Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Fourth annual Civil War of Speedway • By Scott Rousseau Photos by Gen Moore AUBURN, CA, JULY15 "It is not enough to fight. It is thespiritwhich we bring to thefight thatdecides theissue." -George Catlett Marshall. ruer words could not have been ' spoken on behalf of Northern California speedway fans as they watched the ir home team just get edged out by Southern California-based riders when Fast Frida ys hosted the fourth annual Civ il War of Speedway at Auburn's Gold Country Fairgrounds. At last year's event, the North had high hopes of capturing its first Civil War victory over the South since the event's inception in 1990. But even with the help of forme r National Champion Alan Christian, the North was battered by the invading South, who built a 14point lead in the first rou n d before steamrolling the Northern boys 48-29. For 1994, the Northern troop would meet yet another star-studded Southern team that looked to be just as formidable as in years past. Team captain and reigning Northern California Speedway Champion Bart Bast would be lead ing Northern riders Dustin Schroeder, Bobby and Tom Hedden, Robert Curry and a guest from the South in Brent Werner. Bob Hicks was a last-minute replacement for Northern rider Jim Sisemore, who had been injured in a crash T (Top) Charlie Venegas (center) and Gary Hicks led the South to Its fourth-stra ight victory In the Civil War of Speedway at the Gold Country Fairgr ounds. Venegas and Hicks scored 10 points each. •(Above - Left to right) Venegas, Bobby Hedden, Mike Faria and Northern guest rider Brent Werner exit the gate. Hedden and Werner were a consistent team , 13 points to keep the scoring a total North In the hunt all evening. 0' at Auburn one week earlier and was forced to pull out of the meeting. "We (the North) d on't hav e th at much experience team riding," sai d Bast, who had cousin and tw o-time National Champion Steve Bast in his pit. "We should try to get the promoter to have a team race before thi s one, but that's hard to do because it's every man for himself during the season ." The Southern squad included no less than three former National cham pions in team captain Bobby Schwartz, Mike Faria and Brad Oxley. Form er Northern rider Charlie Venegas , currently in the top five in Southern California points, was also on hand for the South as was former British League rider Gary Hicks. Brothers John and Jer emy Aden were the final players on the Southern squad. "I think tha t we had a stronger squad last year," Schwartz said. "But then, 1 think they had a stronger one, too." . On paper, the situa tion looked hopeless . But as the riders took to the Ted Scruggs-prepared Auburn trackbefore a sellout crowd of 4000, it became appar- ent that someone forgot to tell the North they shoul d give up . The first two hea ts of th e even ing appeared to bolste r the notion that the So uth wou ld d ominat e th e night, as Schwartz took the win with Schroed er keeping to the pole to stave off Oxley for se cond. Bast, who had been running th ird, pulled up lame ju st p ast the ha lfway po int when his fuel petcocks failed . Faria then teamed with Jeremy Aden in heat two and scored the first of four 5-1 ri des for the South over Tom Hedden and Cu rr y, who suffered yet another mechanical malfunction for the North when a rock got sucked into is chain. But in the next three heats, the North stage d a spe ctacular comeba ck. Bobby He d den step pe d up and gave th e Auburn fans reason to celebrate as he led the North to its first heat win of the night, a wire-to-wire w in ov er Gary ' Hicks. Wern er's third-place finish gave the North a 4-2 victory . Bobb y Hicks and Curry gave the Auburn crowd even more to cheer about in heat four, when Curry cut inside Jeremy Ad en for third in turn four on the first lap, an d Hicks took the lead for another 4-2 win when Venegas slipped off the pole in the subsequent corner while searching for his teammate. "I saw him (Venegas) looking back, and he d rifted off the pole, so I went for it," Hicks said . "I think that 1might have taken him a bit wide , but that's racing." The North continued to pressure the South, with Werner and Bobby Hedden returning to post a third-straight 4-2 victory over Oxley and Jeremy Aden, who was called in after Schwartz was excluded for touching the tapes, to bring the score dead even at 15 points each. " I th ink w e' re team riding well," Hedden said. "But we didn't get the best starts earlier in the night." The Southern team then shot itself in the foot in he at six when Far ia rolled into the tapes and was ejected. With Faria ou t and Jeremy Aden back in, the North had an opportunity to take th e lead in the meeting, but Venegas, who finished third in the 1993 U.S. National, pulled out a critical win for the South over Bast after Schroeder