VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P147
last all year. Between the two
of them, Howerton and Hannah
won every 250cc National that
season. At Saddleback Park, the
acrimony was on display for all
to see, with both riders guilty of
ramming into each other.
Howerton, the reigning cham
-
pion, eventually padded a very
comfortable lead in the points
standings and heading into the
final round at Castle Rock, he
needed only to play it smart,
finish in a points-paying posi
-
tion and defend his title. Hannah
would need to win both motos
and hope for a disastrous day
for his rival.
When the gate dropped for the
first moto, Howerton was in the
lead. By the time the riders had
completed lap one, Hannah had
moved into second place. When
Howerton received that informa
-
tion via his pit board, his strategy
was kicked into gear; the champ
pulled over to the side of the
track and allowed Hannah to
motor past.
Hannah obliged and took the
lead. Then, in a final attempt to
engage his opponent, he prompt-
ly slowed, turned his head and
gave Howerton a glaring look.
Staring him down like an Old
West gunfighter, he motioned for
him to "come race for it!" With a
taunting wave of his arm, Han-
nah hoped to entice Howerton
into either pushing himself or
his bike too hard. He needed the
Suzuki rider to flirt with disaster;
it was all he could do and he was
going to give it his best shot.
Howerton, however, refused
to take the bait and, in a playful
response to both his Yamaha
rival and the crowd of speech
-
less fans, he lofted the front
wheel of his Suzuki and rode
a skillful wheelie up a bumpy
hill as if to say he could indeed
race Hannah—if he wanted. The
moto ended with Hannah on top
and Donnie Hansen in second.
Howerton, safely crossing the
finish in third, had won the title,
all according to plan.
The following season, Castle
Rock was again the site of the
final 250cc National event of the
season. Team Yamaha rider Rick
Johnson came into the day well
on his way to his first champi
-
onship, with second-place man
Donnie Hansen needing his own
miracle if he was to overtake
Johnson in the points race. God
must've been a Honda fan that
day because Hansen received
his divine intervention when the
front wheel on Johnson's Yama
-
ha broke, handing the champion-
ship to Hansen.
In the 500cc class that same
day, Hansen's Honda teammates
Chuck Sun and Darrell Shultz
took the moto wins, with Shultz
getting the overall victory as he
made his way to the 1982 AMA
500cc title. A good and godly
day to be on a Honda!
The CDR Tech Track was on
the AMA Motocross National
schedule in 1984, but the prop
-
erty was unexpectedly sold
to real estate developers just
before the race was supposed to
take place. At the last moment,
the race was relocated just up
the road to Lakewood, Colorado,
where the AMA race is held to
this day. The CDR Tech had but a
brief fling with professional mo
-
tocross, however, it was certainly
an affair to remember.
CN
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The CDR track is where Rick Johnson
lost the 1982 250cc crown when his
front wheel let go in the first moto of
the final round. Donnie Hansen went
on to win the championship.
