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__ M '" i Speed""ay.. .... M - The Week We Just Got Off Of '" N ! Story & Photos by Dennis Greene ; Keith ~ashbum, of class C fame, ~ made his speedway debut Tuesday t night at Ventura and won his third division heat with little or no w • • trouble at all. There were several flfSts that night. Big Mike Konle won his first Scrat<:h Main event of the 1973 season. Big Mike hu been in his fair share of Mains this year, but 'up to Tuesday night he had not finished better than second. . Greg Haserot won his first Handicap Main at Ventura. Greg has other Handicap Main wins to his credit at Costa Mesa. To round out the night of firSts, Dan Fishburn won the Second Division Main, making a new winner in every class in every Main event of the night. If you are wondering what happened to the Bast boys, well, neither one made it to the Handicap Main. Both were in the- Scratch Main, and took third and fourth beltlnd Bill Cody who ran second to teammate Mike Konle. A little background on what else went on during the 23 event program. Dan Becker put himself out of the money even ts doing a big wheelie. Scott Sivadge missed his chance to transfer when he forgot to tum on his fuel and ran ou t after one lap. The starting gates reacted to the cold and froze up, making the starkr use the old reliable wave 0 f the flag. Bakersfield Only one man has had a perfect night of racing this year; only one man has won every race that he has competed in, in a sinllle night of racing; and the man who picked one of the most important nights of the year to do what no other rider has done so far this season is Steve Bast. The ~portance of the night is that it was the first night of qualifying for the 1973' National Championship. This year; each track will host a . qualifying round to choose the top 16 riders in .the nation for the honor of competing for the title of Mr. Speedway, the United States National Speedway Champion. . Championship rounds are run just as the finals will be run, with 20 even.ts of Scratch racing and the top riders in points having a go at each other. Points are as follows: 3 for a win, 2 for second; I for third and 0 for fourth. A night of perfect riding will show up as 15 points in the total column, and that is what you'll see if you gaze after the name of Steve Bast. The night was marred by a great many crashes that many of the riders felt was the result of a poorly prepared track. A few of the riders that do not ride Bakersfield on a week·to-week basis said that die track was better suited for motocross than speedway. It's not that the speedway riders are getting soft; in truth they want to put on the best show they can and they felt could have done a much better job without the bumps. Steve Bast said the track was the same for. everyone, but ''my butt is sore". With a score of 13, Rick Woods got second and northern rider took third with II. Joe Henry, a regular on the northem tracks was very impressive and somewhat of a surprise to the fans, and himself. The hard luck tale of the night had to go to Larry Moon, who was called upon to substitute for Don Cullum, who was out with water on the elbow. Four ou t of the five rides Larry pu t in ended with him either piCking himself up or coming in last. Larry was a very battered young man by night's end. Incidentally, Bell Helmets has announced that ·they are going to pay $500 to the National Champ (of course, he has to be wearing a Bell). They are also going to pop for $250 to second place and $125 to the third man up. Bell is also coughing up bread for .all the qualifying rounds. $100 to the wInners, $50 to second placed men and $25' to third. Not bad, Bell. Irwindale On a fast but bumpy track the back yard boys found their ways to the front for the right to compete in the Mains. The track was wet and soft, and it was rumored that the track had been vandalized by kids turning boses on it during the day. Every time someone went into a wet area, a little dirt was thrown out, and by the tirite several events were- over, what had started out as a rut was a full fledged big dip. The dip got everyone out of shape and was the cause of several riders getting off. Sonny Nutter caught the inside of the hole and nailed Seve Bast, preventing them both from entering the Scratch Main. Bill Gray, Steve Gresham and Mike Konle also fell victim to the hole. Mike Bast, known for riding the pole, had no trouble missing the· bad spot for the Handicap Main win. Rick Woods, a middle of the track riller, hit the spot time after time causing him to lose ground Rick did stay in front of Steve to take second place, though. The .highlight of the evening was Larry Shaw outriding Mike Bast, Rick Woods and Bill Gray for the Scratch Main win. Larry has not been having one of his better years, and it is nice to . see this crowd favorite do well on any night. Costa Mesa Finishing out our speedway week at Costa Mesa, we find the bumps getting much harder. In unrelated crashes, Steve Gresham and Ken Cartee wen t to the hospital to be looked at a little closer. Ken went through the small space between ,the crash wall and- the pit gate and took a couple of pit men with him. One of the other riders waiting for his tum was knocked end over end, cutting the top of his head. He and Ken were talking it over in the ambulance as they were driving off. Steve Gresham got off at the other end of the track, and was slammed into the wall hard enough to knock him out. He was taken in with a severe headache. A full week of racing does take its toll of riders, and by the time Friday nigh t rolls around, the survivors of the week wan t to grab their share of tbe prize money and glory. From time to time, they put out a little more effort than talen 1, it seems to look like Costa Mesa has so many more crashes than any of the other tracks. There are, on the average, 6 riders that" eat a little dirt at each one of the tracks running in the southland. Greg Haserot ended the week the same way he started, by winning the Handicap Main. Greg also did the deed Tuesday night at Ventura. For the ninth time this season, the Costa Mesa checkered flag has fallen on Mike Bast for the Scratch Main event win. Mike will just have to add one more to his record. • Results of First Qualifying Round For the 1973 United States National Championship at Bakersfield: 1. 5teve aut (3.3.3.3.3.=15),2. Rick Wood. (3.3.3.3.1.=13); 3. Joe Henry (1.3.3.1.3.=11); 4. Dubb Ferrell (3'.1.1.2.2.=9); 5. sonny Nutter (2.2.2.2.1.2.=9); 6. Rich MacMurr~y (1.0.3.2.3.=9); 7. Jim Gre!,a~ (3.3.0.0.2.=8), B. Mike Konle (2.0.2.1.3.-8), 9. Scott Sivage (1.1.2.3.1.=8), 10. Ed WHilam. (0.1.2.0.2.=5): 11. John Fishburn (2.0.0.2.0=4); 12. Paul Orlandi (-.2.2.-=4); 13. Les Chanky 1.1.1.0.1.=14); 14. Ken Cartee 0.2.1.1,0.=41' 15. Troy McKee 1 Dave Galvin (0.2.0.0.1.=3);(2.1.·.·.·.=3), 16. 17. Larry Moon (0.0.0.3.0.=3). Getting off, different·techniques: Different lines...