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SPEEDWAY..:ยท Round 1: A Arena .WorldCup ICe Speedway Series .' reo enegas spar les a Sacramento ce ByGen Moore SACARAMENTO, CA,JAN.7-8 efen d in g World Ice Sp eedway Champion Charlie "the Edge" Venegas showed the compe tition that he has every intention of keeping his world title in 1994 as Venegas piloted his Rock N Java/Troy Lee Design / Ai r w alk Sh oes / Mot ion Pro / Motu l/ DNF Engi nee ring / Cirello / Anna and Varick Racing / Will Costa Tru cking / KG Leathers/ Shoei-backed Jawa to the victory afthe opening round of the World Cup Ice Speed way Series at Area Arena. A record 50 entries were received by the World Ice Association for the two-day competition which pl ayed host to over 7,000 fans. Two-time and defending champion Venegas, along with Pat Litt, the 1992 champion, were considered the favorites going in to the eve nt, but stiff com pe tition would come in the form of Rob ert Curry, who won th e last Ar co round in 1990 and finished second to Venegas in th e 1993 World Ch a m p ionship, and John Grant, who was third in last year's championship. Former twotime U.S. National Champion Mike Faria was also in attendance. The abundan ce of riders forced promoter Gary Densford to ad d 11 extra races to Frid ay ev ening's program. At the end of the first three heats of the Fri d ay p relimin ari es, four riders we re tied for the point lead . Veneg as, Cu rry, Litt, a nd Mike Jaud on all had seven points, while Grant and Ga ry Ak royd each scored six to complete the field for themain. When the tapes went up, U tt led into the first comer with Venegas in his hip pocket. Venegas went into a high-speed wobble on the second lap and was all over the m otorcycle tr yin g to sa ve it. Somehow, Ven egas managed to regain contr ol, but in the me antime, Litt ha d stretched his lead, making it impo ssible for Venegas to catch up. What's m ore, Venegas was kept busy hol ding o ff Akroyd and Grant. As the checkered flag waved, Utt crossed the finish line ahead of the tight!y knit pack of Venegas, Akroyd and Grant. When the racing got underway on Saturday night, it was clear that Venegas was looking to improve on his previous nigh t's results as he stormed to the win in his opening round ride. Litt, Curry an d Ed Castro also got off to a good start by posting heat wins . In round two, however, Venegas wo uld drop a point off the pac e with a second -place finish while Curry and Castro were able to maintain the ir pe rfect scores . The ton e for Litt's night was set early as the speedster from Colorado was involved in a crash during the second round of heats. Referee Dave Joiner ruled that Utt was the cause of that crash and exclude d him from the race. Utt would later crash again, after hitting a soft spot in th e ice during the Last D Chance Qualifiier, and failed to make the main event. After round three was complete, Curry was the only rider still having a maximum score and would start the main event from the p ole. Venegas had rebounded from round three to start a longside C urry. Castro qualified for the mai n on points, joining Curry and Venegas in the front row. Grant, Akroyd and Rick Webb were all forced to qualify for the main through the LCQ, and they would round out the field by starting in row two. When the tapes wen t up, Curry took adva n tage of his position on the gate to ta ke t he lead going into tum one followed closely by Venegas and Castro. Curry wa s a ble to hold off Venegas for two laps un til Venegas was finally able to slide underneath Curry and pass for the lead . Once Ven egas took the point, he a ttempted to stretch his lead at every tum. As the laps wore on, Curry began to fade, and Castro was able to pass into second place. At the checkered flag, Venegas took the win with Castro finishing second a nd Curry se ttling for third. Grant, Akroyd and Webb finished in the fourth through sixth positions, respectively. "I'm really excited about my win here tonigh t," said Venegas, who has more wins on ice than any other competitor on the circuit. " 1 plan on successfully defending my world title.Tonight's win gives me a real advantage toward acheiving that (Ab ove) Defendl ng Ice World Champio n Charl ie Venegas (middl e) styled to the Saturda y nigh t main event win at Sacramento's Arco Arena. (left) Robe rt Curry, Venegas and Ed Castro (left to ri ght) celebra ted on the podiu m after Saturday ni ght 's final race . (Below) Pat lilt (left ) used a great start to defeat Venegas in Fri day night' s main evenL (Bolto m) The Sacram ent o ice produced a variety of rac ing li nes and ri ding styles. goal." Venegas, w ho finished third at the 1993 U.S National Cham pionship said that he doesn't consider himself partial tc dirt or ice. "You really can't compare them at all. It's like comparing baseball to football ," Venegas said. "Each sport is as totally different as racing on ice and dirt. I really give my all to both and do my best to . achieve all that I can in both." a Arco Arena sacramento, California Results : January 7-11 1994 (Round 1 of 3) , Fricby MAIN: 1. Pat Utt (Wes); 2. Charlie Venegas Oaw); 3. Ga ry Akroyd (Wes); 4. John Grant (Wes); 5. Robert Curry (Wes); 6. Mike Jaudo n (GM). Saturo.y MAIN: I. Charlie Venegas Oaw); 2. Ed Castro (Wes); 3. Robert Cu rry (Wes); 4. John G ra nt (Wes); S. Gary AIaoyd (Wes); 6. Rick Web b (Wes). Upcoming Rounds Round 2 - san Diego, CA, January 28-29 Round 3 - Fairbanks, AK, March 12 23