Team USA Conquers The World
A
lthough the USA has pro-
duced eight World Cham-
pions since the revival of
Speedway Racing in America
in the late 1960s, starting with
Bruce Penhall in 1981 and 1982,
"The World" has not come here
often. We've sent many riders to
Europe, from Bruce Penhall to
four-time World Champion Greg
Hancock in 2016, but the rest of
the world has not ventured here
since the last time in 1988 at
Long Beach's Veteran's Stadium.
That ended last weekend at
Kern County Raceway Park in a
"USA-vs.-The World" matchup,
pitting just about every name in
USA Speedway racing against
the cream of the crop from the
rest of the world. The World was
led by 2022 British Champion
Dan Bewley of the Bell Vue Aces,
teaming up with fellow Brit and
British League Champion Tom
Brennan. The rest of The World
was Denmark's National Cham
-
pion Rasmus Jensen, Sweden's
Jacob Thorsall, France's 2022
FIM Oceana Champ, Adam Ellis
and five-time Canadian Champ
Kyle Legault. Pitching in to fill in
the team was Wilbur Hancock,
son of four-time World Champ
Greg Hancock, the 2020 AMA
250 National champ.
It was a two-stage event, with
both team and individual match
-
ups on offer for the day.
The event started off with a
barnburner of a heat with Brit-
ain's Tom Brennan taking the win
over Team USA's Captain Luke
Becker in second and Broc Nicol
in third.
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