Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

II: W ~ ::J :I: til II: w ~ til "- o II: ~ w :I: til ..... II: W al o z « Q til 9 « o .~ o U George Lazor. Scotty Brown. winner. Gary Ford and Steve Martin (I to r) during the first main event start at Indianapolis. til '-----------------------------_.::-_, ~ (Above) Scratch winner Alan Christian goes inside Gene Woods and Greg Ayers. (Below) Second Division victor Don Jackson trails Randy Skinner. , Coors S~eedwal Season O~ener Christian cooks at Costa Mesa By Scott Daloisio Defending U.S. National Speedway Champion Alan "Crazy" Christian started off the 1986 regular season with a bang when he swept the Scratch side of the program at the 14 sic Series, it was his first opening night win at Costa Mesa since 1980 when he won each Scratch main for the first 13 weeks of the season. After holding off Mike Mazzacane and Gene Woods in his heat and Mark Dwyer in his semi, Christian had to face "Flyin' Mike" Faria, Steve Lucero and Dwyer in the main event. Christian got the gate from three and he and pole-sitter Lucero sq ueezed Faria out in the first bend. Lucero then took momentary command of the top spot, but Christian (STP/CalFab/Be\'l/Smith/ValvolinelAdvantage Boats/Mikuni/Hi-Point/TeTTYcablelTsubaki/Barnett Weslake) rode into the lead as they came off turn four, while Faria passed Lucero on the inside. Christian led as they crossed over the stripe at the end of the first circuit, but it was clear that Faria and his Jawa were a little bit faster. Chris- g ~ ... able and that paid 0(£ big dividends in the main event. Shawn McConnell stayed close in the main, but was unable to penetrate the 10-yard advantage that Nicol started with. Dwyer was third much of the way, but he went wide in the first turn on the last lap and ended up finishing fifth. Nicol wheelied past his first checkered of the season with a sizeable lead over McConnell, Brad Oxley and Christian. Don Jackson (J urupa Tax Servicel Gene Woods Racing Products) rode the Jawa motor used by Gene Woods in 1985 to victory in the red-flagshortened main event. Jackson led all the way of the race which was halted after three go-'rounds. Jimmy Gentile encountered a problem while running second and was drilled by Ronnie CoTTey, who had nowhere to go. Walt Farnum then found CoTTey and Gentile laying in a pile on the front chute and vaulted over both of them in spectacular fa hion. Farnum was shaken, but walked off under his own power. Gentile was disqualified for causing the incident, giving Correy and Farnum the place and show spots behind Jackson. Bobby Simon ,the younger brother of motocrosser Willy Simons, got on the program as a reserve and then gave a good account of himself by winning both his heat and the Third Division main. Crajg Furman followed the Weslake jockey home in the main, with Steve Lyons third. Results COSTA MESA, CA, MAR. 28 Orange County Fairgrounds in the Coors Season Opener. For Christian, who finished third in the recent Spring Clas- til tian, however, had the lead and Faria was going to have to take it easy. Faria was riding inches behind Christian and when he would try the inside, Christian would guard the pipeline and block his effort. Faria also tried the outside but he wasn't fast enough out there to get the job done. He had to hang back and wait for a rare Christian mistake which never came; Faria was forced to settle for a tough second. A half-length back, Dwyer got third by passing Lucero on the final revolution. Second-year rider Doug Nicol got his first-ever shot at Costa Mesa Division One action and probably earned himself a berth there for life by scoring three devastating wins on the Handicap side of the program. Off the 20, Nicol (Agajanian Ent.lFast Freddy's Pizza/Life's A Beachl Arail Taylor Concrete Pumping/Don & Lori Faulkner/AXO/STP/FMF/KaI· GardlCi~ello/Tsubaki/Pedco Eng.,' L & S Eng.lPerkins Machine/Casual Cuts ILittle Jiminy's