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VENEGAS WINS 11th AMA SPEEDWAY CYCLE INDUSTRY SPEEDWAY MAIN
- By Tim Kennedy
Industry, CA., Sept. 5 - Charlie Venegas, the AMA Speedway Cycle track champion nicknamed "The Edge", lived up to that name again Wednesday night at Industry Speedway in front of 475 spectators at the Grand Arena in the Industry Hills Expo Center. The 40-year old rider with two decades in 500-cc AMA speedway racing, started from the second gate position and led all four laps. It was his 11th victory in 22 features at Industry this season, giving him a .500 winning percentage. The Industry Speedway track championship night finale of a six-month season will take place next Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m.
Eddie Castro won the Division 1 consolation race, which had to be restarted after Jimmy Fishback hit the back wheel of Castro's cycle exiting turn four on lap two. Fishback's cycle shot into the air and flipped across the starting line; Fishback tumbled off the back into the front straight wall. He suffered a separated shoulder, which on-site medical staff put back in place at the scene. He walked back to the pits.
Joe Jones and his swing-man/rider Jimmy Olsen led all four laps of the four-team race on 1,000-cc, 125 horsepower motorcycles with sidecars. They won one of two heat races and finished second to D-1 riders Dale Facchini and rookie swing-man Buck Blair in the other. Phillip Harmatiuk, 16, won the D-2 500-cc
feature after all four riders came together on the first lap and all four riders fell hard in the second turn. After several minutes, each rider remounted and all riders completed the event. Vince Giamformaggio, the D-2 winner last week, finished second.
Steve Leffler, one of three riders who started at the starting gate, was joined by three riders starting ten-yards back in the D-3 main for rookie 500-cc riders. As the six riders warmed-up, Robert Giamuzina's cycle accelerated into the cushioned front straight crash-wall near turn four. He remained on the ground several minutes before rising and limping to the pits. Leffler then led all four laps in a five-rider race.
Russell Green led all four laps of the Youth D-1 main. He barely edged Austin Novratil, who earlier won both heat races over Green. Novratil's 250-cc cycle touched the starting line tape in anticipation of the start, causing the referee to move him 20-yards back as a penalty. He finished at Green's back wheel. Bradan Galvin, 8, won the Youth D-2 main. Lexi Santana, 9-year old daughter of a D-3 rider, won her fourth pee-wee main on her 50-cc cycle.
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