First-time winners in Handicap, Support D3, Youth 150 D1 at Fast Fridays Motorcycle Speedway

The weather was hot, but the racing was even hotter at Fast Fridays Motorcycle Speedway in Auburn on Aug. 7. Week 12 of the season included the return of Extreme Sidecars to the tricky dirt oval for round three of their five visits. The sidecars make two more visits to Auburn – on Aug. 29 and the AMA Extreme Sidecar Championship on Sept. 26. What a show the four teams put on for the fans. These sidecar machines and teams are a breed all their own. Not everyone wants to hop on a three-wheeled motorcycle equipped with a 1000cc engine and no brakes. Traveling clockwise around the tricky oval, they carry a driver and rider, typically called a monkey, on the back of the bike who swings from side to side balancing the trike in the corners. It's a big reason McCann Stadium was nearly filled Friday night. All four teams were veterans of the sidecar circuit, including 2022 AMA champions Robert Curry and Laurie Curry. Also on the track were the teams of Wade Boyd and Eric Lindauer, Matt Walters and Jonny Estrada, and Jason Fritze and Hannes Ots. Fritze and Ots took the checkered flag in the first round, Boyd and Lindauer got a feel for the track and won heat two, and the Currys won heat three. After that, Boyd and Lindauer had a groove going and controlled the rest of the program, winning heat four and the main event. Boyd and Lindauer led from the gate in the main event, but the Currys never go down easily. Boyd and Lindauer held their position and four laps later they took the checkered flag. In the regular program, many riders were tuning up for the first round of the AMA National Speedway Championship scheduled for the next night in City of Industry. Billy Janniro sure seemed ready for the challenge, and the 11-time AMA national speedway champion was in great form in winning his second scratch main event of the season. After winning all of his heat races on his way to a perfect night, Janniro faced reigning national champion Broc Nicol and young guns Darren Armbruster and Timmy Dion in the main. Janniro got a good gate and was first to turn one with Nicol on his tail. Taking a middle-of-the-track line, Janniro did not leave much room for Nicol on the inside so Nicol had to go deeper on the track. This might have worked on another rider but not Janniro, who kept Nicol a bike length back to the finish line. Armbruster finished third and Dion fourth. Wilbur Hancock picked up his first win of the season in the handicap main event. Off the 20-yard line, Hancock placed second and third in his heats to transfer to the main. From the gate, Hancock had the lead ahead of Armbruster with Janniro and Nicol battling for third. As the six-lap race progressed, Janniro moved ahead of Nicol for good but could not catch Armbruster or Hancock. In the Support D2 Division, Cody Baugh earned his second consecutive main-event victory. Baugh has really improved since moving up from Support D3 early in the season. Antonio Coffman was second and Catherine Moore was third. Tim Dion grabbed his first win of the season in Support D3. Dion also won his second heat race. Ots, who is half of the sidecar team with Fritze, came in second and LC Veale was third. Jameson Hutchinson was leading the Youth 250cc D1 main event in an intense battle with Wesley Rearick until he looped in the last turn on the last lap, spinning around and falling. Rearick passed him and took the win. Also passing Hutchinson were Caden Cavrikas in second and Justin Gist in third. Hutchinson got back on his bike and crossed the finish line fourth. Colton Cooper won his second Youth 250cc D2 main event in a row. Leeann Emerson was second and Baylee Evans-Seeley was third. Brady Wills, a consistent top-three finisher in the Youth 150cc D1 division, won the main event, his first of the season. Mason Howell was second and Zander Schroeder was third. Kaiden Boyd-Bews won the Youth 150cc D2 main event. Boyd-Bews led most of the race with pesky Chance Farrow close behind. On the last lap, Hank Hanaway made a fantastic effort and passed Farrow in the last turn for second place. Kaydence Craw won the Youth 150cc D3 main event, her second in a row. Kinsley Stephenson was second and William Bruce was third. The final round of the Team Challenge will conclude this Friday, Aug. 14. Team Law Tigers leads Team IFC 47-46, the closest score ever going into the final round. This Friday is also the last night for riders to tally season points. As of July 31, Nicol led Division I with 1,308 points, followed by Janniro with 1,218. The Support Divisions are really close with Moore leading D2 with 476 points, followed by Brandon Hendrickson with 470. In D3, Sean McAndrew leads Cody Baugh by one, 516-515.