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AMA/USA SPEEDWAY
LONG TRACK NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Bike Days LLC, Canton,
Ohio
AMA/USA Long Track National to Orosz
Jeff Orosz of Ontario, Canada took home the AMA/USA Speedway Long Track Championship, the national number one plate,
and the lion’s share of the $3,000 purse over Memorial weekend in Canton, Ohio.
The required eighteen-man
field of speedway riders gathered at the Stark County Fairgrounds during the annual “Bike Days” event for the
National. The race format consisted of a series of heats and last chance qualifiers advancing riders to the semi-finals, then
transferring the top three riders from each semi directly to the final.
In the first round, heat one was taken
by #119 Alan Rush, of Speedway, IN; the second heat was won by #31 Jeff Orosz, of Ontario, CAN; and the third heat winner
was #82 Chris Hathaway, of Syracuse, IN.
In the second round, top finisher in heat four was #52x Chad Rall, of
Engadine, MI; heat five #52c Dan Crawford, Marlette, MI; and heat six #31 Jeff Orosz.
In round three, heat seven
was won by #12x Russ Crawford, Brownstown, MI; heat eight #26 David Weicht, Pierceton, IN; and the ninth heat was won again
by #31 Jeff Orosz.
After the heats a fierce storm passed through the area, bringing high winds and rain. The grandstands
at the Stark County Fairgrounds are covered and race fans didn’t mind the delay as they watched the drag trucks (each
displaying double American flags in honor of Memorial weekend). The Bike Days track crew brought the “all weather”
limestone track back to superb condition. The racers and the fans agreed that after the downpour, the race surface proved
to be smooth and faster than ever – making for great racing.
In the Last Chance Qualifying Rounds, the winners
were #26 David Weicht and #52x Chad Rall.
The first Semi Final Round winner was #31 Jeff Orosz with #12x Russ
Crawford taking second and #30 Daniel Weicht taking third for the final transfer position.
Semi Final Round Two
was won by #52x Chad Rall followed by #82 Chris Hathaway and third by #11 Jim Terchila.
With the semi-finals in
the book, the stage was set for an exciting Main Event. #31 Jeff Orosz got off to a great start and led from wire-to-wire
with second place going to #52x Chad Rall, son of AMA Hall of Fame rider Ronnie Rall, who finished eighth over all himself.
#12x Russ Crawford took his Jawa Long Tracker to finish in third place. Fourth place went to #30 Daniel Weicht. Fifth place
belonged to #82 Chris Hathaway. The wrap-up position sixth place went to #11 Jim Terchila.
“This was the
first Speedway Long Track National East of the Mississippi,” said Scotty Brown, promoter of “Bike Days”
and former world ice racing champion. Brown will continue to run the National during the annual two-day Memorial weekend event
in Canton.
The next stop on the “Bike Days” Speedway Long Track calendar is the AMA/USA Ohio Long
Track Championship, scheduled for Friday night, July 20 the Fulton Co. Fairgrounds, in Wauseon, Ohio. The championship takes
place during the 25th annual Antique Motorcycle Club of America’s national meet. That evening’s race will also
include Vintage classes on the half-mile track. Go to www. bikedays.com for more information.
RESULTS
1st #31 Jeff Orosz Caistorville, Ontario Canada Jawa 500 cc
2nd #52X Chad Rall Engadine,
MI Jawa 500 cc
3rd #12X Russ Crawford Brownstown, MI Jawa 500 cc
4th #30 Daniel Weicht North Webster,
IN Jawa 500 cc
5th #82 Chris Hathaway Syracuse, IN Jawa 500 cc
6th #11 Jim Terchila Indianapolis,
IN Jawa 500 cc
7th #26 David Weicht Pierceton, IN Jawa 500 cc
8th #52 Ronnie Rall Engadine, MI Jawa
500 cc
9th #77 Jon Massie Wooster, OH Jawa 500 cc
10th #119 Alan Rush Speedway, IN Jawa 500 cc
11th #9 Marc Monroe Tallmadge, OH Jawa 500 cc
12th #52C Dan K. Crawford Marlette, MI Jawa 500 cc
13th #3 Mark Engel Clinton Twp., MI Jawa 500 cc
14th #33E Michael G. Callen Galesburg, MI Jawa 500 cc
15th #60F Kevin Sexton Elyria, OH Jawa 500 cc
16th #98 Stefan Laessig Pennsburg, PA Jawa 500 cc
17th
#53H Doug Horner Gates Mills, OH Jawa 500 cc
18th #45 Timothy Murray Niagra Falls, Ontario Canada Jawa 500 cc
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