Story and Photos by Karen Gould/Checkered Flag Photography
VENTURA, CA, JULY 21, 2018
A gorgeous venue right across the street from the ocean; a well-prepared real cushion track; grandstand seating for hundreds of spectators; and promoters with heart – these are the ingredients that came together to make up the fourth annual A.J. Herrera Memorial Race.
A.J. Herrera (Anthony Justin Herrera) was an avid and passionate man in the flat-track community. A.J. was well liked and is remembered fondly by many. He loved to ride, and he loved helping others, sponsoring them with rides and encouraging them in every way. A.J. passed away in 2013 after years of treatment for CTE from the many concussions he sustained racing.
Gail Waller and her team of assistants have put together an awesome event each of the last four years to honor A.J. and his family. Gail works tirelessly, getting sponsorship, awards and volunteers to create an event that is now well known as “the place to be” each year to honor A.J. More than 260 riders found their way to Ventura to participate in this spectacular happening.
Many thanks go to Rod Lake, Terry Otton, Art Carter, Motion Pro, Barnett Clutches and Cables, Tony Dodge, Cal Coast Motorsports, Kawasaki of Simi Valley, and so many more that sponsored the event, as well as those who participated in program advertising. A very special thank-you goes to Sammy “The Flea” Tanner, the event’s grand marshal, and to Rod Lake and Eddie Mulder, who were very special guests.
The program included classes from 65cc to 750cc, Vintage, Twins, Speedway, Sidecars and more.
Legends including Sammy Tanner, “Fast Eddie” Castro, Eddie Mulder and lots of others gathered on the track during the opening ceremonies and were introduced one by one. Kimmie Gould sang the national anthem as A.J.’s parents, Debbie and Tony, looked on.
Heat races began shortly after with the youngest riders. The main events for the youngest riders and the Pit Bike classes followed the heat races. The competition was fierce in all three Pit Bike classes.
The 125cc and Under Pit Bike class included 38 entries, and there were two heat races and a semi to get the 14 riders for the A and B main events.
Lars Linderstrom got the holeshot in the main, but Tyler Masters got by him on lap five and held the lead to the checkers, in front of Linderstrom.
Kiley McKee took the B main home.
Rod Lake led the 100-150cc Pit Bike class to the checkered flag, in front of Bobby Tocco and Dave Milled.
Colton Shafer won the 65cc class, with Travis Horn and Kage Tadman following.
Dominic DeMario took the 85cc class home, followed by Horn and Tadman. DeMario garnered the 85cc championship in the AMA Amateur Nationals earlier this year.
Announcer Chris Ackerman entertained the crowd during the break with a raffle and some fun trivia.
Racing began again with the Brakeless riders aboard some classic vintage bikes. Tom Horton took the pack to the checkers.
Next up was the Vet Over 50 class, with 16 riders on the grid. Mike Vital, Scott Reed and John Lundgren started and finished this one in first, second and third, respectively.
Jermaine Bacosa showed the Vet Over 35 class the fast way around the track, followed by James Davis and Scott Stearns.
Tom Horton was back on the podium in the 250-350cc Vintage class. He was flanked by runner-up Peter Ryan and third-place finisher David Ehrhart.
Grant Holmes and Travis Petton IV were both riding with number-one plates. Holmes was another AMA Amateur National winner this year, and on this night he won the 450cc class. Petton was second, followed by Dominic Diaz.
In the 250cc Junior class, however, it was Petton on top of the podium, with Holmes in second. Diaz took third once again. Petton and Holmes are great friends off the track and evenly skilled riders on the track.
Steffan Nielsen has taken his Bultacos and the Running of the Buls class to several venues this year. Ventura was round three of this series-within-other-series. Nielsen not only brings his bikes, he also brings the cash – up to $1,500 – for the riders. Andrew Luker got the holeshot and never looked back, leading Rod Spencer and Michael Inderbitzen to the finish.
“Fontana Radiator Jeff” Johnson led the 500cc Vintage class to victory.
The A.J. Herrera Memorial money race included some of the local AMA Pro riders: Andrew Luker, Michael Inderbitzen, John Vanderlaan, Stevie Bonsey, and lots of others. The nation’s top names were missing this year; Jeffrey Carver Jr., Mikey Rush, Kayl Kolkman, Brad Baker and others were riding in the X Games.
The racing was fast and competitive throughout the four heat races and the semi. Heat-race winners included the only lady competitor, Julia Hess, as well as Hunter Brooks, Andrew Luker and Michael Inderbitzen.
The semi included 14 riders, two of whom would make the main event. Austin Helwig got the holeshot, followed by Blake Thompson and Curtis Peebles. Riders changed positions behind them with each completed lap. By lap six, John Vanderlaan had worked his way through the pack from the fifth position, twisting the throttle and threading the needle to lead the pack. Helwig remained in the second spot, and Jeff Johnson finished just out of reach of the main.
Of the original 30 riders in the class, 14 made the main event. The front row of the main included Hess, Brooks, Charlie Vanderlaan, Luker, Bonsey and Colt Foster. On row two were James Ott, Chris McDougal, Clayton Williams, Michael Inderbitzen and Beau Thompson.
When the green flag flew, Bonsey got the holeshot, but Luker was in the lead by the end of lap one. Charlie Vanderlaan took over the third spot on lap four, with Inderbitzen going wide; Inderbitzen slid back to fifth. Helwig lost a wheel on lap five.
Charlie Vanderlaan continued to pursue Bonsey. Luker put dirt between himself and Bonsey, while Inderbitzen got back into it, taking over second for a minute but then losing his position again and sliding back to fourth. The top three – Luker, Bonsey and Charlie Vanderlaan – rode the remaining five laps in front of the rest of the pack to the checkered flag.
The event also included three classes of speedway riders and a sidecar event. In Division One, “Fast Eddie” Castro was not to be beat!
Also included was the number-42 race. Every rider, including Fast Eddie, rode with the numebr-42 plate to honor A.J. Herrera – number 42.
Ventura Raceway
Ventura, California
Results: July 21, 2018
Flat Track
0-65: 1. Colton Shafer; 2. Travis Horn; 3 Kage Tadman.
85: 1. Dominic DeMario; 2. Travis Horn; 3. Kage Tadman; 4. Sage Schneider; 5. Collin Petton; 6. Riley Drickersen; 7. Isabella Mitchell.
100-150 PIT BIKES: 1. Rod Lake; 2. Bobby Tocco; 3. Dave Milled; 4. Andre Souisa; 5. Adam Grabau; 6. Brad Russell; 7. Andy Ellis; 8. Scott Stearns; 9. Michael Schmitt; 10. Carl Yokoi.
0-125 PIT BIKES: 1. Tyler Masters; 2. Lars Linderstrom; 3. Adam Grabau; 4. Scott Stearns; 5. Howdy Grabau; 6. Jeff Apple; 7. Brandon Weisz; 8. Michael Schmitt; 9. Joey Maxvill; 10. Benny Landry; 11. Lewis Bosson; 12. Conrad Collison.
BRAKELESS: 1. Craig Petton; 2. Tom Horton; 3. Chris Rudy; 4. Joseph Pape; 5. Steve Ferguson; 6. Alan Shaw; 7. Scott Kitchen; 8. Joy Lewis; 9. Jeff Apple.
OPEN VET (35+): 1. Scott Stearns; 2. James Davis; 3. Jermaine Bacosa; 4. Bryan Berna; 5. Jimmy McAllister; 6. Robert Bacosa Jr.
OPEN VET (50+): 1. Mike Vital; 2. Scott Reed; 3. John Lundgren; 4. James Davis; 5. Anthony Urias; 6. Jeff Apple; 7. Jim Bandelin; 8. Darin Dwyer; 9. Travis Ward; 10. Brian Harmon; 11. Greg Powell; 12. Matt Peternel; 13. Ken Hale; 14. Mike Pitschner.
ROD LAKE’S VINTAGE 0-125: 1. Rod Lake; 2. Bobby Tocco; 3. Dave Milled; 4. Dante D’Ambruoso; 5. Matt Stoutenburg; 6. Joy Lewis.
250-350 VINTAGE: 1. Tom Horton; 2. Peter Ryan; 3. David Ehrhart; Brad Russell; 5. Tim Niles; 6. Gary Swan.
250 JR: 1. Travis Petton IV; 2. Grant Holmes; 3. Dominic Diaz; 4. Jake Mitchell; 5. Jonathan Schafer; 6. Blake Ash; 7. Brandon Engebretsen; 8. Bryson Berma; 9. Frankie Munchan.
450 AM: 1. Grant Holmes; 2. Travis Petton IV; 3. Dominic Diaz; 4. Bobby Frankenberger; 5. Bryan Berna; 6. John Lyles; 7. Kiley McKee; 8. Cole Pattee; 9. Matthew Ott; 10. Joey Maxvill; 11. Jake Mitchell; 12. Johnny White.
500: 1. Jeff Johnson; 2. Travis Petton IV; 3. Brandon Watters; 4. Steve Ferguson; 5. Tom Horton; 6. Scott Stearns; 7. David Clark; 8. Tim Niles; 9. John Rudder.
750 VINTAGE: 1. Brandon Watters; 2. Chad Cavalli; 3. Tom Horton; 4. Jim Ottele; 5. John Lundgren; 6. Scott Toepfer; 7. Mike Boal; 8. Bill Kee; 9. John Rudder; 10. Charles Caspary.
RUNNING OF THE BULS: 1. Andrew Luker; 2. Rod Spencer; 3. Michael Inderbitzen; 4. Brian Berna.
PRO MODERN OPEN: 1. Andrew Luker; 2. Stevie Bonsey; 3. Charlie Vanderlaan; 4. Michael Inderbitzen; 5. John Vanderlaan; 6. Beau Thompson; 7. James Ott; 8. Colt Foster; 9. Hunter Brooks; 10. Austin Helwig; 11. Julia Hess; 12. Chris McDougal.
TWINS: 1. Jordan Graham; 2. Damon Coca.
Speedway
DIVISION 1: 1. Eddie Castro; 2. Doug Nicol; 3. Robbie Sauer; 4. Jon Stasiefski.
SUPPORT: 1. Mike Lane; 2. Hayley Perrault; 3. Mike Miller; 4. Ron Davis.
VINTAGE: 1. Chris Mistretta; 2. Dan Waller; 3. Malcolm Roe; 4. Bob Waller; 5. Brian Richlitzer.
SIDECARS: 1. Joe Jones/ Tom Summers; 2. Robert Curry/ Lori Curry; 3. Dillon Osborne/ Ashley Gibbons; 4. James (Smylie) Kinne/ Josh Bustro.