Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ SPEED~AY WEEK ~ Costa Mesa _ San Bernardino - Ventura _ Auburn - Napa - COlita Mesa - San Bernardino - Ventura - Auburn - Napa - COIIt a Mesa - San r C'C') 00 Bast makes it two in a row at Costa Mesa ByJim Brown COSTA MESA, CA, APR. 8 Costa Mesa hosted thousands of speed way fans once again Fr iday night, with crowd and _ rider enth u siasm blending to- ~ ...... ~ 0 c-r ...... ..... l-< 0.. ~ (Top) John Cook put in another spectacular ride at Ventura, (Above) John Sandona took the scratch main at the Inland Motor Speedway. (Below) Mike Faria conquered the handicap ma in. Here Dubb Ferrell pursues, gether to mak e for some exci ti ng races . For th e seco nd co nsec u tive Friday n ight, Mike Bast handed spons ors Justice Bros. a nd Riverside Mitsubish i another blazing vic tory. Bast was untouchable in the Sera tch hea t as he finished first. H e repeated with a first place in the Scr atch sem i and in the Scratch main. In Handicap racing, after starting from the 50-yard line, he won his heat rac e, but did not far as well in the semi-main and came in third in the consolation. Dave DeTemple, back in the States now after spending the winter racing in Australia, swept the Handicap racing- with all first places. Dan Becker won his Handicap heat and semifinal , but in the main event didn ' t have his name on it. Steve Lucero won h is Handicap heat, transferred from th e semi to the consolation and won. Mike Faria a nd Kell y Moran battled for fir st place in th eir Scratch hea t. Faria won and ended up seco nd in the Scratch consolation a nd fourth in th e Handicap main. Alan Chrrsuan didn 't transfer in H andicap racing, but did transfer in Scratch racing into th e conso lat ion a nd won after some wheel-to-wheel raci ng with Mo ran . Brad Oxley won h is Scratch heat a nd brought home thi rd in both main events. Intermission fea tured Brad Oxley a nd Dan Becker in a mat ch race and th ey had a phot o finish a t th e chec kered nag. Referee Irwin Moon said it was the closest finish he had ever seen. Seco nd Division heat races were won by Wayne Leutz, Pa t H aw ley, and T om Conrad, Leutz won th e main event foll owed by T om Conrad. Th ird Division heat s transferred Larry Willey and Dennis H all as win ners to the main event. Randy Bedd o w took seco nd in the heat and transferred to the ma in but was unabl e to start the ra ce. Ken Hanse n, a fter fin ish in g second in h is heat , wo n the mai n event . Results SCRATCH MAIN: 1. Mi ke Bast; 2. John Cook; 3. Brad Oxley; 4. Dave DeTemple . HAND ICAP MA IN: 1. Dave DeTemple; 2 . Sam Erm olenk o; 3 . Brad Oxle y: 4 . M ike Far ia; 5. Ke ll y Moran; 6. Dan Becker. SECOND DIV; 1. Wayne Leutz; 2. Tom Conrad; 3. Ma rk Dwyer; 4 . Pat Hawl ey; S. Gr eg A yers ; 6 . Cary FaBs. THIRD OIV; 1. Ken Han sen ; 2. Larry W illey; 3. Denn is Hall ; 4 . Ter ry Cla nton ; 5. Russe l Bacarella ; 6 . Randy Beddow. MATCH RACE; 1. Dan Becker; 2. Brad Oxley. Cook, Ermolenko star in Ventura opener By Bill Locey Photos by Dan Mahony VENTU RA, CA, APR. 5 Flamboyant international speedway star John Cook easily won th e Scratch main, the trophy and the big bucks in the 46 13th annual seaso n ope ner a t the Ventura Raceway, kn own locally as th e " Co m mot ion By th e Ocean ." Sam -Ermo len ko wo n th e thrilling Handicap main. Former rider Mike Dyer was th e real star of th e show, however. A heavy eq uip ment operator by trade, ·Dyer p repared the newly built onefifth mile oval and the result was racing that featured more pa ssing than a Sa n Diego Chargers ' scr im mage. It was a lso th e fas test racing ever at Ventura with speeds up to 50-60 mph and riders three abreast coming out of th e turns. Despite the unaccustomed spe eds, o nly eigh t riders fell and all were a ble to walk away. Cook handily won his first two Scratch rides then easily outgated his rivals in th e main and contented h imself (and the crowd) with a series _ of im p ressive whee1ies down the straights until the checkered flag stopped his antics. No wonder British promoters are drooling on their fish and ch ips waiting to get Cook back over there. " Almost everybody geared wrong," said Cook later, "they thought the track was bigger than it really is." In Handicap racing, the back yardage riders did what they were supposed to do - they passed everybody in sight. Last year's points leader, Flyin' Mike Faria, set the tone by winning off the 50-yard line. In the other heats, Shawn McConnell was second, Alan Christian was third, and Cook won , all also coming from the 50. In a 'sem i, Ron Blanton did what was expected of him, blasting off the zero-yard line and not looking back . Right behind him, five riders were passing and being passed on every turn. McConnell 's bids for the ma in took a turn for th e worse - on the last turn to be exact. Ermolenko slammed into h im jalfway to the ch eckered and in the second it too k McConnell to keep from hitting the wa ll, Ermolenko and then Faria crossed th e line ahead o f him. In the ma in , Blanton led for a lap, then it was Steve Lucero, then Errnolenko, th en Cook, then Faria, well , you get the idea. Errnolenko took the lead, but not by much, on the third lap. A length behind him Cook, Lucero and Faria .came out of tu rn four side by side in a race rem in iscen t of their San Berdoo cla ssic. Only twi ce as fast. At the end it was Errnolenk o foll owed by Lucero, Cook, Fari a, Blanton and Gary Ford. Chris Mistretta thrashed everyone tw ice to win hi s hea t and the Second Divi sion main in con vinci ng st yle. The wider track seems to su it his style as he showed o ff so me picture-perfect corners. Mike Mazzacane was second. O xn ard's Gu y H eld erl ein ended in thi rd a nd on his back as his bik e went careeni ng end over end do wn along the straigh t towar d the checkered. Ne w guy La rry Willey was the class of Division Three, winning h is heat an d the ma in easily. Ventura rookie Walt Farnum in his spe edway debut rod e well , and was second. Results SCRATCH MAIN : t . John Cook; 2. Shawn McCan· nell ; 3. Buddy Robinson ; 4. Dave DeTemple. HANDICAP MAIN : 1. Sam Ermolanko; 2. Stave Lucero: 3. Cook; 4. Mike Faria: 5. Ron Blanton; 6. Gary For,1. SECOND DIV: t . Chris Mistrena; 2. M ike Mazzacane ; 3. Guy Helder lein; 4. Tommy Walton; 5. Bent1ev Barre n; 6. Alan Davidson. THIRD DIV: r . lJIrry W illey; 2. Wal t Farnum; 3. Mark Dwyer; 4 . Terry Clanton; 5. Pat Sm ith; 6. Anthony Ellinor. MATCH RACE: Rob Plotting del. DeTemple . Sandona, Faria fly at IMS opener By Scott Daloisio SAN BERNARDINO, CA, APR. 6 John Sandona thrilled a huge crowd that braved a chilly night by claiming the victory in the first Scratch main of the season

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