AUBURN, CA

A great and long-lasting rivalry was renewed Friday night at Fast Fridays Motorcycle Speedway on the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, California. In the classic North vs. South Challenge match-up that has been going on for 20 years now, speedway fans were treated to some of the best racing action in the nation. Six of Southern California's best riders journeyed north to face off against the best Northern California has to offer.

The all-Scratch racing format teamed (above, from left to right) Billy Janniro, Bryan Yarrow, Bart Bast, Scott Brant, Tommy Hedden & Charlie Venegas, riding for the North team, against Jimmy Fishback, Tyson Burmeister, Buck Blair, Eddie Castro, Bobby Schwartz & Brad Pappalardo, representing the South. When the action-packed racing was over after 18 Scratch heat races and two exciting main events, and the dust had settled, the North squad had avenged its loss to the South in 2009 by winning the 2010 Civil War challenge, 96-40.

The final score did not reflect the whole story, though, as the South team raced strongly, and the near-capacity crowd at Fast Fridays was treated to some of the most competitive racing so far this season. From the opening gate, the North's Billy Janniro (14, below) was hardly containable, tallying five of six first-place heat-race finishes leading up to the points-heavy mains.

Heat races are scored with three points for a win, two points for second, one for third, and zero for a fourth-place finish. In the two mains, the B main scores four points for first place, three points for second, two points or third and one for fourth. The A main really kicks up the points and on most nights can be the event decider: The winner of the A main tallies six points, second gets five points, third get four, and fourth gets three.

Going into the mains after 18 heat races, Janniro led all racers for the North, with 23 points, and Burmeister led the South, with 12.

In the B main, the North continued to come through, as Yarrow took the checkered flag and Bast was second in another North-squad sweep and they picked up another seven points.

The A main event lined up the best talent of the evening, as each team picked two riders to represent them. Janniro drew lane four and Hedden was set to come out of lane two for the North; for the South, Fishback drew lane three and teammate Burmeister was set in the inside lane one. Even from the outside lane four, there was no stopping Janniro, who raced inside and beat everyone to the first turn and took the flag in the night's finale. No stranger to winning this season, Janniro continues to ride consistently, finding his way to the top spot on the winners' podium each week, and he finished Friday night with 23 points, topping all riders. Hedden finished second in the night's final event, and that completed a sweep of the A and B main events for the North squad and added another 11 points to bring the North's total to 96. Fishback was third and Burmeister was fourth for the South, adding seven points and bring their score to 40. The North's win on Friday night brings the overall total to 13 wins for the North and seven wins for the South.

This night at Fast Fridays couldn't have been better, as both teams put on a great show, supporting each other with an exhibition of speedway goodwill, friendly rivalry and spirited racing, regardless of which side each team member raced for.

"I had a great time tonight," said South rider Bobby Schwartz. "It's a great competition. I'm just excited they asked me to race tonight. The track was a little different than I like tonight; I'd make a few changes if I was racing here next week."

Results

A MAIN: 1. Billy Janniro (North, 6 points); 2. Tommy Hedden (North, 5); 3. Jimmy Fishback (South, 4); 4. Tyson Burmeister (South, 3).

B MAIN: 1. Bryan Yarrow (North, 4 points); 2. Bart Bast (North, 3); 3. Eddie Castro (South, 2); 4. Buck Blair (South, 1).

OVERALL: North (96 points) Billy Janniro/Bryan Yarrow/Scott Brant/Bart Bast/Tommy Hedden/Charlie Venegas; 2. South (40) Jimmy Fishback/Tyson Burmeister/Buck Blair/Eddie Castro/Bobby Schwartz/Brad Pappalardo.

YOUTH NORTH VS. SOUTH: 1. South (41 points); 2. North (31).