The 2021 New York State Speedway Championships were contested over two rounds and named in honor of Danny “Moonbeam” Fallon, a larger than life character who graced East Coast Speedway as a rider, announcer, friend, coach and ambassador for 40 years before passing away of lung transplant complications two years ago.
Round One was on Aug. 20 at Action Park East and “Sideway” Spencer Portararo dominated the evening, sweeping every event including a special Handicap Main the riders ran at the end for the crowd. Portararo rode his Justice Bros / Tanks Auto / Harman Boyz / Scotts Headers / Walter Earth Co / Sammy Tanner Arai sponsored GM to perfection. His teammate, Len McBride, would follow him home to second in the Scratch Main, with Jesse Diem 3rd and Alex “Hazard” Heat 4th.
Round Two was at Champion Speedway the next night, and the race track was soft and challenging from the previous night’s hard rain. The track was scraped twice and the poles moved out considerably and the riders put on a good show.
Pictured, from left, are Spencer Portararo, Len McBride, Brian Hollenbeck, and Jason Bonsignore. Photo credit: Jessica Warke.
McBride was a favorite as he won all his heats and looked to be the fastest guy using a 22-inch rear wheel. Portarao was still fast, but had to change to a borrowed bike towards the end and was a bit slower. Brian Hollenbeck and Mike Cortese also got transfers out of the semifinals to make a nice feature lineup.
The tapes were a bit fast to go up in the Main and McBride was not ready and got caught out. Hollenbeck made a great start and Portararo was in pursuit but just could not quite catch the smooth running Hollenbeck as he sped away to the Scratch Main Event victory. It was a great win for him as he was coming back off a serious leg injury last season. He showed a lot of character to battle back to the top of his game/
With a 1st and a 2nd overall, Portararo would be named NYS Champion. McBride ended up 2nd overall.
The East Coast now prepares itself to host, for the first time ever, The AMA Speedway National Championship Series on Sept. 4 at Action Park East in Greene and on Sept. 5 at Champion Speedway.
Danny “Moonbeam” Fallon NYS Championship RD 2 Results; 1 -Brian Hollenbeck, 2 – Spencer Portararo, 3 – Len McBride, 4 – Mike Cortese JR.
D-2; 1 – Jerry Harman Jr., 1 – Levi Harris, 3 – Dana Marsh, 4 – Neil Miller.
D-3; 1 – Scott Vargo, 2 – Zachary Ostrander, 3 – Alexis Pearl Heath, 4 – Ray Schweiger.
DNS; in JR, 1 – Joel Farwell, 2 – Cody Pierce, 3 – Dalton Marsh, 4 – Gracie Bailey. In Trikes, 1 – Paulie Crambo, 2 – Daniel Henninger, 3 – Jordan Taft, 4 – Aaron Vogle. Dirt bikes tallied at 1 – Jenson Pierce, 2 – Bentley Wilkes. Jantzen Harman competed in electric.
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