Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

ride National races, came for the third year in a row. The letter states that the races were flag started Jut year becaUIC the pte was broken. Had Mr. Honsaker beeni at the race, he'd have realized tha~ pte was working well until a few ea riders at the start of one moto jum the pte, straddling it and bre . the trigger mechanism beyon immediate repair. The delays and schedule chanp in this year's program were in fact real. But again there were significant reasons; the I?rincipal one being one of the most muerable days in month. Prior to the race many loads of wood shavings were hauled to the track. On. Saturday, it was watered with the trucks running until 10 p.m. Then, during the night, the monsoons came. It poured all night and almost the enure day Sunday. _ What had been a beautifully· prepared track soon desintegrated into a ribbon of mud. There was fresh snow on the mountain around, and it was cold and windy - most of the time. In gel)eraI, about as miserable as a day could be. ROIl Learn's dad, Roy, commented over the loudspeaker system, "Folks, we have been to many tracks in mall.)' pan of the country, and let me assure you that at most of them, on a day IiIte today, they would DOt be able to run the race. Furthermore, you wouldn't be able to get in and out of the parking \lIS! America's No.1 Weekly Motorcycle Newspaper Sharon Clayton, PublisheT Tom Culp. M~rketing Director . Caroline Gendry. Sec. to the Publisher Margie Southern. Sec. to the Mtkg. Dir. Advertising Jim Ryan. Sales Manager. Skip Johnso~, Sales Manager. Landa Brown, Advertising Coordinator. Editorial Charles Morey. Managing Editor. Dale Brown. Editor. Bobi Mcf:ann, EditOf'. Graphics and Production Judy Klin~r. Production Manoger. Barb...a Bishop, Production Aaiotant. Marion Hataahita. Cindy Torres, Typo. graphy. Dennis G=ne, Laboratory. Accounting Mike Klinger, Manager. Jeanne Hammond, Aceu. Receivable. Danno Bryan. AlIt. Aceu. Receivable. Terry Dailey, Credit ManoJIrT. Circulation Rheba Smith. Manager. Barbara Taylor. Tammy Taylor. Sbir1ey Short. AMistaDtl. Terry Pratt, Dnler SaIea Manager. Reader/Dealer Service Gin Harper. Want Ad Sales Service and Support Chris AitchelOD, Receptionist. Sam Dickinaon, 5&5. West 2201 Cherry Ave.. Long Beach, CA P.O. BOlt 498. Long Beach. CA 90801 (215)4%7·7455; L.A. Line6S6·8844. EDt 4190 Fin< Ave.. Tucker. GA. P.O. Box 805. Tucker. GA 50084. (404) 954·7850. Cycle News/West (USPS 141·540) i. publi.hed weekly except the fint and last week of the calendar year for $15 per year by Cyele News, Inc.. 2201 Cherry Avenue. Long Beach. CA 90801. Second cia. pootage paid at Long Beach. CA. POSTMASTER: Send form 3679 to Cycle News. P.O. Box .... Long 1Ieec:h. Subscription rates: One year. RCond el. . mail, $15; two yean, aecond el. . mail, $%7; three ~an. second dua mail. $57.50. Cycle News welcomel unsolicited ~i[ori.1 material including storin. canoons, photOi. etc. Such material, if publilhed, becomes the exclusive property of Cycle News. Such accepted material is subject to revision u is; neceaaary in the aoIe discretion of Cycle News. Unanlicited material which is not uaed will be ruumed if accompanied by a aelf·acltlr..-d stamped envelope. All unao1iticated matenal will be handled with ""aaonable ca"", boweveT, Cycle News _ no rnponaibility for the safety. I. . or damage to lOch matenal. Reprinting in whole. or pan on1~. by permillion of hte publishen. Advenlllng rattS and circulauon information win be sent upon request. See S.R.D.S. Copyright. Cycle News. Inc. 1m. T.......... Cycle ~ rl" I ad u.s. Pltlnt Offlc.. All r1llhta CA..,. ..-verI. ON THE FRONT PAGE: Suzuki'. Merle Barnett continued his winning atnNIk lit MId- Ohio'. Velvollne 125cc U.s. GrllncI PrIx only e week lifter the "med bomber" blew 'em ewey et the Superbowl. Photo by Jim Glanatais. 