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/125821
------------------------------------------------_._--o . ~ 1 M Racetrack Requiem .... 5!! By John D. Ulrich gi « '" ~ Z W ...l U > U APPLE VALLEY, CAL., AUG. 5 The biggest turnout in its five year life marked the death of Deadman's Point Racetrack today. About 400 people turned out to race and watch Rex Staten sweep six of nine' Expert events in a spectacular homecoming to the track tlIat started him racing motocross four years ago. Wilen it was all over, the third oldest MX track in America was dead, the site destined to become a trailer park development. Mike Dressler, and his son Bob, who founded the track in September 1968, sold out because of declining race income and increased operating costs. Two-strokes sung the racetrack requiem, and nobody there w ill every forget the legacy of Deadman's PoinL .. Rex Staten. "Just about everybody who has raced has ended up at Deadman's Point at one time or another", Bob Dressler said of the old track. "It used to be a bunch of guys would come out and have a big beer bust on Saturday and race Sunday. Everybody was inexperienced in the early days wben the track was started. Now we get serious motocross racers, and a lot more competition," recounted the man who made it happen. Deadman's had come a long way from the first race, when a mudhole formed by leaving a hose running for five days got every bike in the race stuck on the frrst lap. Bikes were hauled au t with ropes, and left to dry on the then 100 foot straight. Bu t with new tracks opening up and more competition, attendance at Deadman's fell below the make money pain t this year. Noone is going to keep a one man and one wife operation going, as Bob Dressler did, for long without a reasonable return on time invested coming in. Deadman's Point died the harsh death of economic realities. Fifty-four motos rewarded those who made the last MX drive out past the ceramic frog stand and horse raches to the fifty foot rocks marking the track location. The day started with the presentation of a plaque of appre,ciation from a bunch of old time Deadman's racers' arganized by Dave Brown, and a clock from a bunch, of Yucca Valley riders, to Bob Dressler and his wife. Little old ladies, pit tootsies, small boys with heads swimming in too' large Deadman's Point hot hats, and even mommas and babies filled out the crowd of racers witnessing the presen tation. . Then it was MX, MX, MX, MX, MX etc. for eight straight hours, class after class after class. It was mind _boggling just watching, and could have filled an entire Cycle News with details. For the sake of maintaining sanity, all you're going to read about in this report are the Expert and Powder Puff races. Madelene Almieda (Yam) had her cheering section go wild, as she lost her lead by crashing on lap one of the Powder Puff first four-lap mota, then caught and passed Nancy Payne (Mai) to regain her lead by the end of the third lap. Her encounter with the mudhole had put her about one quarter lap back, and her catch.up ride was amazing. The' crowd cheered her as she walked in to the pits after taking the checkered. Bruce Jones (Han) took the lead in the first ten lap 250 Expert mota, and it looked like he was going to run away with the race. Steve Bebeck (CZ) and ,Tony Rogers (CZ) were running a tigh t two-three well behind J ones, when on lap five Rex Staten' appeared to finally get u'sed to the -Honda Elsinore he was riding. Staten put the' pressure on Bebeck and Rogers, but J oiles still looked secure in his run for the checkered. One lap later Staten was on J ones' tail with Bebeck and Rogers behind, and Staten took off like a bat out of hell on lap nine, leaving Jones, Bebeck, and Rogers behind to finish in that order. The 125 Expert and Open Expert classes were run together in the interests of saving time and raising confusion. Staten, now riding his Maico, pulled out in front from lap one, with Mark Cavoretto (Mai) in pursuit, leading the Open class. By lap five Dick Wambold (Suz), leading the 125 class, ,was coming around behind Staten, followed by Dave Ohl (Mai) of the Open class, Mike Tucker (Mai) in the Open class. Chris BeBoer (Suz) in the, 125, - , and 'Cavoretto now in the six th slot behind Staten, fourth in the Open class. Then the Rex Staten show came to town, first pulling away to a half lap lead, then presenting regular wheelies, wheelies standing on the seat, and more wheelies. One spectator remarked "What a