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By Mike Capalite
Photos by Dennis Greene
_COSTA MESA, CALIF., Sept. 25, 1970
- Riding flawlessly in all five of his
qualifying rounds, Rick Woods tonight
became the U.S. Speedway Champion
for 1971, by taking wins in all of his
races and ending up with. a perfect mark
of 15 poin ts.
Using a scoring system of 3 points
for a win, two for second and one point
for thi(d, Rick regained the
championship that he hdd in 1969 and
lost to Steve Bast in 1~70. It was not all
that easy for the Huntington Beach
rider, however. as Steve Bast was just as
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TOP LEFT: Bill Cody and Scott Autrey full lock through one of
the Costa Mesa track's turns.
BOTTOM LEFT: Steve Bast last year's champ, finished in
second place Friday night, winning three events and placing secon
in two.
BOTTOM CENTER: Rick Woods displays the winning form that
won the number one plate for next year. The Huntington Beach
rider won all five of his events for a total of 15 points.
eager to hold onto the title, producing a
see-saw battle. right down)to ihe last~
race.
This was definitely the best riding of
the season, and if you were not part ofthe 7,000 plus crowd that witnessed the
evening's perfonnance, you, 'really
missed it.
The dark horse of the evening .turned
out to be Steve Bast's younger brother,
Mike, who had the right oombination
going and, according to unofficial
sources, was turning the track almost a
second faster than Rick or brother
Steve. With two wins behind him, Mike
got a little anxious on the line in the
race that really counted. When he was
