NEWS
Action Park and Champion Speedway to host US Open National Speedway Championships September 5th and 6th
Three World Class International stars will be present to take on the best Motorcycle racers from the East Coast and Canada
One of the most prestigious events in North America for speedway motorcycle racing, The US Open National Championships, is set to come to local tracks, Action Park in Greene, NY and Champion Speedway in Owego, NY on September 5th and 6th.
The US Open originated at Champion Speedway back in 1976 and quickly became one of the premier events on the professional speedway motorcycle racing calendar, drawing thousands of spectators and in the early 80's it actually paid out a higher purse than the AMA sanctioned US National Championships. In the late 70's and early 80's the event always ran as a two-day race at Champion with one day of qualifying and the second day serving as the finals. The championship became very popular with local fans as they got to see top International and West Coast Stars take on the best racers from local track, on the locals home turf! In 1982, a record crowd of 5,000 spectators jammed into the legendary 1/8 mile dirt oval in Owego to watch reigning World Champion and at the time, just turned Hollywood actor, Bruce Penhall race at Champion for the Open. The purse for the riders neared $18,000.00 in those years and it attracted riders like Penhall and 7-time US National Champion, Mike Bast, of California. Local racers always gave a strong account of themselves and earned the respect of riders like Bast, who at the time said...it was the hardest race he had competed in! The US Open races of that era put New York Speedway Motorcycle racing on the map and helped take the tiny little oval at Champion Speedway to legendary status. Crowds were huge, rowdy and showed their adoration for their home by hanging banners all over the facility, wearing t-shirts of them and by chanting for them during the racing. Many people traveled from quite a distance from other states to Champion to witness the action. The place nearly erupted in 1978 when Norm Robinson of Rochester defeated a tough field of 8 Californians to take home the title!
Champion Speedway encountered ownership troubles in the mid 80's and had to close for several years. With it's closure, Action Park East in Greene, NY, another upstart Speedway racing track that was getting large crowds as well, took over the running of the US Open until 1989 when it closed its doors. Around this time Champion Speedway re-opened for a couple years until 1993 and tried running several Championships but it did not have the financial backing to lure top name stars to make the race what it once was. Champion closed for a second time in 93 and did not host racing again until 1997 when professional hockey player, Jason Bonsignore, of Rochester took over. Bonsignore brought back the first real US Open in nearly ten years in 1998 when he flew in 5 big name West Coast racers and paid a large purse. The event started to become a big success again, in 2000 the crowd at Champion had risen to over 1,200 again, and Champion Speedway has changed it to involve other tracks the past few years, including Action Park East, which Bonsignore also renovated and got going again.
This years Championship series will include Action Park in Greene on September 5th and the finale at Champion on September 6th. Bonsignore has three International stars on the program. The defending and three-time Champion, Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell, of Brea, California is back. McConnell rode in the World Class British League in England for years and now rides at home in California and is a Hollywood stunt-man having been in such notable movies as Terminator Three. Joining McConnell on the visitors list is Dukie Ermolenko of Cypress, CA who just won the King of Speedway Championship at Champion Speedway in July. Ermolenko rode in the British League for 8 years and his older brother, Sam, was the 19993 World Champion in Speedway Motorcycle racing. Last but not least is Northern California Champion, Tommy Hedden, from Auburn, CA, who was a member of Team USA in last years World Cup.
Local fans will have a lot to cheer about as Bonsignore has talked several local legends out of retirement to make for an incredible show for the fans...leading the way are 6-time NY State Champion, Warren Diem, who now resides in PA, and multi-time local champion, Tuff McBride of Windsor. The top local favorite to win the Championship has to be Endicott's Adam Mittl, pictured, who is a lock to win the Points Championship again this year and just won the NY State title for the second year in a row. He recently won 6 features in a row. A strong local contingent of up and coming riders may also give the visitors a run for their money. Included in this group would be Brian Hollenbeck of Owego, Mikey Buman of Binghamton and Corey Brookes of Apalachin.
Speedway motorcycles have absolutely no brakes, go from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds and slide totally sideways through the turns. They run on methanol and the sport attracts crowds of 20,00 plus for weekly meetings in Europe. There are only several pockets of speedway in the US and New York is recognized as one of the best, second only to California.
The Speedway action gets underway at 7pm on the 5th at Action Park, which is just off Rt 12 at Airport Rd in Greene and at 6pm on the 6th at Champion which is on East River Drive at the end of RT 434 in Owego. The live band, Hover, will be playing before and after the races at Champion. ATV and Support Class racing will start one hour prior at both venues. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids ages 6 to 12 for this special event, however if you attend both local tracks discounts will be offered with the purchase of your tickets at Action Park. Monday the 7th will serve as a rain-date at either venue should one get rained off. This years event at Champion will be called the John F. Stalma Memorial, dedicated to the memory of the former track worker and Owego resident.
More info can be found by calling 585 723-9746 or going to www.eastcoastspeedway.com or www.speedwaybikes.com.
East Coast Speedway Series
Champion Speedway
Mittl doubles down at Champion!
