Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

_ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ -====::: ee d MlaySp Johnson wins Speedway USA opener By Scott Da loisio VICTORVILLE, CA, AUG . 3 1 After taking' second. s po~ in both m ains o n o peni ng ni ght a t Sp eedwa y US A, rookie rider Jeff J ohnson had hi s m ind ~ ade u p that h e was going to tak e a w l.non n ight two a t th e brand n ew fa ~tltty . H e th en p ro ceeded to take the biggest check fro m p ro mOler J eff Arn o ld by sco~ in g a big win in the Scra tch mam . J ohnson (Fo n ta na Rad iat o r/ G ary:s Autos Supply/joll y Fa rm s!.Bu tch s G ri n ders /S cou G oggl es /S l mps~n Wes lak e) ca me int o the Scra tch mam after recording victories in bo th Ill s h ea t a n d semi". T h e win in th e semi came a t th e hand s o f o peni ng n igh t winner Ronn ie Correy, J oh ns o n go t th e gate from . th e po}e o ~'e r J eff Sp ringm a n (ta ki ng h is first rid e smce Ma y), Louis Kossut h a nd Correy. Sp ri ngma n ro cketed by Joh nson 111 tu rn o n e a n d into th e lead. As th ey h ead ed for turn th ree J ohnson & t o ins ide Sp ri ngma n a ~ d fo rced 111m wide. Sp ri ngman led Il1 to th e co rner bu t h ooked 'up a n d wheelied into th e turn four cra sh wa ll. Fort u nately, h e wa s n ot inj ured an d th e race was n ~>t stopped . That gave J ohnson a big lead o ver Ko ssuth a nd Corr ey. John son main ta in ed th at lead a ll th e way to th e ch eckered flag . Second spo t went to Kossuth with Correy ta kin g third . T he H and icap main wa s a promoters dream as a ll si x ri de rs had a sh o t a t the lead at one time o r another , but th e rider wh o ended up taking th e win found o u t wh ile h e wa s la ying on h is back being a ttended to by th e ambu lance crew . Kevi n. Kru gh put h is J awa o u t front o n th e sta rt o ver Wa rr en Reid a nd Don Butler. Correy a nd Kossuth started a ll the wa y b~ ck on th e fifty and th ey bega~ c.h a rgm~ th ei r way th rough th e traffi c Immedia tely. Kossuth was rid i.n g th e pole while Correy was 'p lo w ing th.ro ~gh th e cush io n a nd we re sa nd wi ch ing everyo ne th ey ca m e upon much to th e dcligh t o f th e fans . Correy <:me rged int o th e lead o n la p fo u r whi le Kossuth a nd Bu tler h ad to co ntend with Warren R eid ( Hall ma n / Ma x i l!la~ Wh it e Brothers/Oakl ey/RS Taichi Leather s J awa ). Kossu th go t . some drive a s th ey came o ff four and head ed fo r th e white flag, a nd h e m omenta ril y slipped into th e lead . Correy edged back by and wa s tr ying to hold th e lead wh en he backed it in too hard a nd went dow n in turn four. Reid tapped h im a nd went for a flight th rough th e air before landing h eavil y o n th.e tra ck. At th e sa m e time Butler la ye.d It down to a vo id th e n a st y-Iook ing cra sh. Th e race was back ed uP. to th e last co m p le ted lap a n d the win ~a s fi rst a n no u nced to hav e go ne to Kossuth bu t his muffl er h ad co me ~ff and 'h e was di squa li fied . The wm . went to Reid who wa s do wn o n th e track havin g work do n e o n hi s thumb, wh ich ma y ha ve