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domestic scene back toward its golden years is mere speculation. What the series promoters and the AMA are hoping that it will do, however, is generate a broader awareness for a sport that desperately needs it. It just might work. The San Bernardino round - thanks to competitive racing in each of its four pointspaying finals - set the stage for what could be an interesting championship battle. After the qualifier races to set the 16-rider field were completed, Hancock got the regular program started with a win in heat one after getting the drop on the field from gate three. Castro and former SRA U.S. National Champion Bart Bast followed Hancock, a former World Champion, across the finish line. Reigning SRA U.S. National Champion Chris Manchester and Doc's Hard Lemonade/Oakley /Silkolenebacked Josh Larsen - two riders favored among those who could keep the new AMA title stateside - squared off in heat one, with young stars Ryan Fisher and Eric Carrillo. A potential clash was averted when Larsen pulled off the track after two laps. "The fuel tank split, all the fuel ran out, and that's the end of the story: Larsen said. "That's not the way we wanted to start this, but it's just one of those things. You look at it every day and you don't notice a crack ... It's just bad luck." The Kelly Dunnegan/ Arai/NJK Leathers-backed Manchester took an easy win from the pole to nail down his first three points of the night. "I made a good start, and it looks like there's not a lot of dirt on the track, so it's going to be 'gate and go' tonight," Manchester said. "I come out off gate three in my next ride, so we'll see." Brant Engineeringrreunissen's Car Wash/AMS-backed Scott Brant came out of gate two to put away Gary Hicks, Bobby Hedden and two-time U.S. National Champion Bobby Schwartz in heat three, riding the dirt line in both corners to perfection. "The race worked out good, but the actual start - well, I'm wishing for better starts," Brant said. "But as long as we end up on top, that's all that matters." Hamill made his first start of the night from gate four - the only gate position yet to produce a victory and rocketed away from three-time AMA U.S. National Speedway Champion Mike Faria, Bakersfield, California's Randy DiFrancesco, and Northern California veteran Tommy Hedden. Hamill kept his rear wheel planted in the outside cushion and cut four perfect laps to win by an easy six bikelengths. Hamill then started round two off the same way with a big win in heat five, only this time he used the pole and smoked potential title rivals Janniro and Manchester, with Schwartz coming in fourth. He appeared to be on a roll. "Actually, we do have a problem: Hamill said after the second ride. "I've got a hole in my muffler, and it's losing power. We'll have to figure something out. We're trying to locate some silicone right now." Hamill's crew was able to make the necessary repairs to his machine before round three. Billy Janniro (right) put together a consistent night to reach the A final, where he finished second. Local favorite "Fast" Eddie Castro (left! was a surprise contender in the A Final and came away fourth. Things got dicey in heat six, as Faria and Fisher both attempted to get back on track in the points chase. Faria made a clean gate from the pole and led the race for two laps before the Jawa/Teunissen's Car Wash/Arai-backed Fisher swept underneath him in turn two and pulled out the win. Hicks finished third, Bast fourth. "Coming into one, it's getting pretty choppy: the 18-year-old Fisher said. "I was able to anticipate it and maneuver under him to make the pass." Brant was able to match Hamill's perfect score with a second victory in heat seven, he, too, coming from the pole to pull clear of Larsen, Hancock and DiFrancesco. If Hancock was disappointed at dropping two points, he rejected the notion that he was struggling, even though he appeared to be constantly adjusting his engine's ignition timing. "We're not struggling whatsoever," Hancock said. "We're just making adjustments. I just didn't make the start I needed to, and the bike didn't play ball. That was just one heat. Anything can happen yet." Castro scored his first win of the night from the pole in heat eight, defeating Tommy Hedden, Carrillo and Bobby Hedden. Nobody knew it at the time, but that win would mark the start of his charge toward an A Final berth. Brant's hopes for an easy ride into the A Final took a serious hit when he struggled out of gate four in heat nine and then ran around at the back of the field before hitting the wall in turn three and crashing. Fisher wound up with the win, followed by Janniro and Tommy Hedden. Manchester got back to his winning ways in heat 10, getting the start and running the low line to pull away from Bobby Hedden, Bast and reserve rider Bobby Krips, who was called into action after DiFrancesco was excluded for touching the tapes. Hancock pulled even with Manchester on seven points after winning heat 11 from gate three. Faria made a bold outside pass on Schwartz in turn three to grab second place just before the white-flag lap, but he now had three rides and no wins. "It's tough: Faria said. "It's going to be all about coming from behind now. Every rider that's here is capable of winning. The 16 top riders in the United States are here, and it's good to have the boys from Europe back here. You might think that you could take them for granted, but they're on their keys with the gates and stuff, so we have to step it up just like this was a Grand Prix round." Hamill had the pole again for heat 12, and he made good use of it by pulling clear of Castro, who got the drop on Larsen and held him off for second. Reserve rider Bryan Yarrow, who replaced Hicks after the veteran was excluded for touching the tapes, finished fourth. Hamill was now three for three. "I'm feeling good," Hamill said. "There's a few bumps down in turn one, and that's making it a little bit difficult. The only way I know how to ride through those is wide open. We're looking good, but we've got two more races to go before the finals, so we're just going to keep plugging away and see if we can keep improving." (Left! Greg Hancock continued his recent hot streak by making the A Final, where he finished third. A big fan of the new format, Hancock said that he was looking forward to round two at Fast Fridays Speedway In Aubum. (Below) Scott Brant (far left) had a rollercoaster night that ended on a high note when he won the B Final, good enough for fifth overall. I!!!!!==========================::==iiiiii;;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~:-~~~f~iiiii' n e vv S • AUGUST 28, 2002 41