Speedway Racer Brad Pappalardo
9/9/09
I am now back in school, and my Speedway schedule is slowing down a little bit. I still have a few races left for the year and I am very pleased on how things have gone this year.
So far in first division, I won a Handicap Main, made several more, as well I have made one Scratch Main, and took Seventh place at the 2009 Under 21 Nationals. I have had quite a few rough nights ranging from bike problems to just having a bad night. I am confident that next year I will improve greatly as I think that I am really starting to figure things out and I see the changes I need to make to be making scratch mains on a weekly basis.
For the rest of the season, I still have planned- Industry Hills Track Championships, California State Championships, Western States Championships, and if I am asked to ride- Costa Mesa SRA Nationals, and the third round of the AMA Nationals.
I hope to finish off the year strong and win some more races
6/27 – Costa Mesa
After a rough night at IMS I was looking to do a lot better at Costa Mesa, but things really did not go as planned. I got a third, and two fourths. I really did feel like I was on the pace, I just could not get out of the gate like I have been.
So I had a tough week last week but I’m going to put that behind me and keep moving forward. Next week we have The Grand on Wednesday, IMS on Friday, and Ridgecrest on Saturday.
6/26 – IMS
At San Bernardino, I was expecting a tough night as I still was not even close to 100% from being sick all week, but I was still going to give it everything I had! I ended up winning my handicap heat, but things didn’t go well in my semi and I did not transfer to the main. In my scratch ride I yet again pulled the outside gate and finished third behind Jimmy Fishback and Shawn McConnell.
6/24 – The Grand
I did not race tonight as I have been really sick since Monday night.
6/20 – Costa Mesa
The Warren Russell Cup featured five man heats with scoring going (4,3,2,1,0)
In my first heat I finished fifth, in my second race I got fourth and I finished my night off with a third in my last heat. So we did better every heat which is a positive. I’m happy that I’m now First Division all the time and really ready to start mixing it up with the top guys.
6/19 – IMS
For the opening night at San Bernardino, I was stoked on how well things went. Racing was fast, stands were packed and there were just a lot of good times. It was all scratch racing. In my first race I just couldn’t make things happen and finished fourth. In my second ride, I did a lot better and finished second. In my last heat I finished third which put me on three points. There was a four way tie on three points, which was enough for the 16 rider semis, but a run-off was needed as only two of us could go through. So for the fourth time on the night I pulled the outside gate, and missed the start and finished third. Decent night learned a lot, so overall I was happy.
6/17 – The Grand
Tonight I was again put into first division and had some pretty tough races.
In my first heat I had Billy Janniro and Bobby Schwartz, some pretty stiff competition if you ask me! I made a decent start and was riding the outside and went into turn three and just slid out. In the rerun I came off the 20, I started to catch up to third but never in real contention.
In my second heat I got an excellent start but drifted wide in the corner and finished last.
In my last heat I had a killer race going with Tyson Burmeister, just as I started to pull ahead, the red flag was thrown because someone had fallen. In the rerun I got a really good start and was able to get a good lead, but in turn 3 and 4 second place ran into the back of me and I got off pretty hard. I was pretty shook up, but nothing serious. Overall it was a pretty tough night but it was seat time so that’s still good.
6/13 – Costa Mesa
Well, I got to ride first division tonight, and went in pretty nervous, and not very confident. I had one scratch ride and one handicap that I would get a chance to transfer out of.
My handicap race was first and I was off of the 10 yard line. I needed a third to make the semis. I went into the corner in first and rode a pretty steady race and finished second. It was pretty intimidating with guys behind me like Mike Faria showing me a wheel, but fun nonetheless.
My handicap semi was up after that and I need fourth to make the main. Once again I came off of the 10 and finished second again. I was really excited for making the main!
My scratch heat was up next and in the first try I actually got the start and had the race not been red flagged I might have had a chance at transferring out of it, but someone had fallen. In the rerun, I just did not get the same kind of start and finished fourth in the five man heat.
So I was left with the handicap main where three riders including myself started on the 10. I got to the first corner in second, but when the first place rider drifted wide, I tucked underneath him and rode the pole to the checkered. In my debut night in 1st Division I was able to win the handicap main, and was absolutely ecstatic. I’m so excited on how things are going this weekend, and cannot wait for the races to come.
Here is a part of Ryan Evans’ report from Costa Mesa. -
Since its first event on June 13, 1969 racers young and old at Costa Mesa Speedway have entertained legions of fans of all ages. It is only fitting that on the night that the world famous track celebrated its 40th anniversary, 52 year old living legend Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz won the Scratch Main Event and 16 year old Brad Pappalardo won the Handicap Main Event in his debut in First Division. The eight-rider Handicap Main Event began with three of Southern California’s young lions starting in front. Pappalardo, John Marquez, and Russell Green all took their place on the 10 yard line thinking that the start would be crucial to victory. Marquez led his peers to the first corner with Green in tow. Both riders went wide exiting turn two and Pappalardo, who shrewdly turned back behind his contemporaries and charged into the lead on the back straight. Green attacked the Youth National Champion on the outside, but couldn’t find enough traction to get alongside Pappalardo. The action in the middle of the field was frantic for several laps, but Pappalardo, who celebrated his 16th birthday on Thursday, showed calm beyond his years and maintained his steady inside line. Jason Ramirez emerged from the mid-pack chaos to get into second but the leader was long gone. Pappalardo was first to the checkered flag, Ramirez finished second, Green was third, Randy DiFrancesco finished fourth, Eddie Castro was fifth, and Mike “Spiderman” Bloom finished sixth. Schwartz was probably more excited by Pappalardo’s victory than his own. Schwartz has been a mentor to Pappalardo as well as Pappalardo’s uncle, 1997 World Champion Greg Hancock, and their families have maintained a close-knit friendship for many years
I would also like to thank MotoZania MotoZania for helping me out. I encourage you all to check out their website and start a profile!
Ill talk to you all soon, and look forward to seeing you at the races!
Brad Pappalardo
#145
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