It was another hot (both figuratively and literally) night of racing at the California State Speedway Championship at Industry Hills Speedway in the City of Industry, California, July 6. When things cooled off, it was Max Ruml rising to the top.

By Richard T. Haight | Photo by Chuck Null

The Wednesday night’s program was a full one, with National Pros showing up like AMA number-one “Mad” Max Ruml, “Fast” Eddie Castro, Austin “On The Throttle” Novratil, and Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell. And there was also Division 2 and 3 racing, as well as Juniors and the Minis in the program.

National Champion Ruml has been on a roll lately, and it showed as he blew through his three qualifying heats, dispatching Gino Manzares, Castro and up-and-coming first-year Division 1 rider Slater Lightcap. The finish was not much of a surprise. After all, Ruml is unbeaten in the four events so far.

Novratil was having a bit of bike trouble during the evening, and Castro almost lost an entire engine when an oil line bolt came adrift on the last lap and emptied the crankcase. As a result, both Novratil and Castro had to go to the consolation race. It ended up being Tim Gomez, a surprising winner, over Castro and Alex Martin, with the unlucky Novratil, who is usually one of the fastest on the track, bringing up the rear.

McConnell, Castro, Tim Gomez and Novratil, as well as last year’s 250 Under-21 National Champion Slater Lightcap all rolled through their qualifying heats. This meant that the main event would be Ruml, Lightcap, Manzares and McConnell all going for the win. It ended up being a bit of barnburner.

Ruml can be a runaway at times, but McConnell, who is now in his 60s, wasn’t in the mood for that. He got so sideways that he left nothing on the table. At the end, despite the best efforts of McConnell, it was Ruml winning again by only a length or two over McConnell, with Manzares scoring the last point for third place.

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