INDUSTRY, California — Gary Hicks, 40, won his second consecutive and season-high fifth Speedway Cycles feature late Wednesday during weekly Industry Speedway action at The Grand dirt track in the Industry Hills Expo Center complex. The Yucaipa resident won the first three features this season, starting with the May 27 opener, and did not complete during the next month because of job commitments. Hicks started in lane three of the five-wide field of Division 1 500cc riders. He shot into the lead entering the first turn, led all four laps and won by ten lengths over Jimmy Fishback. Auburn native Tommy Hedden, Charlie Venegas and Shawn McConnell followed.
McConnell scored a perfect 16 points after winning all three of his heat races and his semi-final race. He selected pole position for the main, but faded to third on the opening lap and dropped out on lap 3. Venegas won the four lap last chance qualifying race to secure the final main event starting position. Joe Jones and his new sidecar rider, Arie Gardner, of Costa Mesa, led the final three laps in a three-team sidecar main event. They split victories in two heat races with the Gerard Jackson/Dave German team. Drew Coats won his first 500cc Division 2 main. Brad Moreau captured his second Division 3 (rookies) 500cc feature.
Dean Cameron, 6, won his first Pee-Wee Division main event trophy on a 50cc mini cycle. The Monrovia resident beat his cousin Wyatt Cameron, 5, and his sister Christie, 8, plus first-time racer Jimmy Fishback IV, age 4. Nicky Reimer, 10, of Seal Beach, again won two main event trophies by riding stock and then modified 200cc cycles in the two Junior Division mains to defeat four and then three different youth competitors. He skipped earlier heat races because he had a fever and 101-degree temperature. Rocco Scopellite, 13, from Huntington Beach, won the 250cc Junior Division main over Kyle Hicks, 17, of Riverside.
It was NASCAR night at The Grand. Three racing trucks from Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (No. 55 Gus Nanos, No. 66 Cecil Phelps and No. 99 Todd Cameron) and the No. 42 Chevy Monte Carlo driving school car were on display near the main entrance. The three trucks took parade laps around the dirt track during a break in cycle racing.
Ron Mongenel, from Covina, returned to The Grand on crutches to watch the cycle races a week after his crash entering the third turn during a D-3 heat race. He said he spent several hours in a hospital and received a dislocated right knee, torn ligaments and meniscus cartilage damage. He will see a surgeon this week. Also in attendance were three open-wheel drivers--Rip Williams with his wife Becky, Steve Howard and Gene Godepski.
In other speedway cycle southland racing last weekend, Jimmy Fishback won Friday at San Bernardino and Eddie Castro, 50, won Saturday at the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa. Minor injuries prevented several riders from competing Wednesday. D-1 riders Castro (sore knee), Mike Faria (injured thumb) were recuperating and not present.
