2024 Junior Kurtz Memorial Cup Speedway Results

| 20 August 2024

The seventh annual Junior Kurtz Memorial Cup, held August 14 in the Grand Arena at the Industry Hills Expo Center in Industry, California, was full of surprises.

By Richard T. Haight

The evening began with a “Last Man Out” heat, where the starting gate goes up and the last rider to cross the finish line after one lap is eliminated. After two heats of one lap each, the last two riders compete in a two-round battle for all the money. This unusual event was reinstated on Wednesday night, with both the organizer and the fans contributing additional money, 100 percent of which went to the winner. Almost $1,000 was in the pot.

2024 Junior Kurtz Memorial Cup Speedway Results — **Max Ruml (1) and Broc Nicol battle at the Industry Speedway. In the end, it was Nicol’s night. Photo: Chuck Null**

Although “Mad Max” Ruml was virtually unbeatable this season, nothing lasts forever. Ruml managed to avoid elimination in the first two one-lap races, but was unable to overtake Broc Nicol to save his life. Nicol took home a handful of crumpled $10, $20 and $50 coins, much to the delight of the crowd.

After working his way through the heats, Ruml reached the main event with a near-perfect score. Nicol, Slater Lightcap and Aaron Fox were all tied at exactly one point behind.

Both Nicol and Ruml got off to a great start. The leaders swapped places several times each lap, never more than a few centimeters apart. Both tried different ways to block or hold the lead. But at the finish line, it was Nicol who beat Ruml by 15 centimeters, if that.

The rest of the evening was just as exciting, from the PeeWees to the Sidecars, the latter being the last of the main events. With double the displacement and double the number of riders, national champions Jones and Summers narrowly beat the Ovrid/Ovrid team, with the Smylie/Kinner team taking the final spot on the podium.