Nicol Takes Speedway Championship
O
ne event but two winners:
how often can you say that?
But that's how it turned out at
"Fast Fridays" Speedway in
Auburn, California, on September
20. The last of the three-round
AMA National Speedway Cham
-
pionship blasted off on Saturday
to
some surprising results.
Although most of the Division
One Pros came for a shot at
the title, the reality is that it was
a two-man shootout with only
one point separating last year's
champ, Broc Nicol, and multi-
time State and National champ,
"Mad Max" Ruml.
After two rounds of the cham
-
pionship run-offs, Nicol was
one
point ahead on total overall
score, and Saturday's 20-heat
event would be the final and
deciding round.
The evening was going well
for both riders until the third
set of heats, when Ruml took a
spill in a tight pack that included
recent Under-21 champ Slater
Lightcap, Nicol and Apple Valley,
California's Justin Almon. In
Speedway, if you cause a crash,
you are excluded from that race,
and that cost Max a crucial three
points. Although both Nicol and
Ruml went three for three the
rest of the night, championships
can be won by a single point.
Both riders went to the semi
-
finals and then advanced to the
Grand
Final. By then, there was
only a three-point difference,
which meant that to win, Ruml
would have to take the final with-
out Nicol scoring a single point.
Not
very likely, as both of them
are nearly equal in wins, and
even then, the three-point win
would only result in a tie.
The four riders advancing to
the final were Nicol and Ruml,
11-time California State champ
Billy "The Kid" Janniro and rising
young star Lightcap. When the
gates went up for the final, it only
took a couple of corners, and Jan
-
niro tangled with Nicol, causing a
crash
when Janniro's front wheel
locked onto Broc's rear chain ad-
juster. That sent both Janniro and
his
bike down the track, just not
together. Janniro was excluded,
which made it a three-rider final.
At the start, Ruml and Nicol
ran side by side, both trying to
maintain control. At the line,
Ruml took the win but lost the
championship to Nicol by three
points, again. Lightcap ended up
third in the championship.
Richard Haight
FINAL
1. Max Ruml
2. Broc Nicol
3. Slater Lightcap
VOLUME 62 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 P61
Max Ruml won the
AMA Speedway
National final,
but Broc Nicol
(background) took
the title.
PHOTO:
RICHARD HAIGHT
