(Left, f rom left to
right) Sha wn
McConnell. Brian
Burch, Mike Fari a,
Bobby Sc hwartz,
Randy DiFrancesco
and Richard Jones
po se w ith the ir
awards at the annual
Costa Mesa
Speedway Awards
Banquet.
(Rig ht) First
Unlimi t ed Amateur
malo w inner Dav id
Dunbar (7 ) wo rks
pa st Eric Co x (396)
while t rying to catch
eve nt ual class winner
Ky le Richardson (t 4)
at Devils Ridge MX In
Sanford, North
Carolina.
4-STRJ< B' 1. Srt'vl!' Rrlnll (Hu n ); 2. Brad nurnil" IBnn); 3.
n
. luh n C,Irltlln (H. In ); " I.....Jun ldll (lIun); 5. 0 ,," Coclr.in l K.lwl.
g
5PTS MN ; I. Allo Hermon (fI on ); 2. Sh",wn Lindem a nn
m
IKTMl; a Todd Withmon (Y . m); -4. Bri"n}ohrvoon OCT'M1 5. Rod
;
Richardson and Bell take two
at Devils Ridge MX
KclJc.oy (}-Ion) .
W MN ; 1. Lurl t Wn lt lTl N' (Koo wJ; 2. C. rol jo"n CHon); 3.
l
My r. 81,lIIT t K.!lw ); 4. w ur . C "ct' (!Caw ); 5. Dlnklw Lindl'fttann
(Ho ld.
Faria and Jones honored at
Speedway awards banquet
By Elain e J ones
RIVERSIDE. CA. OCT. 18
Don and Ca rrie Rus~1I and Gary and Sandy
Hicks opened their homes for what has become
an ann ua l even t - the Co sta Mesa Speedway
Aw ards Barb e-cue. Fam ilies , friends and fan s
were treated to gre at food , swimm ing and good
com p any as they got together to honor th ei r
own.
Mike Faria, wh o ha s had an aw esome sea so n, winning the National Championship for the
third time , added the final jewel to his crown by
picking up the High Point title in First Division.
Shawn McConnelL Brad Ox ley. Bobby Schwartz
and Steve Lucero rounded out the top five.
In what Brad Oxley referred to as "the closest race he has seen in years," Rich ard Jon es
won -the High Point Second Division title. Very
dose beh ind h im were Da vid Lyn ch , Jo h n
DeFries, Johnny Walker and Rand y Skinner.
Special awa rds wen t to Jesse Finch as the
"Holrd Luck" rider of the year. Fmch was on the
receiving end of a bad ly bro ken leg early in the
Sl!ason, an d the in jury m ay be can.~r~nding .
Brian Pappalardo, in his secon d yea r as a full·
tim e Firs t Division rid er , was d eemed "Bes t
Spo rts man ." Steve Lucero , with his colorfu l sty le
and oUlJ;oing ma nner, was namt>d "Best Person· .
ality." Shawn McConn ell, wi th his crazy riding
sty le and with help fro m his "Mad Dug" dan,
was d ubbed "Best Showma n." Brian Burch, wh o
moved into First Division this year, came away
"lith the "Mos t Improved award. "Most IAadi·
ca ll- d" was an I!as y cho ice, as Bobby Schwartz
a
has pr ove-n time and time agai n w ha t a tireless
ambassador he is for speedway . The final award
went to Rand y DiFran~, wh o, in his fIrs t full
sea !VIn ~ s a Firs t Divi sion rider, was always a
kt')' player when the mains rolled around, wa s
scrond to Faria on the long track in Bakersfield,
and wa!' a force to bP Tt"Ckoned with at the qualifiers . He was an ro sy cho ice for "'Rookie of the
Year."
Two riders w ~ inducted into a ve ry elite
club . Both Mike Faria and Shawn McConnell
ha ve bet-n ra cin g !iopt."t"dway for oVt"r 20 yean>.
Mo re- im po rta ntly, th ey ar r still winning. They
join Bobby Schwartz and Brad Oxl ey, wh o are
abo still oomprling and winning.
The fina l awa rd wenl to a nonracer, but a
very impo rt ant person to 5peed wa y. For 2S
yea rs, Gary Hicks Sr. ha s be.m keepin g things
going in th e pi ts on race night and is' a very
impo rta nt reaso n thai things ru n so smoo thly in
the pi ts. Tht.~e was an added bonus, as it was
al!oO Ga ry'lt 50th birthday and his wife, Sdnd y,
and his kid s surp rised him with a birthday cake .
