Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

speedway at Costa Mesa was run with all the enthusiasm of opening night. Next Friday night it aU comes to a head with the running of the United State National Championship. This will not be the end of the season because there is still a race at Irwindale the lst of November and Ascot plans on running two events on the '4 mile. The season will not come to an end for the Bast brothers at all because they are going on tour overseas starting out in Australia. Steve Bast ran away with the scratch main event; letting everyone know that is what he will try to do next week to get back his speedway title. Larry Shaw pushed him all the way and cannot be overlooked as a poten tial winner. Running third in the race was Mike Curoso and he too is ready for the big win now that he has found out just how much he can get out of the new machine that was put together for him by George Wenn, the same man who put the race bikes together for Ivan Mauger. The fourth spot went to Mike Bast who just sat back to see what the rest of the competition will be doing on that big night. Mark Cherf did it again in the Handicap main, starting on the 10-yard line and putting the, aavantage to good use over Larry Moon, Mike Curoso and the rest. Debb Reon got her first ride at Costa Mesa Friday night and did not let the pace down as she came in third. The last Premier Second Division main for the Story & Photo by Dennis Greene Irwindale. Oct. 18 History was made this past Thursday night at Irwindale when Debb Reon became the first woman to ever win a Speedway event. The 19-year-old lady lined up on the lO-yard line in the third division feature event and went right to the lead, setting a pace that was too much for the five guys who tried to out ride her. One by one they fell by the wayside trying to catch her and at the end of the event she was the only rider still running. Moving on to the Second Division main and the last time this season that there will be a division event at Irwindale we find George Annas winning his first main even t this year. Irwindale will be closed on the 25th because of the National event to be run the next night. It seems that there are many riders who would rather not take a chance of doing anything that migh t keep them from putting on a good show during the title shot, and they told the promoter that they did not wish to ride. So because of the lack of entries he has decided not to run that nigh t. Bill Gray got back into the winners' circle by winning the handicap main event over Bill Cody and Mike Curoso. Bill was on a hot, winning streak a full month back'and was so impressive that he was picked by Premier helmets as one of their'riden. They got him a new set of leathers ana nis luck went bad up to last week when he put back on his old leathers and started .to win again. Mike Bast is rounding out ~is year just as he started, winning every thing around. He won the scratch main giving him a total of 33 main events in scratch racing and is heavily favored to win the national on the 26th at Costa Mesa. There is only one more event scheduled for Irwindale on the 1st of November and this will be a very special night. There will be 34 of the top riders on hand to ride an all handicap show with a very involved ,system worked out to determine the best rider. Even without winning all his events, a rider could ~ome up with the most points. Would you believe that on the 5th of this month Jeff Sexton was involved in a pile-up at Costa Mesa and had his foot broken in several places, was taken to the doctor and told that he would be out of competition for eight months. He had his leg and foot put into a cast and on Thursday night he rode at Irwindale with no more than an Ace bandage on, with full consent of the doctor who gave him a release to ride. That's 12 days in a cast. It's either good living or a lot of vitamins. Costa Mesa, Oct. 19 The last regular show of the season was won for the first time by Chris Chrisansen, a fitting end to a good season. Now comes the time that I stick my head into the noose. I have been asked so many times about the national that I would like to take this space up with my own thoullhts about the outcome of the title shot. I have divided the 16 riders up into three groups with one left over for lust. The bottom five, as I see it will be Don Cullum, Sonny Nutter, Sumner McXnight, Ricb McMurry and Scott Sivage. The next best group is made up of Guy Waterson, Steve Gresham, Dubb Ferrell, Mike Konle and Larry Shaw. The top five not counting first place are Mike Bast, Rick Woods, Mike Curoso, Dan Becker, Bill Cody and that gives you my cboice for IltSt, Steve Bast. Reasons: Noone rider will get a perfect score and every ride will carry as much power to the first two as the winner. I don't see anyone getting better than 13 points. I am going with Stev.e Bast for a number of mathematical reasons. One is that no rider in the States has ever had back-ta-back wins in the championship races for the title. That, along with the fact that I think all the riders will be putting the pressure on Woods, will see him finish no better than third even though he is the cw:rent holder of the title. Mike Bast, the winner two years ago, will have all the pressure in the world on his shoulders because of his incredJble record of scratch wins this season, and everyone is looking for him to run away with the show. I think the pressure will be too much and that he will lose points to his brother and Mike Curoso, one of the few riders who knows just how to get underneath him in the turns and pass for the win. Mr. Cool, Steve Bast, does not fear any rider. He can ride anywhere on the track and not lost a spot. If he gets carried out to the wall he can outrun them down the straight and be the lust to the flag. If he is tried on the outside and forced down low, he has enough skill to ride through the turns with riders leaning on him and still pull away_ Put all this together with a young man who all season has, with his brother, been the best ambassador of the sport and you come up with Steve Bast as the new Speedway Champ. I think at the end of the night when all the points are added up it will be Steve in lust, Mike Bast second', Rick Woods in third and a three·way tie for fourth between Mike Curoso, Bill Cody and Dan, Becker. The runoff should go to Curoso, then Bill Cody and taking sixth, Dan Becker. I should point out that I did this same kind of analysis two years ago and was 100% correct the year that Mike Bast won. In fact I picked the fust ten riders that year and was right in every case. Last year, when Rick won, I did not have one rider in the right spot and was 100% wrong all the way down the line. I sure hope this year I will get at least 50% Billy GrllY. back in his old lea1he" for good luck, won Irwindale handiC3P main. I • c<'l .... C'I .... o .. c<'l " "£ 1.1 o

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