Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125513
..; :.,. .... '" ,' 0 flash lrom Utah, lot Chris Draay.r, II· but stlllllnlsh.d third boU.d down by tralfl~ determined rldln&because 01 fI.rc. an '~iiI --,nd had never ridden at Tulare • "Iyln& time a BODY can beat him. retatlvely slOW qUi ..... MarUI turM d In a tIM chips are dOWn. NO A\til0_' d that . .n .... 10", he prove San DI.&an, ..., Lacher, Iound some extra stamina lor Tulare and held oil p.rslstent cha"enps lor second by Chris Draa,.r. Bart Markel, the wiry fencebuster from Flint, Mich., clamped his left hand to the fork stanchion, rested his chin on the gas tank, and smiled from ear to ear as he tucked ill and headed down the straightaway to capture the 5-Mile National Championship, held at Tulare last weekend. Emerging several seconds later from clouds of pulverized earth thrown high into the air by MarkePs machine were Mel Lacher and ChrIS Draayer, who crossed the finish line in that order to secure the top three places for the rumbling flatheads from Milwaukee. It was the second straight National sweep for HarleyDavidson this year. The machines hardly had time to reach operating temperature before the flag fell, signalling ~he end of the first National held 10 Central Calif. It was over that quickly. Draayer Moves Like Lightning Columbus winner, Fred Nix got off the line first and lea until Lacher passed him at the end of two - and then it was all Markel the rest of the way to the finish line. The race settled down after Markel charged into first, with Dick Mann moving up to second place. On the sixth lap Lacher got past Mann, and Draayer was moving through the pack like lightning. On the next round Mann and Draayer were side by side for third. One lap later Draayer had Mann for good and was clo~ng fast on Lacher. The final two laps had Lacher holding the Utah star off for second place. Markel's time for the la-lap feature was over four seconds faster than the time turned in by Sam~y Tanner, 1966 winner of the 5-Mlle National when it was held in Wisconsin last year. It was not, however, a new national five-mile record. By winning Tulare, Markel now has an all time total of twenty national victories, second only to the record set by Joe Leonard. Nix Fastest Qua.lifier weat out to qua"Iy. II• ."as picked ..... chftred ."hen At tG~ut urly In the hut rac•• ~..... stood up tI clIaln pu &Jand t o PholDs qy Dennis Greene Faas In tIM.s tIM .... .at,but a defec ve ... I bY ...... During Friday night qualifying, Fred Nix was the first to race into the spotlight when he broke the one lap record set earlier this year by Dick Mann. Mel Lacher clocked second fast time and Dan Haaby third. Dick Mann and Al Gunter shared fourth fastest spot. Many of the nation's outstanding riders did not make the Saturday night show, either due to slow times or, mechanical trouble. Among them were Gary Nixon, Eddie Mulder, Cal Rayborn, Dusty Coppage and Dick Hammer. surprising third. Al Gunter dropped out on lap two with a broken drive chain and sammy Tanner withdrew shortly thereafter because the track was too rou gh. The third and final heat race was the wild one of the evening with Markel co!!!ing from a distant seventh place to take the win over George Roeder Pete Bodette and Roger Reiman'. Dan Haaby dropped out with engine problems while in the lead. Bodette gave Roeder second place as he brushed the haybales coming out of the turn and crossed the line somewhat out of control, Lawwill Brea.ks Piston Incredible Performance by Odom In the heat races it was again Nix with thc faste~t heat race time of the three preliminaries. He defeated Mann and fellow Oklahoman Ted Davis. Mert Lawwill was right on Nix, ready to try for the lead, when a piston disintegrated, causing him to run the remainder of the heat and a part of the Main Event with half the usual displacement. On the first lap of the event, Ralph White and Rich Hardmeyer were involved in a spill. Both riders walked away. Hardmeyer returned to the race, Whi te did not. The second heat was taken by Lacher, with Chris Draayer coming up to press hard at the finish. First year Expert, Jim Berry, scored a While it was an unlucky national meeting for Triumph in the Expert class, it was a runaway for ,the Coventry brand in the Amateur d1V1si on. The only thing that Jimmy Odom did not win was the time trials. He was fourth fastest in that bracket. Odom opened the Amateur action with a breezing ride to the heat race win that was fourteen seconds faster than the second fastest Amateur heat race win!! He broke the old Amateur ten-lap record by a whopping five seconds. He held that one, also! Alex Yerkes and Roger Goldth· waite were the other two heat race winners. Yerkes, who is stationed in the Army in Minneapoli's, returned to his home state for this one. Todd Turns Them On Odom supplied the class in the Amateur Final and breezed to another win, his first on the National Circuit but it was Phil Todd who gave the fans the thrills. Phil was second at the end of the first lap but dropped all the way back to fourth at the end of two, because of some fancy high groove riding that sent tons of dirt flying over the crashwall. He then had to come from far back to pass Yerkes and Goldthwaite to grab off second place on the final turn on the last lap. Yerkes and Goldthwaite battled all the way for second and third until Todd passed them both. The first Tulare national was viewed by a sizeable crowd with referee Hank Gendusa and his officials crew turning in another good job. Also on hand was national director of competition, Jules Horky from Columbus, Ohio. The event was prom cted by C & C Enterprises which is Bill Cumbie and Tom Clark from San Jose. All parties appeared pleased after the event and it looks like Tulare is on the national map to stay. (Resulls on pace 16) CYCLE NEWS SERVES ALL OF THE WEST WITH IIEWS OF THE BEST SPORT 011 WllIEIEU 4 TIMES A 110.