Ricky Wells, who won the final main event of the regular season by inches Wednesday night (Sept. 10), came within inches of winning the Industry Speedway championship as well.

Veteran Shawn McConnell, 49, of Brea, accumulated the most points during the 19-race season and he needed all of them to withstand a late charge by Wells, who won six of the final nine races at the best Speedway Motorcycle venue in the U.S.

That venue, in The Grand arena at the Industry Hills Expo Center, will host the 33rd running of the AMA Speedway California State Championships at 7 p.m. Sept. 17. The event, in which both points leaders are expected to compete, will have a purse in excess of $7,000, the largest in State Championship history

McConnell’s margin of victory in a title race that was closer than anyone realized was 2 points. The stuntman from Brea, who finished fourth in Wednesday’s main event, had 1,266 points to 1,264 for Wells, and had McConnell finished fifth (last) in the 4-lap main Wells would have been the champion by that same 2-point margin.

Wells, 17, the two-time and reigning U.S. Under 21 champion, scored 80 of a maximum 83 points Wednesday night – 6 of a possible 9 in his three heat races (where points are awarded on a 3-2-1-0 basis), 16 for winning the first semifinal (in which McConnell was second) and 58 for edging Mike Faria in the main event. McConnell accumulated 67 points during the evening – 7 in the heats, 14 for the semifinal and 46 in the main event. 

McConnell, the only rider to qualify for every main event during the season, posted his only victory on Sept. 3.

The unexpected closeness of the final standings was due to the formula used by the International Motorcycle Federation (FIM) to compensate Wells for his participation in two international events. The Yorba Linda resident missed five races at Industry Speedway and was able to get credit for two of them by taking his points average for the three nights immediately adjacent to the ones he missed. Ryan Evans of Speedwaybikes.com, who compiles the points for the speedway, said Wells would have finished second regardless, but the addition of 138 points (69 for each missed race) created the virtual deadlock.

Charlie Venegas of San Bernardino, who led all riders with nine main event wins, finished third in the points and was followed by Buck Blair of Huntington Beach, who missed the final five races due to a broken left collarbone, and second-generation rider Jimmy Fishback, of Rancho Cucamonga.

Three-time winner Bryan Buffington, of Orange, was the champion in the Second Division, for intermediate-level riders, and four-time winner Tim McGrath, of San Gabriel, took the title in the Third Division, for novice riders.

In those classes, points are awarded in the main events only, on a 15-12-10-8-6-4 basis.

Rudy Laurer, of Gardena, and Allen Doss, of Riverside, shared the Second Division lead in wins with four apiece. McGrath’s four wins were tops in the Third Division.