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VOL. 54 ISSUE 9 MARCH 7, 2017 P125 race for the second-consecutive year, and became the third rider to lead the championship. The Cumberland (Maryland) Half-Mile in May was the first showdown between the new 750cc overhead cam Brit bikes and the venerable Harley KR750. It was Harley's Lawwill getting a great start on the single-line grooved track and holding off the British machines of Gene Romero (Triumph) and Dick Mann (BSA). At the Terre Haute Half-Mile Bart Markel experi- mented by changing the timing on his KR so that both cylinders fired at the same time. It proved to be advan- tageous on the slick, hard-clay track and the "Twingle" carried Markel to victory. Triumph and BSA introduced their three-cylinder models for the next round, the first mile of the sea- son in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The sounds coming from the triples were something fans had never heard before. Triumph felt they were ready, having rented the track for testing a couple of weeks before the national. In the end, mile specialist Nix and his proven Harley KR outdid the Triumph Trident of Nixon for the victory. The next week at the Reading (Pennsylvania) Half- Mile, Larry Palmgren scored his first national win and as a bonus his brother Chuck finished second, marking the first time brothers finished 1-2 in AMA National com- petition. It was also a Triumph sweep of the podium with Nixon in third. Cushion track master Bart Markel won on the Lou- isville Half-Mile, not only taking over the series lead, but also coming to within a single victory of tying Joe Leonard on the all-time Grand National wins list. Fred Nix surprised everyone with his road race vic- tory in the rain at Loudon. Harley swept the rostrum with Rayborn and Mark Brelsford finishing second and third, respectively. Rayborn took victory in one of the stranger tracks that ever held a national, the Heidelberg (Pennsylvania) Mini Road Race. The track was a paved half-mile oval with a paved short-track in the middle and they con- figured a tiny road course out of it. The mini road race was not popular with riders or fans. Only 21 experts showed up for the national and reportedly less than 4000 fans. With the win Rayborn took back over the series lead. Eddie Wirth won the very first Santa Fe TT National and then Lawwill won the half-mile in Columbus, Ohio. It was big news when rookie expert Jim Rice won the San Jose Half Mile on his BSA over Nixon in July. Lawwill was third and took back the series lead. Mark Brelsford scored his first national win at the Ascot TT National. It was a wild race of attrition with several leaders dropping out with mechanicals. Brelsford's victory was the first for Harley-Davidson at the event. Rayborn, once again, took back the series lead from Lawwill by finishing fourth, while Lawwill's bike broke. Lawwill bounced back with a win the next week at the Castle Rock TT to take back the series lead, this time for good. A pall was cast over the event when the sad news of Fred Nix's death, from a dune buggy accident, reached the crowd at Castle Rock. Chuck Palmgren became the fifth first-time winner of the season with his Santa Rosa Mile victory. A victory at the Indianapolis Road Race National and runner-up at Peoria by Rayborn, combined with Lawwill missing the main at the Santa Fe Short Track, brought Rayborn to within five points of Lawwill in the points chase, but that was as close as it would get for the rest of the season. Rayborn's last best chance to catch Lawwill would come in the road race national at Sears Point. Ray- born was heavily favored to win and he led the race before his bike broke. Art Baumann gave Suzuki its first AMA Grand National win. Lawwill took fourth and opened up a massive lead in the championship with just three rounds remaining. In late September, Lawwill clinched the 1969 championship with a sixth-place finish at the Okla- homa City Half-Mile. A week later he capped off his excellent year by winning the series finale, the Ascot Half-Mile. It was a culmination of years of hard work for Lawwill, who'd turned pro six years earlier. Lawwill's breakthrough in '69 proved to be his one and only national championship, but it was pivotal for the Idaho native. As a result of being the defending champ, in 1970 Bruce Brown focused on the number- one plate holder, Lawwill, while filming the influential film On Any Sunday. Lawwill would forever be immor- talized for his part in the popular documentary. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives