Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Gene Romero's West Coast Flat Track Series By M IKE KIBBY PHOTOS BY BOB STURGEON/BAY ACTION PHOTO ub be d the " Gat ew ay to Tahoe," the gold country town of Placervillewas the site for round four of Gene Romero 's West Coast Flat Track Series. The recently re furb ished, red clay, banked quart er-mile oval provided a very tacky surface for the riders . Traction was everywh ere , and setup would be a key factor. The traveling Halbert brothers, who hail from Washington state and who have been racing almost on a daily basis from coast to coast , proved that practice does make perfect as younger brother Sam Halbert won the Open Pro A main event. with Jethro Halbert, the WCFTS Open Pro point leader, com ing home second. Rick Hocking made it three for four in the Saddlemen Open Vintage A main event win , and the Top Gun 4S0 class saw first -tim e winner Jermaine Bacosa atop the box. The Tuff Plates fast-time numberplates went to Jethro Halbert in the Open Pro division, with Hocking quickest in the Vintage class. K&N Filters Open Pro heats saw the Halbert brothers both score easy wins. with Kenny Carlot ta just nipping Brown's Cycles David Brown at the line for a hard fought victory. In the Open Trophy Dash, Sam Halbert hit the ground hard in the first turn and brought out the red flag. He made the resta rt. bruised elbo w and all. Jethro Halbert went wire to w ire for the win, with Mikey Rush second and Sam Halbert fin ishing third. D 54 When the green light flashed for the K&N Filters Open Pro A main event, Jesse Sanchez was fastest off the line. Jethro Halbert tried the outs ide of him in the first turn but bobbl ed . and Sam Halbert got them both for the lead. As they crossed the stripe for the first time, it was Sam Halbert . Sanchez and Jethro Halbert followed by Dana Perri and defending WCFTS champion Kevin Bricker in fifth. Carlotta was the man on the move as he disposed of both Perri and Bricker while Jeth ro Halbert worked Sanchez for second. As Sam Halbert pulled away up front, Sanchez seemed to be holding back Jethro Halbert , and Carlotta closed up to make it a three-rider battle. At the cross - fl ags, Jethro Halbert and Carlotta both got by Sanchez as Mikey Rush got around Bricker for fifth. Sam Halbert gapped his brother while Jethro Halbert pulled away from Carlotta. Sam Halbert went on to win his first WCFTS main event in style. Brother Jeth ro was second w ith Carlotta th ird. Sanchez held on for fourth over Rush. "The race was a lot of fun," Sam Halbert said. "I saw my brother bobble in the first turn . so I just gassed it up and shot into the lead. Kept putting in good laps, finding a good line. tryin' to get around the bumps . I made a couple changes for the track, and it was working good . I'd like to thank Zanotti Racing,Hot Shoes By George, Motorex and my mom and dad." JULY 14,2004 • CYCLE NEWS Jethro Halbert admitte d that he had a lot of fun even though he didn't win. "On the first turn I kinda screwed up and almost got bucked off the bike," Jeth ro Halbert said. "I saw my brother get around me, and then Sanchez was kinda holding me up for a little bit . But I made a good pass, got by him and saw my brother win." KLH Racing/A&A Racing/RAB Racing's Hoc king hit the turn fi rst at the start of the Saddlemen Vintage main event. Brad Spencer, Steve Hall, Dom DeMario and Bob Scally ran top five. Everyone would string out with the only change coming when Robert Hansen got by Scally for fifth. The "Hock" had an anxious moment with two laps to go when his brakes went out and he almost caught the hay bales in turn four. He cruised home, pulling his third victory whee lie of the year. Spence r and Hall filled the podium. "It was a good night, and everything was going real smooth," Hocking said. "Wo n my heat . won the dash , and had fast time . The main event, about the fifth lap I broke a fitting in my brake, and it got a little hairy after that . I about missed turn th ree there all the way, and I just had to back her down after that. But I had a good night." Placerville resident Mike Perillo proved to be the crowd favorite as he pulled a holeshot at the sta rt of the Top Gun 4S0 class followed by Rod Lake/RAB Racing's Bacosa and Brandon Bergen . Bacosa and Bergen both put heavy pres- 40th Anniversary sure on Perillo. It paid off as Perillo went wide out of turn two, and both riders got by him. Clawson Moto rsports/APF Salvage/ Raptor Racing's Bergen challenged Bacosa on the last lap, but he just came up short. Bradley Spencer, Perillo and Anthony DeMario rounded o ut the top five. Perillo then upstaged the pod ium finishers after the checker ed flag by sliding into the hay bales, picking up his bike and then joining fellow local ride r Bubba Byers in a side-by-side smoky burnout that lasted over two minutes on the back straightaway. As the old saying goes , the crowd went wild. eN PLACERVIllE SPEEDWAY PLACERVIllE, CAUFORN IA R ESUL TS: J UNE 12 . 20 04 (R O UN D 4) cisc VINT TW : I. Robert Hansen (Tn); 2. Robert S (Hon) ; 10. J;mmy Abr.uns (Ha n); I I. Tony Souza (C CM), 12. Dana Perri (Rot); 13. Daniel Bro wn (Yam); l-t. Jim l ewis (Han) ; 15. Tob y Trana (Rot). UPCOMING ROUNDS: R ound 5 . Chico, Californio, J 17 uly R ound 6 - Wotsonville, Colifornio, Ju~ 31

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