Ruml Win California State Opener
T
he California State Speed-
way Championship opened
with the first round at the Grand
Arena at Industry Hills Speedway
on Saturday, August 8, and sur
-
prises were the order of the day.
Traditional Speedway events
consist of 20 four-rider heat rac-
es, and all 16 seeded riders race
against everyone else on the pro-
gram. At the end of the night, the
four highest point scorers face
off in the final, and the points that
come with it count toward the
eventual championship.
Reigning National champ
Broc Nicol was back and ready
to spring back from last week's
debacle, which cost him two
engines. Others included 14-
time State champ Billy "The
Kid" Janniro, multi-time champ
"Mad" Max Ruml, Wilbur Han
-
cock, Austin Novratil, and two
young phenoms: Brady Landon,
the 2024 FIM Speedway Youth
(SGP4) World Champion , and
recent 250cc winner Levi Leutz,
who was stepping up to the
500cc bikes.
As the heats rolled out, one of
the surprises was Louie Mersa
-
roli, who hadn't raced in almost
two years, stepping back in as if
it were last week. He won a heat
and almost made the main event.
Another surprise was that all of
these guys won at least one heat.
But the two fastest guys in
the pack, Nicol and Ruml, both
scored perfect or near-perfect
points, with Ruml losing but one
point for the entire night.
Young Landon was next up,
scoring four wins and two third-
place finishes to finish third in
overall points.
In spite of winning a heat,
past champ Janniro took a spill.
He was unhurt but didn't have a
spare bike and was out for the
night.
At the end, the final brought Ni
-
col, with the only perfect 15-point
score of the night, Ruml, a
single point back, Aaron Fox and
Landon to the line. The first start
resulted in a red flag because Ni
-
col anticipated the start and got
a warning from the starter. When
the gate went up a second time,
Nicol was first out, but again had
anticipated the gate and was ex-
cluded per AMA Speedway rules.
On the third and final restart,
Ruml got the jump on the other
two, but had to fend off Landon,
never more than a bike length or
two away, to score the first points
in the State Championship.
Richard Haight
FINAL
1. Max Ruml
2. Brady Landon
3. Aaron Fox
4. Broc Nicol
WIND
IN THE
P48
Max Ruml leads Brady
Landon at the California
State Championship opener.
PHOTO: RICHARD HAIGHT
