Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

Cycle News 1969 07 29

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lIa'iona' IIoyice Ii,., By J. Lacey Frank GIII.spl. Iuds In acul.rallon out of on. sn arp turn. 30 LAP NAT'L TT. Castle Rock, Wash. July 19, 1969 Mert Lawwill Sonny Burres Dick Mann Mark WUllams Gene Romero Gary Nixon Dusty Coppage Jim Rice EmU Ahola Skip Van Leeuwen Cal Rayborn Eddie Mulder Don McLedd Paul Bostrom Jimmy Odom Dan Haaby Eddie Wirtll E.II AiIola'. wll••tltch.d th... Imp....lv. I.ath.r~ H-D' Tri BSA Tri Tri Tri Tri BSA Tri Tri H-D Tri H-D Tri Tri H-D BSA 15 LAP AMATEUR FINA.L Keitll Mashburn Bob Haynes Dave Aldana Tri Tri BSA BSA Tri Tri Tri H-D H-D Tri Kaw H-D Jack Matt Frank G1l1ispie Dave Hansen Don Castro Bill Elder John Bromley Tim Thomas Thad Laurence Butch Beck David Aldana pau... for cal.sth.nlcs In his heal. This Isn't aJUmplnl Jack' ma-b11lt's a Dlvlnl Dav.. ' AMA NATrONAL POINT STANDINGS Mert Lawwill 385 Gary Nixon 345 Cal Rayborn 339 317 Gene Romero Bart Markel 265 Chuck Palmgren 225 Dick Mann 225 Mark Brelsford 211 Fred Nix 189 Larry Palmgren 145 ;r Grand Opening "1tu- "t)va ~"e" t)ep4ltt.ut eUL.T~C= "1970" Campera MK11 No purchase necessary July 14th - Aug. 16th - CIIIIe ia .11 register Drawing Aug. 16t11 LonlB.ach & Beach CltI.s Lo. Anpl•• o c :;;»- •• ..•.,"-Ic ;0 ... Newport Freeway MOTORCYCLE CENTER Phone (714) 684-4747 14fb Sl Ott R""", ~ CASTLE ROCK, WASH., July 18- Sandwiched between tile Expert and Amateur qualUy1ng for tlleir National Championships tile following night, seventy-two Novices journeyed to Castle Rock for their 'National' type event. Taking onlY the winner of tile six heat races to the Main and tile first six from the semi, the twelve rider line- up for the Main was a right good bunch of Novices. At the start Bultaco mounted Allen Kenyon grabbed the lead and began to stretch it. Dan Brech, (C-Z) was running second, Kirk Brelsford (Bul) third, Chuck Joyner (Kaw) fourtll, Darrell Cotten (Kaw) fiftll. But things changed fast. Bresford got off just before the righthander, relinquishing third place; Mark Niccoli (H-D) drove himself Into the fence and was out; Joyner, the crowd favorite and probable winner, again suffered mechanical problems and quit on lap three. This left Kenyon, Brech, and Cotten to sort themselves out ahead of the rest of tile pack. But ho, whats tbis? Just before half way, Kenyon slows, Brech takes the lead and begins to stretch it out. Way out in front is Brach when he, too, holds up one band, :;igna11ng motor trouble, and pulls off. Cotton, who has now passed Kenyon, inherits the lead and storms on to his biggest win of his young career by better tban tile straight-away length; Kenyon, still nursing a sick scooter managed second, Gregg Johnson, Bui, third, Jmes Messler,Suz, was fourth. It was a 238cc single out of Joe Dobbin's Portland store tbat did the deedl FRED NIX DIES IN BAKERSFIELD BUGGY CRASH Professiooal racing lost one of its favorite champions last Friday. Fred Nix, Harley-Davidson factory team rider, was fatally injured in BalcerslJeld while driving a dune buggy on a street in a local park. Fred bad to pass up tile Castle Rock National TT because his racer was broken and went to Ba1cerslJeld to try out his new buggy. Teammate Bart Markel also bad to pass up Castle Rock due to a wrist injury he received at the Ascot National. Botll riders purchased dune buggies in Los Angles and towed them to Balcers. field. They turned into an unmarked oneway street (going tile right direction) when they changed tIIeir minds, made a U-turn and started back out of the Park. Neither rider was aware that it was a one-way street. Nix came around a corner andtoavo1d a head-on collision witll another car tried to go between tile car and an embankment. There was not enough room andapartial head-on collision res.ulted. Fred was killed instantlY witll cause of death listed as a ruptured heart. Markel, who was traveling behind Nix, was able to brake in time and was not involved in the accident. Nix ba d won two nationals this year was ninth in the current point standings. He bad a total of eleven national wins at tile time of his deatll and was rated tile best mUe track rider in the nation on the basis of winning last five mUe races In a row. He won his first national race at Sacramento in 1966, winning In the last ten yards. He tied a single season national win record last year when he won six natiooal races. His recent win at tile Loudon N.H. road race placed him a special spot In raclng in tbat he is one of few riders to win In every type of national event offered. He bad won all but a TT event. Nix first gained national fame In 1965 when he was tile high point short track rider In the nation. He was in fact, nearly unbeatable in tile weekly quarter mile events held every WedneSday at Santa Fe Park In Clt1cago. He has been tile point champion there tile last three years in a row. He was national #95 until this year when he took over #3 from the retured AI Gunier. He rode H-Dhis entire racing career. During tile season each year he made his home in Franksv1lle, Wisconsin but returned to his native Lawton, Oklahoma at tile end of each season. Fred is survived by his wife and 2-year-old daughter.

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