COSTA MESA, CA

It was a bittersweet Speedway Spring Classic at Costa Mesa Speedway on Saturday night, as Speedway had lost one of its finest on Easter Sunday. Kelly Moran, a speedway icon, is gone; to his many fans, he will be remembered as "Jellyman." He fought the battle, and his parting words were "Don't smoke and don't drink." He will be missed but never forgotten.

As for the racing, there were some opening-night jitters, but when all was said and done, it was Jimmy "Little Animal" Fishback who stood atop the podium after he won the Spring Classic.

After three rounds of Scratch racing, the top 10 were seeded into two semifinals. The first semi had Fishback on the pole, with "Battlin' Buck" Blair in two and Bobby "Boogaloo" Schwartz in three. On the outside were Jason Ramirez and Charlie "The Edge" Venegas. They loaded in, and the gate went to Venegas, as he rocketed into the lead and was never seriously challenged. Fishback was out second and he, too, had locked down his spot. The battle was for third, between Blair and Ramirez. Blair got the nod and, in a drag race to the checkered flag, wily veteran Schwartz also edged out Ramirez to make it into the last-chance qualifier with Blair. Venegas and Fishback were in the main event.

The second semi had "Gorgeous Gary" Hicks on the pole, with Tommy Hedden in two, "Flyin' Mike" Faria in three, and Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell and Steve Russell on the outside. The gate went to Faria, and he never looked back - which was a good thing, as there was a war going on among Hicks, Hedden and McConnell. It came down to who would get the drive out of turn four, and that turned out to be McConnell. He and Hedden would meet again in the LCQ. Faria and Hicks had secured their places in the main.

No one wanted to win the Spring Classic more than Schwartz. To win it, a rider has to make it to the main, and the "Master Of The Gate" did just that: In the LCQ, he got the drop on the field and left them all behind. The final spot in the main would be his. What he could do with it was yet to be seen.

They rolled to the line for the choice of gate for the richest race of the night. First choice went to Fishback, and he chose the pole. Hicks would line up in two, with Faria in three, and Venegas and Schwartz on the outside. It was a field of veterans; what better tribute to Kelly Moran than to have his peers honoring him with this star-studded field?

They loaded in, the light went green, the engines revved and the tapes came up. Fishback literally launched off the start, with Schwartz riding double with him. On back, it was Faria, Hicks and Venegas. These guys were running so close you could have thrown a blanket over them. These guys just don't make mistakes, and when they are on top and have their line, you aren't going to move them off it. It was a freight train for four quick laps, with the only pass coming on the last lap, when Hicks got by Faria for third.

The Sidecar event is always a crowd pleaser, and it did not disappoint. Joe Jones & Jimmy Olsen don't wear the number-one plate for nothing, and they proved it by showing Gerard Jackson & Dave Gorman, Scott & Sean Driggers and Brian Motis & Loren Thurston how it's done. They are scheduled for many more appearances in the 13-race season that Costa Mesa Speedway has planned.

Tyson Talkington walked away with the Support honors, topping Joey Holt and Rick Farron. Aimiris Santana was top dog in Support B action after attrition whittled it down to a match race between Santana and Michael Moore.

Results

SCR: 1. Jimmy Fishback (JAWA/CZ); 2. Bobby Schwartz (JAWA/CZ); 3. Gary Hicks (JAWA/CZ); 4. Mike Faria (JAWA/CZ); 5. Charlie Venegas (JAWA/CZ).

SUP: 1. Tyson Talkington (JAWA/CZ); 2. Joey Holt (JAWA/CZ); 3. Rick Farron (JAWA/CZ); 4. Michael Raines (JAWA/CZ); 5. Kyle Hicks (JAWA/CZ).

SUP B: 1. Aimiris Santana (JAWA/CZ); 2. Michael Moore (JAWA/CZ); 3. Gene Stone (JAWA/CZ); 4. Rod Riequejo (JAWA/CZ).

JR 250: 1. Rocco Scopellite (JAWA/CZ); 2. Collin Sage (JAWA/CZ); 3. James Walker (JAWA/CZ).

JR D-1: 1. River McDougal (Honda); 2. Hayley Perrault (Honda); 3. Major Davis (Honda).

JR D-2: 1. Michael Wells (Honda); 2. Gino Scopellite (Honda); 3. Brian Pintar (Honda); 4. Maverick Mallow (Honda).

SDCR: 1. Joe Jones/Jimmy Olsen (Yamaha); 2. Gerard Jackson/Dave Gorman (Yamaha); 3. Scott Driggers/Sean Driggers (Yamaha); 4. Brian Motis/Loren Thurston (Suzuki).