Ermolenko Wins Speedway’s American Final

Speedway motorcyclist Sam Ermolenko of Cypress was perfect Saturday night, winning all five of his heat races to win the Nissan American Final in front of 8,204 fans in Long Beach Veterans Stadium.

Ermolenko, 27, made the field look like a group of second-division riders and won the event for the second consecutive year with 20 points. He capped a brilliant night of riding by coming from behind to defeat Bobby Schwartz and Rick Miller in his last heat race.

Ermolenko has finished third in the world championship in two of the past three years and once again appears to be the best bet to represent the United States in the World Final on Sept. 3 in Vojens, Denmark.

Ermolenko also earned an automatic seeding into the U.S. Championship--Oct. 8 in Costa Mesa--with the victory. Miller and Robert Pfetzing tied for second with 17 points and were pitted in a four-lap runoff to break the tie.

Pfetzing won a coin flip and elected to start on the outside of the quarter-mile track. Miller momentarily took the lead on the first lap, but Pfetzing took the lead on the second lap and won the runoff to finish second, with Miller third.

Mike Faria finished fourth with 15 points, and Schwartz was fifth with 14 points. The top five finishers advance to the Overseas Final on July 10 in Coventry, England.

Favorites Shawn and Kelly Moran of Huntington Beach failed to advance when they did not finish in their last heat races. Shawn fell on the second lap while dicing with Pfetzing, and Kelly’s bike lost a primary chain while he was leading his race. Shawn Moran will be the American reserve at Coventry.

Ermolenko was the only rider with a perfect score at halftime. He won his first heat race easily and then beat Miller in his second race.

But Ermolenko nearly brushed the fence in his third race, recovering in time to hold off Ronnie Correy and Faria for another victory. Ermolenko had recorded the fastest lap time of 17.40 in a practice session on Wednesday and he was easily the fastest rider on race night.

Correy, a 19-year-old from Fullerton, was the hard-luck rider of the field. Correy appeared to have a berth clinched with 12 points after four races, but his bike had engine problems in his last ride and he failed to score a point.

The most exciting race of the first half pitted Schwartz, Shawn Moran and Lance King in the final heat before intermission. King thrilled the crowd when he passed Schwartz on the first lap, but his bike experienced engine failure midway through the four-lap race, and he failed to score a point.

Schwartz diced with Shawn Moran for two laps and then took the checkered flag, finishing ahead of Moran by half a bike length. Schwartz needed two victories in a row to make up for a disappointing fourth-place finish in his first race.

Alan Christian, the U.S. champion in 1985, retired after two races when his bike had engine problems and was replaced by reserve Scotty Brown.