Daytona Speed Fest

DAYTONA SPEED FEST

IVAN WAGAR

DAYTONA’S big 3.81 mile “long course” has been a Harley-Davidson stamping ground since its inception in 1963, and during this year’s practice and time trials there did not appear to be any reason to suspect a change in the winning brand. Thundering along the high-banked tri-oval, the big Milwaukee Vee-twins looked invincible, but a smiling, soft spoken and extremely smooth-riding Texan named Buddy Elmore and his Triumph, purred along almost unnoticed, to beat them at what has been their own game. In fact, three Triumph riders led the 200-mile Expert race: first Dick Hammer, then Gary Nixon and finally Elmore; all rode brilliantly and, to everyone’s surprise, they were not giving away any speed at all to the 750s.

Brilliant riding was not confined to the 200-mile Expert race; probably the finest scrap ever seen in American road racing took place in the 250 Amateur/Expert event. A breathtaking, three-way duel between Bob Winters, John Buckner and Ralph White lasted for almost the entire race and was in doubt until the last lap. There was a strange silence throughout the crowd at the various vantage points to which we traveled during this battle. It was as though everyone wondered how long these three men could keep up the record shattering pace.

Riding a Dud Perkins Harley-Davidson, Ken Ridder rode a steady, smooth race throughout the 100-mile Amateur, taking the lead in the closing stages to win by a safe 12-second margin.

Walt Fulton Jr., son of a famous racing father, fairly blew off all comers in the novice activities throughout the week. His beautifully converted Suzuki X6 remained as clean as Walt did calm.

CYCLE WORLD has always been quick to point out the faults of race organizers, but this year everything at Daytona ran rather smoothly, except for one or two minor hassles involving riders and some of the elderly members of the B.D.B. (Belt Drive Bunch), who should realize that things have changed since the board-track days and get on with the job. We did get burned up about two sponsors of riders on big bikes, who got very hard nosed when the riders were offered 250s. Some people seem to think they own a rider if they pay his way to the race. Big Deal! Even the plumber gets portal-to-portal pay and a few bucks travel money is a picayune, piddling price to pay for a first-class rider these days. Anyway, both riders involved did ride the small bikes and one has found a new 500 ride for future races.

We will have to complain about the scoring again, in the hope that if we make enough noise something will be done about it. Buddy Elmore did not appear on the tower leader board until the 33rd lap. All sorts of official-sounding rumors were flying about after the race to the effect that Elmore had made an early pit stop and had not really won. Even the most rank amateur with a stop watch could see what was going on during Elmore’s ride to the front spot. We are not blaming the scorers, as the scoring stand is still in the same spot as last year. Riders approach the banking from the right and pass at a true right angle, traveling at something like 140 mph. A.M.A. rules specifically state that scoring be done at the slowest part of the course. How much better it would be for everyone, especially the scorers, if the mobile stand were placed at turn two, or any one of three other logical spots. Then there is this thing about every rider supplying a scorer, which is even more puzzling. People scoring should, in simple fairness, be disinterested parties; not the wife, girl friend or sister of a competitor.

Aside from the problems mentioned, the whole week was a tremendous success. Everything happens like clockwork and there is so much going on that a human being just cannot see it all. All of the races at the speedway had record crowds, the short track was sold out both nights, the now-popular Enduro attracted 139 entries, and there seemed to be at least three parties going on somewhere at the same time. Most important to the Californians, the Chamber of Commerce managed to get the weatherman to supply us with plenty of that famous Florida sunshine.

78-MILE NOVICE RACE

Walt Fulton, due to a stripped spark plug at the last minute, was in his pit when the flag dropped to start the Novice final. Away late, and in a desperate hurry, Fulton still rode with the smooth, graceful style that Daytona spectators recognize as being far more expert than novice.

During the Sportsman 250 race on Wednesday and qualifying heats for the Novice final, it looked like Walt to win with strong opposition from Jim Deehan and Ron Pierce, both on Yamaha TDl-Bs, and this is precisely the way it turned out.

Deehan led early in the race until his bike slowed. Pierce then took over, but it was a determined Fulton who made up the time lost in the pit and went on to win the first big race for both rider and machine.

100-MILE AMATEUR

When things sorted themselves out on the second lap, Dennis Bullock, HarleyDavidson, had a slight advantage over a thundering herd of Harley-Davidsons, who seemed to be all over the place, but he spilled and lost the lead in the 7th lap. Jerry Seguin, in his pretty orange and white leathers, had worked his way into second place’ by this time, going like a freight train, and he took the lead after Bullock’s mishap.

Although Seguin pulled away from the pack, engine trouble forced his retirement on the 9th lap, at which point Dennis Schoenfeldt, Harley-Davidson, went to the front. Moving steadily up from twelfth place, gaining one to two seconds a lap, Ken Ridder finally caught and passed the leader two laps from the end. Ridder was completely surprised that he had won. He knew he had a half-mile to make up in the early stages, but lost track in traffic towards the end. “Perennial Amateur” Don Haddow of Toronto, Canada, demonstrated extremely stylish riding and managed to get his Triumph within striking distance of the front half-dozen until the cylinder block started going up and down with the pistons — someone forgot to tighten the cylinder nuts during the midnight hours.