By Jason Bonsignore
Photo of Adam Mittl by Jody Garris
August 1, 2009 Champion Speedway, Owego, NY
Handicap heat racing on August 1, 2009 at Champion Speedway began with Jerry "Buford" Harman taking the win from the 30 yard marker over Adam "Missile" Mittl who came all the way from the 50 yard disadvantage. Keith Hawkins was third with Dwight Basa fourth. Mark "Battlescar" Bradley won the next heat race from the tapes as Shawn "Steamboat" Engel was second and Josh Carr third. Tuff McBride, nursing a leg injury, was last. Russ Cornell won his heat with Corey Brookes second, Mikey Buman third and Ray Barondick last.
In the first handicap semi it was the young Brookes who stole the win. Hawkins rode confidently to second on the pole while Harman transferred in third. Barondick was fourth with Cornell fifth. Mittl was dominant in the second semifinal while taking the first spot with Dave Clark in second. Engel held onto third for a transfer position. McBride, who struggled with a leg brace on, just missed out on third near the end to end up foruth with Carr fifth and Bradley sixth.
McBride took off the brace for the scratch heats and was looking real good. He and Buman had a great battle back and forth that Buman came out on top of. Clark was third with Carr fourth and Engel fifth. Mittl was in contrl once more in his scratch heat taking top honors over second place Brookes, third went to Hawkins and fourth to Cornell.
Mittl beat out Harman in scratch semifinal number one with Buman third and Engel fourth. Cornell was last. McBride was back to himself now and easily won the other semi from Brookes. Clark would go to the last chance with his third place finish as would fourth placed Carr. Hawkins was last.
Clark won the last chance over Carr, Engel and Buman who had bike problems.
The scratch main was all Mittl as he outgated the field again on his Polito/Justice Bros/Oury/K&N/Red Line Jawa and rode off with the victory. McBride chased him hard but had to settle for second with Harman third. Clark was fourth with Brookes fifth.
Mittl was bound to take a double on the night and did so in great style as he passed everyone from the back with some great moves to score the handicap main win as well. Runner up was Hawkins with Harman third.Brookes was fourth and Clark fifth. Engel rounded out the field.
Scratch Main
1. Adam Mittl
2. Tuff McBride
3. Jerry Harman
4. Dave Clark
5. Corey Brookes
Last Chance
1. Dave Clark
2. Josh Carr
3. Shawn Engel
4. Mikey Buman
Handicap Main
1. Adam Mittl
2. Keith Hawkins
3. Jerry Harman
4. Corey Brookes
5. Dave Clark
6. Shawn Engel
Support B
1. Don Wheeland
2. Brian Bailey
3. Bob Silvestri
Support A
1. Ray Barondick
2. Jeff Garlinghouse
3. Mark Bradley
4. Dwight Basa
ATV Pro
1. Payne
2. McCracken
East Coast Speedway Series
Champion Speedway
McBride Marches to Handicap Main at Champion
By Jason Bonsignore
Photo of Tuff McBride by Jody Garris
Champion Speedway Owego, NY August 15, 2009
Lightning fast youngster, Corey Brookes, opened up the handicap heats at Champion Speedway on August 15, with a win. Second place went to Mikey Buman with Keith Hawkins in third and Cole Farwell in fourth. Adam "The Missile" Mittl, who has been on fire lately won his heat race from the 50 yard line with Andy "Crawfish" Crawford second, Josh Carr third and Ray Barondick fourth. Local legend Tuff McBride took the win in his heat followed by Russ "Doctor Dirt" Cornell, Dwight Basa and Shawn "Steamboat" Engel.
In the semifinals it was McBride winning the first one with Brookes second and Carr third. Out of transfers were Crawford, Engel and Cornell. Mittl won the other semi with Buman second. Taking the final transfer was Hawkins with Farwell breaking down and Basa taking fourth. Barondick was fifth.
Buman was top dog in his scratch heat race as he handed McBride a defeat. McBride was second with Hawkins taking third over Engel. Track promoter, Jason Bonsignore, came out of semi-retirement to take part in the scratch program but drwe gate five for his heat and got stuck back in third place behind winner, Mittl, and second place Brookes. Fourth was Carr and fifth was Cornell.
Buman looked sharp in the first semi when he beat out Mittl. Brookes was third and would have to go to the last chance with Hawkins. Carr snuck out into the lead in the second semi for a brief moment but McBride passed him up the inside eventually and Bonsignore, who came off gate five again, made an exciting race to pass Carr on the outside on lap two to take the second transfer position. Carr was third and Engel fourth.
Carr went on to win the Last Chance with Brookes just behind in second. Cornell was third and Engel fourth.
McBride drew the pole in the scratch main with Bonsignore in two and Buman three. Mittl was in four with Carr in five. McBride made an average start but Bonsignore got caught off and Mittl exploded into the lead. McBride got into second with Buman third but there was no catching Mittl on his Justice Bros/Polito/NGK Spark Plugs Jawa as he rode off for his 5th scratch main in a row, not including the one he won at Action Park in RD 1 of the King of Speedway on July, 26. McBride was second, Buman third, Carr fourth and Bonsignore fifth.
It was the McBride show in the handicap main as he used his 30 years of speedway experience to weave through the pack on his Polito/Skylark Diner/Baby Fox/Justice Bros/NGK Spark plugs Jawa from the 50 yard line to take home the win! Mittl was second with Buman third. The next two races at Champion are Sunday the 23rd which is the NY State Finals and August 29, which will be the Omar Lightner Cup Championship.
