GREENE, NY

The track at Action Park East in Greene, New York, was in superb shape for the opening round of the Bully Dog U.S. Open Speedway Championships, and the outside was heavy enough that Californian Tommy Hedden (above - the one in the air) rode a 22-inch rear wheel with much success for most of the evening.

Three-time and defending champion Shawn McConnell of Brea, California, opened things up with a win over Mark "Battlescar" Bradley, Ray Barondick and Josh Carr, in that order. Hedden won quite easily in the next ride, over Warren Diem in second, Mikey Buman in third, and Jesse Diem. Jerry "Buford" Harman was the next heat winner in a tough match over Tuff McBride; Dave Clark was third and Cole Farwell was fourth. Defending East Coast champion Adam "The Missile" Mittl closed out the first round of heats with a victory, over Corey Brookes in second, Shawn "Steamboat" Engel in third and Russ "Doctor Dirt" Cornell in fourth.

Hedden defeated Mittl in round two, and Warren Diem beat McBride in another strong match. Buman scored a win over Brookes, and McConnell scored three points over Harman in second.

Warren Diem stayed hot in the beginning of the third round of heats, as he won against McConnell. Hedden remained unbeaten on his 22-incher when he ran away from Harman. Clark took his first three points by holding off Jesse Diem in a good race. Buman and Mittl could not get by McBride in the last outing of that round.

Buman got off on the right foot after intermission when he handed Harman a loss. Mittl took a big win from McConnell in the next contest. Hedden and McBride then put on one of the best races of the night: They were so close for four laps that McBride's front wheel was actually touching Hedden's rear numerous times, but Hedden came out on top. Warren Diem won handily over Clark to end the heats.

Engel was awarded the win in the D final, as three other riders had dropped out with mechanical issues or injury.

The evening's C final was won by Brookes, with Jesse Diem second, Barondick third and Cornell fourth.

Mittl led the B final for three laps but hit a hole in turn two and drifted way wide on the last lap. At that stage, Buman caught up to him heading into turn three and bumped Mittl off his line. Mittl went down and Buman went on to take the checkered flag. Harman inherited second and Clark was third.

The night's Bully Dog A final was the meeting of the top dogs of the evening. Hedden had gate one, Warren Diem had gate two, McConnell was in gate three and McBride was in gate four. Two riders went down in turn one, which brought about a restart.

Hedden made no mistakes on the second try as he spun away from the field on his MXRC/NGK Plugs/Justice Brothers/Warnock Jawa to take the overall victory. McConnell finally worked his way up into second. Warren Diem was third, and McBride lost out due to a bike problem.

Results

A FINAL: 1. Tommy Hedden; 2. Shawn McConnell; 3. Warren Diem; 4. Tuff McBride.

B FINAL: 1. Mikey Buman; 2. Jerry Harman; 3. Dave Clark; 4. Adam Mittl.

C FINAL: 1. Corey Brookes; 2. Jesse Diem; 3. Ray Barondick; 4. Russ Cornell.

D FINAL: 1. Shawn Engel.

SUP A: 1. Chuck Podany; 2. Ray Barondick; 3. Dwight Basa; 4. Jeff Garlinghouse; 5. Mark Bradley.

SUP B: 1. Don Wheeland; 2. Bunk Harris; 3. Brian Bailey; 4. Rob Roberts; 5. Vinnie Oliver.

JR: 1. Roger Roberts; 2. Spencer Portararo; 3. Zach Peters.