Revival Meeting

REVIVAL MEETING

JAP and ESO Make a Sizzling Return to the California Speedway

WALT MAHONY

IN THE first major attempt since 1957 to bring back true Class A short track racing, Southern California fans are being treated to an every Saturday night revival of the once fantastically popular sport.

Out of the mothballs have come an amazing number of vintage JAPs, supplemented by later models of the 500-cc longstroke British product, to battle the more exotic Czechoslovakian-built ESOs.

Riders such as Eddie Mulder, Sammy Tanner, Jack O’Brien, Chuck Jones and Paul Conserriere are having the time of their lives sliding around the tenth-mile track at Whiteman Stadium in Pacoima. Joining in the fun are some speedway stars of the future15-year-old John Hateley and Rick Woods. And, the lure of the speedway Single has proved too much for more than one “retired” racer. Stuart Morley, former National No. 8, Dick Aurandt and Dude Criswell are prime examples. Criswell is the man responsible for the whole operation.

A professional racer whose career spanned two decades, from the early days of Class A competition at Lincoln Park to the Ascot half-mile, Criswell can still show the boys how it’s done. But his duties involve far more than riding. Within the confines of the Whiteman half-mile, he laid out and constructed the track, supervises preparation of its ultrasmooth surface (a carefully mixed combination of clay, decomposed granite and rock dust) and, in general, runs the show.

What a show it is! Rapid-fire four-man heat races are followed by semi-mains and three main events—A, B and C. All races are limited to four laps so a maximum effort is required to finish well, and spectacularly close competition results.

The equipment, too, is fascinating. While the early JAPs weigh about 250 lb., later versions were whittled to 198, and the modern ESO, using a greater amount of aluminum alloy, scales in at a mere 168 lb., dry. The JAPs have no transmission, just a clutch; the shorter-stroke ESOs have two speeds, but usually stay in first gear. Both single-cyUnder machines run methyl-alcohol fuel in tiny 1.5-quart tanks. Open primaries are utilized and a total-loss oil system is employed.

AU this weight-saving produces fantastic horsepower-about 56 bhp at 6500 rpm for the JAP, approximately the same at around 7500 rpm for the ESO. Compression ratios vary from 14:1 to 16:1. And with aU the weight down low, only 2 or 3 in. from the track surface, crowd-pleasing südes become second nature for the riders.

So far, ESO-mounted Eddie Mulder has been the big money winner-40 percent of the gate is divided among the 12 main event riders—but each week greater numbers of competitors appear to challenge his supremacy. And more fans turn out to enjoy the action