Scratch Main
1. Adam Mittl
2. Tuff McBride
3. Mikey Buman
4. Josh Carr
5. Jason Bonsignore
Handicap Main
1. Tuff McBride
2. Adam Mittl
3. Mikey Buman
4. Corey Brookes
5. Josh Carr
6. Keith Hawkins
Support A
1. Cole Farwell
2. Dwight Basa
3. Ray Barondick
Support B
1. Bob Harris Jr
2. Brian Bailey
ATV Pro
1. Carl Bartlett
King of Speedway Championships
Champion Speedway
Ermolenko goes home a King!
By Jason Bonsignore
Photo of Dukie Ermolenko by CNC Photos
Owego, NY July 26, 2009
The final round of the 2009 King of Speedway Series looked threatened by weather right at the start of the meeting as rain came down but fortunately it slowed approx 45 minutes later and although it had an effect on crowd size, the races went on and some great racing took place.
Brian Hollenbeck opened things up with a win over Tim Gomez. Jesse Diem took third for one point while Russ Cornell was held off the board. Mikey Buman was able to hold off several hard charges from Tuff McBride to score three points next with Chris Hesmer third and Shawn Engel fourth. Dukie Ermolenko set the tone early when he defeated Aaron Hesmer with Warren Diem third and Dave Clark fourth. Shaun Harmatiuk put his bike troubles from Sat. night behind him to win his first heat while Alex "Hazard" Heath was second, Katalin Davis third and Cole Farwell fourth. Adm "The Missile" Mittl won the last heat of the first round. Jerry "Buford" Harman was second, Gary "Hitman" Hesmer third and Andy "Crawfish" Crawford last.
Aaron Hesmer, McBride, Hollenbeck, Ermolenko and Mittl all took wins in round two with second places being awarded to Gomez, Clark, Harman, G. Hesmer and Harmatiuk.
Aaron Hesmer, W. Diem, Harmatiuk, Mittl and Ermolenko all took home maximum points in the third heat series.
Round four started with Harmatiuk beating A. Hesmer. G. Hesmer and Engel followed up. Clark scored an impressive win over Gomez as well with Davis and C. Hesmer both having bike trouble. Ermolenko remained perfect and began to take control when he upstaged the series points leader to that point, Mittl. Cornell was third with Farwell last. W. Diem held off Buman and Hollenbeck while Crawford was at the back in the second to last race of the round and McBride closed it out with a victory over Harman, J. Diem and Heath.
At this point in the meeting riders went into D,C,B and A Finals based on total series points between Action Park the night before and this race.
Gary Hesmer won the D Final with Engel second, Cornell third and Crawford and Heath out with injury. Harmatiuk was unchallenged in the C Main with W. Diem taking up second, J. Diem third, C. Hesmer fourth and fifth going to Gene Bonsignore, who was injured the night before, on earned position points. Hollenbeck convincingly won the B-Final over Harman. Gomez took third spot ahead of Clark and Casey Donholt was awarded last due to earned points.
The first of four A-Finals was won by McBrideas he gated strongly and rode onto the win followed by Ermolenko. Mittl had entered the A-Mains two points ahead of Ermolenko but was starting to have bad luck as his chain broke in this race and he got last. Ermolenko won the second event with McBride second, A. Hesmer third, Buman fourth and Mittl fifth. Ermolenko was back strong again to win the third try with Hesmer second, Buman third, Mittl fourth and McBride last. Mathmatically Ermolenko probably could have got last in the final race and still been Champion but he decided to pilot his BOYZ racing/ARAI/Justice Bros/NGK GM to another win and take the King of Speedway Title in in style! McBride was second, Mittl third, Buman fourth and Hesmer in last.
King of Speedway Overall
1. Dukie Ermolenko
2. Adam Mittl
3. Tuff McBride
4. Aaron Hesmer
5. Mikey Buman
Support A Champion
1. Katalin Davis
Support B Champion
1. Don Wheeland
Quad Am Champion
1. Jeff Cornell
Quad Pro Champion
1. Carl Bartlett
King of Speedway Championships RD 1 East Coast
Mittl Marches to RD One win at King of Speedway
By Jason Bonsignore
Photo of Adam Mittl by Jason Bonsignore
Action Park East, Greene, NY July 25, 2009
A star studded field lined up at Action Park East in Greene for RD One of the 2009 King of Speedway Championship on July, 25. Reigning Champion, Shawn McConnell, of Brea, CA was missing due to his new promoter duties at Inland Motorsport Speedway but the event included former US Open Champion, Dukie Ermolenko, and southern California stars Shaun Harmatiuk and Tim Gomez plus former Canadian Champions, Chris and Aaron Hesmer.
Jerry Harman opened up things with a win in the first heat series with A. Hesmer second and C. Hesmer third. Mikey Buman was last. Ermolenko won the next one with Brian Hollenbeck second, Andy Crawford third and Casey Donholt fourth. Adam Mittl was the winner of the third heat with Jesse Diem second and Gomez third. Corey Brookes did not score in that ride. Tuff McBride took three points in the fourth race with Warren Diem second, Alex Heath third and Russ Cornell fourth. Harmatiuk had a tough break in the closing of the first heat round when his chain broke while leading. The win then went to Dave Clark with Gene Bonsignore second and Shawn Engel third.
