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/125684
-, ~ MIDWEEK SPEEDWAY RACING Story and Photos by Dennis Greene Mike Keen, one of local Bakersfield. heroes. BAKERSFIELD, CALIF. July 29, 1970Those doubting Thomases, who believed that Class A Speedway In the middle of the week could not succeed, were proved lncorrect here Wednesday ntght, as a very large crowd witnessed some excellent Gene Ryhn-promoted ~acing, Includlng a Scratch Main Event win by Bill Cody. Speedway fans and T. V. viewers were pleased to see Bill Gray, of the 'Father Knows Best' T. V. series, win his first Main Event In the second division class. Bakersfield's own Mike Lane was on hand to add to the show and did not let the hometown down, w1nn1ng the Handicap Semi-Flnal and getting second In the Handicap Main Event, just beh1nd SollllY Nutter. Third In thts event was Mike Keen, also of Bakersfteld. The feature match race saw Larry Shaw against Stu Morley, with Lightning Larry getting the checkered flag. Bruce Haserot was able to shake his old bugaboo of getting off on his bottom and showed that he could ride with the best of them, w1nn1ng a hardearnedflrst place f1n1sh In the Handicap Consolation Event. It anythiDg, attendance was up from the· former Saturday night operations, and Ryhn, who was a speedway star in prewar days, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that. the Class A events can be successful duJ1JIg the middle of the week. , (Results on page 26) Larry Shaw, winner of the night's feature match race. Minibikers at Bakersfield practice speedway techniques. At the start, the idea is to keep the front wl1eel straight ahead • BAST KEEPS WINNING By Mike CapaUte COSTA MESA, CALIF., July 31,1970-The Pasadena Motorcycle Club had its work cut out for them Friday ntght at the Orange County Fairgrounds speedway track. This fine group of motorcycle enthusiasts travel down from the Pasadena area every Friday to handle the 1nf1eld chores for promoter Harry Oxley. They not only handle the red flags in the corner but their members are also the ones who rush out to remove a fallen mach1ne in the event of a spill. Friday ntght proved these boys worth their salt as the track surface had been changed with the addition of some decomposed granite to helP hold moisture and keep the dust down (ecology factor). With the change .of tra:ck surface, came a rash of crashes which kept the PMC tribute to their boys hopplng, but abtUty, in the first half of the program, there were no less than 12 crashes, and the ambulance did not have to move the whole eventng. Scott Autrey was the man of the hour as he swept through the handicap races like Sherman through the Shenandoah, picking up wins In his heat and the semi with Larry Shaw right on his rear wheel both times. Then came the irony of It as Shaw and Autrey were paired off for the as sPecial match race. Shaw was doing his btt to upset the top riders as he topped his heat race in the scratch program over Sonny Nutter and then came back In the scratch semi to take the win over Steve and Mike Bast which takes a heap of riding. Autrey started in the pole position In the match race, butSjlawwasdetermlned and when Autrey kept the inside into the , corner, he kept It on and stayed with him on the outside, then pressured him through the next corner and took Scott coming out. As they came out of the last corner for the checkered flag, Shaw got In a little trouble, but kept the lead and took the win. The eventng was again spiced by the mint-bike races at lntermission with Dave Carlson taking an easy win over Brain Baugher. An interesting note, Bob Cox manager of the Valvoline sponsored USA Racing Team announced that the USA Racing Team will move tnto the m1n1-bike field next week as they wtll sponsor the ride for the challenger who is none other than Bob's son. The second division main event was a wire to wire win by Butch Fishburn despite repeated btds first by Jerry Slnder and then by Bill Sllverthorn who pushed the hardest and wountl up in second spot whtle Singer flntshed in the number four . spot behind Jan Crawford. It is lnteresting to note that the flrst three spots In the main went to the winners of the three heat races. The thtrd. division main, which is a proving ground for the flrst time and beg1nn1ng riders, was a rather hectic affair as the riders have a tendency to lose control over some thtngs (their motorcycles) ant It gets rather exciting at times. First-nlghter Ruben Benttes was able to bring his Jawa across the line ahead of Joe Roseberry and Rick Smith for the win whtle the rest of the fleld were involved In one or more sp1l1s.· The handicap ma1n event was a win for Scott A utrey form start to f1n1sh· as he was flrst badgered by Jolin Fishburn who drifted wide at the wrong time because in the rear Bill Cody and Sonny Nutter were having a go at overcoming their 60 yard handicap. Nutter was on the inside and Cody on the outside and they were pushing hard as Jim Gresham moved up past Fishburn and as Cody moved in under Shaw for fourth, when Nutter zapped under bathof them to wrest it away from Cody. But Cody hungln r1gbtwithhlm on the outside. Up front, A utrey was still holding his own and looking good wben suddenly he got In trouble In the corner and as Gresham went wide to avoid a possible crash, Fishb\ll"n moved in second spotas Autrey kept control and kept the lead at the same time. As they came out of the last corner, It was a pack behind Autrey with Fishburn a close second whtle stretched across the track in line and charging for the checkered flag were Nutter, Cody and Gresham. Nutter was able to get a little more wheel to the ground as he nipPed Cody out at the line for the thtrd SPot by just a few inches, with Gresham trail1ng both across for fifth. The new crowd favorite, Larry Shaw, was having his problems and despite the fact that he has won the last two Handicap mains, he had to settle for sixth spot. The crowd was hoping to see complete upsets In the handicap division as the heat races were all won by low-yardag'e riders who put on excellent performanceses. Jim Doron, Ron Taylor, and Don Bullum all rode fine races, but were beaten out In the semi's and had to settle for a go in the conso'lation. There were great expectations for the Scratch main as the Une-up was Larry Shaw, steve Bast, Sonny Nutter,andBW Cody. Shaw had taken Bastin the semi and Nutter had topped Cody so thts looked to be a real ba ttle. The battle never mater1al1zed as Steve Bast grabbed the lead out of the flrst corner from a pack that coule have seen anybody In front. But Steve wanted th1s one and really poured It to It as Cody feliln behind him with Nutter thtrd and Shaw fourth. . The riding was flawless as they hurtled 1l1"0und the track, but nobody could pass anybody else as they finished as they started with Steve Bast taking his second Scratch Main win in a row. (Results on page 26)