spun out and went do wn in tum four on the opening lap . Jeremy Aden picked up one point for third place to keep the hea t and the overall stand ings tied. The South finally broke ahead in the final race of the first round with Gary Hicks and John Ad en going 5-1 over Bobby Hicks and Curry. The North faced a tense moment when heat eight was rolled out after interm ission. Tom Hedden was paired with Bast to meet Oxley and Jeremy Aden. Hedden grabbed the advantage off the gate when the tapes went up and tried to pull down on Oxley while Bast took Aden wide to secure the outside. Hedden and Oxley bumped in the corner, causing Hedden to wheelie to the outside of the turn and strike teammate Bast right in the back, cleaning both riders off their machines. Though both riders 'mad e the restart, momen tum appeare d to be on the Southern side now . But, Hedden surprised everyone by duplicating his rocket gate; this time cleanly passing Oxley in tum one and pulling into the lead to the delight of the frantic Northern supporters. "I just wanted to get the hell out of there before he hit me again," Hedden joked . "My new [awa motor is working real good . My girlfriend bought it for me." Bast was left with the impossible task of prying Oxley out of the second spot but could not make a pass as the North took the heat 4-2 to pick up two points on the South, who still led 25-23. "If he (Hedden) had drifted off the pole, he would have been hamburger because 1 can peel a clam off a pier piling from 50 yards, " Oxley said. "So you know he was holding the pole well." Werner and Bobby Hedden provided more fireworks for the North by scoring an upset tie over Faria and Venegas in heat nine. Venegas commanded the start, but with Werner and Hedden in tow as Faria missed the start. Faria put on a frantic charge in an attempt to make up the lost ground, but Hedden was able to keep the two-time National champ at b ay by staying low on th e groove, something he rarely ever does. Gary Hicks returned in heat 10 to post anoth er three-point ride for the South, but the North countered them again with a second-place finish by Bast. Schroeder, who was running third in the heat, was bumped to the ground wh en Ad en tri ed to come underneath him . The referee de termined the move to be rough riding and awarded Schroed er third place, keepin g the Northern squad very much in the hunt for the title wi th a 31-29 deficit. "I didn't want to make a big crash," Aden said. "I pulled the bars down and tried to slow up as much as 1could ." But any enthusiasm for a win by the North wa s qu ick y choked in heat 11 when Oxley and Schwartz finished 1-2 over Bobby Hicks and Tom Hedden to move the South ahead 36-30 . In one heat, the South placed the pressure of winning 0":' the North, and with two heats left, time was running out. As it turned out, heat 12 would be it for the North. If Schroeder and Bobby Hedden could pull off a 5-1 win - something the North had not done all night over Venegas and John Aden, and Bobby Hicks and Werner could do the same, then the Northwould win the event outright 43-41. But it was Venegas who pulled into the lead at the start, and though Schroeder and Hedden tried everything in their power to reel him in, Venega s clinched the Civil War for the South by taking the heat win . Schroeder and Hedden finished second and third, respectively, over Aden to make the heat a 3-3 tie, but the North was mathematically eliminated from the meeting. With the title already in the bag, Gary Hicks and Schwartz took to the track and posted a come-from-behind 51 ride over Bobby Hicks and Werner to make the final score 44-34, the closest in Civil War history. "I think (the North) did a good job. 1 think that my team did a good job," Schwartz said. "It was a close score, so that made things interesting. In the end, we needed the points and we took it." " I think we were in the hunt all night," Bast said. "It just comes down to a little more practice, better starts and more luck." Oxley, for one, was impressed with the Northern effort. "It was good to see the Northern California crowd get behind their team. That shows you that they weren't just here to drink beer." Oxley said. "And the Northern team really gave them something to cheer about. Those young lads have come a long way." l:N Gold Country Speedway .Auburn, California Results: July 15, 1994 TEAM: I. South 44 (Gary Hicks l a, Charlie Venegas la, Bobby Schwartz 8. Brad Oxl ey 8. John Aden 3, Mike Faria 3, Jeremy Aden 2); 2. North 34 (Brent Werner 7, Bart Bast 6. Bobby Hedden 6, Bob Hicks 5, Dustin Schroeder 5, Tom Hedden 4, Robert Cuny I) . SCRATCH: I. Gary Hicks (PPD; 2. Mike Fa r ia (GM); 3. Charlie Venegas Oaw ); 4. Darrell Busby (\Illes). CONSJ, I. Bob H icks (Gdn); 2. Bart Bast Oaw); 3. Tom Hedden Oaw); 4. John Aden Oaw) .

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