Ermolenko stayed strong in round two by beating Tuff McBride. Wins also went to Donholtwho defeated A. Hesmer and Buman who won out over Clark. Mittl kept his win streak alive by taking first over W. Diem and Hollenbeck was fortunate to take three points when Harmatiuk broke down again.
Donholt opened the third series with a strong ride over Buman. Corey Brookes and Warren Diem tangled and both bikes were broke. Brookes was credited third. Bonsignore took his first win of the night despite a hard effort from C. Hesmer who could not get past. Cornell was third with J. Diem fourth. A. Hesmer handed Ermolenko his first defeat with Clark third and Heath not scoring. Harman was able to beat out Harmatiuk who rode a borrowed bike to complete the race in second. Gomez was third followed by Crawford. The final heat of the round went like this...Mittl, McBride, Hollenbeck and Engel.
Bonsignore was leading the first event of the last heat races and would have been in a three-way tie for an A-Final position with that win but Brookes accidentally nailed Bonsignore in the rear wheel sending the 61 year old 4-time East Points Champ into the wall quite heavily with a broken wrist and ribs. Brookes won the restart. Gomez finally got on the win board next with C. Hesmer second. A. Hesmer, Buman and Donholt finished with wins as well.
Riders lined up for finals based on overall points. Harmatiuk won the D-Final with Cornell second, Engel third and Heath and Crawford not taking part due to injury. Gomez was the winner of the C-Final with J. Diem taking second and C. Hesmer third. Brookes was fourth and w. Diem was out with bike problems. Buman made a good start to take the B-Final with Hollenbeck on him hard for second. Harman would take third just ahead of Clark while Bonsignore was out with injury.
Adam Mittl made an excellent start and piloted his Justice Brothers/NGK/Oury/Polito/K&N Jawa ton the overall victory in the A-Main. Donholt hugged the pole tightly for four laps to seal second while Ermolenko gained valuable third place points. McBride was ahead of A. Hesmer for fourth.
A-Final
1. Adam Mittl
2. Casey Donholt
3. Dukie Ermolenko
4. Tuff McBride
5. Aaron Hesmer
B-Final
1. Mikey Buman
2. Brian Hollenbeck
3. Jerry Harman
4. Dave Clark
5. Gene Bonsignore DNS
C-Final
1. Tim Gomez
2. Jesse Diem
3. Chris Hesmer
4. Corey Brookes
5. Warren Diem DNS
D-Final
1. Shaun Harmatiuk
2. Russ Cornell
3. Shawn Engel
4. Alex Heath DNS
5. Andy Crawford DNS
Support A
1. Katalin Davis
2. Dwight Basa
3. Ray Barondick
4. Jeff Garlinghouse DNS
Support B
1. Dan Harbst
2. Brian Bailey
3. Don Wheeland
4. Alex Mann
5. Henry Calpin
6. Bob Silvestri
Juniors
1. Spencer Portararo
2. Zach Peters
3. Roger Roberts
ATV Pro
1. Carl Bartlett
2. Dan Hawk
3. Stoney Ray
4. Tom Donahue
5. Steve Kappler
EAST COAST SPEEDWAY SERIES
Champion Speedway
Mittl and Holden take top honors at Champion
By Jason Bonsignore
Photo of Dee Holden by Jason Bonsignore
Owego, NY August 8, 2009
The track at Champion Speedway speedway is always smooth and usually pretty slick these days but to say that about the surface on August, 8, would be an understatement as there was not a bump or hole in the whole track and it was slicker than usual which contributed to some surprise results in the handicap program.
Casey Donholt won his handicap heat all the way from the 50 yard line while up and coming support rider, Ray Barondick, was able to get second ahead of Andy "Crawfish" Crawford and Dwight Basa who were third and fourth. Dave Clark had bike problems at the back. Long-time Eastern star, Warren Diem, overcame a 50 yard disadvantage to score a win in his heat while Keith Hawkins was second, Russ Cornell third and "Battlescar" Mark Bradley, fourth. Hotshoe, Corey Brookes, was first to the finish in the third heat just ahead of Adam "Missile" Mittl. Josh Carr was as solid third with Canadian, Mike Hammond, fourth. Tuff McBride buzzed around the field to be first in the last heat off the 50 yard marker with Dee Holden taking second fron the front line. Jesse Diem was going well but crashed himself on the first try and had to come from the penalty marker to get third finally. Shawn "Steamboat" Engel was fourth.
The riders were flying in the first handicap semi but on the last lap Jesse Diem crashed into Holden while challenging for first and this caused Brookes to go down while in fourth. Adam Mittl was in third at the time and was credited with second. Holden got the victory with Diem getting excluded and Brookes taking third. Warren Diem looked strong en route to winning the other semifinal with McBride just behind him. The last transfer went to Hawkins who stayed just ahead of Crawford, Cornell and Barondick.
In the final it was Dee Holden riding her Holden's disposal JAWA to the feature win. Holden rode a nice tight line to the pole for all six laps and did not worry about those behind her instead focusing on the track ahead. The back yardage tried very hard but could not make up ground on the ultra slick surface. McBride got close on the last corners but squared the corner off too much and could not get past Holden. The rest of the finish was Mittl, Hawkins, Brookes and W. Diem in order.
