2008 Perris Spring Classic - Perris Raceway, CA, USA - April 13, 2008
Ricky “The Kiwi Kid” Wells was a perfect five for five in all his races, including the main event, in a thoroughly dominant performance at the 2008 Friends of Speedway Spring Classic at Perris Raceway. Wells selected the pole for the main event and used his preferred starting position to launch off the starting line first. Wells was followed by Nate Perkins whose only defeat of the day was to Wells. Wells opened up a comfortable lead on the back straight and left Perkins to switch his priority to holding off the hard-charging Jason Ramirez. Ramirez gained a little ground with each lap, but couldn’t get close enough to mount a serious challenge. Wells cruised to the victory, Perkins was second, Ramirez finished third, and J.T. Mabry was fourth. Perkins opened the day with a win in the first heat over Ramirez. Wells beat Mike “The Spider Man” Bloom in the second heat. Brad Sauer beat Russell Green to complete round one. Round two began with Perkins defeating Bloom. Wells beat Mabry for his second win in the next heat. Ramirez overcame a bad start to beat both Sauers to end the second round. The third round began with Perkins leading Wells for three laps before Wells went by on the inside to take the lead and the win. Ramirez beat Robbie Sauer for his second win in heat 14. Mabry used the outside to pass Donnie Robinson and earn his first win to close round three. Mabry started the final round with his second straight win. Wells made it four in a row in the penultimate heat. Perkins fended off a major challenge from Ramirez to win the final heat. The Last Chance began with Robinson falling in turn one and Ramirez being forced to take evasive action which immediately took him out of contention. The red flag came out when Robinson failed to get off the track quick enough. John Marquez led the restart before Ramirez blasted up the inside at the end of lap one and ran off with the win to earn the final spot in the main. Steve “Rattlesnake” Bowen led all four laps of the Second Division Main for the victory. Rudy Laurer finished second, J.C. Masters was third, Jeff Remington finished fourth, Jim Painter was fifth, and Mark Lane was credited with sixth. The first attempt to run the Third Division Main ended in a heap in turn four with Jonni Jade and Greg Vandemore getting locked together and going down hard. On the restart, Vandemore was a runaway winner with Jade finishing second and Tony DeAlmeida coming in third. The Youth Divisions were run together and Austin Novratil, the only First Division rider, getting the overall victory. Rocco Scopellite won the Youth Second Division with Samuel Ramirez finishing second and Major Davis getting third. Garrett Nepi scored an impressive win in the Pee Wee Main Event. Marina Braden was second, Nathan Remington finished third, Gino Scopellite was fourth, and Kylee Evans finished fifth. Perris Raceway will host the annual Gumball Rally with an open practice on Saturday, April 19 and the race meeting on Sunday, April 20. The next race meeting to feature all divisions will be Sunday, June 8. RESULTS Pee Wee Main Event 5 – Garrett Nepi 117 – Marina Braden 12 – Nathan Remington 7 – Gino Scopellite 8 – Kylee Evans Youth Second Division Main Event 9 – Rocco Scopellite 22 – Samuel Ramirez 999 – Major Davis Youth First Division Main Event 8 – Austin Novratil Third Division Main Event (restarted) 209 – Greg Vandemore 266 – Jonni Jade 157 – Tony DeAlmeida Second Division Consolation (restarted) 153 – Brad Moreau 288 – Rick Fritch 181 – Billy J. Vaughn Dylan Black (non starter) 212 – Steve Dziadus (non starter) Second Division Main Event 177 – Steve Bowen 182 – Rudy Laurer 202 – J.C. Masters 252 – Jeff Remington 172 – Jim Painter 326 – Mark Lane (non starter) First Division Scoring 1 2 3 4 T 13 – Nate Perkins 3 3 2 3 11 17 – Robbie Sauer R 1 2 0 3 21 – Brad Sauer 3 2 1 2 8 22 – Mike Bloom 2 2 E N 4 41 – John Marquez 0 1 1 2 4 66 – Jason Ramirez 2 3 3 1 9 93 – J.T. Mabry 1 2 3 3 9 142 – Ricky Wells 3 3 3 3 12 149 – Philip Harmatiuk 1 N - - 1 232 – Allen Doss 1 1 0 1 3 321 – Russell Green 2 0 1 1 4 388 – Donnie Robinson 0 R 2 2 4 Race Results 1: Perkins, Ramirez, Doss, R.Sauer (retired) 2: Wells, Bloom, Mabry, Marquez 3: B.Sauer, Green, Harmatiuk, Robinson 7: (restarted) Perkins, Bloom, Doss (fell, remounted), Harmatiuk (non starter) 8: Wells, Mabry, Marquez, Green 9: (restarted) Ramirez, B.Sauer, R.Sauer (penalty line), Robinson (retired) 13: Wells, Perkins, Green, Doss 14: Ramirez, R.Sauer, Marquez 15: Mabry, Robinson, B.Sauer, Bloom (engine failure) 19: Mabry, Marquez, Doss (fell) 20: Wells, Robinson, Green, R.Sauer 21: Perkins, B.Sauer, Ramirez (fell), Bloom (non starter) First Division Last Chance (restarted) 66 – Jason Ramirez 21 – Brad Sauer 41 – John Marquez 321 – Russell Green (non starter) 388 – Donnie Robinson (non starter) First Division Main Event 142 – Ricky Wells 13 – Nate Perkins 66 – Jason Ramirez 93 – J.T. Mabry Ryan Evans