VOLUME ISSUE FEBRUARY , P131
and teams struggled to become
reacquainted with her.
The event did not favor cham-
pions, and on this first night of
racing, it bit the number one
plate holder, Jay Springsteen.
"Springer" had grabbed the
holeshot on his Harley-Davidson
XR750 in his heat but went down
when his front wheel washed out
under heavy braking. He charged
back with vigor but failed to
make the cut and had to find his
way into the main event via the
semi. That night, Dave Aldana,
riding a Yamaha, took the heat
race win ahead of Terry Poovey.
Other heat race winners included
John Gennai, who topped first-
year pro Eddie Lawson, and Gary
Scott, riding an Evel Knievel-
sponsored Triumph. The fourth
and final (and fastest) heat went
to Eklund, with Ted Boody and
Chuck Palmgren earning spots
in the main. Springsteen and
Rick Hocking were the winners
in the semi events.
The main event featured an
early battle between Eklund and
Triumph-mounted John Gennai.
By the midway point, Gennai be
-
gan experiencing battery issues
with his mount, and Eklund, on
his Yamaha TT500, pulled away
for the win. Gennai held on for
second, which would be one of
his three consecutive TT runner-
up finishes at the Dome.
Steve Eklund was a 22-year-
old privateer racer from San
Jose. He started riding when
he was 13 and began his racing
career in motocross, compet
-
ing on a toaster-tank Hodaka.
He quickly transitioned to flat
track, where he grew up racing
against competitors like Rick
Hocking, another Astrodome TT
winner. As an AMA pro, Eklund
partnered with an Italian named
Mario Zanotti, an engineer and
professor at Stanford University
who would sponsor Eklund for
much of his career.
The day after his TT victory,
Eklund and his fellow racers
returned to the Astrodome to
compete in the short track, which
was built around the previous
night's TT course. He quickly
made it clear that he would be a
force that night as well, posting
the second-fastest qualifying
time behind Hank Scott. Scott
went on to win the first heat of
the evening, and Eklund did the
same in heat number two. Mike
Caves, on an Ossa, won the third
heat, and Jay Springsteen won
heat number four. Terry Poovey
rode his Bultaco to victory in the
sixth and final heat. It is unknown
whether anyone anticipated this
kind of Spanish Inquisition, but
two Bultacos and two Ossas
qualified for the main event.
The 20-lap final was some
-
what of a snoozer, with Eklund
controlling the race from green
to checkered flag, with Spring-
steen in second. Texas fans
hooted and hollered when one of
their own, Terry Poovey, nipped
former Grand National Champi-
on Gary Scott at the line for third.
It was the 10th anniversary of
the Houston Astrodome TT and
short track, and for the first time
ever, one rider had mastered
two very different tracks for the
wins. In the glory days of Grand
National racing, there were
TT specialists and short track
specialists. That weekend, Steve
Eklund was both.
CN
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Eklund (11) won
Saturday's TT and
Sunday's short track
in a runaway.