Mittl, W. Diem and Donholt were early winners in the scratch heats with Brookes, Clark and McBride all getting seconds.
Donholt beat out W. Diem in the first scratch semi while Clark and Cornell were third and fourth and would go through the last chance. Hawkins was last. Mittl was top rider in the second semifinal over runner up McBride. Carr was third and Brookes fourth with Holden fifth.
Clark won the last chance with a hardfought battle over Carr and Brookes.
In the Main there was no stopping Mittl on his Justice Brothers/Polito/Oury/Regina/NGK JAWA. The reigning East Coast Champ made an excellent start from gate three to take his 6th Main event title in a row. W. Diem would end up riding well to take second with Donholt third, McBride fourth and Clark fifth.
Scratch Main
1. Adam Mittl
2.Warren Diem
3. Casey Donholt
4. Tuff McBride
5. Dave Clark
Handicap Main
1. Dee Holden
2. Tuff McBride
3. Adam Mittl
4. KeithHawkins
5. Corey Brookes
6. Warren Diem
Support A
1.Mike Hammond
2. Brian Bailey
3. Dwight Basa
4. Ray Barondick
5. Vinnie Oliver
6. Mark Bradley DNS
Junior Main
1. Roger Roberts
2. Spencer Portararo
3. Dakota Crone
Quad Pro
1. Stoney Ray
2. Steve Kappler
3. Carl Bartlett
4. Phil McCracken
EAST COAST SPEEDWAY SERIES
Champion Speedway July, 18
Mittl and Clark win at Champion Speedway
By Jason Bonsignore
Photo of Dave Clark by Jody Garris (Dave Clark won the handicap main)
Owego, NY July 18, 2009
East Coast speedway racing has been hampered by poor weather all season and the July, 18, event at Champion Speedway was no different. The racing began with rain drops but track personnel were able to push on with the program.
In the first handicap heat it was Adam "The Missile" Mittl who came all the way from the 50 yard line to take a win. Right behind him was Andy "Crawfish" Crawford with Dave Clark third, Mikey Buman fourth and Corey Brookes fifth. Dee Holden took up sixth place. In the other handicap heat it was Jerry "Buford" Harman who scored victory with Tuff McBride wide open behind in second. Casey Donholt was third, Dwight Basa fourth, Mark "Battlescar" Bradley fifth and Russ Cornell last.
Semi number one was won by Clark who came off the 30 yard marker. Mittl was able to get into second place for a transfer as did Harman who nailed down third place. McBride just missed out of a transfer when he could not get by Harman at the last corner. Russ Cornell was fifth with Bradley sixth. In the second semifinal Mikey Buman took the checkers and Brookes did a nice job to get second from the 40. Donholt rode steady once passing a couple guy from the 50 to take the last transfer position. Holden was fourth, Crawford was fifth and Basa last.
Roger Roberts won the junior speedway main event just prior to the scratch heats.
As expected, Mittl, Donholt and McBride were scratch heat winners. Buman was a close second to Donholt in their outing with Holden third. Clark was behind Mittl but ahead of Brookes and Harman, Cornell and Basa finished in that order to McBride.
Mittl won his semifinal but Harman put in the surprise ride beating out Buman for second. Holden was second just ahead of Cornell. Buman and Holden would have to go through the last chance. McBide gated strongly and was not challenged in his semi with Clark pulling another upset over Donholt. Donholt would finish third and have to go to the last chance while Crawford was fourth and would join him and Brookes was last.
Donholt was first off the line in the LC and took the win to take last spot in the scratch final.
In the scratch main Mittl rode his JBR/POLITO/JUSTICE BROS/K&N Jawa to a flawless win. He outgated the field and left them but McBride did start to reel him in by race's end and was a close second. Harman was third, Clark fourth and Donholt took himself out when he went wide trying to pass McBride on lap two.
Clark got ahead of the other two riders who started on the 30 in the handicap main and never made any mistakes en route to winning. Mittl impressively negotiated his way to second on the slick track from the back of the pack and Harman held in there for third place. The last three were Brookes, Buman and Donholt in order.
Scratch Main
1. Adam Mittl
2. Tuff McBride
3. Jerry Harman
4. Dave Clark
5. Casey Donholt
Handicap Main
1. Dave Clark
2. Adam Mittl
3. Jerry Harman
4. Corey Brookes
5. Mikey Buman
6. Casey Donholt
Support A Main
1. Dee Holden
2. Mark Bradley
3. Dwight Basa
4. Cole Farwell
Support B Main
1. Brian Bailey
2. Bob Silvestri
3. Don Wheeland
Juniors
1. Roger Roberts
2. Spencer Portararo
3. Dakota Crone
EAST COAST SPEEDWAY SERIES
Action Park Speedway
Mittl Launches Missile NY State Rd One
By Jason Bonsignore
Photo is of Adam Mittl taken by Jody Garris
June 27, 2009 Greene, NY
Round One of the 2009 NY State Championships ran under somewhat clear skies on June 27 at Action Park but the previous three days worth of heavy rain made for a very tricky clay track. The surface at Action Park now has lots of clay in it and the moisture made it very tacky which made it difficult for speedway bikes to slide.
