The new Industry Speedway promotion group, under the direction of Bruce Penhall and Jeff Immediato, held an open practice session Wednesday night, April 2nd at the The Grand Arena of the Industry Hills Expo Center. Top riders, including national champion Billy Hamill, Charlie Venegas, Ricky Wells, were there to give it a test. Former promoters of races at the facility, American Speedway Coalition’s Hugh Randolph and Lee Crecelius, were on hand to see that everything needed was passed on to the new promoters in “Grand” fashion. The racers and the track crew seemed like they were right in stride with when the season ended last September. The covered track allowed racers to continue to practice until the scheduled 9:00 p.m. cutoff even though it started to rain about 7: 30 p.m. The edge of the track featured newly-painted crashwalls while the interior was superbly prepared by Ryan “Ryno” Smith, formerly of Dirt Werks. Smith has extensive experience preparing supercross tracks. His track preparation received kudos from the riders because very little dragging was needed throughout the session which resulted in a lot of track time. During the Riders’ Meeting, Immediato discussed some of his plans for 2008. Among them was a track sponsorship format in which the advertiser would sponsor a rider in addition to the track. It is the same model that is being used by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and could be a boost to the riders financially. Among the familiar faces around the arena were photographer Jim Thorn, Joe Jones working at the gate, and Tom Fox working as an infield flagman. Familiar riders included the aforementioned Hamill who was lightning-fast throughout the evening. Hamill plans on racing every Wednesday night at the track located in his native San Gabriel Valley. Hamill, acting as a promoter himself, wanted to remind everyone about the Gumball Rally at Perris Raceway on April 19 and 20. This is a great event for the future speedway riders and deserves support by the entire speedway community, please be sure to mark it on your calendar. Venegas, who recently won the 2008 ICE Championship, was testing a Supertrapp speedway muffler that he has been using on the ICE tour. Venegas and other riders who have used the muffler claim that there isn’t the horsepower loss that has allegedly plagued the other Industry mufflers. The muffler seemed to perform well and it looks like it will be approved for use at Industry Speedway in 2008. Venegas was also using a belt-driven clutch. "The Voice of Speedway" Bruce Flanders was there. Flanders will be the Industry Speedway announcer for the fifth consecutive season. Flanders is arguably the top motorsports announcer in the world. Two-time World Speedway Champion Penhall was there and stated that he is happy to be a partnered with Immediato at Industry Speedway. Penhall also stated that he would be at the majority of the events and would be taking a more active role in speedway. Will we see this American icon put a leg over a speedway bike at Industry this year? Robert “The Sarge” Fiesler was selling speedway supplies and will be at Industry Speedway and Costa Mesa all season. Fiesler will ably fill the absence that Scott Brant left with his move to Northern California. There has been some talk about “The Sarge” becoming a referee and he is open to the idea. Anyone who would like to see him trade his badge for a striped shirt for a couple hours a night should let the promoters know. Tim Kennedy, who writes for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and the internet, was there and will continue in those capacities in 2008. Tim was introduced to speedway by Flanders and Howie Zechner after their constant bragging about the excitement of speedway racing finally brought him to the track. Tim is a member of the Toyota Speedway of Irwindale media crew. Some added good news was that Jeff supplied sodas, water, and chips for everyone at no charge. There were 22 riders, 18 mechanics, another 53 onlookers and helpers, and more track personal that brought the total to more than 130 people who were there for this first practice session. The downside is that the rider and mechanic turnout was not enough to justify the cost of hosting any more practice sessions. Immediato was satisfied that he accomplished his main goals of setting everything up, having it function properly, and conducting a sound test. For one evening he considers the loss acceptable, but it isn’t feasible to continue incurring losses. The initial plan was for Industry Speedway to remain quiet until the speedway bikes hit the track on Opening Night, which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7. However, if a minimum of 31 riders commit to practice on Wednesay, April 30, then Industry Speedway will hold another practice session. Riders are encouraged to contact Industry Speedway at 949 640-0455 or email at Jeff@industryspeedway.com if you want to sign up. Riders are also encouraged to sign up for Opening Night as well.