In Town For the Gathering

IN TOWN FOR THE GATHERING

Houston's Astrodome Draws Most Of The Pros; Only A Few Head For Home With A Grin

D. Randy Riggs

"GOLL DANG!" exclaimed the paunchy man in the trim Stetson. “Hell of ah crew heah tuhnaht.” As he involved himself with the logistics of getting a family of four situated in the ample confines of Houston Astrodome general admission seating, thousands around him were up to the same task. Complicated by haulings of popcorn, beer, cola, hot dogs and candy bars, and coupled with feverish anticipation and cocked Instamatics, settling down isn’t always that easy.

Warnings are often required. “Y’all had best park yer fannies ‘fore ah tan ‘em good. . .raght heah fronta everbahdy. I toll ya, if ya don’t quit pickin’ on yer sister, none’a ya are gonna git to see Kinny Roberts and his mo’sickles. . .and I ain’t gonna say it again.” Well now, threatening bodily harm seems to go in one ear and out the other of a Texas 10-year-old. . .the kids hear that all the time. But the looming possibility of being deprived of seeing Kinny Roberts and all them mo ’sickles. . .now that calls for some mighty fahn behavior and parkin’ your butt up against the back of the seat and swingin’ your legs some and lookin’ at the toes of your sneakers. And there won’t be no spillin’ nothin’ neither. ‘Sides, the ol’ man wants to see the ‘sickles run just as much as the kids do. Damn sure been a year since he seen ‘em last time.

Down there on the floor of the Dome, the very same floor that has seen countless hours of games and competition and publicity stunts like the B.J. King/Bobby Riggs tennis match, is a lot of dirt. Not just plain dirt like around back of the shed, but very special stuff, mixed up with chemicals and just the right amount of moisture. That way the dirt doesn’t make dust, even though the Astro air conditioning system has the ability to circulate enough air every minute to resurface the Andria Doria. But hell, the riders have to breathe lots of dust up North and around, so why not give ‘em a break here? Right? Raght.

“All that there dirt is shaped up kinda nice like for them ‘sickles to run on; they kin turn thisaway and thataway and fla-a-a-h up ov’that hill in the middle. And tamorrah naht,” the man in the Stetson is telling his wife, “tamorrah naht they’s only gonna run around on that there big circle.”

And if it can be said that there were 29,000 fans stirring in eager anticipation for the TT National to begin on that last Friday in January, then officials, mechanics and riders were to the point of combustion. Winter had meant little or no racing and enough time behind welding torches, lathes and grinding tools to make a person just a shade over the crest of edgy. Some teams or crews were lucky; there had been time enough for them to run the new machinery in some. That short burst with the race bike up a deserted dirt road can tend to put a mind at ease. But throwing one together in the back of a van hittin’ 80 on 1-95 is somethin’ else again. It’s no wonder there’s lots of fingernails chewed, beer swallowed, cigarettes smoked and Skoal spit during the week leading up to the Houston tradition and the back-to-back Nationals that kick off > another season on the circuit. Is there reason for the hassles? Better believe it.

Left Kenny Roberts (Yam) pulled out a considerable lead In the mam with a combination of power slides and squared-off turns.

Far left, top Gary Scott (H-D) blew Roberts off in their heat, but lost out in the main.

Far left, center Dave Hansen leading Mark Williams and Kenny Roberts in a heat.

Below Darryl Hurst led from start to finish before his hometown crowd in the Saturday night Short Track.

This Texas payoff comes across in two big ways. . .bucks and a headstart in National points. Score heavily here and the foundation is laid for the trek to October if the rider makes the most of the situation. And the riders do come to give it their damndest, or be damned for not trying. This time around there were 265 card-carrying Experts going for 96 starting slots, 48 each night. So right off, 169 of ‘em are not real happy about the trip.

One notable new Expert this year was a lady by the name of Ms. Diane Cox, who makes her home in Oregon. Diane worked her way up to the prestigious white plate ranking in TTs and Half-miles in the Northwest; she got the points she needed to transfer from Junior to Expert at Ascot in California. Diane’s attempt to qualify for the TT National didn’t quite work out, but the following night she was 48th fastest and became the first woman to make a National program.