4 Earl FIanden and Bonneville The guest editorial that appeared in your June 20th issue of Cyck News on the chanp at Bonneville was a very unfair anicle written by someone that obviously did not really know Earl Flanders. I have observed Earl's dedication to the spon of motorcycle racing and the industry for over 40 yean, and in all fairness, I feel you should allow me these few lines to let the readers of your excellent t::~ication know a little more aboul Earl does enforce the rules, whether it is a superstar or a rider in his first race. They all are treated alike. Earl is sharp and has a definite advantage over many ;of the officials because of his racing background and I?ng association with motorcycle racmg. Many of the prima donnas that try to slip through ail the little tricks and cheat to gain an unfair advantage in many different ways are not clever enough to get by with this son of thing when Earl is on the job. When you shut down a super star, you are just not popular al that time. (Listen 10 the boos at the speedway races when Irwin Moon sends a 50 yard rider to the pits on an infraction and you will know what I mean.) Why should the AMA or any other asaociation go to all the trouble of laying out rules, writinlJ rule boob, etc. , then, employ offioals that just turn their heads? The pan of the anicle that implied he was malting a profit, or in it for a profit, is totally ndiculous. For many yean - more than 20 - Earl put his successful business on an answering service, locked the office doors, and headed for Bonneville. This C05t him thousands of dollars in business loss alone, plus other COIU he incurred... From the day Earl staned riding speedway at Victor McClagen Stadium, The Atlantic D·shaped track, White Sox Park, Moto Speedway, etc. in Ihe 50's, he has lived and breathed motorcycles, worked endless houn to upgrade the sport and industry, helping to make it safer plus adding a 101 of class. If you could ask Rich Budlier, Harry Pelton, Joe Walker, Lanuny Lamaroux, Windy Linstrom, Joe Petroli, Byrd McKinney and many, many othen, they would all confum this. The person that wrote that ankle might haft thought they did, but they really didn't even know Earl Flanders. R. H. DESSERT Santa Ana, CA Re: WoocWde Pro race The letter in July 18 issue of Cyck New was read with dismay by the members of Brushrats, Inc., who for four years have worked hard to provide a racing program for motocrOlllCn in this pan of the Nonhwest. It begs for a reply. For four seasons we have had consistent praiR from riden - pl'Ol and amateurs alike - both for the quality and condition of the track, as well as the way the program is ~n. Many riders who have ridden tracks ail over the country have told us that this is the best track they have ever ridden on. No venture can satisfy 100% of the time, but our record has been good and there are no apologies needed for Woodside. I called Doug Honsaker last night to find out who in blazes he was, and to ask whatever inspried him to write such a letter. He told me at the conclusion of the CODfttUtion that I had put many things in better perspective for him, and he wouId write lUlOther letter of clarification to Cycle New. His coac:ern was for the Pro riden. but certain coacIusions he had drawn turned out to be ISO" off base. Far from being a ahab~y ~otion, the promotion wu beautifully hand1ed. The large number of advertilen on the race announcement posters, who collcctively anticd up $2,000 which went toward prize money. panicipated becaUJe Of a proven past track record and reputation. The 12oo-plus people who showed up. and most of whom stayed through a day of driving rain, were further evidence of a well promoted race. Twelve hundred people may not sound like many, but in this relatively iIolated area it is quite a crowd for a motorcycle race. Mr. Honsaker states that for the second year in a row the races were a fiasco. He wasn't even here at the Pro race last year. However, a large number of the riden, some of whom loti." Nevertheless, the club, working under milerable conditiona put on the race, tried to keep rider safety in mind, and paid out $5000 in prize money, The Oagmea that day were mostly rac:cn who were not riciiJII[ and who volunteered to ilaJ. for tIus special event. Their job, IiIte CliCiYcme eIs.e. was made dilficuIt by the mud ucl weather conditions which resulted in __ high attrition rate amongst bikes and riden. They were kept busy asaiting faIlen riders, fractured bikes, etc. Anyone wbo has ever watched NFL footbaII game in a'"driving rain snowstorm knows that under suc conditions professional performancf becomes very difficult for ~ and the results often hinge on m survival. Thus it was here onJuly I. Again, we're proud of the quality ~ our track and the program carried oe here. There is a small group dedicated people who make t program go. They receive no other remuneration than the satisfaction of seeing young men panicipate in ~ exciting span. A kick in the head like Mr. Honsaker's letter, they do net deserve. ROGER KANE Sandpoint, Next Week DuQuoin Mile Unadilla 250ee MXGP CMC Fourstroke Nat'ls m

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