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/126069
Bill Cody The Number One plate and National title have been Bill Cody 's ultimate goa l ever sin ce American ' Speedwa y re-appeared in 1968. He's a former Class C Expert and one of the four cu rrent competitors who re-introdu ced the sport to Southern Cali fornia. Cody has tw ice held the seasonal points lea d , but nev er owned the prestige 'o f Nu mber One. Team racing sui ts him just fme sin ce it allo ws him to devote more tim e to his business, Bill cody Racing Products, an d his family. He owns and maintains his own eq uipment, of co urse , and also owns the machine of one of his st ro ngest opponents, Alan Christ ian. ~ Cod y has a lot of exp erience on t he Costa Mesa oval which will co me in ha ndy agains t his you nge r oppo nen ts . . He was seventh in the po in ts standings and qu ite re leived when he di dn 't have to go th ro ug h 'qu alify ing rounds for t he Natio na l. Co dy h ad has the most famou s nickname in Speedway, "WILD Bill", whi ch does not really fit his quiet off-t he- trac k p ersonality. But , he 's not at all shy about clos ing d oors on the unsu spect ing co mpetit ion . Ron Preston' 18-year-old Prest on will be the y oungest rider in the National field. Ron was the po ints leader in the qualifying rounds an d still can 't believe that he actually will go for the title. Starting the ' 76 season in Division II, he ended , up on the San Bernardino Sizzlers team before he had ever co m pete d in his first scratch race. Ron was eight years old when his first bike ca me along and he cu t his racing teeth on moto cr oss, TT and short trac k. Two years ago Ron bought his A lan Christian For five long years Alan Christian's fellow Northern California riders gritted their teeth and hoped that maybe this quiet young man would either. go back to the motocross track or take up sky diving. Alan had other ideas though. His northern friends were releived of his un-relenting winning ways when he moved from Reno in April of this year to Huntington Beach and unleashed his ta lents on t he Southern Californ ia Speedway circuit. The unfamiliar turf didn't dampen his enthusiasm one bit firs t Speedway b ik e and started racing at O.C.I.R., only abo u t 250 miles from his home in EI Cen tro . In Ap ril, Ron's family m oved to Cost a Mesa so he co uld spend more time racing. Jim Fishback gets some credit from Ron for helping him out quite a bit when he first joined the San Berdoo team. Now Jim will have a chance to find out just how good a teacher he is. This talented you ng man was onl y a spe ctator last yea r in t he Coliseum. This year, an ything can happen on t he short tight Co sta Mesa trac k and don't be surprised if it does. and amny of the 16 qualifers say he will be one of the four finalists when it gets down to the final match. Bill Cody owns and maintains Christian's bike and win , lose, or draw, he must feel partly responsible for the outcome. Alan has enjoyed his experience wi th team racing, but has made no definite pl ans to make SoCal his permanent home. The rigid schedu le involved wh en competing on the five track local circu it probably has some bearing on his unsettled decision. In many cases, there . simply isn 't enough time left after five hard days nights for these men to do much else. Bobby Schwartz This will be the second time around for Bobby in National Competition. Last year his debut into Division I had everyone shaking their heads in amazement. His fat her was in the hospital when the season opened and Bobby set out hoping to win his first handicap main event so he could present his dad wi th the trophy. He did just that - and . on ce ' he got started, he ju st wouldn 't quit . Four nights of racing brought him four handicap main wins Steve Nutter In 1975 Steve Nutter challenged the National title in the Coli seum. He was not one of t he top 16 qualifie rs, but he was the fi rst reserv e rider and took over Mike Curoso 's ent ry when Mike go t sick and h ad to forfei t. Here's the kicker. He finish ed third . He cou ldn't believe it - bu t the fans loved it . This year, Steve has proved his ab ilities by fini shing fifth _in the points standings. That fantastic ride last year was not an accident by any means. Injur ies have kept him sidelined in the past, but everything seems to be goin g his way for what might be his last season. He now owns a tri als bike and plans to start riding trials events after the title race is settled. He also wants to become a firem an and one of these da ys will probably fmd himself participating in the Hook and Ladder Enduro . This year there will be no question of whether or not his chance at the title depends on whomight not show up. His spot ' on the line is ready and waiting, but there are a bu nch of guys who might not be ready for him. and had everyone exclaiming " incredible "-ind u ding his father. A broken collarbone finally halted his storm trooper winning tactics for seven weeks. Even then, he still racked up en ough points to qualify for the 19 75 Coliseum event. This year, Bobby is t he only m ember of the Ventura Shar ks to qualify straight to the National, happily detouring the pressures of qualifying rounds.ยท He's only 20-years-old and has a lot of potential. His flashy riding style, more commonly-know as fuUtilt, puts him in the "favorite " bracket- for the 1976 title . 33