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/125883
:.. U ..0 o -o u sa 421 make it Check Chase By Jim Stewart 29 PAL:\IS . CAL. •.OC T. 12 In th ei r usual fashion, the Checkers eliminated more than half of their 894 entries before the finish, but those who did make it rece ived o ne of the famous checker finisher pins . This year's Check Chase was much easier th an last. with fire ro ads being the main 26 co urse ingredient. Plowed up dry lakes, washed out fire ro ads, rolling sand dunes and miles of whoopdedoos kept the results down t o 42 1 finishers. A.C. Bakken was this year's winner, riding his 4 00 Husky to the Colorado River faster th an everyo ne. Last year's overall Novice winner Bob Balentine was this year 's second overall , sec o nd Open. Cordis Brooks picked up the 250 class win at third overal l, with Doug Winchel l second 250 at a very impressive fo urth overall. Takahasi sponsored Benny Padilla rode hard for fifth overall. and co m m en ted that the course could have been "a little rougher. " Dan Dawson rode Check Chase for the first time as an Expert, finishing sixth overall, four th 250 Expert. Last year's winner Jim Fishback. now riding a 360 monoshock Yamaha. was seventh. West Cycle sponsored Ron Pinion blew the other Amateurs aw ay, finishing eighth overall. Bobby Ferro, who won the Check Chase four ye ar s ago , came out of semi -retirement to finish ninth overall , fourth Open Expert on his 650 T rium p b . Tom Scbmid rounded out tbe top ten finishers. j ust ahead o f Randy Fleming, Charles Curnutt J r., with a pair . of his products sus pending h is Husky . was 12th ove rall. Co nsisten t Steve Subith took l Sth , fo llo wed by Rover Jim Eveland. First-time Expert Dana Alden scored 15th . Max Eddy . riding a 175 KTM, was the first C rider to get the checkered. with Jeff Kaplan also with the Sand Sailors M.C. second . Monte Lee was third , with Division II steward Ron Hall Io u r t h , Danny Williams of the Dustrnakers was first 175 Amateur at 52 nd overall. with R. Torgerson second at 59th overall. Carl Fjast ad got his first ever Amateur trophy at sixth 175 Amateur. riding the same bike that had brought him to the finish not o nly this year but the two years p rec eeding. Ron :\lcClellan was first 250 Amateur with Bob Reynolds not too far behind for second. and Phil Cloward a' bike behind Reynolds for third. Dick Weinbrandt. Tom Gruenberg and Don Shatto were the 4th, 5th and 6th 2 50 Amateurs. Ron Beb o was second Open Am ateur, with Fred Bo yles third . Bruce Ogilive rode the fir st t rail bike across . the finish line at 35th overall. Steve Wagner was sec o nd at 62nd. with Sandy Robertson third at 75th overall. Jamie Haas outlasted the other Trail Amateurs fo r first, with Wesley Ari ta second. Steven H. Penn was the overal l Novice vic to r on his monoshock Yamaha. Penn, riding with the Vikings M.C.. received a bitchen trophy to match A.C.'s for his effort. Tracy Walters was second overall Novice. first 250. while Larkin Wigh t manhandled his 50 0 Triumph in fo r third. Al Mejia Jr" Dave Roga czewski, Bub Brack (who was first 175) :\1. Sandoval, G. Cawthon , J ohn Sink and S. Gregory rounded out the top ten Novices . John Lawson an d Larrv ~Iullen were the second and third 175 'No vice finishers . D. Tortorelli was the first Trail Novice at a very impressive 213th overall. N. Barber, No rm Fisher, Ken Miller, Mike Hosch. Mitch Payton. D. Dorman. and Joe Lockhart filled in the next Trail Novice finishing positions. Trudy Beck was the first Powder Puffer with Linda Fing second. Kathy Anglin. B. T ieskoctter, Patsy Matus, Ginger Evans, :'1. Ripple. and Denise Nuckles are all women and were al l finishers. Robert Sanner and son Charles were given the sidehack win, being the only hac k to reac h Check I. 12·year-old Mark Davidson was the youngest finis her. wh ile 64 years young Dwight Avery, ridi ng a 250 Honda, was the most experienced. I'm s u re a few riders were disappointed with tbe trophies given them, but just remember. it is what they stand for that counts. Only 89 trophies were given out, and if yo u received one, yo u ca n be very proud of yourself. • Enduro, minibike rules changed by AMA Congress Enduro riders classi fication svsterns were changed to co n fo~m with those previously in effect in 1972. "B" riders st ill need 100 points to advan ce to ··A" status, but those points must now be earned not in "B" standings bu t in overall standings . Overall "B " winners st ill advance automatically to "A" and all class winners receive a five-point bonus . The maximum age for minibike co m p e t itors was lowered to 12. Yo urrg s t e r s become ineligib le fo r mini bike racing on their 13th birthday . The Amateur Rule Book was amended to clarify a point regarding 1\.\IA clubs. AII officers and members of I\.\1A clubs must be members o f the A.\IA in good sta ndi ng. All actio ns take effect on January I , 1975. ~linutes of the Congress will be printed in the December issue of AMA News. _