The first round of heats had Casey Donholt take a win over second placed Katalin Davis and third placed Andy Crawford. Dave Clark scored a zero. Defending State and East Coast Champion, Adam "Missile" Mittl, won handily in the next outing as the other three riders struggled with track conditions. Corey Brookes was second with Russ Cornell third and Tuff McBride fourth. Jean Claude Harman from Canada was able to tackle the track en-route to a win to close out the first heat set. Gene Bonsignore was net with two points and one went to Dee Holden with Len McBride taking last.
Harman continued his winning ways to begin the second heat series while Mittl could only muster second just ahead of Holden. Donholt was last. Andy Crawford rode a slow and cautious low line in his heat to block off Bonsignore from a win. Brookes stayed ahead of Cornell for third. Clark found his groove in the final race of the second round when he beat Tuff McBride. Len McBride looked stronger at this stage also taking third over Davis.
Just before Intermission it was Harman again who won. Joining him with race wins were Clark and Mittl with Cornell, Tuff McBride and Donholt tallying seconds.
The last heat races saw Donholt and Len McBride open up with a close race. Donholt edged him out for the checkers with Crawford third and Brookes fourth. Mittl was back on top as well with a strong ride to win from Clark, Tuff McBride and Harman in that order. Bonsignore won the final ride with Cornell a ways back in third and with Holden scoring one point over Davis.
At this point in the program riders scores were added and they were placed into three finals, A, B and C, based on overall points. Just prior to these finals though, Holden took the holeshot and rode smoothly to winb the Support A final. Dwight Basa was an impressive second with Mark "Battlescar" Bradley third and Davis fourth.
Len McBride ran away with the C-Final. Brookes used his light bodyweight and slick skills to take it all in the B-Main. Tuff McBride tried hard to finally come to grips with the track but had to settle for second with Cornell third and Crawford fourth. Donholt gated the field in the A-Final but Mittl rode his Polito/JBR/ Justice Bros/NGK Spark Plugs/Oury Grip JAWA up the inside of Donholt on lap 3 in turn four to ride off with victory! Clark took third with Harman and Bonsignore fourth and fifth.
In the Pro ATV portion of the program it was Dan Hawk of Binghamton who rode away with number one on the night. Hawk was solid all night and outran the competitors in the final. The ATV racing was fast and furious all throughout and the amount of racers has really picked up over the last two years. Two divisions of mini ATV racing have also been added to accommodate the growing numbers.
The next race at Action Park is the King of Speedway and ATV Nationals and on July, 25 and will feature racers from out of State as well as the local top pros but the track's sister venue, Champion Speedway in Owego, is back in action July, 11 with a full program.
NY State Championships Rd One
A-Main
1. Adam Mittl
2. Casey Donholt
3. Dave Clark
4. Jean Claude Harman
5. Gene Bonsignore
B-Main
1. Corey Brookes
2. Tuff McBride
3. Russ Cornell
4. Andy Crawford
C-Main
1. Len McBride
2. Dee Holden
3. Katalin Davis
Support A Main
1. Dee Holden
2. Dwight Basa
3. Mark Bradley
4. Katalin Davis
Support B Main
1. Henry Calpin
2. Alex Mann
3. Bob Silvestri
Jr Spdwy Main
1. Roger Roberts
2. Spencer Portararo
LARRY MCBRIDE MEMORIAL RESULTS FROM CHAMPION SPEEDWAY JUNE 13
Scratch Main
1. Casey Donholt Port Crane, NY
2. Tuff McBride Windsor, NY
3. Mikey Buman Binghamton, NY
4. Adam Mittl Endicott, NY
5. Craig Estelle Windsor, NY
Last Chance
1. Adam Mittl Endicott, NY
2. Lenny McBride Windsor, NY
3. Warren Diem Lancaster, PA
4. Gene Bonsignore Rochester, NY
Handicap Main
1. Warren Diem 40 yards
2. Casey Donholt 50 yards
3. Tuff McBride 50 yards
4. Gene Bonsignore 40 yards
5. Adam Mittl 50 yards
6. Lenny McBride 50 yards
Support A
1. Cole Farwell Apalachin, NY
2. Ray Barondick Lebanon, PA
3. Mark Bradley Pavillion, NY
4. Dee Holden Earlville, NY
5. Dwight Basa Greene, NY
Support B
1. Don Wheeland Owego, NY
2. Brian Bailey Newark Valley, NY
3. Dan Harbst Johnson City, NY
Junior Speedway
1. Roger Roberts Johnson City, NY
Quad Pro
1. Dan Hawk Binghamton, NY
CHAMPION SPEEDWAY, OWEGO, NY QUICK RESULTS MAY 30
Casey Donholt had a good night winning the scratch main after two restarts. The first time Donholt was away first but the outside slider did not go up which brought about a restart. On the second try Tuff McBride was leading but a pile up brought out another restart. The third time it was Donholt again as he made a solid gate and won with McBride second.
Scratch Main
1. Casey Donholt
2. Tuff McBride
3. Corey Brookes
4. Jerry Harman
5. Adam Mittl
Jeff Garlinghouse rode very well making his first Handicap Main in Div 1. Corey Brookes was very impressive coming from the 30 yard line in his first Handicap Main on a 500 to take the victory. Jerry Harman also stepped up his game for a good night.
