Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

C...ta Mesa - SaD Bernardino - AHot - Ventura - Sacra.ento - Napa - C...ta Mesa - SaD Bernardino - AHot - VentUra - Saera_nto- SPEEDWAY WEEK Los Angeles Coliseum Saturday night. The largest crowd of the season turned out at the Frank- , Shewn Moran tried hard but coulc:ln't come up with 8 winning ride at IMS. Deja vu in Ventura: King and Miller win again By Bill Locey VENTURA, CA, MAY 26 After but eight weeks of racing, summer reruns have already begun at the Ventura Raceway, as last week's winners repeated. While the thrill of victory remained intact, the agony of defeat was considerably less agonizing as only five insigni· ficant crashes marred the program, compared to a bone-crunching 22 in last week's speedway-tumed-destruction derby. Dave Miller of Brea, riding off the 20-yard line, won the Handicap main, becoming the first two-time winner of the event here in 1981. Seventeenyear-old Lance King had won every other Scratch main since the opener April 7. Tuesday night, he grew impatient, however, as he put together back-to-back wins for the first time, giving him the trophy five times in eight tries. Guess who's leading in points. In Handicap racing, John Foster, Craig Schaefer and Steve Lucero were heat winners. Alan Christian, who upgraded the look of his pit personnel (he hired his wife), went fast through slow traffic, passing five riders to take the final heat. In the Handicap semis, Miller provided a preview of the main as he motored to an effortless, yet perfect, five-lap win. Behind him, everyone took turns getting in one another's way. Lucero let no one by as he took the other setni. Amid all this, aU the usual winners managed to lose, fmishing fourth or worse. The Handicap coDay - a loser's race - turned into the best race of the night. Bobby "Insane" McLain won, but it wasn't easy. King, Schaefer, Christian and Gene Woods passed and were passed on every tum, ever threatening McLain's tenuous advantage, waiting for the mistake that never came. Two races later, McLain won the Scratch consy. 1be Handicap main was anticlimactic and not particularly thrilling. Miller led from start to finish, apparently more thrilled when he laid eyes on the trophy girl. Except for Lucero, who managed to get by Dennis Bransford' into third, no one else was able to im· prove on their starting positions. In Scratch racing, there were few surprises - the fast riders thrashed the slow riders. The Scratch main, featur· ing the evening's four fastest riders, was, well, different. On the first try, DeTemple was enjoying a comfortable lead over Christian into the fourth tum. But then Keith Chrisco knocked over third-place King in a vain effort to get by and was sent to the pits for his trouble. In the threeman restart, DeTemple again took the lead, this time around tum two, when his engine sputtered. Instantly, Christian blasted by on the inside and King on the outside. Christian had a two·length lead when his engine became violently ill, allowing King to win the race by an entire lap. In D-2 action, Chris Hedge, looking good again, won his heat and the main event. Bob Pfetzing was forced to delay adding an extra room onto his house for all his trophies. He barely transferred to the main, having to pass Shane McDonald in the last tum for the final transfer in a race Hedge won by plenty. In the main, Hedge got by Craig DePhillippi on the third lap, and that was that. The D·5 riders are looking good more often than not each week. Mike Baeder was the class act this week as he took his second trophy in Ventura, winning his heat and the main, seemingly without effort. Next week, business as usual. The night of June 16 - Bikini Night, take two. There will be no racing the night ofJune 9, a rock n' roll concert featuringJoumey will take over the Ventura Raceway. They'd better be better than speedway ... Results SCRATCH MAIN: 1. lance King; 2. Alon Chriotion; 3. 0... DeTomple; 4. Keith ChriIco. HANDICAP MAIN: 1. Deve Minor; 2. JoIln Foet.; 3. S _ u-o; 4. Donnio _ ; 5. Tom Morley; 8. MII._. SECOND DMSION: 1. Chria Hedge; 2. Croig DePhiIlippi; 3. Donnio Abbott; 4. Bob PIelzirig; 5. Kerry MIller; 8. Ron 1IIen1on. THIRD DIVISION: 1. Mike _ ; 2. Guy _ ; 3. Rick Mi. .; 4. Mik. Muuc:8ne; 5. Tim Moe-; 8. Bob Kellum. MATCH RACE: Ch,ioc:o del. o.ley. Adamo (who else1) wins in Taft By Bill Locey TAFT, CA, MAY 50 Well, everyone didn't go to the lin Field Arena in Taft -to see a popular spring rerun - local Frank Adamo WInning the Scratch main for the fourth time in six tries. The Scratch main lined up like this: On the pole northern rider Steve Miller, then ·Adamo, Grant Salyers and young Guy Ennolenko. Promoter and "Taft Tornado" Salyers got the gate and the early lead with Adamo shadowing him closely. On the second lap, Salyers went too wide in turn one. allowing Adamo and MiHer to get by. Frank, not the only one bummed out by the end of speedway at Asccot, cruised uneventfully the final two laps for the win.Miller was second, and Salyers was third. In the Handicap main, Ermolenko got a good start off the 20-yard line and got by Miller, Jim Alworth and local Randy Griffith. By the time Salyers could