250 AMATEUR/EXPERT

Yamaha did it again — eight out of the first ten finishers were on TDl-Bs, although earlier in the week there had been plenty of room for doubt. During first practice, the Suzukis of Dick Mann, Dan Haaby and Dick Hammer were flying around like nobody’s business, while things looked somewhat glum in the HarleyDavidson and Yamaha camps. Then, near mid-week the Sprints started to shape up a bit. Lawwill, Markel, Roeder, Reiman and the boys began looking pretty good — they sure do handle! There was still gloom around Yamaha regarding the team’s prospects. Their biggest set-back was losing the number one team rider, Buddy Parriott, due to a broken shoulder when he got off early in practice. Through all of this, some private Yamaha owners were dusting off everyone. Among the fast ones were John Buckner, an Amateur on a well-used machine prepared by his father, and Neil Keen on another much used TD-1. However, after the last practice, a smiling Ralph White, Don Vesco and Gary Nixon indicated that possibly the team bikes had been sorted out after the large amount of midnight oil had been burned. Bob Winters filled Parriott's place on the team, and even team manager Leo Lake looked a little happier as Winters was giving a very good account of himself.

Harley-Davidson appeared confident; but perhaps it was only resignation. They had excellent riders on the Sprints, tremendous brakes and were not being too embarrassed in the way of speed.

Suzuki were having minor problems. With only six weeks to build a racing machine from a street bike, there were bound to be small bothers. Team manager, Fred Moxley, did not look too perturbed — after all, Fulton's lone X-6 had literally cleaned house in all the Novice events he entered, and their rider line-up for the big 250 race was among the best at Daytona, including last year’s winner, Dick Mann. All-in-all this promised to be the race of the week; the winner could easily be one of a dozen riders, on any one of three different makes of motorcycle.

Two five-lap qualifying heats were run and the 40 fastest riders in each moved up to the final. Gary Nixon set a blazing pace in the first heat to win at 98.82 mph, George Roeder won the second heat at 94.875 mph. Machine trouble caused Dickq Mann to retire in his heat, thus eliminating one of the top favorites.

The 250 Amateur/Expert National Championship started with screaming twostrokes drowning out the deep throated bellow of four-stroke Sprints. Probably due to the street first gear ratio, the Suzukis shot off the line, but Ralph White led at the end of lap one, completing the first lap at an incredible 126.76 mph. From this point on the race became the most fierce scrap ever seen at Daytona, and maybe anywhere for that matter. Buckner got away about one-third downfield and was going like the wind, passing six riders at turn two on the second lap. Behind White, Mert Lawwill was sorting himself out of the traffic problem and moved up to take over first place on lap 8. Lawwill then led laps 9 and 10, only to retire with engine trouble a lap later. Buckner had passed Lawwill on lap 10 and from this point on it was White — the seasoned Expert, Winters — the first year Expert, and Buckner — the Amateur, going at it hammer and tong. The lead changed hands 42 times and second place changed 143 times during the 100 miles. Twice we saw these riders come into turn one three abreast and seldom, even in traffic, were they more than 10 feet apart. On the second last lap, Winters pulled out a slight advantage and all three were so evenly matched in skill and equipment, that it was impossible for Buckner or White to gain it back; they finished in that order. Don Vesco rode a very steady race in fourth place on another team Yamaha, but he had put on too much gear, and although once clear of traffic he whittled the gap down to 7 seconds, he gradually lost ground in the closing stages. Gary Nixon suffered a similar fate and despite flawless riding, could not make up the gearing handicap.

200-MILE EXPERT

Cal Rayborn had pole position by qualifying fastest for the big race with a speed of 134.148 mph. At the end of the first lap, averaging 128.57, he was still in front, but a very eager Dick Hammer forced his Triumph by to lead lap two. Then Rayborn got back in front for lap 3. Gary Nixon joined the fray with his Triumph and a terrific tussle developed for the lead, with Nixon passing Rayborn in the infield; but the Harley rider managed to get in front each lap at the finish line, to pick up the lap money until lap 10. Tt was Rayborn again on lap 12, Nixon on lap 13, with Roger Reiman, Harley-Davidson, moving up to second place to challenge, but Nixon pulled slowly away from the field.

Starting in 46th place, Buddy Elmore was gaining one to two seconds per lap on the leader as he passed everything in sight. On the 14th and 17th laps he was timed at 2 min. 20 secs. He finally took the lead from Nixon on the 22nd lap and held it until his pit stop, which was on the 29th (although the score board did not yet show him). Nixon had the lead for three more laps but on the 32nd Elmore got back in front and stayed there. On the 45th lap, Nixon had a flat rear tire which cost him three laps.

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Meanwhile, Hammer had retired with engine trouble on the 7th lap, Rayborn with an oil leak on the 15th and eventually Reiman on the 29th with clutch trouble. Mert Lawwill held fourth place until he retired on the 24th lap with a dead magneto.

George Roeder held a lonely second spot in the final stages, while a real dingdonger was going on between Ralph White, Hansen Matchless, and Gary Hall, HarleyDavidson, for third place. Superb riding through the infield put White in an ideal spot for a tow around the bowl, and on three different laps he was just able to beat Hall across the line. However, on the last lap coming down the back chute a slower rider jumped into Hall’s slipstream without looking, causing White to lose the tow and his bid for third place.

Again this year, Team Hansen’s G-50 Matchlesses were immaculately prepared and by far the best looking machines in the Expert race. Painted in the familiar orange and white with the riders wearing matching leathers, the team is a credit to American road racing. In fact, with riders and motorcycles presenting such a good appearance, and riding skill reaching the caliber it has, we are very disappointed to see the same old “crash and burn” photos connected with the Daytona races. This might sell newspapers, but we doubt that it brings in very many more paying spectators and serves only to downgrade our sport. One can forgive the newspapers; they don’t know any better, but obviously it doesn’t bother the organizers because on the cover of the official program was a big crash scene. The kind of racing we saw at Daytona does not need one of the last carryovers from the board track days to sell it to the public. ■