USA rules World in Fast Fridays motorcycle season finale

Another fabulous Fast Fridays Motorcycle Speedway season has come to an end. This season, the 30th overseen by Dave Joiner, closes with one of the best and most popular events of the season. Joiner, promoter and owner of Fast Fridays, and his talented staff again brought to the tricky dirt oval at the Gold Country Fairgrounds an event rarely seen in American speedway racing: the annual international grudge match USA vs. the World. This matchup has been going on for 22 years. Joiner puts together tough teams from various countries to come face the Americans. The World has been victorious in the last four meetings. The last time the Americans came out on top was in 2017. So you could say every American rider in this year's matchup was looking to put an end to the World's winning streak. And the streak ended last Saturday night with the USA putting it all together with a convincing 77-57 win. The overall record now stands 13-10 with the USA on top. This year's USA team was led by 2025 AMA national speedway champion Broc Nicol, 27; and 11-time AMA national speedway champion Billy Janniro, 45; Darren Armbruster, 16; Timmy Dion, 21; Chris Kerr, 41; and Danny Faria, 43. The average age of the USA team was 32. They faced a much younger group of world riders, with experience at tracks across Europe and in Australia. The World team was made up of Radoslaw Kowalski, 23, of Poland; Bartlomiej Kowalski, 17, of Poland; Patryk Wojdylo, 26, of Poland; Bartosz Banbor, 18, of Poland; Fraser Bowes, 23, of Australia; and Wilbur Hancock, 20, of Sweden. The average age of the World team was 21. The meeting consisted of 18 scratch heat races with two riders from each team racing against each other and scoring three points for a first-place finish, two points for second place and one point for third place. After 18 heat races, team captains sent two riders each into a bonus round and the grand final, where the points increased. The team with the most points after the grand final won. From the start, the USA made it plain this was the year the streak would end. After the first three heat races, the USA led 12-6 with strong performances by Nicol and Faria, who fell but on the restart won heat three for three points. In heats 4-6, the World showed some grit by picking up nine points with a great heat 6 when Hancock and Bowes combined for five points. They pulled closer but still lagged 21-15. In heat 9, Nicol and Timmy Dion broke it open by combining for five points to the World's one point, and the score rested at 32-22 with the USA leading. Heat 11 was one of the best races of the evening with Nicol and Polish racer Wojdylo going head to head. Wojdylo won the race and Nicol was second, one of only two points Nicol dropped all night. The score after heat 12 was USA 44-28. Heats 13-15 were interesting in that according to the rules, a team down six points or more could use a Joker to increase the odds of catching up. In heat 15, the World brought in Wojdylo to substitute for Bowes. With the Joker, the points for that rider increases to double scoring. Wojdylo made full use of the Joker and scored a win, which gave him six points. Added to teammate Hancock's second-place finish and his two points the World picked up eight points for that heat but still trailed 50-42. The World remained down 59-51 in heats 16-18, but scoring increased by one point in the bonus round: four for first place, three for second and two for third place. In the grand final, the score jumped again to six points for first, five for second and four for third. In the bonus round, the USA sent Kerr and Armbruster to the line and the World sent the Kowalski brothers, Bartlomiej and Radoslaw. Kerr and Armbruster prevailed with first- and second-place finishes, leaving the score an insurmountable 66-53 going into the grand final. The World could not win but that did not dampen the enthusiasm for the final. To the line went Janniro and Nicol for the USA and Woldylo and Bowes for the World. In an outstanding race with Janniro and Nicol working together, the USA picked up 11 points and the World four. The meeting ended with the USA winning 77-57. In the end, when the podium photos were taken, both teams climbed up with smiles all around. A great night of entertaining international racing. A successful 2025 season is now in the books and acknowledgment should be given to the entire Fast Fridays Motorcycle Speedway staff for a job well done. See everybody next season.