AMC-MX at Carlbad Raceway
AMC
at
Carlsbad Raceway
Sunday February 2, 1975
By: Valerie Jurus
Well, this morning really looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. I saw a few local hot shoes in the pits that I didn't expect to show up here at Carlsbad, since CMC was having a $1,500 purse at Saddleback. Jeff Poland was one, Jeff Bordan was another, and Mike Jennings, David Doss, John Petty and Mike Douthit made up the pack. Then to top it off, Eddie Poland showed up. He broke his leg a while back and wasn't able to race for quite a few months. Now he's back unto the money and really wailing. Out of the big name riders listed above, three had bike problems and two out of the three couldn't race because of them. 250 Pro Jeff Bordan split his cases on his Maico when his rings caught on a port and one cracked his case, barrel and who knows what else. Thank goodness his sponsors (Competition Cycles in San Clemente) are getting him a new engine ready for the next CMC race next weekend. Another 250 Pro, Mike Douthit had a rod or crank go out on his Honda. That's two out of three that couldn't even race! The last one to break was Jeff Poland. Jeff's bike broke somehow. I'm not exactly sure how, but he finished the second moto on his brother's 125 instead of his Pen ton. I'm not going to try to explain how the score girls scored him, because I don't even know. All I know is that Jeff and his brother, Eddie, both finished and placed pretty well in the results. Oh well whatever!
The Open Junior class was the first race of the day. It was really a good one too. I can't really say who dominated the class because there was so much passing and fast riding. Glenn King (Kaw) got a first the first moto and a sixth the second. That was a pretty wide spread of positions. Tim Shook held a very steady second for both motos. Results said Browning Cal came in fourth overall and Cris McDonald came in fifth. Glenn King (Kaw) got first overall, Tim Shook got second, and Greg Saar held third. The Open Intermediate class ran with the Juniors today.Joe Schoney (CZ) was really on the gas during the first moto. He finished first with what looked like no sweat at all, but the second moto, he got a ninth which really blew it for him, giving him a fifth overall. Mike Lague was flying during both motos, finished second both times and got a first overall. Steve Szueber (Yam) was pretty consistent also, and got a second overall with a third in both motos. Micheal Halberstad (Hus) was another rider that held his own. He got a fourth both motos, giving him third overall. Ted Evans (CZ) DNF'd the first moto and got a first the second moto. He somehow ended up with fourth overall and Joe Schoney, who got first the first moto and ninth the second moto finished fifth overall. Steve Atweed (Bui) and Ray Baum (Mai) were the only Open Beginners that showed today. They both looked like they'll be moving up to Juniors (at least) real soon. They were both riding really well. Steve Atweed finished first both motos, giving him first overall, and Ray Baum (naturally got second). The man that really showed all the 250 Intermediate riders up was Tamali Smith (Hon). He definitely got the hole shot both motos. But, bad luck strikes him down. Last lap, and his left foot peg broke off. With not too much luck he finished sixth the first moto. At the very last minute, before his next race, he found somebody with welding tanks and got his peg back on. Once again he was OTG and way out in front, but this time his luck tor should I say, his bike) held up and he finished first. Tamali ended up with second overall. Steve Montague (CZ) got a first the first moto and a second the second moto. He too was on the gas. He deserved a good place and he got one...first overall. Kirk Matkin (Bui) was right up there too, and took third overall. David Brinton (CZ) got a third the first moto and a fourth the second moto. He ended up with fourth overall, but who could complain? Marston Sollender (Yam) got a second the first moto, but didn't have such luck the second moto. He got an eight. Marston got fifth overall.
