AMC MX at O.C.I.R.
AME
at
Orange County International Raceway
Friday April 11, 1975
By: Tom Corley
More and more people are coming to experience the new modified track. The new straight-aways behind the grandstands are now the fastest part of the track so you can really open it up. One thing that may make it even more exciting would be to put a high flying jump right in the mid of the straight, but it's really sensational as it is right now.
The weather is actually warming up a slight bit as well and the turnouts will drastically improve at all night racing tracks as summer nears. It seems like Jeff Ward always runs away with the gold in both of the Mini and 100 Expert classes. Well, he was really on the gas again tonight and did just the same in both cases but I believe that the competition was much tougher in the 100 Expert class with the coming of Ray O'Brien and Bill Franks who finished in second and third. O'Brien is one of the fastest from the flock of Harry's Cycle Sales of Orange racers and had great dicing with Ward in the first moto while Bill Franks totally whipped everyone in the final moto of the night and hung it out while hauling over most every jump.Franks, if you may remember back awhile ago, used to be one of the hottest Mini-Cyclists around but then out grew his Barnt machine and starting racing a Rickman Hod. Tonight Franks came back into racing strongly with the third place win in the 100 Expert class on a very quick Elsinore that was sleeved down.
Torrance Cycle Parts racer Dave Bush has had a super winning streak lately in AMC125 Intermediate action. He says that he's going to retire from the sport here soon but I hope that he's just kidding because the guy is definitely potential Pro material. Last week he proved this by smashing a class full of racer despite his bike losing a shock, side panels and who knows what else. Tonight one of the closest competitors to Dave was 24L Larry Lewellen who was doing excellent but faded back so then the guys that took over the second and third positions were Ian Bowman and Russell Stark of Southland Cycle.
Larry Lewellen who broke down in that 125 Intermediate class didn't have a bad night at all really..You see because in the 250 Intermediate contest Larry gassed a Maico and diced practically the whole way at the top of the pack with Torrance Cycle Parts ace Tom May field who was also on a Maico. Those two ran away from the pack and won over Jeff Lambrecht (Hon) and Herbie Shelton who I believe I saw fall pretty hard with the screaming start of the second moto.
Now while the night of racing would be called excellent by most who spectated it in the grandstands the 125 Pro class wasn't quite as strong as it should of been. Instead a four man race occurred and Arden Hadley swept the Pro division in the same manner as he did last week. Scot Brown who rides one of the new rockets from Kawasaki hung in there for a second over Dave McGowell and DG ace Scot Clifton.
Bruce Baron didn't have problems tonight anything like he did last weekend at Hangtown. Naturally I was referring to the mud situation up there and you'll know what I mean if you saw that shot of Bruce being pulled out of a mudhole in last week's issue of SCM. The track was a little tacky at some places this evening though but nobody was offended by it and Baron found it to his liking and won the 250 Pro class as well. He got the holeshot in all starts I believe and was followed closest by fast Dana Nelson from Yamaha of El Monte. Others in this race which was certainly one of the best of the evening were Mark Abrahams of QE Cycle, Steve "Muff Montague, Gary Sandridge, Mark Marinez of Competition Cycle Products of Huntington Beach and John Estes.