been crac ked or sp ra ined . No ma tter who wo n , th e cro wd got th eir m o n ey's wort h a nd ga ve a ll th e rid ers an o va tio n . . . T o m Settlem ire (Ma stercra ft Signs/ G rizzly J awa ) too k h is. third w in. in eig ht da ys after ca p tu n ng th e Thi rd Di vision mai n . Seco nd went to S teve Bauer wi th M ike McCar th y third. Results SCRATCH M A IN: 1. J eff Johnson (W as); 2. Louis Koss ut h (J aw ); 3 . Ron n ie Correy (Was); 4 . Jeff Sp rin gman (Was). HA NDI CAP : 1. W ar ren Reid (Jaw); 2 . Don Bu t ler (W esl; 3 . Kevi n Krugh (Ja w l; 4 . Bi ll y Gray (GM) ; 5. Ron nie Correy (W as); 6. Lo ui s Kossu th (Jaw) . THIRD DIV: 1. Tom Settl em ire (J aw) ; 2. St eve Bau er (J aw); 3 . M ike M cCarthy (Wes); 4 . Ken Sid n ey (J aw ); 5 . M arty Vanb largen (Jaw); 6. Mark Br ooks (J aw ). M A TCH RACE : 1 Ga ry Hic ks (Wesl; 2. Jef f J obn son (W es). Ascot win to Curoso By Scott Dalo is io G AR DE NA, CA, AUG . 29 L o ng tim e speedwa y :etera n Mi ke Curoso mo tored Into th e lead before th e en d of th e fir st circu it an d went on to become the nin th differe nt Scra tch ma in event w inner at Ch ris Agajan ia n 's Ascot South Ba y St ad ium T hursday night, On th e sa me ni gh t, ri sing y<;>u ngste r Ronn ie Co rrey took h is f!rs t e~er rides in So ut h Bay Stad iu m Fi rst Divisi on co m pe tit io n a n d swep t th e H andicap side o f th e pmgra.m . Curoso (R ivera E ngllleen n g~Sc.lr Clin ic /M es a Bear i n g v Car l i s le.' Cooper Cros s/ Ca stro IlD.I.D.lSimpso n / A' ME /One Wa y Weslak e) has been flying o f late and th at was certa inly the case T h ursday . Afte r R ob Pfetzing got a not he r super gate a nd raced in to turn o ne with th e lead, C urosowen t to th e o ut side and shot by Pfetzin g o n the back c h~ te. Once o u t fro nt, C uroso tu rned It o n and m o ved away fro m th e pack . Alan Christian immedia tel y m oved u p to ba tt le with P fetzin g for seco nd aft er C uroso mad e h is pass. Wh ile C uroso was len g th en in g hi s a dva ~t age ~ fe tz ing a nd C h risti a n were go mg a t It for seco nd with Steve L ucero n ght o n th em . Pf etzin g go t a li ttle too n~ u ch tract ion in the fin al ben d an d d ri fted by allowing Christian t.o ta ke seco nd far beh ind th e happ y win ner C uroso. Lucero a lso go t by Pfetzin g for thi rd. Co rr ey (T icke t M ania /Rol a n~ L.aMarch e, In c./Fishing Boa ts U n lirn ited / Wrig h t Fra mers /Grin P m du cts/ Mom & Dad Weslak e) ha s been o n a roll o f late an d h e kept rig h t o n ro llin g T h u rsday ni ght. Correy ~~s. on th e program as a Second ?'lvlsl?n rid er, bUI he was eleva ted to Fi rst D ivision wh en a re placem ent was .req u ired. H e the n took fu.1I a dv~ n t age of th e situ a tio n by tak ing hi s h eat a n d semi . In th e main h e turned in a g reen -to-checkered per form ance a nd went unchall en ged . J effJ o h nso n gave cha se to Correy but wasn 't ab le to make up a n y g ro u nd . Brad Oxl ey then sta rte d to a tta ck J oh nson for second bu t J ohn son held h is gro u nd a n d fough t o ff th e vetera n rider until the white flag when