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/125557
Modified Race lIy lIo b E beli ng . Triu mph. scored one and two in the I rwi ndal e Raceway run [or top Fuel bl k7 on ApClI 20. Saturday ' s racin g program conta i ned a litUe bit ot bench racin g, and an occasional quart er- mil e spri nt thrown in [or kicks . A cwa1ly the program went quite welI and [our iu el ers qualified. Above: Rear end view or s leek, low· profll ed dra, bI ke shows various accoutrements round on rrorenlonal rigs. Below: Hot Harley smekin oil line at irwindal e Raceway on Apri l 20. Ii . . Bor is Mur r ay' s twin engine Triumph carried the Ed Kret z name Into number one spot with a flash y 9.84 elapsed tim e and 155.00 miles per hour for speed. McEvoy & Martinez were second best In the performance department with a ru n of 10.10 s econds. Joe Smith landed the third spo t with a 10.45 s econd sp rint and Bob Ebeli ng followed the pack with a 10.63 second trip . Cle m Johnson, pit dir ector, pos ted the s chedule for eli minations with Joe Smith staged against Boris Murray and Ebeling's Sta-Lube Triumph sch edule d for a race against the McEvoy-Martinez twlnengine "Four Banger" Triumph. When the time came for round one eliminations, McEvoy & Martinez were not ar ound. Earlier, after qualifying, the frame was found to be broken and Mc Evoy had left to make repairs . As a r esult Ebeling's Triumph was on standby as Murray and Joe Smith did battle on the quarter- mile field of honor. Har ley- Davtdson and Triumph were Identic al In acceleration from the s tagIng lights but the " Knuckle Head" Harley jus t couldn't stay with the twin-engine hustler In top end acceleration. Joe Smlth racked up his day's best time of 10.17 seconds as he trailed Boris Murray's 9.89 seconds. The final race, due to McEvoy's forfeit In not showing for rou nd one, found Ebelin g's single ready to take a shot at Murray's twin . Ebeli ng tried so hard at getting off the li ne first, he drew a big red light and was still passed and beaten by the Triumph double . Ebelin g clocked a 10.88 for runner- up as Murray secured the top gold with a 9.84 s econd sprint. One of Irwindale' s best races of the evening was a little husba nd and wife race between Joy Houston's Triumph street bike and her husband's 650cc Triumph dragster. Trim little Joy had MIKE TOUSSU DID... 1 won her class tro phy and was tur ning consis tent mid -thirtee n second times . Her big r e-beared hus band' s times wer e varying in erratic fashion from 12,20's to 13 seconds. The only way to prod uce a fai r race was for the gallant hus band to offer a one- half -second head s tart. (Oh, boy!) Chances looked pretty good for the man of the hous e to keep a wife In her place, justa few feet behind . But, 10 and behold the feis ty little lass put It to hi rn, Joy Houston took the win and maybe we were all witness to the end of a per fect marriage . Lions Three Harley- Davtdsons won the three top awards at Lions Dr ag Strip - Top street, Top modified and Top gas . One man, Ed McDonald, was gr eedy about the whole thing and put his s ignature to a palr of the winning tickets as owner and rider. Ed rode his Harley Sportster to a time of 13.63 seconds and 98.36 mil es per hour to defeat contender s In top s tock such as Bailey's 74-lnch Harley, the 13second Triumph of J . Sprague and Sommer's hauling 500Cc Suzuk1. Top miles per hour and elapsed time In the gas dragster divis ion was hel d by the 250cc Suzuk1 of Rowles . The two stroke X-6 boasted times of 11.91 s econds and 109.48 miles per hour. Somehow, Rowles didn't hold onto those same performance figur es In the final moments of truth that tell who has the top gas machine. McDonald ran his Harley 74-lncher right by the two-stroke and won top gas with a 12.11 seconds and 101.35 miles per hour. One Interes ti ng entry in the gas divis ion was T. Rightmyer and a s uper space fr ame 90Cc Yamaha . This little class winner stopped the clocks at 20.56 seconds and 55.41 mil es per hour. Jus t when everyone thought Bruce Miller's Harley Sportster had developed the smoothest Idle ever, It was found to be Miller' s nasal snores as he slept on the line and was defeaied by the biggest hole shot ever. McCarty had a psychedelic pal nt job spe cial, that mus t have mesmerized M11Ier as he jumped ahead and to the winner's lights in 12.89 secends at 102,27 miles per hour. Who knows, maybe Bruce Miller will create volume sales for the no-doze pill producers . McCar ty' s Harley Spor ts ter also defeated Charlie Cash' s 250 Suzuki and Kittleson' s class winning Honda, for top modified victor y. A late arrival in the Lions fes tivities took top speed and time honors away fr om the eleven-second Suzuki, It wasn't r eally a s urprise, for the late arrivals were Perry Prentice and Agnew Scott and their fuel bur ning twin-engine Triumph. The well-known high gear only express turned a time and speed of 10.32 - 150.00. Coming Attractions Next week it's a repeat show of saturday at Irwi ndale and Sunday at Lions . An interesting note Is that begtnning May 1, Irwindale Raceway will be open on Wednesday evenings for grudge racing or Just plain old quarter- mile runs agalnst the Chrondex clocks . (Results on pagf! 16) Suzuki 500 pilot dropping clutch In str eet bike dlvl slen, SADDLEBACK TT SCRAMBLES APRIL 21, 1968 350 NOVICE CLASS. , st MIKE TOUSSU KAWASAKI Baker sfi eld Hare Sc rambl e s April 7, 1968 . 1st 250 Expert (4th overall) Geo rge W ker al 2nd 250 Expert Don Ho us er P er ris TT Scrambles April 21, 1968 1st 100·Amateur Ri chard Swean ey 238cc SCRAMBLER ARE YOU THE KAWASAKI KIND? Preci sion eng ineered an(J mlJnuflJdlJ'~ by KawlluAi Aircraft Co.• Ltd., JlJl}IJ.n • Unsurpassed 12 mo ., t21XJ() mIle W imantr .l wrne : American Kawas.aJd M otorcycle. P.O. 8 0. 2066. Gardena . 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