ham," but that ham had the race no sweat. OM took second Open, Cavoretto moved up to fmish third Open, with DeBoer finishing first 125, and Chuck, Wagner (Pen) having taken over 125 second spot. Wambold had fallen back to fifth 125. After his first two wins, Staten ,talked about the track with me. ''They shouldn't close it, bu t if they have to, they have to," said Deadman's fastest son. Staten started racing Deadman's on a 125 Ossa in 1969, working up through 175, 235, and 250 size Ossas, spending three months in the Juniors before getting knocked up into the Senior (or Expert) class. The last two years Staten has held the number one CRC plate at Deadman's. Did he think he could beat everybody in the four motos he still had to ride? "Y ~ah, I hope so!" P~wder Puff moto two found Cycle News' own Squeeky Nesbitt leading on her brand new 125 Elsinore for the entire, first lap, apparently ready to make up for her poor first moto finish following a crash, while holding down third in that mota. But fate did not smile on Squeeky, and another crash put her out of contention while being pressured by lightning girl Madelene. Her blitzing Yammie started doing the Staten trip...leaving everyone else in the next county. It was Madelene first by a whole bunch, Dottie Frost (Yam) second, Lori Payne (Ric) third, and Squeeky eighth in a field of'I2. The 250 Expert moto two started with Rex in third, but after the leader crashed for good and second place Bebeck went through a berm with a resulting delay, it was Staten spectacular time i'gain. Staten headed for the hills with Rogers a ways behind in second, Dave Williams (Hon) third, and Bebeck working up to six tho They finished in that order, running only six laps to save time. Staten had the 125/0pen lead in the first comer, and never even had it seriously 'contested from then on. Cavoretto and Ohl battled for second, with Wambold leading the 125s. Rex showed he didn't need ten laps to be able to frolick in front ",f everybody, and as races go, it was like running a Dennis Manning LSR motorcycle against an Electra Glide in a top speed contest. Staten was so far ahead that he actually stopped to chat for a moment with a friend on the sidelines on lap four of the six lap mota. Then it was wheelie on the seat time again. It looked so easy...Deadman's Point was Staten's home track, and everybody knew it pretty quickly. Ohl won the second 'Place duC'!, Cavoretto took third, and Wambold and LeRoy Larson (DKW) got one-two in the 125 class. ' The last Powder Puff moto ",as Madelene again, her little Yamaha with the green stickie on the fender leaving everybody behind. Squeeky crashed, having bad luck after a month of winning. Payne took second, and Markita McDougal' (Yam) won a contest for third in the last ten feet of the mota. The points gave Madelene first overall, and Lori Payne second overall. The third 250 Expert moto started with Staten grabbing a hundred foot lead before tum one, with Malocco second and Bebeck losing a swingarm bolt to DNF. Of the first four places at the • end of lap one, only third and fourth swapped places, and they were bac k in their original order by the fmisb. Staten had the overall frrst place trophy, no trouble at all. Shadows grew long as the sun headed for Australia, with the crowd thinning out as it did. Only foui riders showed up for the start of the 125/0pen combined moto three. It was Staten and Ohl in the Open class, and Wambold and Wagner in the 125. Not much racing, just the usual Staten blitz out of sight, only this time he was obliging enough to meet my request that he put on his show on the same part of the track my camera: was located at. Being a nice guy, he did. The high point of the moto was when Wagner hung a U-turn on the track, rode up and down a few times, cut across to another part of the track he had already covered, and rode around some more, as if looking for something he had dropped. Then he . gassed it in the right direction, and 'finished an uncontested second for the 125 class. Rex was mobbed after he finished by impressed spectators. Goodbyes were yelled, trucks were fired up, and it seemed that only those that remained were people entitled to some of the 40% brass. A helme tless squid cu t a lap on the track, but it didn't mean a thing. Deadman was dead. The half·lap lead Rex Staten show. Mavin' Madelene Almieda was the fastest girl. Bob Dressler and wife; a ,plaque for five yean of MX. Dick Wambold's Suzuki nabbed him 125 avera/I..