O xley d u cked to th e in side and into second . U nfort unat el y it was to litt le to la te fo r Oxley and he wa s for ced to sett le for seco nd beh in d sp eed way 's fas test rising S t~H . J o hnson hun g o n to ta ke th e third . sp o t wi th Ed Castro fo~r~h: T h ursday Second DIVI SIOn m arn was a wild a ffa ir tha t o n ly saw three o f th e o r ig ina l six r iders sta nd ing a t th e en d o f th e five la p p er. Don Butler (Dick 's Garag e/ Wild West. ~o u n t ry Music/ Scott Goggles/ J &M I rophy & Silk Screen Weslak e) stood talles t by tak in g th e win o ver Do n J a ckson a nd Ma rk Brooks. . Ber ni e T us co (J aw a ) sco red in Third Divisio n over Kurt Ma rkham a nd Dua ne Blake. J essee Finch (Speed way Magazine/ Ar~l i / J.ones Goggles/ Lagu na Commu ni carionsz l-lousc O f Suzuki Triumph /Mom & Da~.\) agam too k th e Ju n ior Speedway First DI\'isi o n mai n, wh i lr Bren t \" n nn took the Seco nd Di vision main. Results SCRA TCH MAIN: 1. M ike Curoso (W esl; 2. A la n Steve Lucero captured t he Scratch m ain at Carlsbad '~ Ca l iforn i~ ~peed.way and V entura. H e t ie d w ith Brad Oxley and M ike Faria fo r quali fier pomts. Chri st ian (GM ); 3 . Steve Lucero (Wes); 4 . Rob Ptetzing (W es). HAN DICAP : 1. Ron n ie Corr e y (W es); 2 . Brad Oxley (W es); 3. J eff J ohn son (Wes); 4: ~d Cast ro (W es); 5. Doug Ni col (W esl; 6 . A la n Chris tlan (GM ). SECON D DIV ; 1. Do n But ler (Wesl; 2. Don .Jackson (Ja w) ; 3. M ar k Br ooks (J aw) ; 4 . Wa rr en Reid (J aw ); 5. J ordan Du ncan (Gdn) ; 6 . Rick Vand er ham (W es). THIRD DIV : 1. Bern ie Tu sco (Jaw); 2. Kurt Mark ha m (Ja w) ; 3 . Du ane Bl ake (J aw) ; 4 . M ark· Hat ,:,ly (Was); 5 . Robert Fairchi ld (Ja p); 6. Tom Colher (Jaw) . 3 B'II J R DIV 1: 1. J essee Finch ; 2. David BusbV; . I V Hammi l; 4 . Marsha ll Top ping . J R DIV 2: 1. Bren t We rner; 2. Lu ke Cozart. Sandona shines at Costa Mesa By Scott Daloisio COSTA M ESA, CA , AU G . 30 T h e 1984 season was th e best in the spee dway ca reer o f J ohn San don a . When 1985 ro ll ed aro u nd Sandona started off right by w innin g the Scratch ma in a t th e Sp ring Cl a ssic a t th.e Orange ~o u n.ty Fairg rounds in hi s f~rs l ni ght in action . Fro m th ere o n It went do wnhill as h e wa s h it by a seri es of m o tor problems an d th en a fra ctured clav ica l. T h in gs h ave starte d to change back a ro u nd for Sandona o ver the p a st few week s a nd h e sho wed o.ver 6,000 fans h is vintage form by takm ~ th e Scrat ch m a in a t Costa Mesa Fr ida y n ig ht. . San d on a (Mid d le Ea rt h Video / Arai /SarnmyTanner Disl./Scolt Gogg les / Malco lm Smith P roducts Weslak e) su ffered o n ly o ne defeat o n the Scrat ch si de o f th e program a nd th at defea t cam e in his sem i w hen h e ch ased Steve Lucero h ome. Sa ndona poppe~ int. th e lead from th e pol e a t o th e beginn in g an d wa s chased o u t ?y Brad Oxley, L ucero a nd Alan Christi an . L ucero was seco nd by tur~ C?ne and was a fter Sa ndo na . Ch ris tia n ma de it as far as tu rn three wh ere h e to o k a soil sample an d too k him self out o f co n te n