COSTA MESA, CA

The weather may have been on the chilly side, but the racing was hot, hot, hot as Charlie "The Edge" came away with the Scratch main-event victory at Costa Mesa Speedway on Saturday night.

It was three rounds of Scratch racing, with the top 10 in points transferring to the two semifinals.

The first Scratch semi had "Battlin' Buck" Blair on the pole, with Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell in two and Venegas in three. On out, it was Tommy Hedden and John Houston Jr.

Venegas lived up to his nickname, "The Edge," as he cut a great gate and was out on top. Blair was second and kept things pretty close for the first lap, but after that it was all Venegas. Blair, knowing he had a spot in the main, was content to finish second and save it for the final. The fight was for third, between McConnell and Hedden. The officials had to dig deep in the rule book to sort this one out. McConnell was barely across the finish line when he played tag with the wall. The ruling boiled down to whether or not he was in contact with his bike. He was, and was credited with third and a transfer to the last-chance qualifier, along with Hedden. Unfortunately, the night was over for Houston.

The second semi had "Fast Eddie" Castro on the pole, with "Flyin' Mike" Faria, nursing a bad leg, in two. Jimmy "Lil' Animal" Fishback was in three, and Bobby "Boogaloo" Schwartz was in five. The four spot was vacant, as "Gorgeous Gary" Hicks was unable to make the call. They lined up, and it was a clean start, with Schwartz holding court and showing them how to run a race. It was a wire-to-wire romp for the veteran, and he was headed to the main event. Fishback would be going with him, while Faria and Castro got ready for the LCQ.

The LCQ was a battle of attrition. The pole went to Hedden, with McConnell in two and Castro in three. Faria's injured leg had taken its toll, and he was unable to make the call.

The first try at a go saw Castro get off hard in turn one. The red flag came out, and after a discussion with the referee, Castro was not allowed to restart. This would now be a match race for the final spot in the main. McConnell got the jump on Hedden and went down low, while Hedden was out in the dirt; this was two riders with two different styles of racing, inside vs. outside, and both were very good at the lines they chose. McConnell used as much of the track as he could, and when the checkered flag came out, he was in front and on his bike. The final spot in the main was his.

They rolled to the line to draw for start position. The pole went to Blair, with Venegas in two and Fishback in three. Schwartz claimed four, with McConnell in five. They loaded in, the light went green, and Venegas exploded off the line! He was making the outside work. Fishback, in second, was looking for any kind of opening to even get a shot at Venegas. The multiple-time National Ice Champion showed everyone that dirt works just as well as frozen water, and no one was going to take this win from him. Fishback held on for second, though he had his hands full with Schwartz. Blair finished fourth, and McConnell, after a good get-off, rounded out the field with fifth.

The youngsters who have moved up from the Junior ranks are making their presence felt, as they have been dominating the Support class. Saturday was more of the same, as Austin Novratil and Joey Holt finished one and two. John Stunkard, Steve Bowen and Rudy Laurer could do nothing more than follow them home.

Michael Moore got a nice gift in the Support B contest. He battled with Norman Graham for three laps and kept the pressure on. The white flag came out, and Graham made a mistake and went down. Moore picked up the pieces and brought it home. Ed Lynch, Yogi Isgro, Mike Salyer and Graham finished behind him.

Results

SCR MAIN: 1. Charlie Venegas (JAWA/CZ); 2. Jimmy Fishback (JAWA/CZ); 3. Bobby Schwartz (JAWA/CZ); 4. Buck Blair (JAWA/CZ); 5. Shawn McConnell (GM).

SUP MAIN: 1. Austin Novratil (JAWA/CZ); 2. Joey Holt (JAWA/CZ); 3. John Stunkard (JAWA/CZ); 4. Steve Bowen (JAWA/CZ); 5. Rudy Laurer (JAWA/CZ).

SUP B MAIN: 1. Michael Moore (JAWA/CZ); 2. Ed Lynch (JAWA/CZ); 3. Yogi Isgro (JAWA/CZ); 4. Mike Salyer (JAWA/CZ); 5. Norman Graham (JAWA/CZ).