Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

DIRT TRACK . AHRMAIClassic Bike National Kings Speedway • o erSOWS IS 5U By Marg ie Siega l Photos by Indian Sue HANFORD, CA, MAY 17-18 h u ck Jo yner, winn e r o f four National IT races between 1973 and 1978, sho wed he still has the moves in his return to the track at the th ird round of the American Historic Racing Associa tion / Classic Bike National Dir t Track, as well as the West ern Region al AHRMA IT, held at the same loca tion the ni ght befo re, at Kin gs Speed w ay. Joyner, riding a Triumph just as he did in his Grand National da ys , swept the field in the TT main event and fini sh ed a clo se second to Gary Davis, also Triumph-mounted, in the Modem 750cc dirt track class. Hanford, in Central California, ha s been the site of a vin tage m otorcycle swap meet and concourse competition for some yea rs now, but this was the first time Vintage Cycle Rally promoter Jim McClure had tried his hand at vintage race pr omotion . Kings Speedway is right next to the sw ap meet locat ion , making dirt track and IT racing under the lights a natural ad dition to the vintage meet. Mod em 500 and 600cc suppo rt classes .were ad ded to the event, offering a nice contrast to the Triumphs and Bultaco s . Some o f th e yo ung li ons (and lion esses) from the Lod i Cycl e Bowl sho we d up for the fun, much of which had to do with a $1600 purse, and the good-natured inter-club rivalry added to the show . Although there was a delay in the Friday night IT race becau se the track was overwa tered duri ng the br eak, Saturday's flat tracking went off like clockw ork . Al Mark, a ve te ra n o f th e old Asco t Spee dway, prov id ed the announcing bo th nigh ts, keeping the crowd goi ng w ith h is w itty com mentary. Ed Kretz [r., son of the late Iron man and a great racer in his own right, got up to take a bow, and National race winner Kenn y Eggers did a lap on hi s beautifully re s tored Indian Scout, accompanied by Bob Shirey on his Harley WR. The Friday night IT featured eight different classes, with many riders hopping from one bike to another for maximu m track time. Tom Horton led the Classic 250cc class on a Hon da from flag to flag , while Gary Davis, one of the AHRMA organizers, won the 1951 and older Dinosaur division on his Matchless. Horton, ha ving a good night on his Hond as, went on to a second win in the Vintage Mod em (1974 and earlier) 600cc class. Th e Classic 50 Os, 1967 and ea rlier 500cc overhead a nd 750cc side-valve m achinery, featured close racing in an 11-man field. Tr iumph-mounted Joe Carrera managed to hang on to the lead , with heat winner Butch Cochran second on a Tri u mph and Hond a rider Gary Davis th ird in the nine-lap ma in event. Cochran was on the gas on his Honda in the third event to take the win over Bultaco riders Art Carter and Brian Coak ley. The fourth even t was for the Senior (50+) riders, compe ting on any 1974 or earlier ma chinery . Mick ey Alzola took the flag with Wayne Sumner in second (Left) Chuc k Joyner led from start to fin ish in the Modem 750cc class in t he AHRMA Regional IT event at the Vintage Cycle Rally at Kings Speedway. He also fi ni shed second in the AHRMA/Classic Bike Magazine Natio nal Dirt Track the follow ing day. (Above) Tom Horton (55) won the Modern 600cc IT. Here he leads Gary Davis . C an d Danny Sma rt takin g up the last spot on the pod ium . Alzola went on to show those kids a th ing or two, taking first-p lace honors in the 500/ 600cc Suppo rt class for modem machinery, winning on his Rota x over John Garcia on a Honda and Ray Comer Jr. on a Yamaha. The last event was 15 laps for Heavyweight machinery . Mike Van Lienden, on a BSA, took the holeshot, but was passed on the first lap by Chuck Joyner, riding smoothly on his Trium ph. Joyner showed the youn gsters the wa y around the track , leading from start to finish and gradually pulling away from the pack. Van Lienden, Stephen H en sl ey aboard a BSA, and Joe Carrera were left to battl e it out for second. Carrera started having m echa nical problems and dropped back, leavi ng Van Lienden in possession of second and Hensley third. Racing resumed Saturday night with the track plowed into a three-eighth-mile flat track. The organizers had their chops down and the even t we nt off smoothly before several hundred fans who enjoying the balmy evening . The first eve nt, for Modem Vintage 250s, was a Bultaco romp with Brad Holt, Brian Coakley and Art Carter carting off the prizes. Alan Girdler, former ed itor of Cycle Worl d magazine and au thor of several bo ok s on Ha rleys, showe d up for th e second event - the Senior class. His ironbarrel XR750 ran rough and was otherwise not cooperative, and Girdler ended u p fifth , beh in d Triu m p h ri der John Kent and the Yamahas of Adam Warren, Dann y Smart and Marshall Jennings . (Above) John Kent (76) topped the Senior cl ass In the dirt track feature. The Classic 250cc class featured several Aermacchis . After 10 laps of tight racing, Matt Hilgenberg prevailed on h is Su zuki over Cary Buck and Steve Poggi. The Dinosaur class was dominated by Davis on a Triumph, with a second for Art Carter on an AJS and third for Jerry Ch in on one of se veral vertical twin Indians that joined the fray. Th e fourth eve nt, for modem 500cc m achinery, saw Jack Jones on a Rota x chas ing Robert Grant on a Yamaha around the track for 10 la p s. Grant ducked under the flag, with a frustrated Jones back by a wheel and Mike Gonzales' Yamaha a distant third. Classic bikes reappeared for the fifth event, with Davis, now on a BSA, getting the jump . Art Ca rter, on a Ma tchless, had a bad sta rt, but wove th rou gh the field and took over second on the thir d lap, as Bill Kiriakadis and Matt Campbell slugge d it out on Triumphs. On the last lap , Kiriakadis broke free of Cam pbell and drafted Carter to take second. A Bultaco was agai n in the lead in the sixth even t, as Brad Holt d om inat ed over the BSA of Rick Brewer and the Yamaha of Marvin Moore . The last vintage event , a 16-lap race for 750cc ma chine ry, saw Steve Berg on a Trium ph lead ing the first lap. The groove was narr ow and had been getting narrower all evening, and finesse was required to pass. Ray Com er , o n a Tr iumph, held down second for seven laps, trying to ge t past Ber g on the outsi de . Meanw hile, old pro Joyner bided his time, looking for an opportunity. Gary Davis on a Triumph followed behind him, getting an education. On the eigh th lap, Joyner saw his hole and went thr ough, w ith Davis on his heels. Joyn er and Davis dogged Berg, sa w thei r spot and passe d toge ther, send ing Berg back to third. On the 11th lap, Davis tried the trick he had just learn ed on his teacher, Joyner , and sneak ed th rou gh to ta ke the lead, while Comer passed Berg for the third spot. Joyner bre athed down Davis' back for the rest of the race, but Davis had sla mmed th e d oor and Joyner couldn't find another openin g. "Money ch an ges every thing, " sai d announ cer Mark, as the last race of the ev ening, for 600cc mod em mach ine ry, took th e field. Stev e Ma yfi eld, o n a Woods-Rotax, eyes firm ly fixed on the cash, led on the first go-around and all the rest of the lap s as Rob Damron, on a Rot ax, crowded his rear tire . The race was for third as A.J. Herrer a on a Rotax, Ronnie Reim er on a H on d a a nd Don Hart on a Rotax battled it out. Hart held d own third until the sixth lap. Going w id e around tu rn tw o, he recovered, but not in time to shut th e door on Herrera and Reimer. The two front -ru nners gr adually incr eased their lead over H a rt, Herrera a nd Reimer slowed each other down by lookin g for a spot in th e g roove wide enough to sli de a bike th rou gh , while Mayfield held on for the money, followe d closely by Damron . Herr era came in a dis tant third. l~ Kings Speedway Hanford, California Results: May 17-18 DIRT TRA CK M D RN 250: 1. Brad Holt (Bul); 2. Bri an Co akley (Bul); 3. Art Carter (BuI~ 4. Gary Davis (Yam ~ 5. Steve Brown (Yam ). SR: 1. John Kent erri}; 2. Adam Wa lte r (Yam); 3. Danny Smart (Yam~ 4. Marshal Jennings (Yam ); 5. Alan Girdler (H -D ~ CLSC 25&. 1. Matt Hilgenberg (Suz ); 2. Ca ry Buck (H- D); 3. Steve Poggi (H-D); 4. Joe Pape (H- D); 5. Gary Davis (Tri). SUP SOfr. 1. Robert Gran t (Yam); 2. Jack jones (Rlx~ 3. Mike Gonzalez (Ya m~ 4. Robby Anti es (Yam); 5. Ray Comer Jr. (Yam). CLS C 500: 1. Ga ry Da vi s (BSA); 2. Bill Kiria kid j (T n); 3. Alan Carter (Mat); 4. Ma tt Campbell (Tri); 5. Gerry Duttweiler (Tri ~ MD RN 600: 1. Brad Holt (Bu l); 2. Rick Bre wer (BSA); 3. Marvin Moore (Yam); 4. Wayne Wa rri ngton (BSA); 5. Ste ven Bibb (BSA ~ MD RN 750: 1. Gary Davi s (T n); 2. Ch uck Joyner (T ri); 3. Ray Co mer (Tri); 4. Ste ve Berg (Tri); 5. tom Ho rton (Yam). PRO 600: 1. Steve Mayfield (\'V -R); 2. Rob Damron (Rtx ); 3. A.J. Herrera (Rtx ); 4. Ronnie Reim e r (Hon ); 5. Don H art (Rtx ). TT CLSC 250: 1. Tom Horton (Hon ). D !N o, 1. Gary Da vis (Mat); 2. Art Cart er (AjS). CLSC 500: 1. JOE' Ca rr era (Tri ); 2. Bu tch Cochr an (Tri); 3. Ga ry Da vi s (Ho); 4. Herb Wolff (Tri) ; 5. Joel Sween ey (Tri ). MDRN 250: 1. Butch Coch ran (Hon); 2. Art Carter (Bul); 3. Brian Coakley (BuI); 4. Ma rk App le (C-A); S. Scott 5houp (Han). SR: 1. Mickey Alzola (Tri); 2. Wayne Summer (Tri); 3. Danny Sma rk (H us); 4. Ja ck McK racken (Tri); S. Warren Adams (Yam). M D RN 600: 1. Tom H orton (H on ): 2. Bu tc h Coch r an (Hon ); 3. Art Ca r ter (Ho n) ; 4. Steven Bibb (BSA~ 5. Dan Phillips (BSA). 5001600 SUP: 1. Mickey Alzola (Rtx); 2. john Garcia (Han); 3. Ray Comer Jr. (Yam); 4. 5idney Payne (Yam ~ 5. Ran dy Bereman (Rtx). MORN 750: 1. Chuck Joyner (Tri) ; 2. Mike Van wenden (BSA~ 3. Stephen Hens ley (BSA~ 4. Bill Knight (Nor); 5. Gary Da vis (Tri).

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