The 250 Junior class was a super big one. Kelly Milligan (Hus) got the holeshot and first the first moto, and a third the second moto. He looked pretty good today. He ended up with second overall. Brian Rowe (Bui) was flying around the track showing everyone his stuff and got first overall. I don't know what this guy named Brad Vandenburg is doing in the Junior class, but this guy was fantastic. I really mean, HOT! He was fast and furious. This guy rode so crazy! It was great. Everyone waited for him to come around the score tower in order to watch him take that berm right after the start, and right before the finish. Two of the Pros were watching him, and I heard them commenting on his style: Wow! That guy's flying. If I went around this turn that fast, I think I'd eat the dirt! He really was wailing. I want to see him more often. He's that good! Anyway, he started out last the first moto and finished fourth. The second moto they let him start normal and just as everyone thought, he took first place very readily. Outstanding:
250 Beginner, Randy Haas, got first overall, but had one Don Pacini on his tail the whole time. Don finished second overall, and last but not least, by any means, Kenny Richardson was fast and flying and took over third place giving him third overall. The Open Experts were off and running and another guy that everyone was glad to see was Micky Motocross. Now Mickey's a Pro. He's a great guy. The real racing in this class was between Jeff Poland (Pen), Pete Maly (CZ), David Doss 'Hus», and Jeff Browning. But, as I mentioned before, Jeff Poland's bike bit the dust on the very last lap and DNF'ed. He rode his brother's bike the second moto and DNF'ed again. David Doss i Hus) won the first moto and Pete Maly (CZ) came in second. David got first overall because he also finished first the second moto. Pete finished llth or DNF'ed one or the other, and got fifth overall. Jeff Browning (CZ) got second overall and Hank Schmidt (CZ) got third overall. An interesting but frustrating race.
Scott Still won the Senior class mainly because he was the only one there. John Petty (Mai) wiped the 250 Pro class out with a good-sized lead and finished first overall. Richard Kastner (Bui) took second overall and Brian Baugher (Yam) finished third. Mike Douthit DNF'ed both motos but finished fifth overall. Mike Jennings (Jack's Hondas) was OTG the whole 125 Pro race and seemed to have the race in his pocket. He would have if he wouldn't have fallen during the second moto. He took first the first moto and eight the second, giving him third overall. Martin Miller (Hon) took first overall with a first and a second and Steve see got second overall having a fourth the first moto and a second in the second moto.
125 Beginner, Dennis Ambrose, and 125 Junior Shane Smith were very very fast today. Both riding Kawasakis. I guess they really showed the Hondas that they could beat them out. What's really great is the fact that 13-year-old Shane Smith beat the Intermediate class also. Yahoo! Boy, was he flying...until his brakes locked up on the downhill and he crashed really bad. What was surprising was that he got right back up, got on his bike, and proceeded to finish first. Dennis Ambrose (Kaw) took the Beginner class, but got second the second moto and finished second overall. Jim Ople (Hon) won by getting a second and a first. Mike Turner (Suz) was cooking and got third overall.
125 Junior Shane Smith, riding for Kon-Tiki, finished first both motos, giving him a first overall, which he really deserved. Gary Truesdill (Hon) was right up there and finished second overall. Cris Fortier (Hon) was going crazy trying to pass these guys, but no way. He ended up with third overall. 125 Intermediate Doug Knudson (Hon) was really fast, but couldn't keep up with Shane Smith, who's only a Junior. Hard to believe? Yeah, but it's true. He finished first in his class. A lot of Mini riders showed up, and every single one (14, to be exact) had a Honda but one. Know something odd? Kurt Sofka, Jr. had a Yamaha, and killed everyone. He was really jamming. Just like the Kawasaki riders, Kurt showed more Hondas that they can and will be beaten by good riders. It's not always the bike that's not fast. It's sometimes the rider.
Steve Marston won the Mini Beginner class and Rick Maebe took second. Another fast little guy was Danny Baker. He was really moving right along! John Miller took the Mini Junior class really easily. (Don't tell anyone, but he was the only one entered in his class). But he still did well. Kurt Sofka Junior won the Mini Expert class on his Yamaha and John Gless finished second. The last race of the day that I have to write about are the 100 Experts. These two guys were really good. They got down to it and didn't fool around. Doug Martin (Hod) got two seconds. Pete Hillbreht got two firsts, so, as you probably guessed, Pete Hillbreht got first overall and Doug Martin got second.