Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

; CBH'JrBAL PI ~ i ************************************************** = ~ t Wes Lunoy leads Jim Hedrick and Dick Pruet". at the Dallas Speedway on Ice. Stacy Smith predicts first overall at S.R.A.C. Aztec By Linda Donelson COLORADO SPRINGS, CO , APR. 10 The 125 Experts came to the line in 35 m ile per hour winds present . When the gate d ropped on the first moto, all hell broke 32 loose to the first corner. Stacy Smi th (Precision Yam) slipped under the pack and took over th e lead with Jay Rice (Town & Cou ntry Suz) right behind. As they approached th e first deep dropaway , Smi th was looking down at the bike and losing power he had forgotten to tum th e gas on. Rice quickly passed to take the lea d . Before Smith cold get it all together again, most of the pack had gone by. Determ ined and driving hard, Smith banzaied his Yamaha. turn after tum , reeling rider after rider in , but never having quite enough time or horsepower to catch R ice. Boo St ichter hung on to second with Smith third . Before the second mow, Smith was ready a full five minutes before his moto was called to the lin e. I asked him if that meant something. He said " I'm going to win. '; As th e second moto started, Smith and Rice were side by side down the long start shoot, into the first comer and over the jump - Yamaha and Suzuki running neck and neck . Int o the san d wash and up the long hill , it was Smith out in front by one wheel. You could feel the charge in the air, as Stichter (Cycle Ce nter Hon) in third was not letting the two get away from him . Rice pu lled out in fro nt as t hey went onto the long back straight and throug h the off ca m ber, again footpeg to foot peg. nobody giving a n inch. Suddenly, Rice was out with a seized engine. Smith . now with th e lead , wheelied away to a first , as he had predicted. Boo Stichter never gav e up his seco nd position , but couldn't catch Smith. • Resu lts in Results Section . \ , .. Waco M.C. to host Texas Over-3D MX Championships The Waco Motorcycle Club will host the Texas State Ove r-3D Motocross Championshi ps on May 8, in Waco , Texas. There will be a free barbeque and camping at the track Saturday night , but the course will be closed to riding unti l official practice starts at 9:00 a.m . Sunday, Ma y 8. Racing will start at 12:00 noon. with di visions for Novice and Intermediate riders on 125 . 250 and Open machines. Each No vice rnoto will run 15 m inutes plus one lap , and Interm edia tes will run 20 minutes plu s one lap . All class winners will be eligible to run for the overall Novice a nd overa ll Intermediate trophies , in a one-mote, all -bikes challenge race. More information is available from the Waco M.C .. P.O. Box 1403 , Waco , TX 76701 , (817) 772 ·0860. • Results in Results Section. Suzuki had a slight edge on power, and Loeffler started to pull away . Isham never gave up - as they approached the next tum , he held it wid e open to close th e gap. Back a ways in fourth was Mark Gross , trying desperately to catch the leadersz. Three laps later, Loeffler was still first with Isham right behind , waiting for a mistake that never came. Gross ; still pushing, was now in third. As the checkered came out , Isham gave it a ll he h ad , but finished one wheel length behind Loeffler. The second mo to of the Mini Expert saw a look of determination on Isham's face on the line. He knew he had to do it. As the gate went so did Ish a m , out in front , on ly to look back after the first turn to see Loeffler and Gross right behind. Dicing back and forth for four laps, Isham never q uite gave way to Loeffler. The checkered was out with one more turn to go , then the straight and a win . Suddenly. Isham m issed a gear on the Yamaha and Loeffler on the Suzuki streaked by to take two firsts and the overall. Andy Hoeffer took third and Gross had trouble with his scooter on the third lap. • Resu lts in Results Section. Babin has Rio Bravo twin win S.R.A.C. Minis zero in on points at Aztec By L J . Duplichan By Linda Donelson HOUSTON , TX , APR. 10 COLORADO SPRINGS. CO , MA R. 20 Ted Loeffler (Suz) , captured hard -fought firsts in the Mini Expert class to give him the overall against some stiff com petition at Aztec Ra ceway. Wi th the thrott les screaming. the gate was dropped on the first of two motos, All 10 riders were even into the first tight left hander. Approaching th e first dropaway, Loeffler pulled slig htly ahead with Randy Isham (Ya m) alongside. The pair continued to dice for first through the hairpins, downhills and off-cambers. On th e back straight it looked like Loeffler's Maico-mounted Ralph Ba bin led a colorful parade of Easter Su nday rnotocrossers to completely domina te the Expert Division at Rio Bravo. The spectacled Ba b in , riding for Dirt Bike Cen ter of Wes t La ke, Lo uisiana. worked with the precision of a surgeon as he sliced his way th rou gh t he co mpetition in - th e com bined 250 / 0pen Ex pe rt class to collect t he first place. money. Ma rk Purdue on a new O pen class bike and Danny Pen nington cha llenged hard , but cou ldn't overtake the Louisiana native who crossed the border Sunday to collect some Texas dollars. With money in his leathers from his 250 Dash Open class win , Babin on his new 250 Ma ico turned his attention to the speci a l Rio Bravo Cash Dash which has become a popular feature for the Expert riders. Ba bin again jumped to an early lead and with Ba rt Ba tson out of the race early with mechanical difficulties, it was up to Sha un Kelley to make the big challenge. Kelley, on a 125, managed to get withi n five seconds of Ba bin , bu t at the checkered flag Bab in once again had his h and out for the first place money. In the 125 Expert Divisio n , it was Sha un Kelley and Mickey Pizzitola doing battle for the ho nors. Pizzitola managed the holeshot in both mot es , but Kelley made his way arou nd fast riding Pizzito la as they took th e flag firs t and second respectively, One of the most exciting Amateur races of the day featu red t he 125 Intermediate class. It was handl eb ar to -handlebar all -out racing. Mike Ho ldsworth, Ronnie Nutting, and Vic Uhrenholdt worked a ro un d the revamped Bravo track in relentless pursuit of the number one trophy. They crossed the line both motos in a near photo finish that had spectators yelli ng with excitement. Hol dswo rt h wok it with Nutting second and Uhrenholdt third . Track operator Red W alli ng announced a new starting time for Sunday practice at 8:00 a.m. with races beginning promptly at 10:00 a.m. , allowing time for an intermission between motos and a reworking of the track . • Results in Results Section. Alabama's Westbrook wins Dallas Ice Speedway By Joe D. Mayes - DALLAS . TX. APR. I Speedway on Ice complet ed i~ 1977 winter season with a wild night of ac tion a t t he State Fa ir Park Arena here in Da lla s. A very enthusiastic crowd watched 16 top speedway ice racers battle for I

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