American Speedway Final : Ermolenko Outruns Kelly Moran for Victory

Imagine how surprised speedway motorcyclist Sam Ermolenko was when he came across the finish line in Long Beach Veterans Stadium Saturday night with what he thought was a victory, only to see starter Jerry King wave the white, not the checkered, flag.

Ermolenko thought he had won the race on the quarter-mile track, a victory that would give him 19 points and the overall victory of the Nissan American Final in front of an estimated 8,000 fans.

Did Ermolenko lose count of the the four-lap race and prematurely celebrate a victory? Or did King simply wave the wrong flag?

Fortunately for Ermolenko, it was King who lost count. Ermolenko scored 19 out of a possible 20 points to win the first qualifying round that leads to the world championship of speedway. Kelly Moran was second with 18 points, and there was a five-man runoff for the remaining three qualifying berths.

Rick Miller, Mike Faria, Robert Pfetzing, John Cook and Lance King all finished with 15 points after five races. An extra four-lap runoff was held to see who would advance to the next round in Bradford, Great Britain, July 5.

Cook won the runoff, with Faria making a late charge to finish second, and Pfetzing was third. Miller was a distant fourth, and King fell on the first lap and failed to finish.

That means that three Southern California riders--Cook, Faria and Pfetzing--will be in the field for the Overseas Final July 5, a surprising turn of events in a race that is generally dominated by Americans who ride overseas in the British Speedway League.

Three of the favorites--Shawn Moran, Bobby Schwartz and King--failed to advance. Another, Miller, will be the reserve rider for the next qualifier for the second straight year.

The race was delayed 45 minutes because of a power failure that left the stadium without lights. Once Southern California Edison officials restored the power, there were a series of upsets in the first half that continued through the chilly evening.

Schwartz blew an engine while in the lead of his first heat race and failed to score a point. He never recovered. Pfetzing took advantage of Schwartz’s misfortune, gaining an upset victory that he used to move into a three-way tie for the lead at halftime.

Pfetzing, Ermolenko and Kelly Moran were all tied with 11 points after three rounds of riding. Moran’s only loss in the first half was to his younger brother, Shawn, who needed a win in the race to remain in contention for one of the five qualifying spots.

Shawn fell in his second heat race while going handlebar-to-handlebar with Ermolenko on the second turn of the first lap. He was forced to scramble for every point he could get the remainder of the program.

It was obvious that Moran was in jeopardy of failing to qualify when he finished second to Faria in his fourth race. He finished with 14 points.

Schwartz’s backup bike was noticeably underpowered when he took the track for this third ride. The defending U.S. champion finished third in the race, well behind Ermolenko and Faria, and totaled only 12 points for the night.

The race included two Canadian riders, Gary Ford and John Kehoe, for the first time, and both riders were out of their league. Kehoe scored just two points and Ford only one.