AMC-MX AT SADDLEBACK PARK
AMC
at
Saddleback Park
Sunday February 23, 1975
By: Tom Corley
I didn't exactly get off to a great start for the AMC at Saddleback Park race. I hope that everyone else remembered about the new time schedule because I sure didn't. But then again I don't estimate time very well and if I did I wouldn't exactly get to the SCM office at 12:00 a.m. every week. Looks like I better whip on it now and start typing because N. Doe and Harvey are giving me a lift to SCM in Studio City within minutes!
This was the best race that I went to this week. The weather was primo and the track was perfected. The Sad people are really with it because they water the track in between races to keep it moist for traction before it becomes baked. One thing that was really good was that the bulldozer added another jump right before you come out of the canyon at the back of the track. The racers dug it and I got some excellent shots off of that jump, way to go Saddleback!It seemed like the same Mini-Cycle racers who showed up for first race of the day were in the fine AMC at OCIR last Friday, probably because almost all were! It also seems like the Honda factory demon Jeff Ward never leaves the Mini Expert class in peace. He's almost unbeatable and about the only time that I ever see Jeff have a great challenge with a pack of other Mini-Crossers is at the NMA Mini-National held here at Sad each summer. He clobbered Ken Morgan of Whittier Honda and Bill Jewitt who both raced in that Nationals themselves while Vance Luevano hooked fourth and all four were Honda mounted. In the 100 Expert contest it was a little match race between the Barnt factory racer Brad Roberts and Jeff Ward, who is sponsored by American Honda, and by his own company Jeff Ward Racing Products.
In the first moto Brad i who is also one of the Nation's fastest Mini racers) was easy prey, I talked to his dad and he said that they just slapped a new Hod mill into the machine and that it really wasn't broken in yet Now at the start of the second moto I was filming on the other side of the track so I didn't see what happened so my informer was one of the helpful Hunting ton Ambulance drivers who goes by the name of Florence Nightingale. According to Florence (who is always kind of spaced) he told me that Jeff really bit it when he fell off of the berm and misf ortunately hurt his arm. So Brad lead the pack of other 100 racers who were the 100 Junior winner Tony Gomez of Venolia Products, Shawn Warnock (Suz) and Ron Flores.
Huff Hadley didn't exactly have the best racing week at first. Last Friday the swing-arm on his DG Performance Specialties machine snapped in two but today he got his act back together and really tore the 125 Junior class up. Huff was really smoking everyone in the first moto and this was really impressive considering that there was something like 21 others machines in the race.
In the second and final go racer Neil Wolfson on a No. 17Y Honda was really on the gas and led Huff for most of the moto till Hadley passed him on the sweeper closest to the starting line and on the other side of the finish line. They were scraping gas tanks they were so close. Gary Bowden who had a 4-3 finish edged out Wolfson for second overall. One also may of noted the trick Monoshock Honda that Kevin Harlow was racing in this class as well. Kevin's dad is the sole owner of DG Performance Specialties and the bike really looked excellent, I wonder if they're going to have a Monoshock kit on the market soon?
Now I like to plug shops when their racers dean up and believe me today DG Performance Specialties of Orange cleaned up. In the 125 Pro class it was really clear that they were going to take home all of the bacon. Their jerseys were always at the front of the pack. In the first moto Gary Den ton shot out ahead like a jet and nobody could catch him and the only guys who hung fairly close were Mike Johnson and Kevin Crawford from the same race shop. Now the second moto was just about the same except for in Gary Denton's case. Denton was whipping everyone first but then squidded back. I asked Gary after the race what happened and he said "I had it made. I had the holeshot but then I turkied it." Well actually what happened was that Gary wore himself out after racing in the SAM club yesterday and in AMC action today. So after Gary "turkied it" in the second moto Mike Johnson and Kevin Crawford screamed in front of the pack. So overall for the day the loot went to Mike Johnson (who will be leaving to Daytona here soon on a dealers show with Ron Kiewetz of DG), Kevin Crawford, Gary Denton, Mike PauselL. Vincent Clark on a Sur, John Dellaire and Arden Hadley.
John Dallaire, who is notable Trans-AMA ace killed everyone today by a long shot It was especially impressive the way that John would hit this one bank-off that I was by and he lifted the front end up into a radical wheelie. Terry Hugueley of AAA Bultaco in Santa Ana consistently hooked a pair of seconds for second overall over Carney Briggs and Steve "Super Muff Montague. I asked Steve how he got that name and he said that it was a long story, come to think of it that's the exact same thing that Paul Baudreau said when I asked him how he got the name "BAZZER"! Other jets in the 250 Pro contest were Steve McFarland who was gassin' a Flying Machine Factory Penton for Uncle Donny, Frank Bua on a Yamaha and Jeff Jarvi who was the only contestant on a Maico. Now that's strange because last Friday everyone in the 250 Pro class was Maico mounted.
Jeff Foland who has also done some heavy out of state racing on his 125 Elsinore did in the 500 Experts in both cases. Foland was up against a fast class too, just take a look at the following names of racers who finished in this order: Jack Hazard, Rick Sanf ord, Scott Gillman, John Dickenson, Ted Scruggs, Mark Rodman and Craig Adams who both tied for seventh along with Steve Shipkey.
