American Speedway Final : Ermolenko Doesn’t Lose Count and Advances to Next Round

Imagine how surprised speedway motorcyclist Sam Ermolenko was when he wheelied across the finish line at Long Beach Veterans Stadium Saturday night with what he thought was a victory in his last heat race, only to see starter Jerry King wave the white flag.

Ermolenko thought he had won the race on the quarter-mile track, giving him 19 points and the overall victory in the Nissan American Final in front of an estimated crowd of 8,000.

Did Ermolenko lose count of the four-lap race and prematurely celebrate? Or did King simply wave the wrong flag?

Fortunately for Ermolenko, it was King who lost count. Ermolenko scored 19 out of a possible 20 points to win the first qualifying round that leads to the world championship of speedway. Kelly Moran was second with 18 points, and there was a five-man runoff for the remaining three qualifying berths.

Rick Miler, Mike Faria, Robert Pfetzing, John Cook and Lance King all finished with 15 points after five rides, and a four-lap runoff was called to see who would advance to the next round in Bradford, England, on July 5.

John Cook won the runoff with Faria making a late charge to finish second with Pfetzing third. Miller was a distant fourth, and King fell on the first lap and failed to finish.

That meant that three Southern California riders--Cook, Faria and Pfetzing--will be in the field for the Overseas Final on July 5, a surprising turn of events in a race that is generally dominated by Americans who ride overseas in the British Speedway League.

Three of the favorites--Shawn Moran, Bobby Schwartz and King--failed to advance.