Venegas upsets invaders in National Speedway Series opener

Former World Speedway Champions Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock got a warm welcome from their fans but a rude awakening from the local stars in the first round of the AMA USA Speedway National Championship Series on August 5 at Costa Mesa Speedway.

European-based Hamill and Hancock entered the event as heavy favorites, having combined to win the past eight AMA National Speedway Championships. But 39-year-old Charlie Venegas of San Bernardino, California, capped one of the best weeks of his career with a stunning victory in the restart of a spectacular and controversial A-Main Event.

Finishing a close second to Venegas was Mike Faria of Reno, Nevada, while Hamill placed third and Hancock was credited with fourth after crashing on the first lap of the red-flagged event and being excluded by referee Steve Lucero.

The evening’s fifth-ranked rider was local hero Bobby Schwartz, who barely missed a spot in the A-Main and scored a popular victory in the B-Main just five days shy of his 50th birthday.

Hancock carried a great deal of momentum into the event as he began defense of the AMA National Championship he has held for three years running. He is currently the No. 2 ranked rider in the world and was the star performer for AMA Team USA Speedway in its recent sixth-place finish in the Speedway World Cup tournament.

Although American Speedway tracks are much smaller than those Hancock regularly rides in Europe, he waltzed through his five qualifying heats with a perfect 5-for-5 record and earned first choice of starting positions in the crucial four-lap main event. Hamill, who won three heats and was second to Hancock and Schwartz in his other two qualifiers, had second choice, followed by Venegas and Faria.

Most expected Hancock to select the inside pole position, but he elected to start from gate 2, allowing Hamill to take the pole with Venegas choosing gate 3 and Faria forced to start from the outermost gate.

On the initial start Hancock was away quickly, but not quickly enough to assert himself in the first turn as Hamill worked the inside line. Exiting turn two, Hamill drifted wide and Hancock ran out of room as he tried to take the lead. Hancock contacted the retaining wall and he parted company with his cart-wheeling machine, bringing out the red flag.

Hancock was quickly on his feet, bruised but uninjured, and eager to avenge himself on the restart. Referee Steve Lucero ruled the incident as an avoidable one-bike crash, however, and excluded the 1997 world champion from the restart.

Some expected the re-run to be an all-Hamill affair but Venegas thought differently. He was in the midst of a busy week in which he won USA Speedway main events at The Grand Arena in Industry, California, on August 2 and at Fast Fridays Speedway in Auburn, California, on August 4, and he was intent on a Speedway hat-trick.

A slick cutback move on the opening lap of the restart allowed Venegas to take the lead and he held off the hot pursuit from runner-up Mike Faria and from Hamill, who waited in vain for an opportunity to overtake either Faria or Venegas.

"I feel very fortunate to win tonight," Venegas said. "Anytime you beat these guys you’ve had a great night, and to win three features this week is awesome. This was fun for sure and I want to keep it rolling."

Faria, a three-time AMA National Champion (1990, ’91 and ’97), was also upbeat about his runner-up finish. "It’s always better to win than to finish second," Faria said, "but this is a good start on the series. Anytime you beat Hancock and Hamill you had a pretty good night."

Hamill acknowledged that he was "racing him hard" but didn’t feel at fault for Hancock’s crash, and Hancock accepted his exclusion with grace.

"I really wanted to get back into the race," the disappointed Hancock said, "but Steve made the call and that’s racing. I just have to accept it and move on, but we’re still gunning for the title."

As a six-time AMA National Speedway Champion, Hancock has an opportunity this season to tie the record of seven championships earned by the legendary Mike Bast during the 1970s.

Saturday’s event marked the first time an AMA-sanctioned championship event has been held at Costa Mesa Speedway in a decade and it was a popular reunion all around with an enthusiastic, near-capacity crowd.

"A disagreement over rules led to a parting of the ways between Costa Mesa and the AMA in 1997 and this renewed relationship has been a long time coming," said USA Speedway Executive Director Bill Amick. "We’re delighted to have this opportunity to bring AMA Speedway back to Costa Mesa Speedway and to be working with Brad Oxley and the entire Costa Mesa team."

Saturday’s event was filmed by MavTV for a September 14 airing on the fast-growing cable network that will also be available via broadband at www.MavTV.com. The 2006 AMA USA Speedway National Series will continue on Friday evening, September 1, at Fast Fridays Speedway in Auburn, California.

For more information, see the complete 2006 AMA/USA Speedway National Championship Series schedule.