Imports/Sportworks Weslake) was simply unbeat- SCRATCH MAIN: 1. Alan Christian (Wal!: 2. Mike Faria (Jaw); 3. Mark Dwyer (Wes); 4. S.eve Lucero (Wal). HANDICAP: 1. Doug Nicol (Wes!; 2. Shawn McConnell (Was); 3.. Brad a.ley (WeI); 4. Alan Christian (WeI!; 5. Mark Dwyer (Wes); 6. Jeff Jones (Was). SECOND DIY: 1. Don Jackson (Jaw); 2. Ronnie Correy (Was); 3. Wak Farnum (Jaw); 4. Kevin Krugh (Jaw!; 5. Randy Skinner (Jaw!; 6. Jimmy Gentile (Was). THIRD D1V; 1. Bobby Simons (Wes); 2. Craig Furman lJaw); 3. Ste... Lyons (Jaw); 4. Dana Dumond (Jaw); S. Richard Perkins ewes); 6. Mark Karive (Jaw). Ford flies at Indy By Bert Shepard/ Silver Shutter INDIANAPOLIS, IN, MAR. 21 "It was my new LOp secret rear tire. You can't even tell how it works by looking at it!" explained Gary Ford midway through the Suzuki Speedway Ice Racing National Championship. Ford, the four-time Canadian National Speedway Champion and winner of all of the previous I.C.E. events at Indy, methodically marched through an action-packed evening to the main event win. The first three races of the evening were used to fill two vacant spots in the regular program. Mike Cortese and Dale Wakefield earned their places alongside the National starters. The 1985 National Ice Speedway Champion, Scott Brown, got off to a rough start. On the last turn of lap one, Brown put the Hallman Products/Keech Video/Scott Gogglesl Lou's leathers mount into the wall very hard. Brown was a little bloody, but fine. "Maybe a little blood will help - at least it woke me up!" After the first one-third of the program, Gary Ford and Californian Steve Martin had each won twice. Mike Cortese notched a victory in the third qualifier. Hamlin, New York's George Lazor got on track by winning event seven. "This place has jinxed me. I've been here five times and not done well. You have to have a cool head and not get out of control," explained Lazor. Prior to intermission, Brown and Ford continued to dominate the action. The second bali of the program got underway with Ford, Brown, Martin and Brian Dailey marching toward their tickets to the main. Daily's spot was in jeopardy as Lazor dialed in a victory in event 10. The 12th qualifier was a treat for the crowd and pivotal for the participants. Ford, Martin, Lazor and Bruce Nelson faced off. After one tour, only Lazor was left upright. Ford, Nelson and Martin collided and went down. Ford's problems mounted as he went on the two-minute clock for an inoperative kill switch. All efforts failed to make the switch work and fellow Canadian John Kehoe loaned Ford his mount. The unfamiliar ride ended abruptly in turn three wi th a trip into the snow. "The Ice Man" Ford would not be denied and kept Lazor at bay on the restart. Martin's third-place finish - combined with a victory in the next event- put him safely in the main. "I had so much fun at Reno (Nevada) last year, I decided to come east this year," said Martin. Ford and Lazor kept their momentum up as they swept the last two qualifiers. The luck of the starting position draw put Ford on the inside pole with Brown, Martin and Lazor alongside. A course adjustment, due to thin ice, caught Brown and Lazor, as they got off in turn two. The restart was all Ford on the Marushin/Ontario M/C Salvage/Jackson Racing/WebCam/Weslake. The only rider to better his starting position was Lazor, when he took third spot from Martin off of the last turn. Ford was ecstatic as he collected the winner's laurels. "It was a tough evening. I had put new rings in the engine, but they failed to seat. So we had plug oiling problems all evening." • Results MAIN: 1. Gary Ford; 2. Scott Brown; 3. George Lazor; 4. Steve Manin. QUAUFYlNG PTS: 1. Gary Ford (19); 2. (TIE) Scott Brown/George Lazor (15); 4. S.eve Martin (12); 6. (TIE! Brian Daily/Mike Cortese (7); 7. (TIE) Jim HadrickITom Burge (5); 9. (TIE) Bruce Nelson/John Lewis/Dele Wal

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