tio n . Lucer o beg a n attack ing Sandona in h o pes of ge tting by o n th e in ~ i d e by the sly Ill in ois n at ive co n tin ually sh ut th e doo r. L ucero kept the hea l o n a ll the wa y to the checkered, bu.t Sa ndo na was th ere eac h an d every u m e and h e took th e w in . T he H an d icap ma i n was red -fla gged twi ce: o nce a fter lap o~ e, fo.rcin~ a resta rt ; and o nce o n the fm a l CIrcu it bringi ng th e race to a prema tu re en d . L eader Moose Kenn ed y was exc1 uded o n th e first red a fter he went down . T he seco nd tr y to get the race goi.n g wa s m uch m ore success fu l a nd R ich Sw ean ey fo u n d h imself in th e lead . O xl ey q ui ckly go t by Ed Castro for seco nd an d he wen t right after yo u ng Sw ea ne y. Swean ey did a find job as Oxley ca ug h t h im bu t co ,:, ld no t ge t by O n th e fourth revolu tion , Oxl ey ho~ked up o n th e back straigh t and a lmost got by for th e lead , bu t Sweaney was eq u al to th e tas k. Sweaney then wen t down in turn two o n .th e l!1st lap . Oxl ey layed it do wn whi le Mike C uroso, wit h n ow her ' to go , blas ted into Sweaney. Both C uroso and Sweaney were shaken a nd th e ~ace ~as ca lled co mplete wi th th e W ill gomg to Oxl ey (Coors/Cire llo R acin g / STP/ Oak ley/ Ha llman Wesfake) over . C uroso a n d Lucero. . R o nni e Correy (T Icket Malli a / R ol a n d L aM arch e , I n c .l~r.i g ht Framers/Fishing Boa ts U n limi ted / G rim Products/ Mo m &Dad Weslak e),. wh o h as been beati ng so me of !h e to p First Division stars, was com mg off th e 20 in Second Divi sio n . (He sta rred th e ni gh t o n th e I 0, b~t w:'ls s~t back a fter massa cri ng th e h eld m hi s h ea t race .) H e took th e ma in ov~r M i.ke Dw yer and Wa lt Farnum . Thi rd DIVision h onors went to Mark .Brooks (Pa intwo r ks J awa ) over Chns L and a nd Archi e Perez, in a race that was finall y ca ll ed to a halt before th ere . were ca sualt ies. J essee Finch (Sp eedway Magazine/ Arai / J o nes Goggles/ Lagu na Com: muni cati on s /H o u se Of S u zu k i T r iu m p h / Mo m & Dad ) too~ th e junior Fir st Division ma m . Bill y Felts and Dav e Busby took seco n d and thi rd. Results SCRATCH M A IN : 1. John Sandon a (We s); 2. St eve Lucero (Wes ); 3. Brad Oxley (W as); 4 . Al an Christia n (GMI. . HA NDICAP : 1. Brad Oxley (W es): 2 . M ike Curoso (W es ): 3 . Steve Luce ro (W esl; 4 . Ed Castro (W es). 5. Rich Swea nev (Wa s); 6. M oose Kennedy (Ja w ). . SECOND DIV : 1. Ron nie Correy (Wes ); 2. M ike Dwyer (We s); 3. Wa lt Farn um (Jaw ); 4 . J lm mv Geo til e (Wes); 5 . Don But ler (Wes); 6. Pat Haw ley (Gdn ). THIRD DIV : 1. M ark Brook s (Jaw); 2. Chr is Land (W as)' 3 A rch ie Perez (Jaw); 4 . Duan e Blake (Ja w ); 5. AndVj oh n son (J aw ); 6. ~ arty Va nbla rg~n (Jaw): JR ; 1. Jessee Fin ch ; 2. Bill y Felts; 3. David Busbv. 4 . Marshall Toppi ng. McConnell, Johnson win at IMS By Scott D aloisio ~. SAN BERNARDIN O , CA , AU G . 28 The te m pera t ur~ was o,,:er 100° in San Bernardm o dunng.0 the ...... ... ... .. .............. _. . ' " 27

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