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CN 1-0 QJ ..0 S ~ o Z 1977 AMA National Motocross Championships Callihan, McCollough and Easton crowned in Lake Sugar Tree mud By Mike and A nne A dair AXTON, VA ,. OCT. 9 J eff Callihan, Ferrell MeColl ough and Gary Easton captured the 125, 250cc and Open class AMA National Amateur Championships at Avery and Barbara Mills' Lake Sugar Tree Motocross Raceway. Through a nation-wide series of district and regional qualifiers. the nation's best 45 riders in each' division were selected for t he grand finale . AMA 's Manager of Amateur Competition Hugh Fleming was on hand to cerrifysehe event and presented 30 , 65 and 100 dollar travel allowances to eastern , central and western contestants respectively. A weekend of steady rain turned the I v.. mile championship ca liber circuit into a sea of mud , and even. though the sun appeared by race time , it was definitely a mud runner's day , U.S. Su zuki pres ented th e AMA with RM125, RM250 and RM370 motorcycles for the class champions. Head starter Bud Helton signalled the relea se of the gate and 45 motivated 125cc chargers accelerated down to the tricky off-camber first turn. Richard Hoozer , Paul Brant and Kris bigelow spearheaded the first lap as the less fortunate struggled to gain places, Hoozer controlled the 45 minute moto while Sammy Bosnic, James Laurer and Jeff Callihan worked through the pack to pick up 2· 4 places. In the seco nd moto, Hoozer got cen terpunched in the first turn and injured his left han d . Call iha n lock ed on to the lead and held on for eight la ps until Mark Williams put the pressu re on. Williams took the ' checkered flag in a close race, but Callihan won the championship when the final points were tallied. Hoozer painfully rode up from last for a sixth finish , second overall. Jeff Callihan is an II th grade student at Fallquier High School in Warrenton, Va ., and he rides his RMI25 Suzuki for conditioning. He had come to Axt on determined to make the top ten a nd admits to being surprised with the overall victory. 1976 125cc National champ Ferrell McCollough put in some extra conditioning for his jump to the 250cc class , but while attending the University of Maryland he only gets to ride his Can -Am MX-3 on weekends. The Beltsville, Md . star caught Don Carlton on the firs t lap a nd, riding rapidly bu t und er total con trol, led every lap for a re pe at vict ory . Troy Bradshaw ro de a Ga ry Bailey prepared Bul taco to second ahead of Ca rlton , , In the second moto, as McCollough coo led it all alone, Mickey Whetzel avenged a " bu m" first moto start over the rest of the field, winning a tight duel with Shane.Hruska forthird place, second overall. John Untiedt wedged past Bradshaw for a fourth place finish. Announcer Art Kaiser had the fans excited as the first Open class moto burst from the gate. Gary lAbove)The first 125 moto SUlrt. Winner Jeff Callihan (41)is in the foreground of chaos. (Inset! Open champ Gary Easton ahead of John Painter. (Below) The three winners got new Suzukis. Dunkelberger held off Kevin Arnold through the little dipper, big dipper and over the ski jump with Da vid Bailey, Brian Thompson, Chuck Pa r tridge, and Mike Bread way in pursuit. Arnold took over beyond Welch's Rock and led the first lap past the spectator area . Bailey, riding with a confident style , similar to his father Gary Bailey, took over on the second lap and opened up a good lead at the finish . Gary Easton overcame two falls and gamely charged back to second at the mote's end a head of Breadway and Californian Chip Howel l. Bailey was over -eager in the second rnoto , and after jumping the gate he was momentarily pinned beneath itl As Easton. J ohn Painter . Ba rry Pal mer and Kevin Arnold headed t he field , Bailey restarted , pena lized a la p by referee Joe Gib bs. Easton held on and then opened u p for a championship ride ahead of Dunkelburger. Fifteen year-old Gary Easton rides in the woods after school (Solon High. Solon, Ohio) and helps his dad , Roger, main tain th e Yamaha . The Suzuki of Axton dealer Harvey Coleman presented the new Amateur National champs Jeff Callihan, F rrell McCollough and Gary Easton w their shiney new Suzuki Racers , and Kim Mills presented silver champagne buckets to the top finishers. The Amateur Championship was conducted in a very professional , punctual manner without protest, and the class winners are congratulated on being the best of th e best for 19771 • Results 125cc Nat ional: 1. Jeff Callihan ISuzl; 2. Richard Hoczer ISuz l; 3. J eff Surwall (Suz); 4. James Lauer UL); 5. Mark Williams ISuzl; 6. Paul Brandt (Suz); 7. Sammy Bosnic ISUl ); 8. Tim Shiphard ISuzl; 9. Chappi Blose 15ull ; 10 . Glenn Taylor (Yaml. 2SOcc National: 1. Ferrell McCollough IC·AI; 2. M'ckey Whetzel (Suzl; 3. Troy Brad shaw IBull; 4. John Untiedt lSuzl ; 5.·Dan Carlt on (Suzl ; 6. Shane Hruska IMai); 7. Mike Twigg tSuzl ; 8. Kirk Bigelow (Yaml ; 9. Chuck Bend er (Vam); 10. Bruce Costell!Yam). Open Nahona l: 1. Gary Easton IVaml; 2. Gary Dunketberger (Mai); 3. Kevin Arnold (Mon ); 4. Chip Howell (Hus); S. Mike Breadway (Yam); 6. David Bailey IBull; 7. Ga.V Haynes IMai); 8. Dale Sullivan (Bull. 125cc Support: 1. Bill Knisley ISuzl; 2. Jack Lane ISuzl; 3. Mitche ll C. umley IVaml; 4. Rodney Alford ISuzl; 5. Tam Topham ISuz); 6. TommyMills IVaml; 7. Richard Budd IVaml; 8. Rod ney BarneslSuz); 9. Harvey ShumatelSuz); 10. Todd Oglesbee IVom) • . 9