Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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rounds Hamill was still perfect, with 12 points , Hancock had I I, and Manchester had eight after finishing last in heat 12, wh ich tied him wit h Faria going into the ir final round matc hup. Janniro had nine points. Hamill polished off Bast, Carrillo and Yarrow to finish the night w ith a IS-point maximum, w hich no t only put him in the A Final but also gave him the top starting lane choice . Venegas won the ne xt hea t and finished wit h nine points, good enough for a B Final berth . Janniro outgated Hancock in the restart of thei r heat and held on for a close win. It was a restart that include d Castro , despite the fact th at he cleared out tw o panels of crashwall plywood after tangling with Sephton in the first corner, Hancock's seco nd place pushed his total to 13 and gave him a spot alongside Hamill. Janniro tallied 12 and took the third spo t in the premier final. The last spot in the A Final came down to the last race . Manchester and Faria each needed a win or at least two points to avoid a runoff with Venegas. Faria had the pole, but Manchester got the start and made his second A Final in three tr ies. With the fields set for the four finals, sp ee dway icon Bobby "Boogaloo " Schwartz showed the boys tha t he still has something left in his tank by o utgating and outrunn ing Kerr. Cas tro and Mark Carrillo in the D Final. In the C Final, Eric Carrillo got his only win of the night. beating Bast, Sephton and Tommy Hedden. Faria took out his frustrations on Bob by Hed de n. Venegas and Yarrow in the B Final, picking the pole and the win up along the way. In the A Final. Hamill natura llychose to start fro m the inside in lane one. Hancock immediately looked to lane four, on the outs ide, which left Manchester holding lane th ree after Janniro we nt with the obvious lane two choice. Despite all the anticipation for multiple restarts as the riders fo ught for positions, Hancoc k spoiled the sce nario with a fabulous spot on gate that left Hamill scrambling to catch up. ':o\fte r I picked the inside, I wasn't that surp rised that Greg picked lane four," Hamill said. "It wou ld be hard not to pick the pole in that situat ion, especially for me. But you gotta hand it to Greg, he just flat-o ut beat us, and it's that simple ." Janniro removed himself from serious contention when he was caught pullin up g short, try ing to out-guess re feree Steve Lucero . "Yeah, I thought I had the start timed better. but I guessed wrong and it cost me ," jann iro said. "I finished second in the other two ro unds, and I wanted to move up a spot." Hancock's fifth Nat ional title moved him closer to his ultimate goal of beating Mike Bast' s all-time National Speedway Champ ionship rec or d of seven . "Mike Bast has seven titles , and he told me he'd com e out o f reti re me nt if I got close," Hanco ck joked on the infield after the event, w hile the legendary Bast , who lives in Auburn, stood nearby, grinning. When questioned abo ut Hancock's playful chiding, Bast said, "Hey, I wish him all the luck wit h that. and I hope he ge ts it so everybody can chase him for a while instead of me ; I've had it long enough. And besides, there isn't enough money in the world to get me back ou t here." eN FAST fRIDAYS SPEEDW AY A UBURN , CAUfORN IA R ESUt TS: SEPTEM BER 2 4 , 2004 ( R OUN D (Left) Both Hamill (15) and hometown favorite Billy Jannira (13), shown here baHling in heat four, came to Auburn with legitimate shots at the title . Hamill wound up second on the year, Jannira third. (Right) Manchester (4) works under Jannira (13) in heat 12 . A two-time former National Chompian himself, Manchester finished fourth in this year's series and was the top-finish ing Stateside based American. WWW lJeI n ws.corn 3) OVERAll: I. Greg Hancoc k (20): 2. BiUy Hamill ( 19); 3. Billy JarYliro (16); 1 . Chris Mancheste r ( 14); S. MIke Faria (12): 6. Bobby Hedden (II): 7. Chari" Venegas ( 10): B. BryanYa rrow (9): 9. Eric Canillo (B); 10. Ban But (7); I I. Tom 5o""ton (6); 12. lOmmy Hedden (S); Il . Bobby Schwanz (4); 14. Ch n. Kerr (l); IS. Edd.. Casc-o (2); 16. H"" Canillo ( I). AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSH IP SPEEDWAY SERIES (After ] of J rounds) : I. Greg Hancoc k (sa); 2. BIlly Ham ill (56) : 3. BiflyJaMiro (52); 1 . Chris Manc hester (40): 5. H,ke Faria (l 7): 6. BobbyHedden (ll); 7. Bart Bast (2l) : B. (TIE) Scott Ilnn' (21 )(Tommy Hedden (2 1yChari" Venegas (2 1): II . (TlE) Bryan Yarrow ( 19)IEric Carri llo (19); Il . Eddie Castro (I l ); 14. Tom Sephtcn (II ); Is . Chris Kerr (7); 16. (TIE) Bobby Schwam (S)/Shawn Hannatiuk (5); lB. H"" Canillo ( I). CYCLE NEWS • OCTOBER 20, 2004