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/126043
Captain Dubb geU a hoist I' By Dennis Greene and Rex Reese Ventura, California April 20, 1976 Eat-ern-up may not be th e best way to ta lk about the visitor, b ut that was the cry T uesday nigh t at Ven tu ra where the Sp ro ckets fro m Irwindale were ch ewed up by th e Ventura Sh arks . T here has been some rough riding alread y this year and the SRA referees are handing out fines left and right along with warnings to sh ape up or ship out. In one decision Tuesday night a th ird pl ace finish was taken away from a rid er who , for n o apparen t reason, rode an opp osing team rider to the wall. The poin r was given to the downed rid er . The Sharks, ca p tain ed by Sonny Nutter , pulled out to an e ight point lead during t he 13 events, but the fin al sco re saw just a four-point spread , 41 -3 7. _ 11J.e Junior Speedway riders mad e their sea so n debut , and this season th ey have a young lad y riding with them. Jan Ballard, ano t her rider lo oking for a spo t on a te am , won in the Handicap Main to put h imself on a list of possibles. Division Two wa s a heart-breaker for Brad Oxley. After leading the Main fo r four laps , go ing in to the last turn wide to avoid a m otorcycle th at was st ill on th e track, he went a little too wide right Making team riding work. Sharks Schwartz and Nutter split their rivals up the middle, then hold formation. into th e cras h wall . The victory went to Bill Monteleone , givin g him his second win in a row. San Bernardino, California April 21, 1976 Before the ra ce , lo cal sizz ler J im Fishback got the b iggest che er; Billy Gr ay ponder ed his mo rtality as he p icke d a roc k ou t of t he clay track sur face. Pickadilly Willy, th e an nouncer, pushed a button to play the National Anthem wh ich brought about th e only sile nce th at would ever take pl ace tonight. In one o f the earl y team events Jim Fishback and La rry Meister went down in a cra sh , determined by th e t rac k re f to be th e result o f rough riding by Alan Chri st ian (Cos ta Mesa) who was San Berdoo's high-jumping starter flags a heat as Picadilly Willy pumps the crowd. dismissed from the track and replaced. Later, the fourth Handicap heat was a ca rnage of Rollerball proportions as at one time or another, almost all six riders in the event had cr ashed, n ecessitating two res tarts . The Second Division riders we re eq ua lly spectacular as one laid it down in tum three, only to be hit by another wh o was almo st catap u alted into the cra sh wall. " Ho w do y ou like Second Division l?" screamed \Villy. "Yeah!" cheered the cro wd . Tonight had been the first night ever Second Division rider Kurt fo r Strom mer who did well enough to ge t paid a whole ten dollars. Then there is the curious . case of Denny Scopellite wh o rides Firs t Division. Unlike others who are spo nso red by shops, Denny is sp onsored by KISS , the ro ck band fa m o us fo r its punk ro ck style an d heavy metal sounds. This sponsorship has poss ib ly created the ultimate en tertainment combination of the '70 's. Irwindale, California April 22, 1976 Toni gh t I (Reese) took my life into my hands as I cajoled my girlfriend - a devout motorcycle hater - into co m ing to .Irwin dale. " Do they pray , too ?" 'she asked abo u t the riders as j h e Anthem was played. Sharon sat icily still , prepared not to like what she would see. • siie "ooiihed" at-the good rides, and was turned wretched by the crashes, especially when black suited Galvin backed "Peanut Butter" Nutter and Warren Goodwin in to the crash waIl during one of the First Division heats. Both riders tu mbled and spilled, and wer e qu ite shaken, but were OK. There was a more serious crash when Second Division riders Bill Monteleone and Mark Atchison fell in the third turn, sending Mark he adlong in to the wall and unconscious. Bill went over the handlebars with a possible broken arm. . Rod Sexton ended the show, winning the Handicap Main , and a wet juicy kiss from the troph y girl. We left Irwindale a elec trified , maybe with _ little m ore in co mmon with each o ther th an be fo re , We have beco me Sp eedway converts? Costa Mesa, California April 23, 1976 32 Danny Becker and th e Ventura Sharks made thei r season debut at the Orange County Fairgrounds in front of a sell-out crowd. During the 13 events the score was tied several times, ·but the "home town n never did get the lead, submitting to the Sharks 36-42. The tr ack was wet and very tricky to ride, acco un t ing for several get-offs that worked for both teams in total points earned. Second Division heat race again saw Brad Oxley far out in front for four of the five laps only to overnegotiate the tum and meet the track last face-to-face. Mike Bendy made the Divison Two . show when he came in as a reserve rider for Bill Monteleone, who broke his shoulder Thursday night at Irwindale. Mike wen t all tbe way in the Division Two Main. Jan Ballard picked up his second Handicap Main Event of the week over an outstanding field. His victory Tuesday ni ght at Ventura and his added win at Costa Mesa put J an in a fair spot to move on to a te am if a spot becomes open. Bakersfield, California April 24, 1976 The Bakersfield Bandits have become the first team to beat the Sizzlers of San Bernardino. The win may be due to promoter Digger Helm taking his team out to lunch prior to the meet at the local Sizzler, and not only did they have the Sizzler for lunch, the y also had the same for dinner. Six times in th e 13 event team half of the show the Sizzlers took over the lead. A total of 39 points was run up by both teams at the end of the 13 events and a tie-breaking runoff put th e Sizzlers' .team captain , Larry Sh aw up against Bandit Dubb Ferrell. Ferrell had the lead all the way , but he and Shaw went down in the last lap after making contact. It was Ferrell first to get to his feet and back under way, getting three poin ts to give the Sizzlers their first defeat of the season, 42-41. The second half o f the program, the more familiar Ha ndicap racing, saw "J ump in" J im · Gre sh am win his fITSt Main Event this seas on, after taking seco nd seve ral t im es in the past two weeks. This is o f great importa nce to those rider s looking for the ch anc e to ride on a tea m, should a space bec o me available. •