Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

(Left ) Gary Scott savors the champagne "victory shower" with Ms. Camel Lynn ~riffis,IAbovelln Heat action Scott Drake (91) leads through the first' tum with Kenny Roberts (2) on the outside with Alex Jorgensen close behind. Louisville is a tale of two Scotts: Han-k breaks; Gary wins By Gary Van Voorhis LOUISVILLE, KY,jUNE4 Gary Scott, "back in the hunt ," posted his second consecutive AMA Grand National Championship/ Camel Pro Series victory at Louisville Downs and his 10th career win with a five- 6 second victory over Steve Morehead. jay Springsteen placed third , From lap six on the victory had the name of Scott written on it , the only q uestion was whether it would be Ha nk or Gary, In th e end it was a do ub le defeat for H ank as Gary, still his brother but no longer very m uch of a friend , slip ped past as Ha nk's engine slowed on lap 10. That was defeat number one . Defeat two was even more of a heartbreaker as Hank's ' bike's engine exploded three laps from the end while he held a safe second pla ce. It was a jubilant Gary Scott who held court for his fans later in th e pits . "Ca rl (Pa trick) . really has the bike tuned in now . I think our two victories in the last three Nationals proves tha t. Now we can d evote our efforts to getting the short track and road rac e programs on the winning track. Carl deserves a lot more attention than he gets. He 's worked a lot of long hours to get us here . Being in the hunt , tha t's what it's all about isn't it?" " I think m y luck is finally changing ," said an elated St eve Morehead : " Fu rgy (t u ne r / b uild er Edgar Fuhr) builds too good a bike to have the silly thi ngs happen that happened to us a t Sa n jose and Okla hom a City ." Bob Isky, who helps Furgy with Morehead 's KK Supply / KK Insurance . eq u i p m e n t then ret u rned fro m teardown to comment , " T e ll everyone to wa tch out - a t Harrington and Colum b us 'ca use we're ready." For Springer and his Bill Wernert u n ed Harley-Davidson fact or y mo unt , the dreams of victory that slipped to a valiant third place finish were summed up as a wrong gu ess on tir es. "We made a bad gu ess about th e front tire (a Pirelli) being right for th e track condition an d "Jay's style, " said Werner, "tha t's about it ." "Yea, concurred jay, " b ut don't forget tha t I won the slip -off-t he groove contest that Ted (Boody) ana I had going. " This' yea r's Louisville was another sellout. It was also another dust out, a condi tion unwarranted for a p romoter who reaps the benefits of a loyal spectator crowd onl y to apparently s pe n d a m in imum o n t r a c k p reparation . One had only to witness the choaking , blinding clouds of dust aft er the opening lap of the first practice session to find out how much pre ' race track prep was done. T he AMA blamed the promoter who, in turn blamed the AMA for the inadequacy of the track. Only four tons of calcium chloride had been spread although, according to the AMA , a minimum of 10 to 12 tons was needed . In an y case both the riders and the spectators ended up the victims with the only cure avai lable an effort of too little and too late watering, dragging and grooming that extended the total program over an hour. TIme trials Kenny Robe rts set the mark for the rest of the 68· rider field to shoot for with a 25.457 second la p early in qualifying provi ng h is Yamaha Motor Co.l RD&D Special a mount to reckon with. j ay Springsteen provided Kenny with Harley's answe r by setting fast _ ' time, i5 ,3,90, with Steve Eklu nd' s Zanotti Enter pr ises Ha rley bu m ping Rob e rt s to t ir d . Roo kies Bill y Burba nk (Sure-Fire Special Ha rley) and Garth Brow (Bd. Ray Harley) rounded out the top five. The familiar face of Frank Gillespie (Su p er Tabs Yamaha ) with the unfamiliar number of 2Z returned to competition after over a year 's absence t~ take the last qualifying position. Heats Springer romped to victory in the opening heat using a high (tu rn s onelthree) , low (turns two /four) system to wire the track for fastest heat of the day. Chuck Palmgren .on the Da n Gurney sponsored Harley, sliced through traffic from a slow start to reel in and then overtake Gene Romero's O cea n Pacific Special Harley for second after some close dicing . Magneto problems dropped Terry Poovey's Team Poovey/ Bel- Ray /Fox Distri bu ting H a rley fro m an ea rly second place. The highlight of the race was a last lap tu rn s three/four magic trick save by Ga rt h Brow of a wicked slide while challenging Romero for third, Garth saved it, but finished fourth . Harley teamster Corky Keener took the high line road to the lead in heat two and p roceeded to run wire to wire . Corky had to play -block the groove for th e last few laps to hold off a charging Steve Eklund who took the fight right ' to the flag. Bubba Rush , aboard the Edwards Motor Co .lT.C. Racing Harley, held second until his engine blew at the end of . lap seven moving the hard riding trio of Billy Schaeffer (T ex Peel Harley), Billy Eves (BelRay /E.C . H·D A. Harley) and Steve Morehead in to a squabble with Schaeffer taking the transfer. Kenny Roberts put on a show in heat three. "T his is the first time this year that I've got two good engines for a dirt event: And ," added Kenny, " 1 feel 100% and ready to go." Harley teamster Ted Boody , however, u pstaged Robert s' winning ride with a banzai charge on t he high line from close to last to third by lap three an d second . a la p la ter bu m ping the Sag in a w (M ichiga n) cycle Sa les Trium ph of Keith Hawley to third. Hawley stayed close to earn his firs t National sta rting berth and ho ld 'off repeated charges by the Wa rren (O hio) H-D Harley of Scott Drake. Rex Bea uch a m p 's sho t at the National ended on ly two turns into th e National as he - c r ashed h is T .C . Racing Special Ha rle)' in th e m idst of '-- traffic as th e pa ck exited turn two . Three-time Louisville winne r Dave Seh l immediately put his Poole 's Cycle (W a terdown, Canada ) Harley into the lead with Gary and Hank Scott behind. Billy Burbank got caught on the start and found that making up time in the high cushion a little rough as he crashed in turn three on lap three. "1 was in over my head and down before I knew it. Damn, ours was the only heat where they did n't drag the track before the start," were Bu rb an k's frustrated remarks . Gary put his Evel Knievel Special into the lead on la p four with Hank , on the She ll R acing Specialties Yamaha, ho unding Dave to the flag . Semis Steve Freem an and his Richmond (Virginia) H·D Harley had National written on them for six laps of the first sem i, but Steve Morehead had ot her ide as . Steve put a high line pass on Free m a n for the lead i n t u r ns three/four of lap seven for the win and his National starting position, j o h n johnson put his H ·D of Washington , D.C . /Siz emore Traveland Harley into the last starting spot in the National by regaining the lead from Scott Drake two laps from the checkers. Trophy race "H ey,': said Billy Eves after his victory in the trophy race , " 1 worked like hell to win that one. Keith (Ulicki) got very close on those last few laps so I dropped to the grove and didn't give an inch." Rory Simmons, on the Bel- . Ray Harley held second early until Ulicki's Uke 's H ·D Harley dropped him to third with a tum two pass on lap six. National Three thoughts filled the minds ~f the 14 starters and their tuners: The choice of the right tire. combination for the track, the start and the first five la ps of the National. Many riders believed that with the na rrow groove, th e tr affic and the d ust that th e first five laps wou ld be a ll important for if you didn't move then you m ight not have a shot at a top placing. j ay Springsteen opted for the high line ou tside po le starting position stringing out the fie ld from grandstand to infield in a single file line of Springer, Gary Scott, Keener, Robert s, Palmgren , Sehl, Eklund, t , , I .,

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