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VOLUME 57 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 11, 2020 P113 out during the long 40-minute motos. Yamaha's Pierre Karsmak- ers continued his domination that season, scoring the 500cc National victory with a 1-2, in spite of riding with broken ribs. Also that day, Tim Hart scored his first 250cc national win. There was no national at the track in '74, but it hosted what was an even more significant event at that time, in the form of a Trans-Am race that fall. It was MX legend Roger DeCoster taking the victory on his factory Suzuki in a total mud bath. The area endured 15 straight days of rain leading up to race day. Promotor Harvey Evans even damned a creek that ran through the property to divert water away from the track. It was so bad, Evans considered canceling, but another Trans-Am near St. Louis had been canceled earlier, and Evans knew it would be terrible for the series to have two cancel- ations in a row, so he made the best out of a bad situation. As a reward for his efforts, Lake Whitney hosted both an AMA National and Trans-Am in '75. Stephen Schneider remem- bers the epic 1975 AMA 250cc National: "Tony DiStefano and Kent Howerton in the deciding round of the 250 champion- ship. Kent with a home-state advantage and a mathematical chance to win. Tony D. broke a rear shock or shock mount in the second moto yet managed to fin- ish high enough to seal the deal. Freestone-type summer weather in the manly days of 40-minute- plus-two-lap motos." Tony D. kept his Texas mo- mentum going and came back to Lake Whitney in November of that year to become just the fourth American to win a Trans- Am, beating out fellow Suzuki riders Roger DeCoster and Gerrit Wolsink in the process. After a year away, the AMA 500cc MX Nationals returned in 1977 and talk about hot, try 110 degrees! Riders and fans took to the river in droves between mo- tos to cool down. The oppressive conditions presented the perfect opportunity for Texas riders, who were accustomed to racing in the heat. And that's just what hap- pened. Texan Steve Stackable, with the lower front half of his jer- sey cutaway for ventilation, raced his Maico 400AW to a 1-1 victory, becoming the first home-state rider to win a national at Lake Whitney. He was followed home in second by fellow Texan Kent Howerton on a 390 Husky. In '78, Marty Tripes put an end to Bob Hannah's long unbeaten streak in the first moto of the Lake Whitney 250cc National. As the two gated side by side for the second moto, Tripes looked at Hannah and said, "Do you realize that's my first national moto win in five years!?" Hannah shot right back, "And it's your last!" Hannah went on to win the second moto and the overall. Suzuki's Danny LaPorte took the 500cc National win that day, the opening round of that series. History was made that fall at the track when Bob Hannah clinched the Trans-AMA Series with his 7-1, third overall, becom- ing the first American ever to win the prestigious title. Rex Staten won the race on a works Yamaha OW-39 over England's Graham Noyce on a Honda RC-450. It would mark the final time the Trans-Am would run at Lake Whit- ney. Just as well, as the series was rebranded as Trans-USA and rapidly fell in importance. It was in that '78 Trans-Am where Chuck Sun suffered the worst crash of his career there. He explained in an interview with Shawn McDonald: "There is a tree named after me at Lake Whitney. I think some of my skin is still hanging off the limbs. NATIONALS AT LAKE WHITNEY Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives