Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Paul Krause and Mike Alexander powered their Honda CR500 to victory at the Las Vegas 300. round two of the Best in the Desert Series. Best in the Desert Series Krau,sej~Iexander top Las Vegas 300 By Anne and Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren and John Thomas LAS VEGAS, NV, APR. 19 The Southern California team of Paul Krause and Mike "·Downhill" Alexander survived seven and a half hours of grueling racing in the rocky Nevada desert to take the win in the prestigious Las Vegas 300 a 240-mile team race , . sponsored by the H:aClenda ResortHotel and CasIno, and Duralube Oil. The two privateers, who decided to team up just two days before the event, overcame factory teams and tough local competition to grab $IlOO in first-place money. 'I'hey conquered the tough, technical course almost eight minutes ahead of their nearest rivals. The Las Vegas 300 was round two in the three-race, Best in the Desert Series, organized by Casey Folks. Round one, Whiskey Pete's World Championship Hare and Hound, was overalled by Team Husqvarna's Garth Sweetland in January, and round three will be held in the resort town of Laughlin, Nevada at the end of September. The Las Vegas 300 drew a total of 95 entries, with riders from allover the western United States teaming up to compete for overall honors and the cash purse. The figure-eight course, which the ra~ers completed thret: urnes, was laId out near Boulder CIty, southeast of Las Vegas. It consisted of a 42mile first loop and a 38-mile second loop, for a race total of 24(f miles. Racing· got off to an early start with. the banner dropping about 6 a.m., as soon as it was light enough to race safely. From the start it was cleap that Krause and Alexander were determined to make the race theirs. Krause was on board for the first half of loop one and got the team's Honda CR500 off to a sizzling. start, pushIng through to the lead In the short dash to the bomb. But WIth Team Husky ace Dan Smith hard on his heels, the big red machine's early lead did not last long. Smi·th, who was racing with Don Griewe after his regular teammate, Garth Sweetland, broke his leg at the recent SCORE Great Mojawe 250, swept through to take the lead just a few miles into the race. But Team Husky's shot at the number one position was cut shon when Smith ran ,boot-first into a rock~ bending Scott Morris and Kevin Welch took second overall,. first 250. aboard a 250cc Husqvarna. his shift-lever aiJd sticking the bike in se~ond gear. Krause retook the lead when Smith pUlled over for repairs, but soon was under fire again, this time from Team Honda ace Dan Ashcraft, who was teamed with Randy Morales on a 600R. For the rest of the 42-mile section, Krause and Ashcraft fought tooth-and-nail for the lead, pushing their Hondas to the limit in the tight, twisty terrain. They raced the final two miles into' the pits less than five seconds apart. Some fast work in the Team Honda pit put Morales into the second half of the loop a few seconds ahead of Krause's teammate Alexander, with Smith handing Team Husky's thumper over to Griewe aImost two minutes back in third overall. In his first ride with the Husky team, Griewe was' determil).ed to make a good impression and was racing all ou t in the earl y stages of section two. His starting burst took him past the Krause/Alexander Honda and rocketed him into the lead just ten miles into the 38-mile section, where he diced back and forth with Morales for the rest of the loop. At the end of the first figure eight, just over two hours into the race, Morales led the way into the pits with Griewe only seconds behind. Alexander, who had caught up to the leaders, lost time when he missed a turn, "went over this cliff thing," and had to stop to reposition his handlebars. He came into the pits another two minutes back in third. Fourth overall, first in the 250cc division, was 27-year-old Tom Kelly of Mojave, California, who was riding solo on a Yamaha. The nearest 250cc competition came from fellow southern Californians Grant Palenske and Peter Postel in eighth overall, and the Mike Baker/Scot Harden Yamaha duo in ninth overall. The I 25cc class saw Yamaha pilots John Braasch and Eric Hallgath out in front in 12th overall, with local hotshots Bryan Folks and Jon Almberg racing throu~h in 16th overall, despite breaking the throttle and the silencer on their Cagjva. The lead in the Over-30 division was in the hands of the formidable Pete Sheehan/Lee Pearson KTM team (21st overall). The Over-38 duo of Husqvarna-mounted Dick Burleson and Bill Sweetland were more than five minutes ahead of their nearest rivals in 27th overall. The second loop of the course got underway with the Ashcraft/Morales Honda just a few seconds ahead of Smith and Griewe's Husky, but Team Honda's bid for the win bit the dust just a few miles into the loop. "We had problems with our chain popping off all the time," Ashcraft said after dropping out of the race. "I only. got about 10 miles into the second loop when I hit a bump too hard and the chain came off, and Dan (Smith) passed me. I got going, but the chain came off again and got wedged in the rear wheel. Then it came off again (and) put a hole in the case. We had to call it qu~ts." With -Ashcraft out of the runnin~, Smith settled down to stretch out his lead and had opened up six minutes on Krause by the time the teams changed riders at the loop's half-way point. Kevin and Sean Steele, two brothers from Las Vegas, had pushed their CR500 through into third .overall, seven minutes behind Krause, and YZ250 pilot Kelly was still in front of the 250cc division in fourth overall. . Griewe worked hard to improve Team Husky's lead in the second half of loop two and had drawn it out to nine minutes over Alexander as he thundered into the pits, giving toe team ample time to change the almost bald rear tire before Smith headed out into the final loop. Kelly had worked into third going into the last loop, with the 250cc

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