Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

into trouble and dropped way back. That moved Lawson up to second and John Wincewicz, who was ridinjt Randy Goss' spare Harley, to third. Jones finished fourth, well in front of Pearson and Hocking's misfiring mount. Skip Aksland, who had run into mechanical difficulties earlier, was unable to qualify and started last, pulled into the pits on the eighth lap with magneto troubles. Steve Morehead continued his lateseason charge with a move through tum two into the lead of the second heat. Garth Brow, Ricky Graham, Ted Boody and Corky Keener trailed at the end of a lap. On the third lap though, Morehead was in third after Klotz/Wiseco-sponsored Brow sliced under him in turn two and Graham repeated the maneuver in turn three. Graham's lead on the factory Harley rider lasted another lap, but that was all. On the eighth lap, Morehead had closed on Brow and got a drive on him out of the second corner to regain the lead. Corky Keener had intentions of transferring directly to the National,. and placed himself on Graham's rear fender. On the last 'Iap, Keener dropped down inside of Graham in the fourth corner and out-accelerated him to the flag. Graham and Boody led the rest of the field to the semi. The third heat was a wire-to-wire show for prospective Army recruits, with Mike Kidd in the lead laps 1-10. Scott Parker. again riding one of Mert Lawwill's bikes, used his high line in turns 1-2 to go from third off the start to second around Bill Schaeffer. At the completion of the first lap, Kidd and Parker were out front with third being actively contested by Terry _ Poovey, Schaeffer and Gary Scott. Scott took it on the next lap, with Schaeffer in fourth and Pooveydropping back with mechanical problems. As the race wore on, Kidd maintained a solid lead, but the veteran Scott (KK Supply/Sisemore Traveland H-D) was challenging the Klotz/Wiseco-backed rookie, Parker. Finally, on the eighth lap, Scott dived underneath Parker as they entered turn three and the top positions were set. Schaeffer took fourth in front of Mike Inderbilzen (Yam). The first three heats had been in the 5:46 bracket, but the fourth heat was completed in two seconds less time, and was within a second of Garth Brow's lO-lap track record. It started with John Hateley getting the jump on the pack at the start, then progressed to Steve Eklund and Randy, Goss fighting-over first from turn one on. Though they were usuaUy side by side in the corners, Eklund was in the lead the first two times they streaked past the finish line. On the third lap, Goss went by through turns three and four. Eklund kept his Jim Belland/Zanotti Enterprises-prepped Zanotti-Castrol special right with Goss' Larry Johnsontuned Wiseco/Klotz/ Esprit /KRWsponsored XR for the next three laps. Steve then tried an inside move through turns one and two, but was blocked when Goss came down off his high line, nearly hit Eklund. Eklund had no choice but to back off and was unable to make a serious challenge for the lead again. The two had_ built up an impressive lead over Hateley, who continued on in third to become the only non-Harley-Davidson rider in the National field. Jackie Mitchell (H-D) and Brad Hurst (riding a brakeless Harley after his Castle Rock-winning Triumph blew up before the race) finished fourth and fifth. o 1"""4 I-< GJ ..c o ~ u o Ms. Winston. Lynn Griffis, Randy and wife Vickie share the champegne. Junior Invitational The battle in the 12-lap American Honda-sponsored Junior Invitational was set almost from qualifying_ North Carolina's Gene Church (H-D) set the only sub-25 second qualifying lap, with California's Jeff Haney on the Jerry Griffith-built Honda XR500 qualifying second fastest. Haney got such a jump on the field that officials thought a replay was in order and brought out the red flag, thouglt Haney stayed on the front row. "Jeff the Jet" got another good start and led the troops into turn one. Church got a better drive off turn two

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