Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

SPEEDWAY WEEK TIPS on BUYING TIRES Duene Yarrow topped alllCOl'ttra In the five.rlIce qualifying ........ Rear tires are what are most Woods wins Ventura qualifier that much loyalty to their home track. and in consideration of the hard work put in on their behalf by the promoten, both north and south riden now say that Cal Expo was not any wone than the traclt they rode at Ventura. About alii can say is that it's too bad that on the one night of the year with so much at stake, that the race tracks had to fall apart aDd the rules were overlooked and the riden came back grumbling about it. I am sorry. I was not at Ventura this past Tuesday night for their round of qualifying, but riden from the nonh. and south said it was a rough track and it should have been a lot better prepared for such an important night. As the whole show moved to San Bernardino Alan Christian was still in the overall lead. Duane Yarrow moved into second spot with Gene Woods taking over third. As the program got u,!derway Wednesday night, there were a few changes made in the lineup because of Bast going east and Bob ·McLain out of the action due to his leg injury. Frank Adamo and Mike Peddicord were moved in to fill their places and must try to earn enough points to qualify in just four nights of racing. The points race really staned to tighten up when Alan Christian had a primary chain let go. He lost out on a transfer ~, earning only 250 points for the mght, which dropped him to fourth overall. It was a black flag for John Sandona that cost him points when his rear fender came loose and off. He ended the night in I&th place. Gene Woods was high point man with 67& points after palling off the win in front of his teammate, Dave Sims who totaled second highest points for the night. The big story this year is bow very mUchc:'lroved the riden from nonhern . ornia are. Duane Yarrow is holding down third spot and also from the north, John Cook is sixth. Seventh qualifier, so far, is AMA number one rider Mike Faria; at this point, with two more nights of qualifying, three of the top 10 are from the north. often replaced, since a front tire should lest about twice as long as the rear. For mileage, choose the widest tire that will fit, usually one or two sizes larger than stock. Be careful, check for dearance on the drive shaft or chain and swingarm before buying. For best cornering performance try to match the front tire with the rear for both width and tire design. For straight line traction and/or high mileage a flat tread profile is best U. For best cornering a V~ profile is best V. In any case sidewall stiff. ass is important. If you can collapse the sidewall by squeezing it with one hand, chances are it . is not stiff enough. This is lJSUlIl. Iy a good indicator of tire handling, for a weak sidewall will C8UI8 the bike to wobble around corners. Be wary of budget- priced tires and try to stick to well known brands. Don't be afraid to ask questions - we can help you to make the right choice for your bike. By Bill R. Locey VENTURA, CA, AUG. 21 Gene Woods made his season's experience payoff as he earned high point honors in the first round of National Qualifiers on the ~ mile oval at Ventura Speedway. It was the most exciting night of racing since Bruce Penhall swept the program here a month ago. Although riding in eight of nine meetings at Ventura this season, and winning the Scratch Main last week, Woods had been erratic on previops Tuesday nights. But on the warm "Bastless" evening, the SoCal native was all business, even foregoing his nightly faceshield ritual. In his first race. Woods easily handled San Berdoo favorite Jim Fishback, who was making his Ventura debut, and northerner Denny Pyeatt after Larry Kosta went down in the second lap after holding an early lead. Event 10 in the second round proved to be the most exciting race of the night. Woods put on a wild display of crazy riding passing Mark Marriott once, David Sims twice, and Brad Oxley three times for the victory. Woods won easily in the semi-final round. taking the lead on the second turn. Northern California champ Mike Faria, finished second after holding off the repeated charges of Alan Christian. The suspense ended quicltly in the final race as Woods took the lead in the second turn, going wide around Faria. and won by a comfortable margin. Duane Yarrow, resplendent in his pink and lavender leathen, took third. Danny McNeill in his best Ventura showing all season rode solidly all evening to take fourth. Noteworthy was his masterful ride in the second round in which he held off Faria for the victory. Northern riders were heartily supported by a small following of fans who made the trek south to cheer on their heroes. So boisterous were the northern fans, that there were actually empty seats behind them in the otherwise packed bleachers. The northern speedsters were more than respectable, placing four riders in the top eight point leaders. As usual, no warmups were allowed, with only Faria having ridden the track previously (against the Europeans in IMa~~~)~ : ~ ~:. ~ _: ~ __ In contrast to the "tame" racing of the previous week, tonight's action was fast and furious with riders falling like rain as is usual at Ventura. There were 10 crashes in the first eight heats. Along with Kosta, Tony Briggs and Ascot's own "Miracle Worker" Shawn Moran shared the dubious distinction of crashing while holding comfortable leads in the fint round. Young Dave DeTemple appeared to take the hardest fall, landing heavily on his left side. Track experience was not really a . factor, underscored by the strong showing of the northern riden, as Speedway once again demonstrated its unpredictability. While Ventura regulars Woods, Christian and McNeill did well, othen did not: Craig Schaeffer, John Sandona, Lou LindwaU, Phil Gagnon, Shawn Moran, Tony Briggs, and Dave DeTemple scored poorly and they were eliminated in the early rounds. For those willing to miss "Happy Days," Speedway continues in Ventura on Tuesday night. First race is at 8:00' p;m. new Woodspack~ wallop at San Berdoo McNeill takes points lead By Dennis Greene By Dennis Greene SAN BERNARDINO, AUG. 22 GARDENA, CA, AUG. 25 This is a week of numbersl Thirty two riders will try for one of 15 spots open for the U.S. National Speedway Championship sched- The big traclt made a big difference in the points standings with all but two or three spots changing. Dan McNeill moved from uled to be run in October. There are really 16 openings, with two reserves to be earned; a rider rep vote allowed current champ Mike Bast a spot. Bast will not compete' in the qualifying rounds; he has gone to the east coast to try to win their title, with the approval of riden representatives out here. The first of five nights of C\ualifying was run- at Sacramento WIth Alan Christian leading the way with 67& total points. John Cook, on his home track, earned second overall with 62& and Duane Yarrow, a northern rider, held down third with &75. On the subject of Sacramento: I would like to back off on the statement I made about the night of qualifying a few Saturdays ago. It has been pointed out to me that any track can have a bad night and that the promoten of Cal Expo go out of their way to do things best for the sport. Most every rider who rode the qualifien this past week, and who ride at Cal Expo on a weekly basis, took. me to task. With .. ....., 111 ,I v u ~ 2 .. J. fifth to fint in overall points with one outstanding ride after another. Yarrow moved up one ~ to second and if he can ride the little track, be just may take over the points lead on the final night. Eventhough Gene Woods did not ride at Ascot for the fourth round of qualifying, he had racked up enough points earlier to keep him in third overall. Same for Dave Sims in fourth. Alan Christian had more trouble and dropped back one spot to fifth. One of the bigger moves up came from Shawn Moran, climbing from ninth to sixth. Northern rider Denny Pyeatt moved into ninth place and Tony Briggs of New Zealand stayed in 10th. By the end of the night, it was apparent that southern California riden have lost control and will have to ride their butts off to get into the National. With just one night left to get there, five spots are sewn up by the hard-riding guys from out-of-town. , . ~~l~ II cr ,; ,n Ie ; :;~(1

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