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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125687
MARKEL TIES MARK By Ed Youngblood Photos by Ed Youngblood and Bob Lenk HINSDALE, ILL., Aug. 21, 1970--When the announcer asked him how he liked starting on the second row, BarkMarkel joked, "It's nice. You get to hang back and follow the other guys, and when you figure out all their mistakes, you just kind of coast on by." The crowd laughed, and even Bart thought It was far from· the truth, but about twenty laps later that Is just exactly how It happened. Bart powered his way to his 27th National Championship victory, tying Joe Leonard for the all-time record. Markel ,had begun the evening right by fldc;l11ng with the new Lake Injector on his Sprint, then going out to set top time at 15.91 seconds. Second fastest was Ossamounted Dallas ~er at 16.05. • Charlie Chapple, a flrst-yeat Expert lately recovered from a, crushed foot, earned at Santa Fe, won the first heat 'and Dave Sehl. Following Keen, Rice, and Seh1 were Chuck Palmgren, Frank Vllcld, and Roger Reiman. The fourth and final Expert Heat was the controversy of the night, resulting in a mishap that had Gary Nixon fuming, Barry Briggs swearing, the head referee squirming, and the fans generallY ranting their heads off. Larry Darr lead the heat most of the way, but attention was on World Speedway Champion Briggs, gating around on his howling Yamaha twin. Barry ran the whole race high on the track, powering areound the speedy competition with his best crOWd-pleasing style, actuallY , taking the lead momentarily a COuPle of times. Then on lap four two back-runners -went down, and on the next pass Briggs went to the wall In an efford to avoid the crash. With but one lap to go, the English speedster was forced to shut down as Darr, Mashburn, Mann, Lawwlll, Rayborn, and Haaby scooted bY to trans- ' ferring positions. There's no stopping Bart Markel now that he has the lead. exchange bY swearing he would never deal with the AMA again. Amateur heat winner were AI Kenyon, Me Fraser, and Chl,lck Joyner. Charlie Chapple repeated his fastheat tactic in the first semi-final. Following close on his wheel was B11I 0' Brien. Then in a tight and competitive pack came Larry barr, Dick Mann, Bart Markel, and Don Castro. Nell Keen won the second semi, again battling bitterly with Rice to cpature the spot. Following Keen and Rice were Dave Sehl, Ken Pressgrove,RiJgerRe1manand Mark Brelsford. Like Terre Haute, Rex Beauchamp won the Amateur final, fending off Al Kenyon In smooth and controlled style. Beauchamp led from the second lap to the flag. Expert fIna11sts were Keen, Chapple, Rice, 0' Brien, Sehl, Darr, Pressgrove, Mann, Reiman, Markel, Brelsford, and Castro. At the drop of the flag, Markel dropPed to the back of the pack, apparently to observe the mistakes being made bY all those other faster guys. Ken led the race for 15 laps, being ,doggedly pursued by Jim Rice. Until lap aarry Briggs waits to talk with Gary Nixon (with official). Briggs was fourtime world speedway champion. # from wire to wire, gassing his powerful Nell Keen Yamaha at a consistent pace ahead of the pack. Following were Markel B11I O'Brien, Gordon Dusenberry, Don Castro, and Cary Cape. Dallas Baker won the second Expert heat, coming out ahead on ,a rapid battle with Mark Brelsford that saw the two riders swapping the lead several times a lap. Following Brelsford were Ken Pressgrove, Eddie Mulder, and Jack ForI'3ster. , The third heat went to Nell Keen, the Santa Fe master, Keen moved uP from fourth to a three- way duel with Jim Rice With the argument than no warning flags, had been displayed, Gary Nixon, Nell Keen, and Briggs began complaining to the officials that the race should haVe been called at the fourth lap sp11l because the track was blocked. This would have given Briggs a second on a transfer. Then the capacity crowd ch1medlnand made the striped shirts miserable for several minutes as a heated conversation continued concerning the rules, true justice, public relations, common sense, and international diplomacy. But Barry was out, and he closed the Jim Rice shows determination as he heads for his second place finish. 10 It appeared that Keen would glide to an easy victory, but thereafter Rice began to press. Meanwhile, Markel had finished observing and started proflt:!Jlg from the others' mistakes. On lap 16, Rice moved into the lead but Keen snatched it back on lap 18. By npw, Markel had out-battled Sehl and was running a distant third. Suddenly on lap , 20, the former Grand National ChamPion and his Sprint came alive, blasting past Keen ana Rice like they were stopping. Tremendous power and traction seemed to be at his command for during the remalning five laps Markel rapidly pulled away from the competition. When asked if It had been a hard race, Markel replied, "Nope, winning is the easiest thing In the world. Losing Is what's hard." To placate the disgruntled fans, a match race for #300 was run between Mann, Keen, and Barry Briggs. But It fizzled when Briggs' Yamaha bogged down on the line. Keen and Mann pretended to race, but the fans already were leaving. They had seen what they came for, and many were happy that It turned out to be Bart. . (Results on page 26)