do the same thing, there was only one lap to go, and Ennolenko refused to let him by. It was a great win for the youngster from Cypress who just got his license a month and a half ago in Ventura. Prior to the biggies, the riders rode and rode and rode some more. Apparently, most of the riders did go to the Coliseum as only 18 showed up to race. Each rider got at least six rides as D-2 racing was suspended and everyone went Scratch racing - which was great because no one geu far in speedway riding one race two or three nights a week. Operating out of a time warp, the Taft season will be history by the time you are reading this. Beginning Saturday nis-ht, June 15, Central Valley speedway action moves to Carruthen. Results SCRATCH MAIN: 1. Frri Ademo; 2. S_ Millet; 3. Grent SIlyers; 4. G u y _ . HANDICAP MAIN: 1. Guy _ ; 2. Selyera; 3. RIndy Grilfi1tI; 4. Ademo; 5. Miller; 8. _ Uiml. King wins third straight in Ventura By Bill Locey VENTURA, CA. JUNE 2 A year agoJune 2, Mike Bast won the Scratch main in Ventura. Last Tuesday night, the new Mike Bast - Lance King - won his sixth Scratch main here in nine tries. King, always there at the end when it counts, has also recorded a pair of seconds and a third place finish in Scratch main action. Bobby "Inaane" McLain of Fulmore. showing off his newly· purchased motorcycle, showed King the rear wheel u he beat him to turn one and WOD the heat race. In the Scratch semi, King narrowly beat Mike Muntean to turn two before gradually pulling away for an easy win, just like he did in the main event. After this year's round of CJualifiers for the National Championship, King wiU leave for England on September I. A number of teams in the British Speedway League are, at this very moment, engaged in a bidding war for the youngster's services. In Handicap racing. Chris Hedge. who's been knocking on the door for a long time, finally gnt a chance to DI racing. He made the most 0 the opportunity as he rode a perfect race in his debut, holding off John Foster and four othen, and won the race. In his next ride. H~ fell on his head while holding a lUb.tantial lead, but r later came back to win the Handicap consy. Also credible at turning left at 65 mph was Dave DeTemple who palled evnybody off the 50'yard line on the big Ventura oval (well, it's a lot bigger than}lOUT track) to make the main. In the main. Foster got by Jimmy LaWlOll on the second lap aDd never looked back. He wouldn't have like the view if he had - five riden pa5ICd and were palled in seemingly every turn but eventually ran out of laps. Muntean was a reasonably close second, and DeTemple was third. In Second Division routs. Bob "Fernando" Pfeuing did it twice. winning his heat and the main - both bYjlenty. Pfetzing, who may have to ad an extra room on his Buena Park home just to hold aU his trophies. won his fifth here in 1981. His 0-1 debut is anxiously anticipated. In Third Division action. Chris Mistretta, wearing Mike Curoso's old leathers, rode like the former owner and won two races and a trophy. On Tuesday night, June 16, the Ventura Raceway will present round one of the Gone With The Wind of skin an epic 10-week Bikini Contest. No more lO·year-old winncn will be aUowed as aU entrants must be at least 16. If you're not here for this one, then you're not anywhere at aU... Results SCRATCH MAIN: 1. lance KIng; 2. MIle ~ 3. JaIvt SendaIw; 4.0..._. HANDICAP MAIN: 1. JaIvt Foeter: 2. M _ 3. 0... DeTomple; 4. Cr8Ig ScNelw; 5. Jimmy ~ ; - 8.S- ........ l»: 1. Bob PIoaina; 2. _ -= -= 3. Den 4. Donnio ~ S. Cr8Ig DePhIIIppl; 8. 51.1. Chrlo _ _ 2. _ _ .. 3. MIle Dyer; 4. Cr8Ig EIelIne; 5. 0... _ ; 8. Bob Moore. ~ Lucero unbeatable at Auburn By Jann Houston AUBURN, CA, MAY 29 The capacity crowd at the Gold Country Fairgrounds 'night got more than their money's wonh of excitement and speedway thrillsl It is impouible to find the words to describe the style and ability of I6-year-old Steve LuceTO who is far ahead of his years in experience and a\n:ady the crowd favorite and point leader two weeks into the northern California season. In the Scratch main, Dennis "Chao Choo" Robinaon drew the pole position and took the lead with hard riding LuceTO threatening on every lap and every turn. fint attempting to take him on the imide and then the outside. Robinlon exhibited his own brand of stubborn determination, managing to hold the lead until tum three on the fourth lap as LuceTO flew past him on the outside aDd took the checkered flag by !ell than a bike length. Tom Ferris was third, Eddie Ingels fourth. What a climu to a perfect nipt at speedway! Dave Faria won the Scratch conllOl· arion after a ~ call1ed by a broken tape. Referee Truman BaiI£y called it on Bert StepheDa, IeIIdiDs him to the pits. But was it StepheDa? The scorers and other track officials felt it was Faria who did the dastardly deed; however, the ref was not in the mood for a consultation. AI the rules state, his word is law 10 fOrge[ it, Bert; your day will come, that's part of racing. In the Handicap main. Joe Leduc, barely out of Division II and loolting rea1 good, held the lead until lap four when LuceTO. who had come from the 50-yard-1ine to IecODd place by lap

• Cover