Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

BAST, WOODS, "WE LOVE SPEEDWAY" flUTTER, HASEROT ~ fo.l . . By Eric Ralts WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE between speedway and flat track racing? Why do some riders prefer one over tile other? Why are European riders supposedly so much better than Americans at this sport? What does American speedway need to make it the big attraction it was in tile tbirties when fans, as many as 30,000 of tIIem, jammed Yankee Stadium to watcb championship races? We went to Whiteman Stadium Saturday nigbt to answer tIIese questions in tile words of four of America's best Speedway riders. Steve Bast, Rick Woods, Sonny Nutter, and Greg Haserot r-ead like an all-star lineup of cinder racers. Steve likes speedway because, "It's different. It's a lot safer than flattracking. (This was minutes after Steve was involved in a spectacular pile-up that sent Larry Heinselman to tile hospi tal with a broken collar bone). There is more seriousness. The close competition. These are reasons why I like speedway more than anything else." About the future of speedway, Steve had this to say: "We need more promoters and more riders. More people would ride if bikes were easier to get and if parts were cheaper. I see a good future if everything can get together." Steve is a member of a famous racing family and has been an Expert for four of tile six years be has been racing. Rick Woods bas raced in Australia and New Zealand. We asked b1m bow be did agaInst some of the best riders in the world on tIIeir home grounds. "I won the last race I was entered in, otherwise, I learned a lol" Rick says, "The difference between tile Aussies and the Americans is that they (the Aussies) are crazy. Just crazy. They leave the throttle on all the way around the track and the tracks are bumpy and have puddles rigbt in the middle of them." . Rick told us that Australlan Ces Platte :i!; All we need io insure a good future for speedway is more sponsors and tuners. There is no lack of guys who want to ride and would do a fine job with a little experience." Sonny Nutter, California State Champion, is proudest of bolding the track records at both Whiteman and Saugus Speedways. He put his like for speedway racing bluntly, "It's more fun and less dangerous and I'm better at it. It's the only kind of racing you can slide a lot." Sonny is learning to ride standing up. He explalns the advantages of riding "European style": "Sitting down, you get the rear wbeel around to a certain point and down you go. Standing uP you lean forward and steer the front wheel and you don't give a damn what the rear wheel does." Sonny, owner of a motorcycle sbop in Santa Monica, wants to go to Europe as soon as be's ready. He says, "The Europeans not only go fast, they have the ablllty to pass in a crowded pack. Most of us don't have that mucb skill yet." have the same amount of horsepower so it's not just the man with the most powerful machine wbo wins. It's a real manto-man battle. I'll admit though, riding agaInst guys like Sam my Tanner sort of psycbes you out. You feel like a couple of years ago you were down in the pits at Ascot getting b1s autograpb and bere you are riding against b1m!" Greg says the big difference between the Americans and Europeans is that we don't get to ride as many nigbts in the weeks as they do. "We need more promotion, more tracks to ride OIl and we'd be competitive with anyone." WUl speedway get its feet of( the ground and be the giant it was? It's anybody's guess really. The riders are wi1ling and even anxious and with the belp of some aggressive promotion and regular attendance we might yet see the true renewal of this grand old sport. WHO SANCTIONS SPEEDWAY? ln America the answer to that question is, nobody. Nobody yet, anyway. Without a responsible sanctioning con- activated for nearly 20 years. AMA would ~ undertake to sanction speedway if tile ~ October Competition Congress decides U to do it. Meanwhile Jerry Falrchild, a soutbern California electronics manufacturer. stands ready to set up an organization to prevent conflicting sanctions, SIlPPI7 or supplement officials and orpnlze riders into a saleable program. Speedway entllusiasts and promoters SHOULD get togetber with tile "old timers" like Mr. Falrchild and form an organization. Tbls is ooe brancb of tile sport where tile young stars can learn a lot from tile experienced bands. Falrchild was a mechanic for Jack and Cordy Milne, U.S. World Champions and Pete Colman when he was a top speedway star. _ People interested in getting speedway togetller 00 a paying basis are urged to contact Jerry Falrchild at 125 W. Union St., Pasadena, Cal. 91101 (213) 449-2265 or 681-4588. Falrchild just returned from England, where he found tile Brit1sb stars all eager to come to tile U.S. and ride. He had to tell them tile U.S. isn't ready yet; walt until it's organized. BIKES WERE BADDER THEN Mr. Pete Colman, chief executive of tile BSA-Triumph operation in tile Western U.S. recalls that speedway racing at Los Angeles' Lincoln Park, promoted by Jack Miloe and Floyd Clymer sbortly after World War II reached an epitome that hasn't been equalled even now. Bikes were as powerful then, but ultraquick handling. "Youcouldjusttbiok ina direction," Pete explalns, "and it would go/' Jack 0' Brien chases Sonny Nutter throulh a turn. Nutter I s one of the chief challengers for Rick Wood's Speedway Championship Ulle this year. troller, speedway may not have a chance to grow and prosper. AMA used to sanction Class A type speedway events in the U.S., but their rules have been de- SIeve Bast comes from a family of racers and rides bikes sponsored by his fath•• Rick Woods has raced In Australia and New Zealand and Is the current United Stalu Champion. is coming over bere in July. Ces bolds the track record at Sbowgrounds, Sydoey, the track where Cbuck Jones was severely injured last year. He has ten years experience. Rick continued, "Barry and Ivancame over here last year, (Barry Briggs, fourtime World's Champion, and Ivan Mauger, current champion) and set all kinds of records. We've alreadY broken their records so it should be a different story the next time they come over. I broke their record bere at Whiteman, then knocked it farther down, and then Sonny Nutter broke it and holds it now. Greg Haserot would be hapPY. to ride as many nights as there were tracks available as long as it dido't interfere with scbool. He is attending Rio Hondo Jr. College and studying to be a technical Ulustrator. Greg went into detall abouf1fie attraction of speedway. "I £ot my interest from seeing my brother Bruce, sIlding around that track and I sald, 'That's for me.' I like speedway because it's so specialized. You can't just get on and ride. It takes a lot of ablllty and the best parts of it are the closeness, the action, and the amount of thinking you have to do. All the bikes Colman's last speedway mount was built by Dave Hinze, an Australian master welder whose frame design set a standard that is still in use by every speedway bike. Lincoln Park bikes had a steering head angle of 72 degrees, 4-1/2" trall and engines 2" behind center. Current designs have 69 degrees of head angle, 4" of trail and the engines are set about one inch behind center. Colman's old bike is being put back into action with the upsurge in speedway interest. Learning how ain't easy••• Jack O'Brien gels some on the spollralnlng. Above: Sonny Nut.'s spirited J.A.P. Below: Eso's and J.A.P.'s are almost IlcluslvelJ used In ibis sport. Jack O'Brien and John Gibson stand behind an Eso.

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