Handicap Main
1. Corey Brookes -30
2. Jerry Harman- 40
3. Casey Donholt- 50
4. Adam Mittl- 50
5. Tuff McBride- 50
6. Jeff Garlinghouse- 0
The support A racing was excellent. All the riders rode great. Dwight Basa led for most of the final before falling but he is showing signs of becoming quite the racer. Ray Barondick is alo enjoying a great comeback. Cole Farwell did not get the results he wanted last night but puts on a very exciting show. Garlinghouse was very consistent and controlled. Stefan Laessig was awesome in his handicap heat race taking the win.
Support A
1. Jeff Garlinghouse
2. Cole Farwell
3. Dwight Basa
4. Ray Barondick
5. Stefan Laessig DNS
The much anticipated return of "Dangerous" Dan Harbst brought entertainment and fortunately no crashes. Don Wheeland won his first two heats and took a second in the feature. A well deserved win went to Brian Bailey. New rider Bill Papula was third with Dangerous in fourth and another brand new rider, 14 year old Alex Mann, in fifth.
Support B
1. Brian Bailey
2. Don Wheeland
3. Bill Papula
4. Dan Harbst
5. Alex Mann
Junior Speedway
1.Spencer Portararo
2. Dakota Crone
3. Roger Roberts
PW 50
1. Jordan Engel
Tom Donahue took the win for the second week in a row in the Quad Pro Main and Brandon Utter won again in the AM Quad div.
Next race is June 6
ACTION PARK
Action Park East, Greene, NY
119 River Valley Lane
Greene, NY 13778
Mailing address: 2152 Edgemere Drive, Rochester, NY 14612
Directions: Take NYS Route 81 to RT12. Head East on 12 to Airport Rd in Greene, take a right at Airport and head back a 1/4 mile. Track is on right.
Websites: www.eastcoastspeedway.com, www.speedwaybikes.com
Gates open at 5:30pm Races at 7:00pm
Professional, Support and Junior Speedway Classes, ATV's and youth flat track
Phone:(585) 723-9746 or eastcoastspeedway@hotmail.com for more info
May 23 Spring Classic
June 27 Speedway
July 25 King of Speedway Nationals Round Two
August 22 Speedway
September 5 US Open Speedway Nationals Round Two
CHAMPION
2009 Schedule-Presented by All Balls Racing and Southern Tier Insulations
Champion Speedway
344 East River Drive
Owego, NY 13827
Mailing address: 2152 Edgemere Drive, Rochester, NY 14612
Directions: Take NYS 17/Future 86 to exit 64 and turn right onto RT 434 heading West. 434 will take a sharp left hand bend approx 1 mile up the road and you will see East River Drive on the right. Take the road back to the track.
For Saturday events the gates open at 5:30pm and races start at 7pm, for Sunday's gates open at 4:30pm and races start at 6pm
For more info call (585)723-9746 or on racedays (585)739-9612 or (607) 972-7025
May 24 (Sunday) Patrick Ahlund Spring Classic Championship
May 30
June 6
June 13 The Larry McBride Memorial
June 20
June 28 (Sunday)
July 11
July 18
July 26 (Sunday)King of US Speedway Nationals RD 3
August 1
August 8
August 15
August 23 (Sunday)
September 6 (Sunday) US Open Speedway Championships RD 3
September 19 Tentative afternoon race
September 26 Tentative afternoon race
October 3 Tentative afternoon race
New York State Indoor Ice Championships/East Coast Speedway
RD 1 Chenango Ice Rink
Kemp Kills Em at RD 1 of NY State Indoor Ice Championships
By Jason Bonsignore
Photo by D and J Fotos (podium has Kemp 1st, McConnell 2nd and McBride 3rd)
April 10, 2009 Binghamton, NY
Indoor Speedway Ice Racing returned to Binghamton, NY for the first time since 1979 on April 10, and what a show it was. A large turnout of fans at the Chenango Ice Rink were treated to some close and exciting racing.
In the first heat, "Rockstar" Ronny Kemp of Charlotte, NC showed why he is one of the best ice racers in the Country when he exploded off the starting line and led wire to wire over Dee Holden. Corey Brookes was third and Casey Donholt last with bike failure. In the next event it was Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell who showed them the way home with Adam Mittl crashing behind to open up the door for Jerry Harman to take second and Dave Clark third. The last heat of this set had the only two riders who competed at the Broome County race in 1979, Gene Bonsignore and Tuff McBride, meeting each other. Bonsignore looked to get the jump off the start but had the chain came off. Russ Cornell sped up the inside and went on to win with McBride a close second. Keith Hawkins was third.
McConnell was strong again in round two as he defeated Hawkins and Donholt in that order. McBride and Kemp had a big matchup with the NY legend McBride coming out ahead. Brookes was third with Clark fourth. Bonsignore got out of the gate first again but lost the chain a second time and Mittl went on for victory with Holden second and Cornell third to close things out.
The last run of heat racing was great. McConnell and Kemp tusseled first time out with McConnell narrowly taking 1st place. Holden hedl on to third over her soon to be husband, Donholt. McBride stayed hot with a see-saw win over Mittl. Hawkins gathered up one point for third and Harman suffered a DNF. Bonsignore went to a backup bike for the last heat and was leading for three laps until the spark plug cap came off which allowed for a win to Cornell with Brookes third.
