Although we often see youth succeed, Saturday night, March 21, at the Industry Grand Speedway, proved that experience can still matter.
Story & Photo by Richard T. Haight
After a scorching hot day in Southern California, the slightly cooler night at the Industry Grand Arena was a relief for both riders and spectators as the SoCal speedway season kicked off with a crash-filled start on Saturday.
A few young phenoms have been making waves over the past year or two, and one or more are likely to become future World Champions. Recent California Under-21 Champion Slater Lightcap, a frequent contender, has just left to join a top team in Poland. Levi Leutz has been dominating the Junior classes, and 15-year-old Brady Landon won the main event on his first ride with the full-size 500cc bikes, winning easily. Will wonders never cease? In the last month, young Paige Newsham won a Division Three main, Kayla Yaakov finished third in the Daytona 200—the first woman to make a podium at the prestigious event—and Paige again proved she belongs by winning the Division Three Consolation main.
The youth squad, Landon and Leutz, both won their first two heats, leaving multi-time champ Max Ruml with second-place finishes. And Russell Green was also not to be denied, going three for three in his heat races.
It was a bit of a crashfest, though, as two riders decided to take out parts of the crash wall, including Leutz. Everyone eventually walked away, and Leutz won the handicap main over Jordan Vanderham and Justin Almon.
All of them made it through the night’s program and advanced to the two semi-mains, with Landon, Green, Austin Novratil and Ruml moving on to the final. Novratil had been on fire all night, going three for three in his heats, but took a hard hit from the turn-two wall before deciding to call it a night. That left us with a three-rider main event. In Speedway, the start can mean everything, and it was never truer than on Saturday. Ruml drew the pole position but converted the start into a strong lead, holding off Green and giving Landon his first serious defeat of the season.
2026 Industry Grand Speedway Results
Richard T. Haight
Division 1 Main
- Max Ruml
- Russel Green
- Brady Landon
Division 2 Main
- Eloy Medellin Jr
- Harold Hartke
- David Newsham
Division 3 Main
- Joe Siller
- Spencer Peet
- Jeff Semmig
