Speedway Long Track National Championship
to
Weicht
Wauseon, Ohio
July 20, 2012
By:
Scotty Brown
Dan Weicht came out on top at the Speedway
Long Track National Championship for the second time in as many years, Friday July 20, 2012 at the Fulton County Fairgrounds
in Wauseon, Ohio.
Dan Weicht being interviewed by Bob Sigler
after he won the 2012 Speedway Long Track National Championship in Wauseon.
Photo courtesy of David Moore
The Long Track National was organized by Scotty Brown of the Bike Days Motorcycle
Club www.bikedays.com and was sponsored by Applied Innovations, PJ's Fabricating, Spectro Oils, and Wiseco Piston. The championship
ran in conjunction with the Classic Flat Track National Championship series during the 30th annual AMCA Wauseon National.
It had been an unusual hot and dry summer in Northwestern Ohio, but Mother
Nature provided a cool race day and plenty of rain the night before to keep the half- mile limestone cushion track in perfect
condition for the Championship. North Americas' finest Long Track Riders assembled in Wauseon for the Championship, and Donnie
Bargmann and Bob Sigler were the announcers on hand to call the action.
Steve Brinker won the first heat race
of the night and finished a respectable 4th in the National final.
Photo courtesy of JG Photowerx
In the first heat race #32 Steve Brinker started from gate
2 and won the race. Chad Rall stared from the pole, laid it down at the apex of turn one and two, and came back to finish
second. #77 Jon Massie started on the outside and finished third.
John Debats started the night
out strong with a win in his first heat race and went on to finished 2nd overall in the National.
Photo courtesy of KerrGraphix
John Debats got the hole shot from gate two in heat race 2 and won from
wire to wire. #1 Dan Weight came from the pole to finish second with Veteran Ronnie Rall in third and Jim Terchila fourth.
The 2012 National Long Track format consisted of two rounds of point
gathering heats, a last chance qualifier, and an "A and B" Main.
Round 1:
Heat 1: Points paid for this Heat on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
1st) #32 Steve Brinker 2nd) #52x Chad
Rall 3rd) #77 Jon Massie
4th) #82 Chris Hathaway 5th) #119 Alan Rush 6th) #63 Michael De Champlain
Heat 2: Points paid for this Heat on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
1st) #41x John Debats
2nd) #1 Dan Weicht 3rd) #52 Ronnie Rall
4th) #11Jim Terchila 5th) #151 Thomas Keene
The Round 1 heat race points are tabulated, transferring the top scoring riders to Heat 3 and the riders with lesser
points to Heat 4
The 2011 & 2012 Speedway Long Track
National Champion Dan Weicht on the cam.
Photo courtesy of KerrGraphix
In heat race 3, #1 Dan Weicht started from gate 4 and won the race from start
to finish. John Debats came from the two spot to finish second, and #32 Steve Brinker came in third starting from the pole.
The" Legend" Ronnie
Rall rode well all night and finished second in the B main.
Photo courtesy of KerrGraphix
Heat race 4 saw #82 Chris Hathaway start from the pole and win the race from flag to flag. #119
Alan Rush came from gate three to finish second. #52 Ronnie Rall came from gate five to finish third, with #11 Jim Terchilla
in fourth.
Alan Rush from Speedway Indiana finished
2nd in the LCQ which earned him a spot in the A main.
Photo courtesy of KerrGraphix
Round 2:
Heat 3: Points paid for this Heat on a 10-9-8-7-6-5 basis
1st) #1 Dan Weicht 2nd) #41x John Debats 3rd) #32 Steve Brinker
4th) #77 Jon Massie 5th) #52x Chad Rall
Heat 4: Points paid for this Heat on an 8-7-6-5-4-3 basis
1st) #82 Chris Hathaway
2nd) #119Alan Rush 3rd) #52 Ronnie Rall
4th) #11 Jim Terchila 5th) #151 Thomas Keene 6th) #63 Michael DeChamplain
Jim Terchila from Indianapolis, promotes
Mid America Speedway and put in a strong showing at the Wauseon National .
Photo courtesy of KerrGraphix
The total heat race points are tabulated, transferring the top four
riders to the "A" Main leaving two positions open for the top two finishers from the Last Chance Qualifier. The
remaining riders go to the "B" Main.