Zach Peters of Lockport, NY destroyed the competition in the Junior Speedway heat races and Main with "Rocketman" Roger Roberts second and Dylan Eldridge third.
When the C-Main rolled out, Bonsignore was determined to complete a race and rode a Weslake to victory from start to finish. Donholt was just behind him for second with Clark third and Harman fourth.
Current East Coast Points Champion, Adam "The Missile" Mittl, was in form in the B-Main as he sped away from the gate and won but not without fits of pressure from 16 year old star, Brookes who took second. Hawkins was third and Holden fourth.
In the night's big race there was no stopping Kemp. He simply outgated the field and actually built up more of a lead each lap as McConnell just could not catch up to him. McBride kept a close third for the whole race with the longtime veteran Cornell a solid fourth.
Results
A-Final
1. Ronny Kemp
2. Shawn McConnell
3. Tuff McBride
4. Russ Cornell
B-Final
1. Adam Mittl
2. Corey Brookes
3. Keith Hawkins
4. Dee Holden
C-Final
1. Gene Bonsignore
2. Casey Donholt
3. Dave Clark
4. Jerry Harman
Junior Speedway
1. Zach Peters
2. Roger Roberts
3. Dylan Eldridge
NY State Indoor Ice Racing/East Coast Speedway
NY State Indoor Speedway Championships Chenango Ice Rink
McConnell takes NY State Ice Championship
By Jason Bonsignore
Photos by D and J Fotos podium has McConnell first, Kemp second, McBride third
Binghamton, NY April 11, 2009
Round Two of the Red Bull NY State Indoor Ice Racing Championships could not have ended in more exciting fashion for the near capacity crowd at the Chenango Ice Rink as two of the top contenders in American Ice Speedway racing, Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell of Brea, CA and "Rockstar" Ronny Kemp of Charlotte, NC ended the evening tied for the overall and were forced to compete in a 4-lap runoff for the title. What proceeded the runoff though was some hot heat racing all night long.
The first set of heats began with McConnell taking the lead over Jerry "Buford" Harman who pushed the "Mad Dog" but remained in second. McConnell took three points with Harman second, Keith Hawkins third and Dave Clark fourth. Casey Donholt got a nice start in the next outing and was able to hold off the hard charging Tuff McBride for the win. McBride was second and the big surprise was Kemp was held to third place and only one point. Sixteen year old, Corey Brookes, was last but was right on the pace. In the last heat of the opening round, sixty year old 4-time East Coast Points Champion, "Mean" Gene Bonsignore, who sufferd bike problems Friday night, got off to a strong start with a win over second placed Russ Cornell and third and fourth placed Dee Holden and Adam Mittl.
Mittl had better luck in the early stages of round two as he scored two points against McConnell who remained undefeated. Clark scored a third in that race against Brookes. Kemp redeemed himself when he gained revenge with a victory over McBride next with Harman taking third over Holden. Bonsignore closed out the round with another win over Donholt but unfortunately for Russ Cornell, who had been having a great weekend so far, his night ended while in third place as Keith Hawkins got into him by accident, which resulted in a bent motorcycle for "Homer" Cornell.
The final heat set started with a big match as McConnell met Kemp for the first time but it was Kemp who made the gate and rode perfectly to defeat McConnell. McConnell held onto second with Harman third and Hawkins fourth. Mittl took his first win of the night when the tapes next rose although McBride put up a great fight for a close second. Donholt was third and Holden fourth. Bonsignore closed out the heats with a third win. After leading initially and having the race stopped with Brookes and Clark falling he had to work hard to win the two lap restart as Brookes was right on his tail and Clark not far off in third.
Zach Peters of Lockport, NY dominated the junior speedway racing but fell in his last heat race while leading. In the final Main event he came all the way from the 60 yard line to take the big win over "Rocketman" Roger Roberts and Dylan Eldrige.
An unfortnate incident marred the C-Final as lady Dee Holden was winning it after more than half the race when Hawkins got over anxious and crashed into her. Holden was bruised but awarded the win with Clark second. Cornell was a non starter but earned the final position.
Donholt took the B-Final in a close race with Mittl with Brookes third and Harman fourth.
The A-Final saw McConnell make a superb start and not give way with Kemp taking second and Bonsignore getting passed by McBride on the last lap for third.
McConnell's win forced a runoff for the overall title and Kemp won the coin toss for inside starting position. This would not matter though as McConnell got another great gate on his Western Blasting/Justice Brothers/Red Line Oil/Oury Grip Jawa and led the runoff home for the win!
Saturday night Results
Junior Speedway
1. Zach Peters
2. Roger Roberts
3. Dylan Eldridge
C-Final
1. Dee Holden
2. DaveClark
3. Russ Cornell
4. Keith Hawkins
B-Final
1. Casey Donholt
2. Adam Mittl
3. Corey Brookes
4. Jerry Harman
A-Final
1.Shawn McConnell
2. Ronny Kemp
3. Tuff McBride
4. Gene Bonsignore
Overall State Championships
1.Shawn McConnell
2. Ronny Kemp
3. Tuff McBride
4. Adam Mittl
5. Gene Bonsignore/Corey Brookes
7. Russ Cornell/Casey Donholt
9. Dee Holden
10. Keith Hawkins
11. Jerry Harman
12. Dave Clark
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