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2001 Coors Light United States National Speedway Championship Orange County Fairgrounds STORY BY ELAINE JONES PHOTOS BY MIKE BASSO COSTA MESA, CA, OCT. 13 hris "The Kid" Manchester became the youngest National Champion in 1992, and Saturday night at Costa Mesa he did it again, against all odds, scoring an upset win in the five-man, four-lap National Final after he barely had enough points to qualify for the semis. The pits were tense before the races as the riders did last-minute fine-tuning on their equipment. Ryan Fisher was nursing a broken foot but was still going to ride. Jim Estes, who had his main ride demolished last week in a bad crash in turn three, had his back-up bike on hand and was hoping for the best. Mark Adams had his own case of nerves as he had proposed to his fiancee in the program and had not heard the answer yet. Josh Larsen was almost business-like as he hoped to parlay his high-point winning season into a U.S. National Championship. Even "Boogaloo" Bobby Schwartz looked solemn as he made his final preparations. "Fast" Eddie Castro appeared pretty loose as did Dukie Ermolenko and Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell. "Rad" Brad Oxley and Randy "The Rocket" DiFrancesco were joking around, while "Flyin" Mike Faria and Manchester were in their own little worlds. Kit Nay kept to himself, not saying much, and the riders from back East, Gene Bonsignore and George Lazor, were hanging out. Scott Brant, Bart "Simp- C 40 OCTOBER 31. 2001 • 0:: U 0:: son" Bast and Bobby Hedden were tight but ready. Young Eric Carrillo, at 17, was probably the calmest rider in the pits, as this was a first for him. John Cook, who hasn't been to Costa Mesa in years, was on the program and was considered one of the best. Robbie Sauer, the reserve rider, was ready if and when the call came. The format was a simple one. Four rounds of scratch racing with the top 10 moving on to the semis. The points were earned by finish: 3-2-1-0. Each heat of racing had a sponsor, which sweetened the pot. Each heat winner collected a cool $100. ROUND 1 The Kreps family picked up the tab for the first heat of the night. Car- •• n e .., s Chris Manchester (lett) became a twotime U.S. National Speedway Champion after scoring an upset win over Josh Larsen (right) in the Coors Light U.S. National Speedway Championship at the Orange County Fairgrounds. rillo was on the pole with Fisher in two and Bast and Oxley in three and four. Fisher didn't act like he had anything wrong with his foot as he exploded off the line. Bast got the better drive out of the corner, however, and took the lead as they headed down the back straightaway. Fisher hung in there, but he would have to settle for the second. Carrillo was third with Oxley fourth. The second heat was sponsored by JRM Construction. Lazor drew the pole, with Hedden in two and Schwartz and Manchester in three and four. It was the "Master of the Gate", Schwartz, who read the gate to perfection and got the drop on the field. Hedden slipped in behind him, but it was more a learning experience on how to ride Costa Mesa. Manchester was third, and Lazor was having problems figuring out the infamous bullring. Kingson Mold & Machine put up the bonus for the third heat. Ermolenko was on the pole with Bonsignore in two. On the outside it was Nay and Faria. It was game, race and points to Faria as he showed the rest of the riders he was there to play hardball. Ermolenko was second, with Nay and Bonsignore third and fourth. Castro drew the pole in the Rogers Racing-sponsored fourth heat. Adams was in two with Brant and Estes in three and four. It was Brant, the wildcard entry for the Nationa,1 that proved he deserved to be there as he outgated the field and went wire to wire in the quick four lapper. Adams did a good job of holding off Castro, whose bike sounded like a machine gun, to take the second. Estes rounded out the field. The final heat was sponsored by Stanley's Exhaust Tech. McConnell drew the pole with Larsen in two and Cook and DiFrancesco in three and four. Larsen, as he has all year, went out quick and on top and the battle was for second. McConnell had his hands full with Cook but managed to beat him to the checkered for the second. DiFrancesco was fourth. ROUND 2 With the first round under their belts, the riders looked calmer as the The National Final: Manchester (far lett) gated from the outside starting position, with Larsen (far right) on the pole. When Larsen and Mike Faria (center) nearly collided In tum one, Manchester was able to streak around the outside and into the lead.