Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126480
Collta Mesa - san Bernardino - Ascot - Ventura - Sacramento - Napa - C.ta Mesa - san Bernardino - Ascot - Ventura - Sacramento - N ... (From left) Mike Faria, Duane Yarrow, John Houston and Eddie Ingels. Orlandi and Faria flatten Cal Expo By Jann Houston SACRAMENTO, CA . JULY 11 At the risk of sounding a bit corny, veteran Class "A" racer "Migh ty Mouse" Paul Orlandi is becoming a kind of legend as he 26 continues to win not onl y the Scratch Main events , but his Heats and Sem i events as well. He is undefeated in every scratch event he has raced the past four Friday evenings of regu lar racing at Cal Expo. To say he has the track dialed in is an understa tement. A Cal Expo regular since 1973 when he began racing at the "old" age of 23 , he is a real crowd favorite. He was Cal Expo T rack Champion in 1974. As the starting gate went up in the Scratch Main, it was Orlandi in the lead with "Incredible" Eddie Ingels second, threatening Orlandi in every tum. On lap two, turn three Orlandi was down followed by "Flyin' Mike Faria and the race was red flagged by ref Ron Day "in the interest of rider safety," On the rest art, Ingels took the lead with Orlandi second, Faria th ird and "Do It" Duane Yarrow fourth. It was a classic Scratch Main consisting of the top' four point men in northern California. The crowd out-screamed the cycles; they couldn't ha ve found a closer , faster, more exciting Scratch Ma in anywhere. Orlandi's determination and skill paid off on lap three as he managed to fly by Ingels on the outside for the lead. Fast is the only word to describe this race, as Orlandi took the checkered flag by inches . making it four in a row for Orlandi, but he worked for it with competition like Ingels , Faria and Yarrow. Ingels took second, Yarrow third and Faria fourth . While Orlandi was chalking up his fourth win in the Scratch division, Faria over on the Handicap side won his second Handicap Ma in in a row and his third for the 1980 season . As the starting gate went up, it was Paul Belisle, up to Cal Expo for the first time since 1978 from Orange. CA , in the lead, thrilling the crowd with wheelies between turns two and three. Jim Ross came on the inside to take the lead on lap two in tu m three. " Flyin' Mike" moved on Ross on lap three in tum th ree claiming the lead; Yarrow took second spot as Ross slipped to third. Positions three through six cha nged wit h every lap as Faria held the lead to the checkered flag, Yarrow took second , Belisle third . J oe Leduc moved into Division On e for the first time tonight and left no doubt he belonged there as he won his Handicap Hea t holdi ng off num ber one Faria, and later . smoot hly took the win in the Handicap Consola tion . Pam " Pink Lady" Bennett added color and excitement to the Division Two program, racing at Cal Expo for the first time in 1980. In an Intermission Match Race with Division One rac er "Wi ld Chi ld" Glenn Hutchison , Pam took the checkered flag . It should be noted, Pam started on the 0, Glenn on the 100. In the Division Two Ma in , Craig Elstins was in the lead until he went down on lap two in turn ' one, Bob Holmes moved into the lead for the win with Dave Schlosser second and Pat Linn third . The Division Three Ma in was unusually close and exciting as Gary Abel took the lead out of the starting gate and took his first win at Cal Expo, holding off the stiff competition of Steve Vieira and Danny Montgomery. It was actually three in a row for Gary. Looks like it will be Divison Two for Gary tomorrow night in the wine country. In the Junior Main , newcomer Mike Parsons took the trophy back home to Richmond . Steve Miller was second, Bart Bast th ird . Results SCRATCH MA IN: 1. Paul Orlandi; 2. Eddi e Ingels; 3. Duane Yarrow; 4. Mike F.ia. . HANDICAP MAI N: 1. Mike Faria: 2. Duane Yarrow; 3. Paul Belisle; 4. Paul Orlandi; 5. Jim Ross; 6. Os"" Feria. Jr . HANDICAP CONSOLATION: 1. Joe leduc; 2. Eddie Ingles; 3. Marv Webs.ar ; 4. Glenn Hutchinson; 5. Harland Bast; 6. Mike Belanger. DIV II MAIN: 1. Bob HoIIMS ; 2. 0aV1l Schlossar; 3. Pat Unn; 4. Pam Bennett; 5. Craig Elstins; 6. Harland Bast. J r. DIV III MAIN : 1. Gary Abel ; 2. 