Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

September 4, 1973 Page 23 started in second and finished in second. Mike -got past Woods for third and Cody stayed in front of Becker for fifth. Hal Lawry, who has just returned fo racing from a broken shoulder, took the second division Main win. . • Irwindale, Hke all the other tracks, has had its ups and downs as far as the racing surface. It is unfortunate that the promoter has been ill for the past several weeks and is having difficulty in communicating his wishes to the track • maintenance crew. They seem to have something on their minds when they prepare the .track and as the riders say, it sure is not them. Irwindale has seen the biggest growth in the number of fans coming ou t to see the sport. Thi.. year, there were several more grandstands added to the grounds. I t is understandable that the larger tracks would have the larger problems, but I am sure the Mr. Meister and World Speedways, Inc., will get their communication problems solved. Costa Mesa Bill CodY. Sonny Nutter and Mike' Curoso circulate at Ventura. fans will get to see several riders they have only read abou t. Irwindale The week that just slid by Story & Photos by Dennis Greene Ventura Wild Bill Cody 'came to the rodeo grounds at the Ventura County Fairgrounds Tuesday night on his two 'wheel mount to outride the field in the Handicap Main. Mike Bast tried to head him off at the pass but was shot down and had to settle for second place. This was the tltst time this season that Bill has came out on top in a Handicap Main event., He has finished third five times, fourth five times, twice in fifth place and three times for sixth. The Sc.ratch Main was just the other way around. Mike Bast got the jump on Bill at the start and the fourlaps Bill tried to close ground on him were in vain. Mike is the current point leader with 27 wins to his credit in the Scratch column and 9 in the Handicap. Bruce Penhall, after four weeks of trouble at Ventura with everything from flats to breaking chains, got his act together for his fourth win in the Second Division. With less than two months to go at Ventura and about ten weeks left in the season, it is good to see how the sport of speedway racing is growing. The crowds are on the increase at Ventura and after seeing several promotions fail at this track it is only right that we give credit where credit is due. The promoters (International Speedway, Inc.) have done a fine job of getting the •word ou t to the public. Bakersfield The second and tmal round of qualifying for the California State Championship was run Wednesday nigh t at Bakersfield with the current holder of the title turning in a perfect round. Steve Bast has won the title for the past four years and is favored to repeat the feat this coming Wednesday night, the 29th. Steve did not ride Tuesday night because of the flu. He was brough t to the track Wednesday night looking like death warmed over. He, like every one else, had to ride a qualifying round. He didn't turn in a perfect score. He sat ou t the second half of the show, watching the show from the grandstand as ills old rival Rick Woods won the Scratch Main event. . This Wednesday night will bring an end to the racing at Bakersfield for"the 1973 seaspn, and what a better way than with a championship event. The promoters are already talking about what they are going to do next year. There is a lot of, talk about paying the top 5 riders appearance money, just to show up and ride. Because of racing four night a week, some of the top names in. speedway have chosen not to ride this track. They have several reasons; too far to drive, too hot, the track needs work and there is not enough overage to be made. The riders do get a percentage of the front gate money, and the promoters feel that if they put up bon'!s money out of their pocket to attract the other handful of riders, the crowds will grow as well. This is sound thinking and should make everyone happy. The riders will be eaming more, and most important, the The second week in a row of mud faced the riders as they tried in vain to put on a speedway show at Irwindale, This past Thursday night it was not until halftime that the work crews were able to get this prQblem worked out. By that time, several of the . riders had already missed a chance to ride in the money races, the Main events. The bad track led to short tempers, so much so that when Billy Gray came to a stop because of engine problems and Steve Gresham had to lay it down to keep from running him down, a fight broke out and Gray went down. It took five infield people to break it up. Neither BilT or Steve got into the Main events. Rick Woods again called on his past experience on the rough tracks overseas and was able to h old off the charge of Mike Bast in the Scratch Main for the' win. Mike was left at the starting gate when the starter got into just a little too much of a hurry to get the race underway. Mike will probably see more and more of this because they are tired of having him beat them. The Handicap race was just tha t. Jim Gresham, starting on the 20 yard Hoe with no one in front of him. Sonny Nutter sat to his rear at the thirty, Bill Cody was on the forty, Dan Becker on the fIfty and Rick Woods and Mike Bast were bac.k on the sixty. Bast and Woods were tfte only riders in this race to better their positions. Jime had the lead and kept it. Nutter Mike Bast picked up his 27th win as he carne in first in the Scratch Main at Costa Mesa Friday night in front of a capacity crowd. They saw this young bero get the jump at the starting. line and go on to hold off the challenge of Larry Shaw, Bill Cody and brother Steve. This was only the second event that Steve has ridden this week because of illness. Costa Mesa is the biggest weekly motorcycle show in the country. with more people paying each week to see a speedway race than any other type of motorcycle event in any 4 wee k. Tills overflow crowd is one big reason that the promoters are looking for a larger place to hold the upcoming race tha twill decided who will be the new national champion. As it looks right now, the race will be at the Los, Angeles Memorial Colsieum on October 22m!, but this is not the last word. Sumner McKnight, recently returned from England and had one of his better nigh ts as he won the Handicap Main ev.ent. Sumner said after the race that if he did not win i. from the 20 yard line he would have to take a few weeks off to get his head straigh.t because he felt that there was some small thing that he was doing wrong. He didn't say after winning this event if he had found out what his problem was. A new name for you readers, Bobby Ross. It is not that Bob has not been in his share of Mairi events,; to the con trary, he has very selc;lom missed one, but for some strange reason Bob always runs second. This holds true in the heat races when he eams the right to ride the fv,Iain, but always transfers second. On three other occasions Bob i)as come ou t on top in the Second Division Main and is now tied for second place with Bruce Penhall, Keith Tennis and Mark Cherf. Wayne Lewis is leading the list with five division wins, and an in teresting poin t is that all the other riders have had their chance in the first division, but to my recollection, Wayne has been overlooked. • A spiffy new 350cc Rotrax ~.A.P. 1\lII"II!l~----:::::::::-----"";~--:---'"

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