Janniro races to fifth scratch victory at Fast Fridays; last points race this week

The Extreme Sidecars returned with their wild style of speedway racing on Aug. 1, thrilling the Fast Fridays Motorcycle Speedway crowd on their fourth visit this season to the tricky dirt oval at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn. These teams of riders on 1000cc three-wheeled motorcycles race in the opposite direction of speedway bikes, sliding sideways into corners then down the straightaways at high speeds. Their next appearance will be Aug. 30 for the AMA Extreme Sidecar National Championship. The team of Wade Boyd and Eric Lindauer won the main event, but the road was not simple. Reigning AMA Extreme Sidecar National champions Joe Jones and Tom Summers won the first heat race by a wide margin; they also won the fourth and final heat. In the second heat, a crash took out Boyd and Lindauer, and Robert Curry and Michael McGovern took the win. Heat three saw Boyd and Lindauer back and fast with the win. In the main event, Jones and Summers were in the inside lane and got a great start, maybe a little too good, and Jones, driving, grabbed a little too much traction and was pulled over the track tube and slid into the infield, which meant a disqualification. This left the door open for seasoned veterans Boyd and Lindauer to capitalize and take the lead, and they held on for the win. Kevin Kale and Jennifer Hernandez were second and Ace Kale and Brent Smith were third. Fans have been concerned about Tiffiny Leppien, a sidecar racer and ticket taker at Fast Fridays who was seriously injured in a racing accident on July 4. It was announced at the track Friday night she is out of ICU and continuing her recovery. Eleven-time AMA National Speedway Champion Billy Janniro was the "Fastest Man of the Night," winning his fifth scratch main event of the season. Broc Nicol, current AMA National Speedway Champion, was second, Danny Faria was third and Darren Armbruster was fourth. Nicol has won six scratch mains this season. Janniro won his heat race and semifinal, as did Nicol. The scratch main was really a two-man race with Janniro going head to head with Nicol. Janniro always had the lead, but Nicol was aggressively on his tail. Janniro finished just ahead of Nicol. Both are gunning for the 2025 AMA National Speedway Championship, which began with the first of three rounds Aug. 2 at the City of Industry track. Darren Armbruster was first in the handicap program, wining the main event off the 10-yard line. It was his third handicap win of the season, including the 25-lap ironman event. Armbruster earlier won his heat and semifinal. In the main, Armbruster and Gregory Moore rode 1-2 for the first couple of laps then Moore went down, taking Armbruster with him. Nicol also slid into them. Moore and Nicol were up fast and checking their bikes, but Armbruster took several minutes until he was helped up. Back on the bikes, they all went for a restart called by referee Steve Lucero, and Moore was penalized for the mishap. Armbruster held on for the two remaining laps for the win. Nicol was second and Wilbur Hancock was third. Cody Aker won his sixth support main event of the season. It looked like Brandon Hendrickson had the main event in the bag, then disaster struck: Hendrickson took a spill, and Aker was there to take the lead and cruise to the victory. Catherine Moore was second and Sammy Tetrault was third. Brady Landon seems unstoppable in the Youth 250cc D1 program, picking up another main event win. Landon won all his races. Jameson Hutchinson was second and Wesley Rearick was third. Riley Rearick was first in the Youth 250cc D2 main event, Gracie Janniro was second and Baylee Evans Seeley was third. In the Youth 150cc divisions, Brady Wills won the D1 main event, Zander Schroeder was second and Hudson Jones was third. In the D2 main event, it was Gavin Evans Seeley winning, followed by Hank Hanaway in second and Leeann Emerson in third. Zeva Schroeder was first in D3 division, William Bruce was second and Chance Farrow was third. The last race to accumulate points is this Friday, Aug. 8. The top riders in each division will race for the track championships on Aug. 16. Janniro leads Division 1 points with 1,625, followed by Nicol with 1,482 and Faria with 1,368.