5..... Voei,a; 3. Danny Montgomery. JR MA IN: 1. Mike Parsons; 2. St.... Miller; 3. Bart Baa t, Yarrow and Delacy defeat Napa t roops By Jann Houston NAPA , CA,JULY 12 An unusually warm, still evening greeted the crowd in the Napa wine valley tonight, adding to the enjoyment of Speedway thrills. In the Scratch Main , it was "Do It" Duane Yarrow on the pole , "Flyin' Mike" Faria in second position , "Wild Child" Glenn Hutchison in th ird and " Incredible" Eddie Ingels on the wall. NorCal's top four speedway riders in Cal Expo's Scratch Main. Yarr ow shot int o the lead with Hutchison in second . Yarrow held th e pole and an impressive lead with amazing speed . In turn two on lap three he wrtlt wide , almost int o th e wall, but recovered in time to retain the lead . As the race continued it was Hutchison in second agai nst constant pressure and determination from In gels and Faria . At the checkered flag it was Yarrow first by at least a bike length, Hutchison second, Ingels third and Faria fourt h. Different is the only word to describe the Handicap Ma in . Mike Delacy had a lot to be proud and happy about as he got it together, taking the lead on lap three in tu m four . winning his first Handicap Ma in event ever . Even more impressive is the fact that he did it aga inst the stiff com petition of northern California 's number one Mike Faria and number two Yarrow, with Yarrow finishing third. and Faria , a most unusual fourth . Delacy 's stiffest competition came from Joe Leduc who finished second by barely a tire length, riding in Division One at Napa for the first time after winning the Division One Handicap Consolation at Cal Expo last night. All th is proves onc e again , is that you never know what to expect during an evening at Speedway. In the Division Two Main, the starting gate went up with Gary Abel in a side-by-side ba ttle with Ron Sweeton for the lead. In tum three on lap two, Sweeton and Abel connected and went down. causing a red flag with Sweeton being disqualified . On the restart , Gary Abel took the checkered flag, racing in Division Two for the first time after winning the past three northern California Division Three Mains. Mike McDonald was second and " Old T imer" Bill Thomas th ird . Danny Montgomery won the Division Three Main with fast, smooth style, leaving no doubt that he'll soon move up to the Division Two program. Jack Forseth was second , AI Underwood third. Due to popular demand, four northem California Juniors, Bobby Hedden, John Houston, Jr.. Mike Parsons and Bart Bast, treated the crowd to an Intermission Scratch Exhibition. Parsons took the checkered flag with Bast second, Houston third and eight-year-old Hedden fourth . Results SCRATCH MAIN : 1. Duane Yarrow; 2. Glenn Hutchison; 3. Eddie Ingels; 4. Mike F.ia. HANDICAP MAIN: 1. Mike DeIKy; 2. Joe leduc; 3. Duane Yarrow; 4. Mike Faria; 5. AI Ya"ow; 6. Paul Belisle. HANDICAP CONSOLATION: 1. Paul Orlandi; 2. Eddie Ingles: 3. Dave Faria; 4. Harlan Bast ; 5. John Vallt; 6. DaveNorman. DIV II MAIN : 1. Gary Abel; 2. Mika McDonald; 3. Bill Thoams. G DIV III MAIN : 1. Danny Montgomery; 2. Jack Forseth ; 3. AI Underwood. JR DIV SCRATCH: 1. Mike Parsons; 2. Bart IIasl; John Houston. J,.; 4. Bobby Hedden. Schwartz, M iller enjoy Ventura By Bill R. Locey VENTURA , CA,JULY 15 Yessir, the real "Booga loo Kid " showed up at Ventura Raceway Tuesday night, not the "Booboo100 Kid " or whoever that other guy was at the World Team Cup on TV the other day. The commotion by the ocean was a bit louder than usual as a capacity crowd braved the cold weather to cheer the return of the exVentura Shark. After racing Monday night in England (he swept) , Schwartz arrived just -a few hours before rac t! time and still came within a few lengths of sweeping the program in a carbon copy performance of Opening Night back in April. Then, the party pooper was Shawn McConnell; Tuesday it was Dave Miller. In Handicap racing, after five crashes in the first race, three more in the second and an extensive drag (it sure was), the excess mud was rearranged and the track proved to be in fine shape for the rest of the evening. In his first ride, Schwam had an easy time of it, passing riders at will for the win off the 50 . In the Semi, it took the Santa Barbara native until the third lap to get past the stubborn McConnell for the lead and the win . In the Main, bobbing and weaving like a prizefighter, Schwartz went inside then outside in battling his way from last to second after four laps . But meanwhile , Miller off the zero diligently built a sizable lead, and " Boogaloo's" final frantic lap came up a few lengths short. In Scratch racing, it was Schwartz by roughly 800 light years in his first race, but a substantially lesser margin as he finally got past McConnell after a three-lap battle in the semi. Louis Lindwall made his seasonal debut here and wished he hadn't . In the Scratch Consy, Lindwall knocked off one of the pit gates in a crunching collision. A late diagnosis reported a severely bruised thigh. It looked worse. As it is intended to be, the Scratch