Santa Rosa Mile
SANTA ROSA MILE
Somehow The Threes Weren't In The Fray
DAN HUNT
RACING ON THE MILE was not quite the same without Harley team rider Freddy Nix, who died in an automobile accident a week before the running of Santa Rosa. Perhaps the most fitting epitaph for this 27-year-old rider, an impeccable master of mile dirt track and short track alike, was spoken by fellow Expert Neil Keen shortly before Freddy’s death:
“Day in and day out Fred Nix is the best track racer today. There’s a lot of professional jealousy because Fred gets this and Fred gets that. But one thing Fred does, he gets the gas on.”
Undoubtedly, he would have won Santa Rosa, as he won Nazareth, and as he won all the AMA mile Nationals last year. So the Harley team at Santa Rosa was in a combined state of mourning and attrition. Bart Markel was absent, for reasons of a death in the family and an injured hand. Dan Haaby, feeling he could get better mechanical support elsewhere, resigned from the Harley squad to ride Ray (“Trackmaster”) Henslee’s special-framed BSA Twin. Although Jimmy Odom was wearing Harley colors, it was as a privateer rather than a factory team member.
So this left Mert Lawwill as H-D’s strongest contender, along with Mark Breisford and Cal Rayborn.
Three-cylinder BSA and Triumph 750s were there in force, and after their strong initial outing at Nazareth, everyone expected they would provide most of the excitement.
But the threat from the Threes never materialized.
Our champion Gary Nixon practiced on the Triumph 750 Three, but parked it in favor of qualifying his 650 Twin, having decided that all those great Offy-sounding blattings weren’t going to get him into the main. The Three had gobs of power, yes, but its 400-lb. weight and Santa Rosa’s long straights, narrow turns and soft turf didn’t produce the required conditions for good handling and traction. So Dickie Newell got Nixon’s Three ride, and qualified it off the pace at 44.19.
Nixon ran the Twin around in 43.10, which made him 8th fastest, but not so red hot, because, my oh my, look at Cal Rayborn, road racer with the ghost of Freddy upon him, turning fast time of the day at 41.68. Second fastest was Gene Romero, at 41.91, which made “Burrito’s” Triumph the fastest of the vertical Twins. Rounding out the 41s was Lawwill.
Fastest of the BSA Twins, as could be expected, was Bugsy Mann at 42.17. Following him in the 42s was Eddie Mulder, riding an absolute jet of a 650 Triumph, Odom’s Harley, and Chuck Palmgren, on a 650 Triumph. Dusty Coppage’s Triumph 650 looked a goner at 44.44.
Fastest of the Threes in qualifying was the BSA Eastern rig given to Yvon du Hamel, lapping at 43.29 behind Nixon. It looked like a pregnant speedway bike, with flattish bars and tiny seat to allow the Canadian champion to get his feet par terre. The engine was mounted in a Henslee special order double cradle frame with a large diameter maintube which reminded one very much of the new Dunstall road racing frame.
Similar treatment was given to Ralph White’s Norm Lee-Jomo Trident, which turned up in the limpid 44s, after only partially winning the battle of gearing in practice. BSA Western had a Three for Jim Rice, who wallowed into the 43s, as did Tom Rockwood on a Jomo-Dudek Trident. On BSA Twins, Eddie Wirth and Dallas Baker were also in the 43s. Our sentiments went out to Sammy Tanner, stylish as the dickens on an “old rule” R-E 500 Single, albeit at a dismal 44.74.
Eddie Mulder once again put the hex on starter Whitey Lyons in the first Expert heat race. Seems that all Squirrel has to do is drop the hammer and Whitey waves the white flag on cue. This time Mulder had a good bike length when the waving commenced, leaving a pallid Whitey at the flagstand, rolling his eyes in despair.
Rayborn soon caught up, and, riding a Roeder-Nix-Markel sort of line—wide and sideways in, early straight drive out—passed Mulder. Then Squirrel outpressured him down the straight, then Rayborn reswooped, and so on, all perfectly in accord with the theoretical implications involving horsepower, track and chassis. All perfect, that is, until Gary Nixon broke up the exciting battle, to finish 1st ahead of Eddie, ahead of Calvin and Paul Bostrom.
Heat Two went to Burrito, ahead of Odom, followed by Haaby and Baker.
The third heat was a nice three-way round, ending up Palmgren, Lawwill, Brelsford.
After restarting for a crash in which Dickie Newell’s Trident was through for the day, Bugsy Mann headed Dave Smith’s 750 Norton rigid, Jim Jones’ Triumph, and Don Harms’ Harley. Du Hamel, sliding feet up in the outside marbles, followed Mann for awhile before rectifier problems transferred him to the pits.
Brave Mr. Tanner wouldn’t say die, and got the jump in the Semi, but, lacking horsepower, dropped slowly backwards, leaving the race to Jim Berry, “Butch” Corder, Eddie Wirth and Tim Harris.
So, what happened to the rest of the Threes? Mediocrity and misfortune. Rice’s had an internal collision between pistons and valves, White’s failed to transfer, and Rockwood’s, getting the farthest, i.e., to the Semi, transferred no further.
Once more the racing started before the flag was dropped, as everybody inched to the line for the 20-lap final. Romero pulled out and around to reposition himself, found he was out of gear, and dabbed a hand signal in the air. Somehow, the pack was away and Romero wasn’t. An old-fashioned baseball style rhubarb ensued, Burrito handwaving and Whitey shoulder-shrugging. A great show. Definitely worthy of baseball. Boo, whistle, shout, moan, gripe, shrug. Whitey relented, and black-flagged the race. Definitely not baseball.
Under way for real, the lap money dribbled away to Chuck Palmgren, followed at first by Mann. When Mann’s BSA began to sour, Nixon took up the chase. Then Nixon faded, and Romero moved into 2nd place to stay.
Meanwhile, Mulder moved up past Mann, and then Nixon, at which time Gary decided he was missing out because he hadn’t been shifting gears. Figuring he could square off on Mulder, he backshifted into Turn 3, caught neutral and went through the fence before he could get back into gear, suffering a multiple leg fracture, with the prospect of three months’ off-time.
Lawwill caught Mulder and pulled distance on him. The order of the top four was Palmgren, Romero, Lawwill and Mulder to the finish. Then Breslford, Mann, Haaby, Baker, Dusty Coppage, Wirth, and a hapless Rayborn, who started poorly and found the dust an obstacle, and the high groove no longer useful.
AMATEUR CLASS Don Castro won the Amateur main on the George Hall 650 Triumph. His main nemesis was Dave Aldana on the Lebard and Underwood BSA 650, until Aldana’s motor began misfiring. This left 2nd to the fantastic 350 Yamaha ridden by Keith Mashburn, ably running full tilt out of the corners with the little bike buzzing at 10 grand.