H
r--.
0\
0\
......
0'
......
....
Q)
~
E
Q)
::a
Z
34
Resul ts
0-1 : 1. Mi.... f "r"' ; 2. Shown McConne ll; 3. Br.d ars now and has perfonned
his trick of a four-mot o swee p of the 85cc 02-1S)
and Su~ rmjni div isions at th e Ridge on more
than one occas ion. Bell's tot al domination was
fit tin g, accord ing to on e person who !lhouJd
kn ow. "We're just waiting ' for his 125 to come
in," BelJ's moth er sa id . '" get nervous because
he's tuu taU fur his 80s now ."
Blake Hovis tried to keep Bell in his sights in
what oould bt.- SeW!' lall't rides on the small bile,
but Hm·i s just could not ma tch Bell's fast pa ce.
The sa me fate awaited Zach Kutsch enko as he,
ton , tried to stay wi th Bt>J1 • to no ava il. Hovis
took the runner-up spo t to Bell in the 85cc 0215) class, \'\,"ith [)rmnis Wt"'!lot ta king third , wh ileKu tsehenko was the brid esma id in Su pennini
ra cin g . West was Johnny-on-the-spot with his
third -place rid es as he stood on the podium in
the Su~ni class as well
Res ults
50 (....>:1. T..yb Funftl (,\ct); 2. OJ. Elm (I(T'M); 3. Nidd.UIo
Sdunin ( u-m); 4 Col ton Tick. {Y .. ml; 5. O.od GorIhm (Y.. rn) .
50 (7~l : 1. Brnc Tll'kk llc. w); 2.Cb.trln HoIb.rd (lc. w).
65 (1-9l: I. loooh Sd ln'lin (Suz); 2. Thocn.:l ..... yn (KIow ); 3.
ChnMop hC'l" M om. (I<. w); 4. 8rcx- Tad.k (.... w ); 5. a.,. Willdl
lK.aw ).
#l" (1~11 >: 1. l....i.-h Talbm (Yaml.
8517· 11): 1. baiah T. lboTt ('(. m) ; 2. M.:att Myns lHorI); 3. Joeh
~=:.n lSuzl; f . CN rle-t W..,wick (Ka w ); 5. ThoIn.... H aY""
85 112
·15): 1. Dn-rid-. BrD (f-k..); 1. Bt..kr Hm.--i!I (H n n) ; 2. 0-lID Wnt oc.. ...- -l, LKb KubdM:nlr.o &U:); 5. RYAll8wktt (Yam)
l
.
80 0: 1. UK Hu lton (lion.; 2. Ni ck r _ (Su d ; 3. Au......n I'a r·
n5 h (Hon ); 4. 5tu ..rt Par b lk..'lw); 5. DilNW H .uK-u(Ho n ).
S/ M1 I; 1. DnTic k Bell (Hon); 2. Z, ch
N
Ku t A: I . Chud . G h'O"fl lSuzl; 2. ' 4m,.."
Coy O:: w); 3. JI>(' H. ll'y IHonl; 4. D.vid
,
Q uthnl tsu&l.
125 8: 1, ,_
'-'pb n~ .
:50 B; 1. Ky k JbdloI.ni_ ( )(.;aw ); 2. Ry..n Sch.It\;' ( Yam); 3.
Wayne C um (1ionJ ; 4.
llUlw).
J-
T"homM (y am); 5. N.1an MocFar1and
Z50C 1. Owuies McKinnry (KA 2. Rodr.y King~.
w);
2SOD: I . Scott T,..... (Yam); 2. Robm lim. (HonJ; 3. ~
Pruln QionJ; 4. 81un Be.nan OYw); S. Amhoxty ~ CHonJ.
2S-o- A ' 1, Chud. C......... (Suz.); 2. j...- Cay (lUIw); 3 . Sidnry
WlI1Utrm{lUIwl; 4. Tlm Mantoodl G-Ion);5. o..vidCwthm lSuzl.
zs.. 8 : 1. San RaIoft (lion.); 2. W;lv- CW n {Hon.I ; 3. I:IrandCWI
WiU iaJN (fion); 4. DoNn. IAVia (5uz);' 5. s.lAn McfarLond (lUIw).
2S. C: I. Kylr ~ (Y...u; 2. Midwd Wn.-U lSuzl; 3. jl.-
Owwirll a b\).
JO+ A:.
