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Eddie Mulder's West Coast Vintage Dirt Track Series Round 4: Cal Expo STORY AND PHOTOS BY JAMEY BLUNT SA~O,CA,SEPT.15 li1' wice each year, Eddie V makes a lot of racers' Mulder wishes come true. Almost anyone who ever raced flat track - or just witnessed it, for that matter - at one time or another dreamed of being Scotty Parker or Chris Carr, pitching his mount sideways at 120 mph on a mile oval. Well, on this day, 153 riders were given the chance to make their wishes come true on the famous Sacramento Mile at Cal Expo. We also owe a special thanks to Clear Channel Entertainment for continuing the tradition. By 2:30 p.m., all 18 of the heat races had been completed, and the program went straight to the 12 main events. The A&A Racing Senior main kicked things off. As the flag dropped, Hemet, California's Bob Graves got the jump on the pack. However, the event's promoter, Mulder, making one of his rare racing appearances, put his C&J Racingframed, Karl Krohne-tuned Triumph up front right away in tum two. John Fritz, on a Trackmaster Triumph, settled into third. Entering turn one on the start of the second lap, Fritz put a wheel under Graves and took over second. Corona, California's Dick Fox, on a Trackmaster Yamaha 750, ran fourth. At the end of six laps, the order remained the same, though Mulder had added more than five seconds to his lead. Twenty-eight riders fought bar to bar for one of 12 spots in the Barnett Vet A main event. Rick Reed, who now calls Utah home, was first to leave the line. However, by tum one Dante D' Ambruoso took the lead away - only to have the favor returned in tum two by Greg Wilburn. At the completion of lap one, Wilburn began to break free. Reed began to fade, and Gary White and Tom Horton were moving forward. On lap three, White got off the groove, leaving the door wide open, which Horton went through into third. With two laps left, D' Ambruoso made up some ground on Wilburn and took over at the "front. Wilburn was all over D' Ambruoso, but wisely he chose not to lead but rather to draft past Dante to the checkered flag to win by inches. Horton was a di.stant third, with White fourth. The Works Performance/Motion Pro Modern 750cc main was one tough contestl After three heats narrowed the field for the A main, heatrace winners Mulder and Wilburn entered turn one side by side. Out of turn two, Mulder had the lead - barely. Robert Cunnington ran third. Entering turn three, Wilburn made a daring pass to take over at the front. Two laps in, there was a lot of action from secondrow starter Paul Herman; passing riders two at a time, he worked his way into fourth and went after Cunnington. On lap three, Herman got by Cunnington, who now would have to contend with Berkley Honda/ Yamaha's Scott Dunlavey. At the completion of six laps, Wilburn won by four bikelengths over Mulder, turning a 39.8-second lap in the process (the fastest of the day). Herman came home third, with Dunlavey fourth and Ken Thiebaud fifth. The 500cc Support K&N/Maxxis A main had 28 riders going for 12 spots as well. Early leader Jim Willis lost the lead at the stripe to A&A's Jimmy Abrams, who was fast all day. By lap Eddie Mulder (12) uses the draft to pass Tom Horton [55) en route to the Senior main-event win on the Sacramento Mile at Cal Expo. (Above) Greg Wilbum took the checkers In both the Vet A main event and the Modem 750cc A main at round four of Eddie Mulder's West Coat Vintage Dirt Track Series In Sacramento, Callfomla. [Left! Jimmy Abrams rode his 1957 BSA Gold Star to second place In the Classic 500cc contest and tlrst place In the 500Cc Support A main event. two, Matthew McCoy emerged from a pack of five to settle in second. Ron Hinton fought his way through to third. At the white flag, the battle was for third. Paso Robles' David Brown crossed the stripe side by side with Hinton. At the finish, it was Abrams, then McCoy, and Hinton squeaking out Brown for third. All classes had notable standout performances. Charlie Higdon topped Ray Carroll and Marshall Jennings to take the victory in the Bartels'/JRC Engineering Senior Novice/Super Senior class. Jeff Apple from Chula Vista, California, earned two third-place finishes, the first one coming in the Brown's Cycles/Maxima Classic 500cc main. Apple, who led briefly, gave ground to the 1957 H-D KR of Chris Rudy, and the 1957 BSA Gold Star of Jimmy Abrams. Apple's hardest ride came in the Shoei Helmets/Megacycle 500cc Support B main, where he charged from deep in the pack to third, behind runner-up George Fox's C&J-framed Yamaha; with his injuries fully healed, Brian Coakley of Bishop, California, on a stock 1976 IT-500 Yamaha, picked up the win. With three minutes to spare before the 5 p.m. curfew, the last rider crossed the line, thus bringing to a close the sixth annual Vintage Sacramento Mile. Since motorcycles are only allowed on this track once a year, everyone who attended was grateful. Tom Seymour, who attended the entire weekend, made sure there were plenty of Saddlemen products to go around at the trophy presentation. Also, the addition of John Lundgren of Simi Valley Kawasaki as a series sponsor is appreciated. Round five in Eddie's series is the last chance this year to ride a mile oval, as the series comes to the K&N Filters Del Mar Mile on Saturday, October 5, during the Concours d'Elegance! _ 1:111 (ape tKnn I !D, CalitDn1ia Ilanlts: September 15, Z8D2 UI•••d 41 SR: 1. Eddie Mulder; 2. John Fritz; 3. Bob Greve5. SR NOV / S/SR: I. Charlie Higdon: 2. Roy Carroll; 3. MarshalJ Jennings. elSe 500: 1. Chris Rudy: 2. Jimmy Abrams; 3. Jeff Apple. DINO: I. Mark Milton. VET A: 1. Greg Wilbum; 2. Dente D'Ambru05O: 3. Tom Horton. VET B: 1. Bud Riddle: 2. Rendy Kremlacek; 3. Robert Hansen. MORN 500: 1. John Lundgren; 2. Sam Gray; 3. Bob Gerberich. MOD 750 A: I. Greg Wilbum: 2. Eddie Mulder: 3. Paul Herman. MOD 750 B: 1. Tom Horton; 2. Carl Dilores; 3. Jim Ottele. 500 SUP A: 1. Jimmy Abrams; 2. Matthew McCoy; 3. Ron Hinton. 500 SUP B: 1. Brian Coakley; 2. George Fox; 3. Jeff Apple. OPEN AM A: 1. Casey Yarrow; 2. Dante D'Ambruoso; 3. Jimmy Abrams. OPEN AM B: 1. Scooter Vernon; 2. Kenny Carlotta; 3. Gary White.