In case of a
tie:
1st tie-breaker: Heads-up meetings if conclusive
2nd tie-breaker: Compare each rider's highest point total
from a single heat
3rd tie-breaker: Compare each rider's second-highest point total from a single heat
4th tie-breaker:
Compare each rider's third-highest point total from a single heat
If the tie persists, there will be a four-lap runoff
for the spot
Heat Point Totals:
15pts. #1 Dan Weight
15pts. #41x John Debats
14pts #32 Steve Brinker
11pts. #77 Jon Massie
11pts.
#52x Chad Rall
11pts. #82 Chris Hathaway
10pts. #52 Ronnie Rall
9pts. #119 Alan Rush
8pts. #11 Jim Terchila
6pts. #151 Thomas Keene
4pts. #63 Micheal DeChamplain
Chad Rall laid it down in his first
heat, came back to win the LCQ, and went on to finish 3rd in the National Championship.
Photo courtesy of KerrGraphix
Chad Rall won the Last Chance Qualifier with Alan Rush in second. Chris Hathaway
put in a good effort finishing third.
Last Chance Qualifier:
1st) #52x Chad Rall 2nd) #
119 Alan Rush 3rd) #82 Chris Hathaway
4th) #11 Jim Terchila 5th) #151 Thomas Keene 6th) #63 Michael DeChamplain
Chris Hathaway had a good night and
won the B main for the second year in a row.
Photo courtesy of KerrGraphix
Chris Hathaway made the gate in the B Main and led the entire race with Ronnie
Rall finishing second and Jim Terchila from Indiana third.
Start of the A Main - 77 Jon Massie
on the pole, to his right, #1 Dan Weicht, #41 John Debats,
#52x Chad Rall, #32 Steve Brinker and on the outside #119 Alan Rush.
Photo courtesy of David Moore
"A" Main
The current 2011Speedway Long Track
National Champion Dan Weicht (Indiana) sat on the pole prepared to defend the title. The 2007 Ohio State Long Track Champion
John Debats (Michigan) occupied gate 2. Steve Brinker (Illinios) who has been consistently making better finishes chose gate
3. Jon Massie (Ohio) settled in at gate 4 and said he liked the mid to lower part of the track for starting position. The
2007, 2008, and 2011 Speedway Long Track National runner up Chad Rall (Ohio) was in gate 5. Allan Rush from Speedway, Indiana
rolled into the outside spot. The stage was set, the players on there mark, and in a matter of 4 laps the 2012 Champion would
be proclaimed. The green light flashed and it was Weicht on the Gatewood Engineering and Race Support Jawa with the early
advantage, with Debats in close pursuit. Rall trailed in third followed by Brinker, and Massie respectively as Rush's chance
ended early with a DNF after the first lap. Debats charged hard but couldn't close the deal and Dan Weicht won the Speedway
Long Track National Championship for the second time in a row.
The 2012 Speedway Long Track National
Champion Dan Weicht ( center), runner up John Debats (right), and 3rd Chad Rall (left)
Photo courtesy
of David Moore
Can Weicht three-peet in 2013?
Mark your calendars for July 19th 2013 to see the Speedway Long Track National Championship combined with a great
night of Antique Motorcycle racing at the 31st annual AMCA Wauseon National at the Fulton County Fairgrounds next year in
Wauseon, Ohio.
Visit www.bikedays.com for current information.
Speedway Long Track National Championship
| "A" MAIN | | | | | | |
| 1 | 1 | DAN | WEICHT | NORTH WEBSTER | IN | Gatewood Engineering and Race Support | JAWA |
| 2 | 41X | JOHN | DEBATS | KAWKAWLIN | MI | God | JAWA |
| 3 | 52X | CHAD | RALL | MANSFIELD | OH | Breece H-D | JAWA |
| 4 | 32 | STEVE | BRINKER | PLAINFIELD | IL | | JAWA |
| 5 | 77 | JON | MASSIE | WOOSTER | OH | Massie Trucking & Rigging | JAWA |
| 6 | 119 | ALAN | RUSH | SPEEDWAY | IN | | JAWA |
| | | | | | | |
| "B" MAIN | | | | | | |
| 1 | 82 | CHRIS | HATHAWAY | SYRACUSE | IN | GEARS | JAWA |
| 2 | 52 | RONNIE | RALL | ENGADINE | MI | Applied Innovations | JAWA |
| 3 | 11 | JIM | TERCHILA | INDIANAPOLIS | IN | Mid America Speedway | JAWA |
| 4 | 151 | THOMAS | KEENE | CENTERVILLE | OH | Pusherman Racing | JAWA |
| 5 | 63 | MICHAEL | DE CHAMPLAIN | DETROIT | MI | Round Trip | JAWA |
