Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

.- i M :;; Story lie Photos by Dennis Greene VENTURA If you have been fonowing speedway this year via the newspapen, you may have come to feel that aU I write about is' the crashing. But crashing in speedway is as regular as jumping is iJ:1 motocross. On the whole, most of the crashes are minor bu t look very spectacular and about the only damage to the riders is a loss of a win and a few aches and pains the next day. This past Tuesday nigh t is a prime example. In the Handicap Main Event, Scott Sivage and Mike Bast got into the most spectacular crash I have seen ever in speedway. Scott got just little out of shape going into Tum 3, with Mike just an inch or so inside and a foot to the rear. Mike made contact and was hurled over the top of both bikes and Scott. He went some 20 to 25- feet through the air in an inverted position before he made contact with the pit crashwall. He hit the wall with such impact that one of the tuners resting against the wall was knocked ten feet end over end. Scott was all tangled up between the two bikes and was carried to the waU, six or seven feet father than the spot where Mike came to resL Scott hit the wall with his upper chest as his bike drove him into it, The race was stopped on the spot so the ambulance attendan ts could go to work on the two riders. When we got to Mike he was out cold, and Scott was rolling around in pain. The inside of Mike's helmet was red with blood and it looked very bad. There were two sets of ambulance crews on hand, so both riders were in good hands. The teams working on Mike did not want to remove his helmet until they could be sure 'he had not split his skull, so they put some smelling salts up under his full coverage helmet (it worked fine) and he came to asking for hdp in getting his helmet off. He said that his right hip was hurting alot, but he was hurting aU over. The other team working on Scott fel t that he may have several broken ribs and were trying to tie him down so he would not injured himself more. He was having trouble getting his breath so as he was put into the ambulance, he was given air to make it a bit easier. After Mike was put in, they were taken away to be checked over. Both were talking about what had happened, but neither one knew. F or that matter both were knocked silly and weren't sure where they were or what had happened and what all the fuss was about. Mike left the hospital about 12 :00 that nigh t with no broken bones but did have a mild concussion and said he'll take a few days off. Because the event was stopped and there were two riders out, there was no restart and the race was called as it was, at the Red Flag. Greg Comstock lst, Larry Shaw 2nd, Steve Bast 3rd, Jeff Sexton 4th, Mike Bast 5th, and Scott Sivage 6th. The 5th and 6th place spots were decided by who hit the ground last, not by who went the farthest. Mike and Steve Bast both earned the right to ride the Scratch Main. But Mike was out so Steve went out and won the Scratch for the family, then went to the hospital to see what he could do for his brother. BAKERSFIELD Mark Cherry, the "White Tornado," swept into Bakersfield Wednesday night and cleaned up in the Handicap Main EvenL Mark won his third for the season in 'front of one of the largest crowds in sometime at Bakersfield. The big crowd was there to see a Two out of Three Match Race between Rick Woods and Steve Bast. This event was set up because during the run off at the 4th of July derby Rick broke the tape but most' thought he could beat Steve. As it turned out Steve did not come to Bakersfield that night to ride and the fans were disappointed. Mike Curcso stood in for Steve in the Match Race but was beaten by Rick, two out of three-. There were several top riders off that night and the promoter, had to make a dozen changes in the scheduled events. During the regular part of the show, Curoso worked his way in to the Scratch Main along with Rick Woods, Les Chanky and Jeff Sexton. Woods' WO)1 the event, but had to work for it. He became the sixth rider to win a Scratch Main at Bakersfield. A continuing oversight by the referee, Tom Davis, has brought the fans down on me several times' so I think it is about time to air this point. There is a rule that very c1e arly states that the rider that is the primary cause of the stopping of any race will not be allowed to restart. In the past five weeks, Steve Gresham has bee-n that rider and ineach case Tom has had some excuse in Steve's favor. For the fifth time in as many weeks, Steve got off hard, laid on the track causing a hazard to himself and the other riders. As in the past, Steve was in the restart. Because of the cat calls, booing and other things coming out of the grand stands, I went to the referee to see why he does not work by the rules. His first statement was, "Not now, I'm busy." So I waited then let him have it with both barrels as I have several other He did. 0 ...) Mike Bast, Steve Gresham Sumner McKnight and Bill Cody_ occasions. About the only thing different this time was he didn't say, "1£ you can do it better take my job!" He did say the rules say it is up to the referee to say if the riders is at fault. Af~er the night's racing was over, a good sized group was standing around my truck with the same complaint about the ref. In truth I said that they should come down on him and that there was nothing 1 could do, but air it in the newspapers. The Ref was not to be found.

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