1 . ~ WIoIh.I._ {J(;I w);2. "Jbocruoe, ~ (Suz); 3.
r..,.M-1I;IOtI\ ( Hofl)
JO+ a 1. T.dd M.uWD Q--k.wl); 2. M.uk Hill
lK. w); 3. Donnir
4, A,w" CMt lSw.l; 5. Ctq Slnith lHon).
30. C: 1. l>a&~ c.~ ( Hor\); 2. Troy RobIonon IlC.;lw); 3.
Sf.- Ownbln lJ,:awl ; 4 l.an'y ~ oc:..wl; 5. Trk}' a. boo.~ lSuz);
tJr;;.w).
J..'H.; 1. DarmI BcD Oion); 2. Rd c...tuccio (Hgn); 3. ThoInu
Pmw. CSuU; 4. C~ Bobk& UionJ ; S. Rid\.lrd }oNnsc;on (HonJ.
oW+: 1. Da~lI Bell (lion); 2. Rictw'd Johanson CHon ); 3. CI"PS
8<*'ka (Honl; 4 . AUmoin P.. ........ (H ...); 5. Stubutvr F.ngb.oJ1(Hun)
Ut I.; 1. Kyw. Rkhan:bon CK.Iw 2. Dilvid 0uPb.u alon); 3l;
Rylln Scb.afn0'..",); 4. Eric Cox (Y.m); 5.1
..... ThomM (Y.am).
Kuchler twins duel at
Delaware Motocross
By Rupert X. Pell en
DELAWARE. Oli, OCT.45
No t only are We slerville brothers Shaun a nd
Scott Kuchle-r identical twins, the Hon da·mou nt·
cd sib lings share similar go-fast r idi ng slyles
and bot h t"njoy a passion for winning. In th e bat·
tie for the Schoo lbo y class at the Delaware MX
Polrk, Sco ll 's finishes gained him a o ne- poin t
ed ge to take th e overa ll over Shaun, while third
overall went to Jason Wade.
Bub Th omas g aine d su perio rit y ove r the
Kuchlers in the 125cc B class, wh ere Shaun and
Scott finish td ~nd and third, respt'cth·ely. In
Sunday's daylong war between the mw, Scott
reignoo supreme, as the feisty brothers battled
fu rio u sly in bo th the Schoolbo y and l25cc B
cl" It!>C'S . Shclun finis htc"d seco nd O\'erall behin d
his bro ther, with Jason Wad e taking third in the
Schoolboy cia",.
FOl"toria's Kyle McConnell wa s impressive in
Sunday's SOcc (7-8) class, taking a hard-fought
overall win over Brandon Borgen.
Results
Saturday
511(4· 6); I. Tyl" 8o we-n (Cob); 2. Kru . ~ d~n (Co b ); 3 .
~~n H..k~ (Cob); 4. Ky. F~ ( CoO); 5. Cony C u r
~ C~}o 1. lnndnn fInrr ; 2. Mike Ml.'C.t.bc- (HoaJ;
n
3 . Nick Mowry (Hon); 4. A.J. Me.lOlH (I<&w ); 5. Dillion W..lw.
(Sou l.
125 8: 1. Sn-on Kuchlrr '
250 8: I . J - Wade eason. Hea ding
into th e final ra ce, only tw o po in ts se para ted
Over 4Q..class lead er Bobby Babcock fro m sec·
ond -p laced Michae-l Kean~, 94-92. Both riders
were looking for that la st \'i ct ory, but as it
turned out, neithtc"l' rider ~t it.
Harley-m ounted James Cha pma n hu stled
into th e in itial lead d ur inR the Ov er 40 ma in
e\'ent, but as he and Bab cock round ed tu m
t:hree, Babcock briefl y blastoo to the frunt . Afttc"l'
battling handlebar to handlebar for several laps,
Chapman recaptured the top spo t and took it to
the cht!'Ckered, as Babcock dropped to second •
and had to fight Keane for th.1t position. Babcock hdd off Keane for sccond, and the points
cha m pion.<;hip, but Chapman was the man of the
hour.
" I d o n ' t re m ember the p a ss , " ad m itted
Ch apman. "'J just tried to go on autopilot and
huld my line."
Bryan Dougla s secu red the 80c( B points
cha m pioreJt ip . N ick Lipita grabbed the holeshot
a nd led the first half of the fina1. Then, with
thrt.'tc' laps left, Douglas prod ucro a power pass
under th e flagstan d, outsli ding upira in timr to
