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/126483
o 00 0') ....-4 WIST America's weekly motorcycle newspaper Sharon Clayton. Pu blishe r . Caroline Gendry. Executive Secr etary to the Publisher. Susa n Knecht. Executive S~re tary. Editorial C harles Morey. Managing Ed itor. Dale Brown. Ed ito r . Ma rk Kariya . Editor. Advertising Skip J oh nson . Nationa l Sa les Man ager. T erry Pratt . Sa les Ma nager . Lind a Brown . Advert ising Coo rdin ator. VOICES Graphics and Production Kristin Cooper. G ra phi c Anise Ba rb a ra Travers. Assista nt. Marion Ha tashi ta , Typography. Dennis G ree ne. Laboratory. Accounting Mike Klinger . Manager. Jean ne Ha m mond . Accu. Rec eiva ble. Donna Brya n . Asst. Acct s. Rec ei va b le. Terry Da iley . Credit Manager. Circulation R he ba Smith , Ma n ager. Shi rley Short. Sarah Ta ylor . Mic hd le Allan . Assistants. Du a ne J oh nson . Dea ler Sales Manager. Want Ads Leslie T ha rp . Want Ad Sales. Service and Support Chris Ai tcheson. Rece p tion ist. J im Lea l, S&S. West 2201 Cherry Avo.. Long Beac h. CA P.O . Box 498 . Lo ng Beac h. CA 9080 1 (21 3)427 ·7433 ; L.A . Line 636 ·8844 . East 4 190 First Avro.. Tucker. GA . P.O . Box 805. Tucker. GA 30084 . (404) 934 ·7850 . Cycl e Ne wsvwest (US PS 141 ·340 ) is p u bl ish ed weekl y exce pt th e first and last wee k of the ca le nd ar yea r for S20 per yroar by Cycle News . In c . . 2201 Ch er ry Avenue . Long Broa ch . CA 90801. Seco nd class posta ge pa id at Lon g Bea ch , CA . POSTMASTER; Send form 3579 to Cycle News, P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801. Subscription ra tes: On~ year. second claSs ma il. $20 ; two yea rs. seco nd class ma il. S35 : thr ee years. second class ma il. $53 ; 25 week s. Ill. Cycle News welcom es u nsolicited edi toria l materia l including sto ri es . ca rtoons , photos. et c. Such mater ia l. if pu blished . bec omes the exclusive property of Cycle News . Such accepted mate rial is sub ject to revision as is necessa ry in th e sole discretion of Cycl e News. U nsolicited m a te ria l wh ich is no t used will be re tu rn ed if accompani ed b y a self· addressed st a mped envelope . All unsolicited m a ter ia l will be handled with reasonable care. however . Cycle News assumes no responsi bility for the safety. loss or da mage to such m a teria l. Reprinting in .whole o r p a rt only b y per · m ission of the pu b lishers. Advertising rat es and circul at ion informa tio n will be sent upon re~u est. See S.R.D.S. Copyright · Cycle News, Inc. 1980. Trademark Cycle News registered U.S. Patent Office. All rights reo served . 4 ON THE FRONT PAGE: Facing the 'SO season with a throttle in one hand and the Bible in the other, Hank Scott led the point standings at the halfway payoff and leads now with his DuQuoin Mile win. Photo by Gary Van ttoorhis. Yeah. Hank Scotti Congratulations to Hank Scott who fin ished on top at the completion of the first half of the Winston Pro Series. For those who don't follow the Class C Pro circuit , Hank is the younger brother of former Grank National Champion Gary Scott. A hard act to follow especially when it's family. Hank fin ished seventh last year on the pro circuit. W ith three National wins this season, he has taken home the gravy at the halfway po int. W ith th e usual bad publicity surrounding the motorcycle ent husiast , Hank stood on his Christian beliefs and claimed his su ccess is due to his faith in the Lord . According to Genesis 1:27, "Go d cr eated man in his own image and likeness. " Well , I guess that proves it. God does ride a Harley . WALT KOJDI CKI Torra nce , CA A long tracks Taces . Ha nk with a T riumph 'o n the T T an d a Yam aha in sho rt tra ck Wa lt, we'Te SUTe yo u 'll enjoy t he Scott inte roiew that begins on p. I O. .. Ed itor. Has Bast retired o r lost faith? I' m writi ng concern ing the alleged recent ret irement of Mike Bast. Bast is presently the reigning nu mber one in speedway , and has been National Cham pion seven time s. Mik e has been riding Speedway since the age of 15 a nd has done much for the spo rt . His ridin g has drawn m any thousa nds of fans to the four Southern Ca lifornia tracks. I first watched Mike three years ago and hav e been a loyal roo ter ever since. His clean and smoo t h rid ing style which has dominated over the yea rs is really exci ti ng . I ha d the pleasure of meeting hi m ea rly this year after a ra ce and found him to be a true gentlemen and a very im p ressive ambassador for the sport . Now all the sudden , he h as retired . It was a tot al surprise and one wou ld have to won der why. He's been ha ving a goo d year an d looks better week after week . He's currently fou rt h in po int s a nd has been dominating in the scratch racing at Ascot and San Bernard ino . An yone close to the sport knows about his dedication an d professional approach to the sport. Well it seems as though there must be some no t so obvious reason . When one looks into the situation there appears to be many possible