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.... en - JODY WINS THIRD ASCOT HALf-MILER Photos by Dan Mahony ,;, GARDENA, CAL., July 30, 1971 -The Ascot half-mile topped all previous weeks for professional action on Friday ~ night with the final three laps of the ~ Expert fmal summing up the entire w evening. d The event was supposed to fea ture >- the best-ehallenging Gene Romero for U an additional $200 bonus. Unfortunately Romero failed to show up after issuing the challenge himself the week before while serving out his fmal days of suspension. It worKed out for the best as Romero would have had a hard time keeping up the torrid pace set by the three front running Experts. You can't lose if you're not there. Georgia's Dave Sehl and his team Harley-Davidson had a new "Special" engine flow in for the event and team manager Dick O'Brien was on hand to see how the fastest combination for H-D would work out against the locals. Sehl topped the field in time trials, taking top honors with a 22: 72 lap. Jody Nicholas, Mel Lacher and Dave Smith, all in the 22's were close behind. Sehl then came from the back of the pack in the heat race to become one of the few out-of-staters to win a five lapper.' Nicholas won his heat race and Tom Rockwood turned back Lacher for the fmal Expert win. In the three-lap Trophy Dash, the best this year, Smith did not come to the line due to a blown engine. Lacher and SehJ raced it righ t down to the finish line with Nicholas right there until the final tum before dropping off the pace, and a chance to win. Lacher and his Norton nipped the eastern invader righ t at the line. Sehl then attempted to become only the fourth rider in fourteen years to win an Expert final at Ascot over the Californians. The early laps had him in the lead with Nicholas in a distant second and Rockwood running third. The native Canadian nearly pulled it off but the Ascot hex held in the final three laps. Sehl's throttle worked loose but at the same time the rear tires on both the Nicholas' Norton and the Rockwood Triumph wore out with great chunks missing for the last few laps. Rockwood put the pressure on Nicholas in the last laps and J ody picked up the pace passing Sehl to take the lead with two laps to go. Rockwood then dove under the top Harley threat 0" < on the final lap for second and was right on Nicholas at the finish. More action was yet to come. DeWayne Keeter and Chuck Hart carne out of the last turn figh ling for fourth place side by side. Hart was on the outside. Keeter nicked the rookie's handlebar, sending Hart into a tank-slapper and off the wall. Keeter moved by for fourth but Hart flew over the handlebars and actually crossed the finish line in the air, ahead of his wild Yamaha, for fifth place. Sammy Tanner picked up the semi win and his 397th half-mile victory but ran last, 10th, in the final. Dan Haaby returned to action once again. This time on the Mert Lawwill H-D but ran into mechanical Troubles early in the heat race and pulled off before the finish. Junior Gary Scott and his unbeatable Triumph ran the combination in for another heat and Main Even t win. This runs Scott's streak to fifteen wins in a row without a loss, one away from the record set in 1964 by Haaby. money to Jody Nicholas. That Main Event was weD worth it to riders and fans Kenny Roberts was again on hand to act as challenger but again was turned back by Scott for the third straight time at Ascot, the only three times they have met on their home half-mile. Denny Kanagae switched to the Don Dobbins Triumph and clocked a faster heat race win than Roberts. He then lined up between the two top Juniors for the fmal but had the engine blow, while running third, early in the race and the possible upset was set aside until next week. Scott Brelsford extended his win streak over Steve Nichols to two in a row, leading from start to finish in the Novice final with Nichols in second and trying to catch all the way. The two Yamaha aces were in command all the way but were pressured early by Bultaco-mounted Gary Caldwell who still held in there for a close third place. Caldwell is the third ranked Novice in the West, behind Brelsford and Nichols. All three won their heat races but it was Brelsford I turning in a sub-two-minute five·lap time, the fastest 250 ligh tweigh t heat race of the year. It will be half-mile racing again this coming Friday night at Ascot. The next will be hard to top for action from start alike. (.Results on page 32 THE SUPERBOWL OF to finish of the type shown last Friday. Even though Romero failed to show, the promoters still paid the 5200 bonus The Class' championship po (the 1971 national be decided in thi Sunday, October Plug Motorcycle anything like it. THECHAMPKYlII Weve custom-bu' course youve ev 2Y2 mile oval at I(s designed to gi only the top ride world can live wi spectator. This is realIy see. But th On the same do see a 125-mile J I In the Trophy Dasb. Mel Lacher (90) had 10 really fight 10 lake lhe win with Dave Sehl 116) second and Jolly Nicholas third. ,