Motor sports: Motorcycle’s elite vie for national title

COSTA MESA - A 20-man field, including the holders of nine United

States National Championships, will lead the battle for the Coors Light

U.S. National Speedway Championship title at the Costa Mesa Speedway on

the Orange County Fairgrounds venue tonight.

Costa Mesa’s Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz and Scott Brant will be among

the competitors that will contend for the title at the track on the

Orange County Fairgrounds, as the racing action begins at 7:30 p.m.

Schwartz, 45, is a former National and World Champion, while Brant is

looking to overcome past bad luck at the Costa Mesa Speedway. The

32-year-old Brant has recently come out of retirement that had him away

from racing for the past five years.

Brad Oxley, the 1999 national champion, who also won in 1987, looks to

create the high-intense mystique of the event. Josh Larsen, the 2000 U.S.

Open champion, has placed himself ahead of the field, compiling the most

points throughout the year (502), followed by Gary Hicks (497) and Chris

Manchester (476).

Unlike past national championships, this year’s event features 20 heat

races which will push the top 10 racers of the evening into two five-man,

four-lap semifinals. Then, the top two finishers from each semifinal will

advance into the title’s final event. Second- and third-place finishers

from each semifinal move on to the “Last Chance,” where competitors will

face their last opportunity to qualify for the final. Only the top four

scores out of each semifinal and the winner of the “Last Chance” will

compete in a winner-take-all, four-lap war to settle the championship.

Overall, 24 heats of Championship Speedway Motorcycle Racing will

unfold in just over two hours.

Tickets can be ordered from the Costa Mesa Speedway office, (949)

492-9933. General admission for adults is $17, children 6-12 is $8 and

5-and-under are free.