Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Winner Ted Boody starts a bubbly blast-off while runner-up Steve Eklund and third-place Randy Goss look on. The win followed a dry year for Boody. AMA Grand National Championship/Winston Pro Series - Round Astrodome short trac By Dale Brown Photos by Charles Morey HOUSTON , TX . FEB . 3 Ted Boody rode the perfect race on day two of the Houston .Chronicle-sponsored Yamaha Gold Cup double-header, leading wire-to-wire in the 20-1ap short. track. Now a privateer, Boody rode an ex -Randy Cleek Yamaha to the winner's circle. "Well Eklund, I can't think of anyone better to beat ," said 8 di h Bood y to S teve Ekl un m t e post -race r Ekl und an d t hird I Press conrerence. pacer R and y Goss h a d pressured I · I d Boody t h roug h out t h e N auonai , an Imost ••• .J t h I." fi ' h Ii lOIS me a t h ey crosseo bik I h un d er a ' bl an ker , a bo ut a I I." engt apart . . . . . For G~. It was hIS second thtr~place showmg of the weeke!,d, and It pu t him int o the AMA /Wmston Pro Series po int lead with 26 compared to Eklund's 23 points. . For H arl ey-Davidson's number one man , 'defend ing Grand Nationa l Champ Jay Springsteen . the weekend was a disast er . Still sufferi ng from th e effects of a crash t he nigh t before . plus suspected int est inal flu . Springer di d not even go out for time tri als on th e short tr ack . Time trials . Eklund put alock on $400 worth of Aneta's fast qualifying money with th e fast time on the shor~ track as well as the TT. Aboard his TomY Haslh er. , pr epped Zanotti Enterprises I ama a . . his lap under the dome was c oc ked a t nI . . , H 14.31. Third in the prevIous ouston . B IR short track, Terry Poovey sh e - ay 0 h Bultaco went 14.37. t er eat race pole -sitters were Rick Hocking. Ted Boody, Lance Jones and Garth Brow . The slowest qualifier to end up making the National hit the clocks with a 14.83 . and cut -off time for th e 60-rider field was 15.05 . Heats California's rooki e Wa yne Ra ine y got his Shell Racin g Specialti es Yamaha underway first in t he first hea t. Eklund . th e defend ing Hou ston c ham p . passed .him in turn four on t he first lap . a nd aft er tha t it was Eklund first all the way. Ra iney fell back a bit. but had second pla ce all to himself it was still Mor ehead in second . but right down to the fini sh . only by a spoke nipple or so. Cawl ey . Randy Waldrop (Yam) and rookie Cartwright and Joe W ilson followed Charlie Roberts (Yam) ran thi rd and Aksland int o the semi . fourth in the early stages, but Mike Heat three was a Rick Hocking/Bob Kidd rode his Arm y-sponsored HarleyBeary batt I... . with the two trading Da vidson past them to wire down t hird elbows for the first few laps . Hocking at th e fin ish ahead of Waldrop . Jim finally . seuled his Knight Fabrication Mertens and Roberts. Hank SCOtt , _ Yamaha out front with Beary settling who had qualified seventh -fastest , had his Belleville Suzuki/Neil Keen mount his problems and finished eighth . into second . Scott Pearson ended up W ith the first two going to the National th ird over Bruce Hanlon and form er' and th ird through sixth going to the . Houston winner Bubba Rush . sem i, Hank was through for th e night. The fourth heat sa w rookie Rod Much to the d isappointment of the Spencer going for it, and at th e end of Texas crowd. Terry Poovey's bike quit a lap. being trailed by Ted Boody. on himbefore t he second heat started Gary Scott and Brad Hurst , all of and was pushed back to the pits . whom were more or less in second Iowa's Ty Cawley got the j um p on the place. Bood y got things stra ightened field and was chased int o the first turn out to his satisfaction on lap three, by Skip Aksland ( PJ I Yam) and Steve when he made a brilliant' cut through Mort-head . who had started on the turn two to take the lead. SCOtt'S KK penalty line. Morehead put his Steve Supply/Sizemore Traveland Ossa Storz-tuned factory Harley around follow ed Boody past and the National Aksland before the first lap was ove r. had two more riders . Spencer finished after challenging SCott in the late Tim Cartwright led Randy Goss, but by lap two . Goss was in second stages of rhe race , and was followed by place and reeling in the leader Cawley. Hurst and the previous evening's winner. Mickey Fay (H on). On the fifth lap. Goss passed Cawley and had first locked up for the 1978 Rookie of the Year Lance remainder of the 10-lap hea t. . Jones (Sure-Fire H -D) and 1979 La ter : Morehead and Aksland Rookie of th e Year contender Ronnie passed Cawley to set up th eir own . Jones (V iper Racing Yam) were th e exciting du el. Skip c1osed mightily on' stars of the fifth hea t. Lance led for th e final lap. after passing and being the first five laps. but Ronnie used an passed by Moreh ead . knowing t ha t ou tside line to close in , pass Lance on ly one of them would "be -seeded and go on for the win. Mike Gaves led directl y into th e Na tiona l. At th e wire, th e rest of the field in keeping up with

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