AMC MX at Saddleback Park
AMC
at
Saddleback Park
Sunday March 23, 1975
By: Tom Corley
As it turned out the big bucks race for Pros was cancelled today at Ontario Motor Speedway and I thought that I would of ended up filming there as well. However it was no let down to go to Saddleback because I really dig Bette Lasker's AMC races. They weren't exactly swamped with entries because of the rain I guess but even still the eight-race day lasted till almost the cool of the evening.
The track was a bit soggy judging from the mud that covered the better part of most of the racing machines. One thing that was for sure and that was that the Saddleback Park crew didn't have to hassle watering down the track and that saved a bill.
DG Performance Specialties set up a number of the real winners in todays racing. Huff Hadley is making some some kind of a good name for himself lately. Friday night action he smoked the 125 Juniors and he did likewise today and against an 18 man class and the competition included Marty Smith! Well a different one anyway. What was sensational about this race was that for the most part Kevin Harlow from the same shop was gassin1 it from just a ways behind. Kev really hauled on the Mono-Honda that DG set-up a few weeks ago but today they had him on a lay down shock machine. John Reyes hooked third with a fourth and a third over Nick "Super" Starr on a Honda.
The bike that was really hot in the 125 Intermediate class and naturally snuffed 'em for first was the Miller Mano jet machine of Mike Raines. Mano is short for manufacturing and the Miller happens to be Dave Miller. Dave has been setting up bikes for years now and it looks like he is finally going to go all the way and do his own thing with his shop which should have its grand opening soon. The Honda of Raines pretty well breezed its way for the win over Mark Brooks, Joe Padilla and three others.
It looks like crazy Dave Williams has got a real sound sponsorship with DG Performance Specialties now. Dave is really fast but he also has the most radical jumping style around. Once he was whipping it for my camera over a jump, got out of shape and almost killed himself when he hit a roll of woop-de-doos just past the finish line. Now while in the act of all this Dave just happened to be blowing off the 125 Expert class and walked off with a modest 40 bucks and had a fun time doing it. Jeff Bunn on a fast FMF special dusted Steve Gerber and the other DG racers Steve See and Kevin Crawford.
Bruce Baron and Mike Gillman are now back from their Texas-Daytona Florida moto excursion. So naturally these two guys are going to be roosting in the local 250 Expert action like in today's race. In the first moto Gill had the holeshot and led Baron by a good ways. Soon Baron (powered by Breakfast Squares) made a radical pass on a tight corner as he hooked the outside mud groove. Now Gillman carried on in the second moto with the same speed while Baron slowed down and just boogied around from way behind while Scott Miller on another Yamaha buzzed by for second. So Mike Gillman had the easy win over Baron, Scott Miller, John Petty, Tom Darrah, Kevin Willis and Ken Sisler.
Jack Hazard edged out a couple others in the 500 Experts with two consistent second places while the others won a moto and blew a moto. Craig Adams on a Husky had the first moto wired but didn't do so well in the second moto with a fourth place. Jeff Poland fell into the same predicament as he blew the first moto with fifth and then smoked everyone at the end of it all with a first. Hazard the overall winner had Bul hassles in the first moto as well though when he keeled over in the mud with just feet to go before the checkered. Adams placed second overall over Poland, Paul Needles, Carl Gazafy, Frank Steiner, Scott Gillman, Bill Levassuir, Rick Sanford and Richard Franklin.
