igning AMA National Spee dway Champion Greg Hancock
flew in from Eu r o pe and
made his way to the Auburn
old Country Fairgrounds to
c ontest the final round of t he AMA
National Championship Speedway Series
with a very specific agenda: to hold on to
his slim, one- point le ad and de fen d his
t itle. In fro nt of a packed house at Fast
Fridays, Hanco ck did just that , adding a
fifth car eer National Speedway Cham pionship title to his res ume by storming to
victory in a loaded A Final.
''I'm the champ again," Hancock
chuckled in mock bravado as he clutched
the two trop hies he was awa rded for
w inning the th ird round and the
Progressive Insurance/Maita Fo rd/Fast
Fridays Speedway Series . "It was just a
really great night fo r me. I mad e a couple
of mistakes in my heats , but the bike
wor ked pe rfect, and I was able to make
the start I needed in the main to get it
done."
Co ming into the night, no less th an
three overse as-based Americans, including Hancock, had the title we ll in th eir
sights, and all were confident they could
get the job done.
"I fee l re ally great com ing in here
R
52
ton ight: ' Hancoc k said before the meeting. "My bike is ready, and so we gotta see
how it goes. I only have a one -po int lead,
but I'd rath er be ahea d than one point
be hind."
Billy "The Bullet" Hamill was the rider
who was one po int be hind Hancock , and
he had a similar notion .
"Greg is one point ahead , but if Iwin all
my heats I'll be back even , and since it
comes down to the main anyway, we 'll be
going for it then: ' he said.
The ot her Billy, "Bronco" Billy Janniro,
was on ly two points off the pace , and he
was charac teristically lighthearted before
the eve nt.
''I'm ready, we 'll see:' Janniro said.
"I'm glad to be home, and it'll be fun."
Two hard -fought ro unds , the first in
Auburn , August 6, and the second round
at the w icked ly fast Victorville facility the
next night, left the three top European
contenders alone at the top with 38, 37
and 36 points, respectively. The next closest ride rs we re Chris Manchester, with
26, and "Flyin" Mike Faria, with 25.
The Fast Fridays track was fairly typical
for a race of this type , a little heavy and bit
wet in the beginning, which helped it to
hold up throughout the night. In the first
round , local champ ions Bart Bast and
OCTOBER 20, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS
