INDUSTRY, California — Charlie “the Edge” Venegas, of San Bernardino, proved Wednesday night that he still has the edge at Industry Speedway in the Industry Hills Expo Center. The 43-year old past ice racing champion won his third consecutive 500cc Division 1 four-lap feature. He is now “batting” 750 after four events this season. More than 500 spectators watched his near dominance. He won two heats, finished second in his other heat and then won his semi-final before topping the main.
Venegas started from the inside lane in a five-rider field and beat reinvigorated Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz, 53, into the first turn. They raced evenly, shoulder to shoulder, to the second turn of the dirt track that had taken rubber by that point. Venegas shot ahead on the backstretch and opened a ten-yard advantage to the checkered flag. Fourth lane rider Shawn McConnell passed Schwartz on the first lap and finished second. Schwartz claimed third “on my kind of track”. Buck Blair and Eddie Castro followed closely behind Schwartz when the checkered flag flew at 9:26 pm.
Tim McGrath, of San Gabriel, led all four laps of the 500cc Division 2 race for five intermediate skill level riders. It was his first D-2 feature victory in his first season as a D-2 rider. He won several D-3 main events for rookie riders in recent years. Aaron Fox, 22, of Menifee, tried the Industry track for the first time and won all three of his heat races by at least a straightaway and his first four-lap D-3 feature. Four riders started and Fox led every lap, winning easily by half a lap on his 500cc JAWA.
Sidecar racing had four two-person rigs in extremely close competition in each of the sidecar races. Leads changed in both preliminary heat races with two and even three teams swapping the lead in each heat. The sidecar main event went to Costa Mesa residents Joe Jones and sidecar passenger Jimmy Olsen. The Jones/Olsen duo took control on the third of four laps. It was Harley-Davidson Night and five street-legal motorcycles “raced” four laps. A 1969 BSA 650cc driven by Jim Joseph, of La Mirada, barely edged a closing stock Harley piloted by “Horny Man”, a Viking horns helmeted rider who completes in this event annually at Industry.
Kurtis Hamill, 11-year old son of retired speedway cycle racing champion Bobby Hamil, had a stunning Industry debut as a youth division rider. The Carlsbad resident wore the same leathers that his dad wore in 1982 as a young racer and the leathers still carried “Bobby” and No. 104. Kurtis, a former pee-wee rider years ago, chased Dillon Ruml,of Huntington Beach, for almost four laps. With the checkers waving, he passed Ruml on the outside near the finish line and won by half a wheel-length. Maverick Molloy, 8, of Chino Hills, won the other youth main over Michael Wells, 9. Three pee-wee riders raced on 50cc mini-cycles and Sebastian Palmese, 6, of Santa Margarita led all four laps.
Next week round five of the Wednesday night summer speedway cycle racing season at Industry Speedway will have speedway cycles and sidecar racing as usual and a NHRA Museum muscle car exposition as well. Preliminary racing rounds start at 7:00, with the National Anthem at 7:30 pm followed by about two hours of virtually non-stop action.