reasons. First off, Mik e is going to New York this week to race. Apparently therefore he has not retired , but has lost faith in the local tracks and more importantly their promoters. It seems that the tracks are not maintained and set u p in the best interest of the riders. Infield facilities are in some instances inadequate and general regard for the rider is unapparent. The promoters for the most part have a d ictator situation at their tracks. The rider is therefore at his mercy and the a tti tu de seems to be if you don't like it then that's tough. If you don't like it th en don't race . Being that racing is their bread an d butter they put up with a lot of situ a tions they shou ld not have to . I also found ou t that being number one has virtually no benefits. In this day and age of large purses for the cham p, bo n uses and especi a lly sho w mon ey, for the speedway rider it's m er ely more pressure and hearing th e crowd cheering for the underdog . T h is seems like little reward for putting up with t he trav el, bumps and bruises, and the fou r sto p a week grind . It would seem to me the promoters should take bett er care of the men that generate their huge ea rnings . I can on ly hope that the peo p le responsible for his ea rly reti rement will rectify the situ a tio n and allow racing fans to once again enjoy wa tchi ng Mike Bast do wha t he does best. I would ask other speedway fa ns to write t he promoters and Cycle News a nd exp ress rh e ir support . DAV ID). BO UDREA U Lakewoo d , CA Sierra Club degeneration T en yea rs ago , I was the presid ent of a college bio logy club an d wa s co nside red a rad ica l enviro nm enta list : vet ! was ab le , in good co nscienc e, to ride a din ' ike . At tha t tim e I b",,,a t ij ad m ired the work of : he Sier ra C lub a nd pro bably ag reed with most of their positions. To me the Club sym bo lized all th at was bes t in the environm ent a l mov emen t. Sadly, over the last 10 years the Sierra Club has degenerated into something quite d ifferent. Today the Club is being used by a radical seg · rnent to stop all progress and stifle all develo pme nt . T od ay, this group is agit a ting for a massive land grab in the Cal ifornia desert: asking, quiteliterally, for the exclusive use of 12..5 m illion acres of public land . ThIS action , if successful , will do tremendous. possibly irrep ara ble, damage to the _ im age of conservation and t':!s, environmental mo vement. Something m ust be done to com bat this menace . At present , the only voice being heard is tha t of the rad ical preservationist. This mo nopoly must be ended. It is time for the modera te elements of the en vir onmental mo ve ment to speak out, be fore it is too late. It is time for a dissenting view. I propose that a co m m ittee, cons isti ng of conservationists a nd Sierra Club members , be fonned. The purpose of this committee would be to formulate and st ate the moderate position. The .existance of such a position must be made known prior to the finalization of th e Ca liforn ia desert plan. Sierra Club members; If you are unhappy with the tenor and content of the material being issued in your name, I request that you contact m e im m edi ately. W e need to bring the voice of reason back to land use d iscussions. All citizens hav e an equ a l rig ht to the use of public land. None must be unfairly penalized . We can have land use plans that will protect th e environment and resources and still allow all citizens fai r and adequate opportunities for rec reation. Please hurry , time is short. RICK GOCHNAUR 8202 Vista del Rosa Downey , CA 90240 213/862 ·3975 H B T102 threatens K ennedy Meadows This letter is a n emergen cy bulletin for every rider who has ever enjoyed the mountain trails at Kennedy Meadows in the Sequoia National Forest , or ever wishes to. Congressman Phillip Burton of California ha s introduced HB 7702, which would convert all of the existing tra il a nd o pen area (above Woodpecker Ca nyon , which means anything th at isn't desert ) to Wilder ness . You all kn ow what effect it had when the 350 ,000 a cres were converted last year. The trail system was reduced by two-th irds . This bill would wipe it out. entirely , forever. Th bill h as already passed committ ee and is in the full house . W rite now to you r Congressman and ind icate your com p lete o pposition to HB 7702 , if you ever enjoyed Kennedy Meadows . For those of you wh o haven't , but bel ieve in the rights of offroad users to enj oy the ou tdoors . besides sand and cactus. write in su p port . HB 770 2 is a " hidd en " attack on offroa d . It contains gra nd ideals a bout wilderness prese rvation and scen ic beauty, and ign ores the hopes a nd needs of th e recrea uonist. Don't let the m sneak this in the' ba ck d oor. WTit e today! T omorro w will be too Jate DO;\l NA ADAMS T " :,m BeA RTI ?ublished letters do 'l o t ecessarily ref lect t he pos ition of Cycle News. In c. Send letters t o Voices. Box 498, Long Beach. CA90S01 .