Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

; OOClOOOOOOOOOOOClClClOCClClClOCClClCl~ClClOCOOOCClClClClOOCCIOOOOOOO == SPEEDWAY WEEK ~ E IA bove) Big Jim Fishback poc keted a Handic ap Main at San Berdoo before heading f or an ISOT qualifier. IBelow) Anotehr handicap w inn er was Shawn Moran . shown here lead ing Brad Oxley and Curt Strommer. Christian. Gene Woods riding way out right up against the crash wall . and Dave Sims following . On the third lap. Woods pulled down off the wall, gelling past Bast and was closing fast on' Christian when the checkered flag came out. Larry Kosta returned to competition after about a year's layoff because of a back injury he suffered at Ascot last season. His return sa w him work his way through th e heat races and sem i to the First D ivision Handicap Main Event , where he ended up taking fifth. Two new names in the spo rt did well: Robin Bourgeois, th e winner of his first Division Three Main Event and Dwight Hill did it in division two . Earlier in the night , the sometimesoverlooked rul e about making contact when passing a slower rider was brought down hard on Mike Bast. It happened when Tom Burba , on e of the newer riders in first division. was trying hard to stay out in front of the pack, a spot he was in because of starting on the IO-yard line, 50 yards ahead of Mike . Tom was holding his own , but was slower going int o the turns . Mike had se! up for the turn long before Tom and they did tap . Mike kept on sliding around the turn . but Tom went down and . th e way the rul e reads. if you cause a rider to fall or lose control you will be scored in last place. so that 's why Mike was not in the Handicap Main Event. I guess the way the official looks at it is tha t if vou a re number one. there is no way, no mailer how tigh t the ra cing gets , that you can touch anyone at all , but if you are number two , you can try harder and pu t a few gu ys down with no penalties. I'm not saying just because Mike is number one that he should be given any sla ck at all when it comes to making contact with any other rider. What I am pointing out is that there is a big difference between a tap or rubbing of elbows , compared to when someone comes along and flat knocks the wheels out from under you . Mike. by the rules and rightly so, was scored last. but on the other side of the coin , other first divisio n riders , all hoping to take th e title away from Mike , have been gelling away with some really hard shots. several that have ' put other riders into the wall or left them spread out on the track. with no word at all from the official. From me . the rid ers. and most of all the paying fans, equal penalties! And equal rewards for skill and riding talent . Adamo aces Ascot By Dennis Greene GA RDENA ,CA ,MAYI7 San Bernardino: Night of the Animal By Dennis Greene SAN BERNARDINO , CA . MAY 16 Big Jim "T he Animal" Fishback was supposed to have been out of town this past Wednesday night . somewhe re back east ge t· 24 ting ready for th e next round of ISDT qu al ifi ers. Inste a d , he booked a midnigh t flight so he ·could ride t he spe edwa y show at the fa irgrounds. It tu rned ou t to be a good mo ve for Jim although th e roa d to victory was a rough one. In his handicap heat race , th ere was a three-man pileup with Jim right in the middle. He had la id his bike down to keep from running into Len i Faas, who had spun out in front of him . Alan Christian la id it down as well , and th e forward motion ca rried his bike into Jim . It took a cou ple of minutes to ge t the big gu y ba ck on his feet for the resta rt. but he ea rned a tra nsfer spot and work ed his way into th e m a in even t. Five. la ps la ter, afte r a lill ie more banging a rou nd , he was on h is way to the win ne r's circle. sto pping only long eno ug h to stop a fight in th e pi ts. W hen " T he Anim al " say s. "That's a no -no , be nice," it's a good idea to stop! The fou r-lap Scratch Main Event was a thriller with Mike Bast gelling off to a slow start and trailing Alan There may not be much good coming out of t he oil fields righ t now. but rig ht out of the hea r t of Taft . CA where the re is a forest of oil derricks , Frank Adamo, a worker in those fields , makes the long trip down to Gardena to Ascot. Frank, a star of Class C. has found his nitch in Class A Spe edway. Starting on th e 40 -yard line. the rider fa rthest ba ck in th e Handicap Ma in Even t. he worked his way past every rider in the ma in , on e at a time. T here was a bailie royale for two la ps when he came to Tom Morley. Tom held h im off for a while. bu t Frank's years on th e big oval won out. Frank brought a buddy down with him from Taft , Kirb y Sh iropshire , a new name to most of us down here. but Ki r b y has some speedway experience - he has ridden a ha lfdozen times in Hanford. He was entered in the second division and found the big track very tiring, but did manage to hold up long enough to win that main event. As they stood side by side in the winner's circle, the remark was made: "Well , now if we can get enough gas to get home, it will be a good nighu" Mike Bast picked up his second Scratch Main Event at Ascot for the season. Unlike last yea r when he won I 0 straight main events , he has found that a lot of the new young talent can ride right there with him . Mike would be the last one to say anything about his physical shape, but it should be pointed out that just a few months ago . just before the U.S. National Speedway Championship last yea r , he was cut all the way to the bon e on the underside of his right arm . The cut was so bad that he was told his days of riding were over - he would not have the strength to hang on to the bars. It was not until the night of the National, at the ra ce track , that the doctor gave him the O K to ride and he went on to win his sixth title. The injury has left him with a hand that he cannot close all the way and with enough pain that makes you wonder if it is all worth it . Mike will be the first to tell anyone that it is worth it if you love the sport as much as he does . Christian, Moran cop Costa Mesa By Dennis Greene COSTA MESA . CA. MAY 18 Steve Bast. after a two-year lay off. returned to speedway this seas on without much fanfare , and in the past few weeks has been working hard to get his style back. H e had not earned his way into any ma in event u nt il this past Friday night . In the first event of the night , a ha nd ica p hea t race on a very wet track. while everyone. including his brother Mike. were slidi ng around doing 360's, Steve just found the right groove and won the opening event much to the delight of the fans. He was helped out by some good-nat ured ribbing by some fans on the pit gate wall, among t hem retired U.S. Cham p Rick W oods . Things like: "Don't forget to turn left." "The thing in your right hand makes you go fast if you turn it," "Where are the training wheels?" and just a whole lot of fu nny one-liners, all of which just put a big grin on the face of the two-time U.S. National Speedway Cham p . In the handicap semi-final. he again earned a transfer. putting him in the main event. his first m a in this season. Steve didn't win the Handicap Main. though, that event went to Shawn Moran. Steve did get fourth and looks to be well on his way to a strong comeback in the sport that was so m uch of his life. The win by you ng Shawn Moran was his first on the small track and he was as happy as if he had just won th e National Title. Shawn is in the top five at Ascot on the big track where he really can fly, but has always had more than his share of trouble on th e small tracks . He won this main event in the last 20 feet of th e rac e after rubbing elbows with from -runner Mark Marriot t. They came together in tum three an d four and again down the front straightaway. No one at fa ult. just real close r acing. Sha wn got straightened

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