Our man in the Stetson was upset. ‘Jest ain’t raght for a woman to be out there with all them mo’sickles. Sh.e could wind up gettin’ herself bummed up. That’s jest no place for a woman.”

His wife turned and asked him very pointedly, “Why?”

He looked just a tad flustered and spit out his answer. “Why? Because, that’s why!”

Diane Cox had this lady and thousands of others in the Dome feeling a little smug, and rightfully so. 01’ Diane can outride most of those husbands out there and probably the teenaged sons along with ‘em.

The long winter really didn’t produce too much in the way of new ideas or innovative machinery. Roberts’ new Yamaha 750 probably exhibited the biggest change or departure for race bikes of this type. The Champion frame was modified to incorporate lay-down S&W shocks, and the whole setup looked to be working superbly over the jump, where 300-pound TT machines can really land with a thump that’ll pull hands right off the grips. A combination such as this should really come into its own at a track like Peoria, where the holes and bumps can have a rider’s tongue dragging after only a few hard laps. No doubt others will be following Roberts’ example as the season wears on.

Oddsmakers have it rough at Houston, but usually they can be sure that a dark horse will work his way into the picture, right alongside of that guy “Kinny.” Roberts always seems to make at least one winner’s circle at Houston, but he’s always had some sort of jinx going for an outright win in the TT.

Although Roberts was fast-qualifier and looking very impressive by squaring the tight corners MX style, Gary Scott blitzed him in their heat race and Ken had to bang handlebars with last year’s winner, Dave Hansen and new factory Norton/Triumph rider, Mark Williams, for the direct transfer to the TT National. He made it; Hansen did not.

The second heat was a preview of what was to come in starting procedures from the man with the flag, Phil Dyson. Dyson had his hands full last year getting the Junior Invitational races underway here; fortunately Duke Pennell was flagging the Nationals then.

But Pennell is an Eastern region starter, he was only filling in last year because the Midwest region had no official starter. This time around they had one. . .and it was none other than Phil Dyson, who was unsure of the starting line rules and proper methods of flagging away an event.

There are a lot of politics involved in becoming a starter or announcer at an AMA National. And we all know that in politics, the best man doesn’t always get the job. Starting procedures at Houston were abominable, and there is simply too much at stake for the 96 riders in the program to have that kind of blundering foul the professionalism that should be exhibited'in front of 70,000 spectators. We hope for better next year.

When the second heat got underway (after three tries), Mert Lawwill got his 290-lb. H-D in front to stay, ahead of John Hateley, who inherited Mike Kidd’s factory Norton/Triumph ride after Kidd re broke his femur practicing a week before Houston. Hateley’s riding was positively inspired; there aren’t many who can gas it up with such style. Style, though, could not catch Lawwill, who had worked all winter getting into shape after a rash of injuries. But two weeks before Houston got underway, Mert caught a bad case of the flu and lost much of the strength he had regained.

Another favorite, Chuck Palmgren, had undergone back surgery for ruptured spinal discs not too long before Houston. He wasn’t slowed one bit by it and put a trick Dan Gurney BSA Single into pole spot for the third heat. But the Beezer went belly up on the line and was out of the big one, while longshot Randy Skiver went in for the win.

The fourth heat cost Dave Aldana $25 when he played dead after a firstturn fall-down, a common practice among many. He was later to incur the wrath of the AMA officials when he spilled twice in Short Track practice and supposedly knocked down Jim Odom in a heat race.

David did not deserve the 60-day suspension that was slapped on him, which > my sources told me was done to “teach him a lesson.” Grapevine chatter also gives indication that some folks higher up in the AMA do not care much for David’s new “skeleton” leathers and the image they might project. Aldana is presently appealing his stiff suspension; whether or not he rides his factory Suzuki at Daytona depends on the outcome. Duke Olliges, the referee, should have been more concerned with who was starting his races, and worried less about a rider who was giving his all.

Above Europeans dominated Sunday's team Speedway event.

Right, top Mark Williams finished 3rd on a very special 350 Triumph four-stroke Single in the Short Track.

