The California State Speedway Championship opened with the first round at the Grand Arena at Industry Hills Speedway on Saturday, August 8, and surprises were the order of the day.
Traditional Speedway events consist of 20 four-rider heat races, and all 16 seeded riders race against everyone else on the program. At the end of the night, the four highest point scorers face off in the final, and the points that come with it count toward the eventual championship.
Story & Photos by Richard Haight
Reigning National champ Broc Nicol was back and ready to spring back from last week’s debacle, which cost him two engines. Others included 14-time State champ Billy “The Kid” Janniro, multi-time champ “Mad” Max Ruml, Wilbur Hancock, Austin Novratil, and two young phenoms: Brady Landon, the 2024 FIM Speedway Youth (SGP4) World Champion , and recent 250cc winner Levi Leutz, who was stepping up to the 500cc bikes.
As the heats rolled out, one of the surprises was Louie Mersaroli, who hadn’t raced in almost two years, stepping back in as if it were last week. He won a heat and almost made the main event. Another surprise was that all of these guys won at least one heat.
But the two fastest guys in the pack, Nicol and Ruml, both scored perfect or near-perfect points, with Ruml losing but one point for the entire night.
Young Landon was next up, scoring four wins and two third-place finishes to finish third in overall points.
In spite of winning a heat, past champ Janniro took a spill. He was unhurt but didn’t have a spare bike and was out for the night.
At the end, the final brought Nicol, with the only perfect 15-point score of the night, Ruml, a single point back, Aaron Fox and Landon to the line. The first start resulted in a red flag because Nicol anticipated the start and got a warning from the starter. When the gate went up a second time, Nicol was first out, but again had anticipated the gate and was excluded per AMA Speedway rules. On the third and final restart, Ruml got the jump on the other two, but had to fend off Landon, never more than a bike length or two away, to score the first points in the State Championship.CN
2026 California State Speedway Round 1 Results
FINAL
- Max Ruml
- Brady Landon
- Aaron Fox
- Broc Nicol
