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AMA U.S. National Speedway Championship Fast Fridays Speedway By putting some daylight between himself and the battle between Faria and Bast behind him. In the latter stages, Janniro parked in turn four and nearly collected the rest of the field in process, but, as is his style, he recovered nicely to fmish out the race and gain entrance to the season's final event. Unsurprisingly, high points man Hamill picked the pole in the main, with Manchester winning the rights to lane two and Fisher somewhat surprisingly opting for the worn-out confines of starting grid three. On a night when almost everything seemed to be going right for Hamill, the main was no exception. The 1999 National Champion got out in front with another solid start and never looked back aboard his Team Roberts/Alpinestars/Parts Unlimited/Troy Lee Jawa. Right from the beginning, Janniro was all over the back tire of his British League teammate, looking for the entrance to the front, but Hamill repeatedly shut the door on him. After the event, Hamill had nothing but praise for his American competitors. "Man, I'm so proud of America right now, and especially all these young American riders," he said. "They've gotten so good so fast, it's almost scary. They're gonna be great for a long time to come; the future of American speedway is in their hands, and frankly, just like President Bush said about the rest of America's foreign affairs, the world better watch out." 1:11 M. SOBER PHOTOS BY GEN MOORE AUBURN,CA,SEPT.21 he 1996 World Individual Speedway Champion, Billy "The Bullet" nill, returned to his favorite American speedway track and put the hurt on all the other Speedway competitors with an inspiring, near-perfect maximum 14-point score; after which he topped off his brief U.S. return with a perfect gate and win in the final AMA U.S. National Speedway Championship main event. First-year British Elite League rider "Bronco" Billy Janniro put on a heroic display behind Hamill but ultimately came up short and had to settle for second place. Three-time Junior Speedway Champion Ryan Fisher scored four wins in five heats and transferred directly to the main event, where he ran third, just ahead of 1992 U.S. Speedway Champion Chris Manchester. Fisher opened up the proceedings with a win, leading all the way ahead of Tommy Hedden and "Flyin'" Mike Faria. After a couple of restarts that saw Dukie Ermolenko disqualified, Bart "Simpson" Bast found the traction he needed in the restart to stay ahead of Chris Manchester and claim the heat-two victory. Hamill won his opening ride from gate four, over Janniro and John Cook, and in the final heat Bobby "The Biaze" Hedden led all the way to close out round one. Fisher opened up the second round with an impressive start that left second and third to Janniro and Bast. Cook led from start to finish over Eric Carrillo in the next heat, Manchester got his first win in round two's third heat, and Hamill closed out the round with a runaway victory over Bryan Yarrow. Fisher kept his perfect score alive after passing early leader Bobby "Bo09aloo" Schwartz on the final lap of the opening heat. Hamill followed suit in the next race with a solid start and win, ahead of Bast and Bobby Hedden. Janniro then had his first win of the meeting, over Faria, after which Manchester closed out the middle round with another win. After three rounds, Hamill and Fisher led the way with perfect nine-point scores. In the opening heat of the fourth round, Fisher and Hamill put their perfect scores on the line, and it was Hamill who came away with the win, just ahead of Manchester. Venegas got his only win of the night in the next heat, and Mike Faria kept his 42 OCTOBER 31,2001 • cue dimming championship hopes alive with a nice win over Cook and Bast. Bobby Hedden's winning outside ride and Janniro's spectacular turn-four save closed out the fourth round. With one round to go, Hamill was on top with 12 points, followed by Fisher and Manchester with 10 apiece. Fisher ended his scheduled heats with another win from the pole. Manchester's spot-on start and win over Janniro brought his five-heat points total to 13 and garnered a direct transfer to the main. Faria then led Hamill the entire distance to the flag, but Hamill's second-place finish seeded him into the main event with Fisher and Manchester. In the final heat, Bast beat Carrillo and Kerr to grab the final last-chance semi spot. In the last-chance qualifier, Janniro had the most points and opted to start from the pole. Faria drew lane two, Bast got lane three and Bobby Hedden dug into lane four. On the start, all four competitors virtually went out as one, and in the first turn something had to give and it was outside starter Hedden who was left sprawled in the turnone cushion. The referee curiously decided that it wasn't first-turn bunching and, much to the crowd's disapproval, deemed Hedden to be •• n • .,s (Above) u.s. NatIonal Speedway Champion Billy "The Bullet" Hamill acknowledges the crowd's cheers from the podium at the Fast Fridays Speedway In Aubum, Callfomia. the cause of the red flag and disqualified him from his earned spot in the resta rt. On the restart, Janniro got his first decent gate of the night and started fan fridays Speedway Aubum, Califamia Results: September 21, 2001 C'SHIP HEAT POINTS: 1. Billy Hamill (14); 2. (TIE) Chris Manchester/Ryan Fisher (13); 4. Billy Janniro (11); 5. (TIE) Ba" Bast/Mike Faria/Bobby Hedden (10): 8. John Cook (9); 9. Charlie Venegas (6); 10. Eric Carrillo (5); 11. (TIE) Chad FeJicio/Tommy Hedden/Bobby SchwllrU (4); 14. Dukie Ermolenko (3); 15. Brylln Yllrrow (2); 16. (TIE) Chris Kerr/Billy Hiles (1); 18. Ivan 5ova" (0). LCQ SEMI: 1. Billy Janniro: 2. Mike Feria; 3. Bert Bast; 4. Bobby Hedden. MAIN: 1. Billy Hamill: 2. Billy JlInniro; 3. RyBn Fisher. 4. Chris Manchester.