Right An all new frame and prototype S&W shocks greatly aided Roberts in his TT win.

Far right, center Rick Hocking (Yam) sliding to 8th overall in the Short Track.

Far right, below John Hateley had a bad weekend. His Norton seized in the TT and he couldn't seem to get the right Short Track tire combination.

IN TOWN

Only two riders went to the main after the Semis, Randy Cleek and Dennis Briggs. Briggs was riding the ex-Gary Scott Kawasaki 350 Single prepared by his dad Windy.

By this time our man in the Stetson had a belly full of beer and had slapped the skin on his leg red with enthusiasm. His kids were running around with others yelling at riders who were walking the track. Anyone wearing leathers was an instant hero.

In the 25-lap big number, Gary Scott again grabbed a lead and tried to shake loose of the pack. He did briefly, but with Roberts tagging along in his roostertail. “Kinny” made short work of getting by, while Scott had all he could do to hold off a ferocious John Hateley and Mark Williams. But Scott and Hateley were having problems; Scott’s H-D brake became inconsistent and stopped his full-on charge. And LiT John’s Norton Twin got slower, until it finally seized. Hateley then had one of the best seats in the house—a perfectly positioned haybale—from which to watch. Roberts never even furrowed a brow after that. He was stylish, positive and in control right to the checkered. Just like Dennis Briggs, who had worked the 350 Kawasaki past several big 750s on the tight course and into 4th at the end, prodding 3rd-place Mark Williams in the process.

The crowd was stoked and buzzing about where they were going to sit for the Short Track the next evening. “Ah lak it raght where ah am.” And “Ah don’t wanta see no more that paper ahirplane throwin’. Ya done hit that man raght in the ah and he spilt his beer all over hisself.” The Stetson man was glad to have found all his kids; they even ran into their neighbors in the parking lot and decided to celebrate Roberts’ victory. “Ah tol ya ol’ Kinny could do ‘er.” That he did Mister, that he did.

But in Short Track qualifying the following day, Roberts was only 21st fastest. . .something was not clicking for the Grand National Champ. Not so for Dave Hansen on a 350 Honda or Houston’s own Darryl Hurst. Both went exceptionally fast, along with Jim Odom, though the 40,000 who turned out to watch wanted a Texas winner.

Heat races were won by Chuck Palm gren, Hurst, Dave Aldana and Randy Skiver. Rick Hocking bumped Roberts out of the transfer spot and the Champ found himself in the dubious position of needing a win in the Semi to make the National.

In one of the best races of the week end, and probably one of the most pres sured in young Guy McClure's short professional career, he held Roberts at bay in an incredible show of raw talent. Roberts was thus denied a starting position in the National, the first such event he has missed since the Ascot National in 1973. But McClure and his Bultaco Astro were denied as well. As he crossed the finish line he clipped the haybales at the edge of the track, which then sent him cartwheeling down into the crash wall.

The result was a painfully sore right arm and some torn muscles in his left knee. It had to be a disappointing way to leave the Dome for Guy.

Roberts wasn’t the only big name runner to miss the field. Mike Gerald joined him as a spectator when he failed to win his Semi. Mike was nursing a recently dislocated shoulder, certainly a viable excuse. Gary Scott was yet another out in the cold. The Astrodome does a lot of face slapping.

Again the starter had problems flagging away the National. Both he and the referee seemed to think Dave Hansen was jumping the flag, not realizing that the Honda 350s are exceptionally fast out of the gate. They warned Hansen, so on the third try he held back a bit, and Hurst put his Yamaha out front. To stay. Behind him, their engines nearly silent under the roar of the partisan crowd, Mark Williams, Hank Scott and Randy Skiver were having a see-saw run, with popular Dave Aldana running a line up high.

There was no one in the Astrodome left sitting when Darryl Hurst wheelied across that finish line. The man in the Stetson spilled his beer, kept slapping his leg, and, in his excitement, picked up his wife and spun her around. All she could say was, “Goll dang!” EB

Above AMA Midwest regional starter, Phil Dyson, and colleague.

Left Every now and then a guy who builds and tunes his own motorcycles wins. Darryl Hurst is one of them.

RESUL TS