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50 Years Ago September 15, 1966
Sammy Tanner made front-page news for winning the 8-Mile National at Ascot.
We said that Tanner proved again "…that he is the best half-miler in the west and
one of the best ever—east or west."… We reported that the Springfield 50-
Mile National had been dropped from the AMA calendar "…due to problems
brought about this year by the rag-tag element that has been showing up in large
numbers at Midwest nationals the past few years."… We covered the Rosarita
Scrambles in Mexico that attracted more than
1000 racers.
40 Years Ago September 14, 1976
We featured an interview with off-road racer Malcolm Smith who was preparing
for his ninth ISDE. He also talked about racing in Baja and participating in the
movie "On Any Sunday"… Records were broken at Bonneville. Don Vesco
was the top "speed bike" of the week, "sliding" his 1300cc Yamaha streamliner
through the traps at nearly 273 mph… Riding a Bultaco, Terry Poovey won the
Freemans Short Track in Talladega, Alabama… Gaston Rahier won the 125cc
World Championship MX in West Germany.
20 Years Ago September 11, 1996
Jeff Emig was pictured on the cover 20 years ago for wrapping up the
250 National Motocross Championship at Steel City Raceway in Delmont,
Pennsylvania. He won the race and edged out Jeremy McGrath for the
championship by 10 points. Kevin Windham won the 125 class, but Steve
Lamson had already clinched the championship… We reported the passing
of drag racing legend Elmer Trett who was killed while making an exhibition
run on his "Mountain Magic" top fueler during the NHRA U.S. Nationals at
Indianapolis… Davey Camlin won the Springfield Mile.
Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives
30 Years Ago September 17, 1986
A photo of Bubba Shobert was featured on the cover 30 years ago for winning
the Syracuse Mile and clinching the Camel Pro/GNC title… Sixteen new records
were set at Bonneville Speed Week. The fastest motorcycle time of the week was
274 mph by the Harley-Davidson streamliner Tenacious… Terry Vance topped
the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park… Hans Nielsen won the
World Speedway Final in Poland, while American
Sam Ermolenko finished a disappointing
seventh… Ed Lojak won the Golden Eagle
National Hare Scrambles in Millville, Minnesota.
LOOKING BACK
