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/125835
, 81 I LDlCASTIR • ~ SBORT TRACK E CIIJlMPIONSBIP ANTELOPE VALLEY FAIR GROUNDS ~ o C'J .... (l) Avenue I and Dlvisian SUNDAY NOV. 18th ..0 E (l) ;;- o Z PIT GATE-l0 AM PRACTICE-ll AM 1st RACE-l:00 PM , Scratdl MMn lilts off the line. Bill Cody took it. with Bill Gray second and Mike Konle third. "TOTALLY NEW TRACK" LAST pio RACE OF YEAR IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Pane $1500. \ -,~ The Season Is Over For Awhile - By Steven Parker Photos by Dennis Greene GARDENA, CA., NOV. 9 The 1973 SRA speedway season is over for the time being, and the last night of sliding competition was held at Ascot Park in Gardena. Many of the top name: in the sport shunned the track for various reasons, mostly having to do with the track itself. A quick ADVANCED TICKETS $2.50 - GATE $3.00 Tickets available in LANCASTER at Larry Lilley Handa, AV Cycle Parts, Lancaster Yamaha, Lancaster Bultaco, and The Master's Shop Lancaster and Palmdale. In PALMDALE at Palmdale Honda, and Ray Bevans Yamaha. at N. 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Countless razor blades, pieces of glass and metal, spark plugs and whatever else faIls off a car or bike when it crashes could be found without too much difficulty in the deep mud of the straigh taway, and some of the racers consider the track just to dangerous to ride. Rick Woods, Sumner McKnight, Dan Becker and even Mike Curoso, among others, decided to sit this last one out and let the other guys beat their brains for a change. This didn't happen though, as the main events went to two veterans of racing, and tile names in the winners column were as familiar as ever. Riding Ascot is a trick in itself, and some of the stars that shine at other tracks just can't do the same on the big, deep t,4 mile oval. The evening started on a sour note when Dave Aldana, the only serious AMA threat to the speedway racers, blew his engine up during practice. This event was met by the speedway riders with not totally hidden joy, as Aldana is viewed by most SRA racers as more of a hazard on the track than anything else. There were very few riders getting off their -mounts during the long night, and tbere were no injuries. The action was good and fast, and the crowd simply couldn't believe some of the things taking place in fron t of them. Getting these machines into a slide at high speeds is quite a sight, and even though the conditions at Ascot are not the best in the world, it is a great showcase for the sport of speedway racing. The two veterans who got chances to shine for tbe evening were Bill Cody and Jeff Sexton. They shared the wins in the main events, and Sexton ended up as the 'big money winner of the night copping wins in the Handicap Main and the Scratch Consolation. Cody took the , Scratch Main win, holding off a few other ve terans on his way to the checkered flag. Winning the Second Division Main event was Ron Long, a rider making his first appearance in Southern California. Long led a field that included Southern Cal's regulars Rick Smith and Max Koemans. Long had the style that showed /l"e could be a winner in the future. Tbe Handicap Consolation showed that Troy McKee bas come a long way since the start of tbe year. McKee began th.e year as a second division racer, and finisbed off the season by taking the win in a consolation event against Bruce PenhaJl and Guy Waterson. McKee is another rider who bas the makings of a star, and next year be could be a power to be reckoned with. The Scratcb Consolation brought Bruce PehnaJl, Dubb Ferrell, Mark Cherry and Jeff Sexton to the line. Sex ton took the lead and the win in an event that saw Mark Cherry almost go down hard. The Scratcb Main was up next, and Bill Cody was destined for the win against Bill Gray, Mike Konle and Scott Sivadge. Cody led the entire field for the length of the race, and deserved the trophy and kiss of the trophy girl when the race was over. Cody has fough t hard aIL season to hold on to tbe high prestige he has as a top rider, and next season "Wild Bill" will enter tbe scene as high a name in the minds of the other riden as ever. Keith Tennis took the lead from the line in the Handicap Main. Tennis was stationed on the ten yard line, and he beld the lead for almost three laps before some of his competition got the better of him. Konle, Sivadge, Steve Gresham and Bill Cody were coming down on him hard, and Sexton was waiting in the back for something to happen. Halfway through the event it looked like Cody was going to take the win and sweep the program, but Sexton has other ideas, and passed the entire field of five riders in one lap. Sex ton led until the end, taking the win in the last Main even of the regular season. He perhaps deserved the win more than any of the other riders on the track. Sexton had been troub1ed by what seemed to be nothing more than plain old bad luck during the 1973 season. i\ hard charger in other types of two wheeled endeavors, Sexton had worked his way into first division during one season of raCing. He never seemed to do much more than break bis bones, and only raced a third of the season this year, put out of competition with a broken foot, cellar bone and w-rist. He still managed to find a reserve spot in the 1973 speedway national championships, and winning the- last main of the season meant to many that he would be a top contender in 1974. As Sexton put it, "It was just like . being down on the fann", alter he won the Handicap Main, but to others it meant that speedway had a lot of younger stars who are going to pose threats to some of the more established riders when speedway again starts in Costa Mesa sometime next April. e