22n - Luke Becker (fell, excluded)

Scratch Main Event
7 - Austin Novratil
3 - Dillon Ruml
24 - Gino Manzares
199 - Samuel Ramirez

Support Main Event
345 - Rick Richards
170 - Hayley Perrault
293 - Rick Valdez
118 - Rohn Zellner
182 - Rudy Laurer (fell, remounted)

Support B Main Event (restarted) (awarded)
303 - Dennis Osmer
100 - Stewart Armas
323 - Mike Miller (fell)
211 - Steve Brown (non-starter - restart)

Support B Consolation
143 – Chris Wolfs
103 – Brent Smith (fell, remounted)
150 – Damon Barry (non-starter)

Sidecar Main Event
1 - Joe Jones/Tom Summers
13 - Kevin Holman/Josh Bennett
911 - Stuart Glass/Jack Straw
4 - Bryan Motis/Johnny Glover

Sidecar Consolation
31 – Robert Curry/Johnny Glover
74 – James Kinne/Laurie Curry
64 – Dillon Osborne/Blake Cronkrite
81 – Dan Rapaport/Jacob Serrano

First Division Heat Scoring 1 2 3 T
1 – Aaron Fox 3 2 3 8
3 – Dillon Ruml 2 3 3 8
5 – Max Ruml 3 3 2 8
6 – Shawn McConnell E 1 1 2
7 – Austin Novratil 2 E 2 4
10 – Gage Geist 1 1 0 2
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 0 0 0
14 – Eddie Castro 0 2 1 3
22n – Luke Becker 2 2 2 6
24 – Gino Manzares 3 3 3 9
41 – Kurtis Hamill 1 0 0 1
199 – Samuel Ramirez 1 1 1 3

Heat Results
1: Manzares, D. Ruml, Ramirez, McConnell (engine failure)
2: M. Ruml, Becker, Geist, Schwartz
3: Fox, Novratil, Hamill, Castro
8: Manzares, Becker, Ramirez, Novratil (engine failure)
9: D. Ruml, Fox, Geist, Schwartz
10: M. Ruml, Castro, McConnell, Hamill
13: Fox, M. Ruml, Ramirez, Geist
14: Manzares, Novratil, McConnell, Schwartz
15: D. Ruml, Becker, Castro, Hamill

Ryan Evans

	Dorcey Wingo Photos
Support B Main Event, 1st Start	Support B Main Event winner Osmer, Dennis	Support Division - McNutt and Zellner
Ricky Richards	Support Division - Hayley Perrault	Support Main Event
Support Winner Ricky Richards	Sidecar Main Event	Sidecar Bryan Motis and Johnny Glover
Sidecar Main Event action	Sidecar Main Event winners Joe Jones and Tom Summers	Chris Ackerman hawking T-shirts and hats
Shawn McConnell and Ike Clanton	Brad Oxley and Lori Curry	Harley Races
Harley Main Event D winner	Harley Main Event C winner	Harley Main Event B winner
Harley Main Event F winner	Harley Main Event A winner	Harley Main Event E winner
1st Division Scratch Main Event	1st Division Scratch Main Event action	The Master Bobby Schwartz
Max Ruml	Dillon Ruml	Aaron Fox
(L) Aaron Fox (R) Dillon Ruml	Austin Novratil	Luke Becker leads Max Ruml
1st Division Event 1	Aaron Fox