American Speedway
American Speedway: Action Park and Champion Speedway to host US Open National Speedway Championships July 26 and 27.
By Admin
Jul 16, 2008, 00:06

One of the most prestigious events in North America for speedway motorcycle racing, The US Open National Championships, is set to come to local tracks, Action Park in Greene, NY  and Champion Speedway in Owego, NY on July 26th and 27th.

The US Open originated at Champion Speedway back in 1976 and quickly became one of the premier events on the professional speedway motorcycle racing calendar, drawing thousands of spectators and in the early 80's it actually paid out a higher purse than the AMA sanctioned US National Championships. In the late 70's and early 80's the event always ran as a two-day race at Champion with one day of qualifying and the second day serving as the finals.

The championship became very popular with local fans as they got to see top International and West Coast Stars take on the best racers from local track, on the locals home turf! In 1982, a record crowd of 5,000 spectators jammed into the legendary 1/8 mile dirt oval in Owego to watch reigning World Champion and at the time, just turned Hollywood actor, Bruce Penhall race at Champion for the Open. The purse for the riders neared $18,000.00 in those years and it attracted riders like Penhall and 7-time US National Champion, Mike Bast, of California.

Local racers always gave a strong account of themselves and earned the respect of riders like Bast, who at the time said...it was the hardest race he had competed in! The US Open races of that era put New York Speedway Motorcycle racing on the map and helped take the tiny little oval at Champion Speedway to legendary status. Crowds were huge, rowdy and showed their adoration for their home by hanging banners all over the facility, wearing t-shirts of them and by chanting for them during the racing. Many people traveled from quite a distance from other states to Champion to witness the action. The place nearly erupted in 1978 when Norm Robinson of Rochester defeated a tough field of 8 Californians to take home the title!

Champion Speedway encountered ownership troubles in the mid 80's and had to close for several years. With it's closure, Action Park East in Greene, NY, another upstart Speedway racing track that was getting large crowds as well, took over the running of the US Open until 1989 when it closed its doors.

Around this time Champion Speedway re-opened for a couple years until 1993 and tried running several Championships but it did not have the financial backing to lure top name stars to make the race what it once was. Champion closed for a second time in 93 and did not host racing again until 1997 when professional hockey player, Jason Bonsignore, of Rochester took over. Bonsignore brought back the first real US Open in nearly ten years in 1998 when he flew in 5 big name West Coast racers and paid a large purse.

The event started to become a big success again, in 2000 the crowd at Champion had risen to over 1,200 again, and Champion Speedway has changed it to involve other tracks the past few years, including Action Park East, which Bonsignore also renovated and got going again.

This years Championship series will include 3 tracks, Batavia Motor Speedway in Batavia, NY on July 25, Action Park in Greene on July 26 and the finale at Champion on July 27. Crowds and rider turnout at Action Park and Champion are at their highest point in five years and the sport is becoming the talk of the town again all of the sudden. Three weeks ago at Champion, there were exactly 70 entries and the crowd was so large that the concession stand ran out of food by halftime. Bonsignore has three International stars on the program.

The defending and two-time Champion, Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell, of Brea, California is back. McConnell rode in the World Class British League in England for years and now rides at home in California and is a Hollywood stunt-man having been in such notable movies as Terminator Three. Joining McConnell on the visitors list is Phil Collins of England who has reached the World Individual Championship Final on several occasions and has been a multi-time member of Team England in World Competition. His older brother, Peter, was 1976 World Champion. Last but not least in 24 year old, Shaun Harmatiuk of Garden Grove, California, who just served on Team USA in the World Cup during a stint in Britain.

Local fans will have a lot to cheer about as Bonsignore has talked several local legends out of retirement to make for an incredible show for the fans...leading the way are 6-time NY State Champion, Warren Diem, who now resides in PA, and super brother act, multi-time local champions, Tuff and Lenny McBride of Windsor. A  strong local contingent of up and coming riders may also give the visitors a run for their money. Included in this group would be Adam Mittl of Endicott, Mikey Buman of Binghamton and Casey Donholt of Port Crane who have all won features so far this year. The Canadian National Champion, Aaron Hesmer of Brantford, Ontario has also signed on to participate.

Speedway motorcycles have absolutely no brakes, go from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds and slide totally sideways through the turns. They run on methanol and the sport attracts crowds of 20,00 plus for weekly meetings in Europe. There are only several pockets of speedway in the US and New York is recognized as one of the best, second only to California.

The Speedway action gets underway at 7pm on the 27th at Action Park, which is just off Rt 12 at Airport Rd in Greene and at 6pm on the 27th at Champion which is on East River Drive at the end of RT 434 in Owego. ATV and Support Class racing will start one hour prior at both venues. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids ages 6 to 12 for this special event, however if you attend both local tracks discounts will be offered with the purchase of your tickets at Action Park.

Monday the 28 will serve as a rain-date at either venue should one get rained off. This years event at Champion will be called the John F. Stalma Memoria, dedicated to the memory of the former track worker and Owego resident who passed last year of cancer.