Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

· ·.S E D A · .· Orange County Fairgrounds P E Wy ..Coors Light Spring Classic . "The track is real slippery, but there's a ho le in that tum," Ermolenko said . "When you come in there spinning and then hit it, it's too la te. Now I know where it is." Ermo lenko was give n a 20-yard penalty for causing the red flag. and it proved to be too much to overcome as Schw artz took the win ahead of Faria on the restart. Semi One saw Oxley top Hancock - the two riders earning direct trans fers to the main event - while Semi Two played host to an inspired ride by Venegas, who had o the r wise been unch aracteristically demure all night. Faria gated and led the Semi for all fou r lap s, but it was thirdplaced Venegas who put on the show, charging on the outside line for the entire race and gaining ground on Hicks, wh o was hugging the pole in second. Vengas finally caught Hicks as the field charged across the stripe on the last lap and he hung his [a wa high in tum one, findin g just enough grip to get by Hicks for second . Hicks had one more chan ce to retake the position in turns three and four, but Venega s stayed in the deep dirt and drove it home for the transfer as the crowd went wild . . "I just woke up:' Venegas said . :'1 tried to duck under Hicks at the start but I realized it was quite slick. So 1just went ou t to the dirt and got that Rock & Java, Motion (Left) Mike Faria stole the start from the pole and cut four perlect laps to capture his second-straight Coors Li g~t Spring Classic Scratch main victory at the Orange County Fairgrounds. (Below) Brad Oxley (right) and Don Odom (left) battled this closely for the final three laps of the Handicap main before crossing the line in a photo finish . Oxley was awarded a co ntroversia l win. By SCott Rousseau Photos by Christopher Thomas COSTAMFSA, CA, MAR. 4 "" / 7 lyin'" Mike Fari a celebrated his ~ 38th birthday by giving himself a gift in the form of his first - and possibly last - victory of the regu lar season on the 1995 AMA Speedway calendar. A form er tw o- tim e Ll.S , Nati onal Champion and the reigning California State Champion, Faria grabbed his second straight Coors Light Spring Oassic Scratch main victory at the Orange County Fairgrounds during the event which traditionally s tarts off th e So uthern California speedway season. " Ra d " Brad Oxley scored the win in the Handicap main. Faria mowed through a star-studded field that included virtually all of the overseas-based Ameri can riders, including . reigning U.S. National Champion "Sudden" Sam Ermolenko. "It's happy birthday for "Fly in '" Mike!" Faria said after taking the win. "I had to go to my backup Jawa because my GM started acting up, but I drew the pole and I knew tha t they would all have to go around me." Faria started his night off with a win in Heat Four of the Handicap program, as he stormed off the 60-yard line to take the win . Bobby Schwartz, England-based Du kie Ermolenko, and Doug Nicol followed Faria across the line earning the transfer positions. "I always start off good:' Faria said. "Ending good is the hard part ." Earlier, Jim Estes - aboard a brand-new motorcycle - had gotten his night off to a good start with a win from the 20-yard line in Heat One over Brad Oxley, Charlie Venegas and British leaguer Chris Manchester. Don Odom came off the 30 for a win in Heat Two ahea d of overseas aces Billy "The Bullet" Hamill and Greg Hanco ck , an d Rob ert Pfetzing . Shawn McConne ll topped Heat Three over Gary Hicks, Jason Chism and Northe rn California's Tommy Hedden. Sam Ermolenko got off to a bad start for the night, as he was elimi nated from the heat wh en his chain derailed. Oxley stepped up with a w in in the first H andicapSerni , while Estes hung tough to earn a transfer for second. Odom and Pfetzing also adv anced. Faria played it cool in th e se co n d Handicap Semi, finishing third behind a dogfight between H edden an d McConnell , who had com e together in turn one on the white-flag lap during their Handicap heat together. The resu lt was . that Hedden had gone down while McConnell inh erited the lead. The incid ent repea ted it self in th e Sem i, as McConnell again threw it in down low on th e leader H edd en, bumped h im and motored th rough . This time, Hedden remained upright to earn a transfer in front of Faria and Hicks. " I' m just . getting so m e grip," McConnell said. "He (Hedden) slipped, so he had to let me by." The Scratch portion of the program featured a two-heat format that payed transfers on a championship-style points system with the top eight points earners advancing to Semis. Unlike the '94 Spring Oassic which saw the British League riders dominate the program, after the heats, Southern Californi a stars Oxley, Schwartz, Nicol. Faria, Venegas, Hicks and McConnell had made their way through to the Semis while only one international rider - Greg Hancock - earned a Semi berth. Sam Ermolenko in particular had suffered through an especially bad nigh t, as the former World Cham pion foun d himself on the gro und mo re times than in the lead. In his first Scratch heat, Ermolenko finished fourth, failing to post any points. In his second go, Ermo lenko ran behind Schwartz - and ahead of Faria - for three laps before hooking up in tum four. Ermolenko looped out hard, causing a red flag. Hedden debuts Jawa W ith all the fanfare surroun ding th e legalization of laydown engines for AMA speedway competition, credit Tom m y Hed den (right) with being the first rider to .introd u ce on e o f the new Jawa-bu ilt machines into AMA competition a t C osta Mes a. Hedden, 21, a longtime Northe rn Ca liforni a -base d rider, guided the bike t o a third-place finis h in the Handicap main at the Spring Classic and said that the new machine suits him julrt fine. . "1 love it," Hedden said . "It's real fIexy put bigger ets on it like i used sprocket 0 1 usually ride . .s 01

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