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AMA: Hamill shakes off heavy crash, wins AMA Speedway National

10 September 1999

           PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- Former World Speedway Champion Billy Hamill added the

American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) National Speedway Championship to his

lengthy list of accomplishments, taking the title in gutsy style Sept. 3 at the

Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, Calif.

     Although he is more accustomed to 400-meter European tracks, Hamill tamed

the short and tight Fast Fridays oval by scoring 12 of a possible 15 points

during regulation heats to comfortably qualify for the four-rider main event.

     Hamill was then nearly forced to sit out the four-rider championship final

race after crashing at the start and being unavoidably hit by his teammate Greg

Hancock. Multi-time AMA National Champion Mike Faria also ended up on the

ground, and with only Fast Fridays Track Champion Charlie Venegas still on two

wheels, the red flag waved for a restart.

     Hamill injured his thumb and wrist -- injuries that threaten the balance of

his 1999 international racing schedule -- but he gamely remounted for the

restart. With his own bike damaged, Hancock, borrowed a bike from Josh Larsen,

whose evening had ended with a third-place semifinal finish.

     Hamill, who won the 1996 World Speedway Championship and teamed with 1997

World Champion Hancock to win the 1998 World Team Speedway title, left nothing

to chance on the restart. He came out of the gate beautifully, led into the

first corner and never relinquished the lead, while Venegas held off Faria for

second, and defending champion Hancock struggled to fourth on his unfamiliar

machine.

     "The AMA championship is one that has gotten away from me until now,"

Hamill said in victory circle. "I m thankful for the opportunity to race here,

and it's just fantastic to win."

     Hamill, Hancock and Larsen had made special trips home from Europe to

compete, and Hamill faced a 5 a.m. wake-up call to fly back to Europe for an

engagement in Poland.

     Race runner-up Venegas, one of the most successful riders at Fast Fridays

in recent seasons, was down but not out.

     "Speedway is in my heart, it's in my blood, and I thought I could pull it

off," he said, "so my hat's off to Billy. But I'll be back."

     Finishing third was a disappointment for Faria, a cagey veteran of 42 who

was gunning for a career fourth AMA Speedway Championship.

     Faria looked unbeatable early in the evening, winning his first four

qualifying heats before stumbling to third in his final qualifier. Nevertheless,

his 13 qualifying points put him on the pole for the decisive final event, ahead

of Hamill (12 points), Venegas (11) and Hancock (10), with Hancock in the field

by virtue of a desperation pass on former champ Bobby Schwartz to win the

semifinal event.

     The AMA National Speedway Championship is one of the sport's most

venerable, dating back to 1932, when Miny Wain won the inaugural. The American

speedway scene has produced five World Speedway Champions: Jack Milne (1937),

Bruce Penhall (1981 and '82), Sam Ermolenko (1993), Hamill (1996) and Hancock

(1997).

     The 1999 AMA Speedway National was contested before an enthusiastic

near-sellout crowd and concluded a successful season of AMA-sanctioned speedway

racing in Auburn, Calif., under the direction of promoters Dave and Mark Joiner.

The 2000 season at Fast Fridays is set to begin the first weekend of May.

 

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