Talladega Ain't Tucumcari

TALLADEGA AIN'T TUCUMCARI

Another Knee-Scuffing Double For Roberts

D. Randy Riggs

It said, “Welcome To Alabama,” but somehow. . .someway. . .you didn’t really feel “welcome.” More like landing on the beach at Normandy in 1944. Command posts. Enough blue and white Fords to make Hertz envious. Shotguns. Ammunition. 45s. More ammunition. Helicopters. Whip antennas. Mace. Tear gas canisters. Bullhorns. Loudspeakers. Blue rotating beacons. . .rotating. Radar. Ticket books. Sharpened pencils worn to stubs. Dudley Doright hats on Dodge commercial sheriffs. An impressive display for Edgar Hoover types. Anything but a welcome for anyone else in the territory of Talledega, Alabama, home of its own International Speedway. As good a spot as any for Ken Roberts to win his sixth National of the season, scoring his third double victory and gaining a bunch of points toward his second National Championship.

No surprise were Roberts’ wins, particularly considering the shorter 75-mile National, where equipment failures would be less likely than in past 200milers. But the short duration of 19 laps would also create some new race strategy for the sit-back-and-wait riders. There would be none of that kind of thing now. Gas it and keep it gassed was the new rule of thumb.

Talledega’s long oval and banking puts it on the racing calendar as a horsepower track; there is no way to win here without plenty of that sometimes elusive ingredient. Southeastern weather, however, does not make it the least bit easy on the tuners trying to chase down some of that horsepower. One minute it’s 90 degrees and unbearably warm. The next minute in rolls a cloud bank and the thermometer drops 20 points. Time to rejet or not? Will it rain, sprinkle or pour? No one ever seems to know just what is in store, disregarding the ever-present abundance of humidity.

This year the weather worked out better than expected. Rain confined itself to evening hours and high stratus clouds held the heat down a bit. Though far from ideal, it was a semi blessing when compared to the heat wave of a couple years ago.

Two surprises immediately presented themselves. One was in the form of Barry Sheene, Suzuki’s European flash, the other a factory Harley-Davidson V-Twin for Gary Scott to ride. Arrangements for Sheene to race at Talledega were made only a week prior to the event; the Scott/Harley caper was not an expected show here due to the fact that the sweet-sounding four-stroke would not be competitive on the blisteringly fast, super speedway. But Scott needed any points he could come up with in his never-ending chase of Ken Roberts. H-D’s not showing up could have cost Gary the Number One plate. They knew that. . .and so did he. But in showing up, they probably did cost him the Championship, though not of their own accord.

The two-stroke 250 they brought for the Combined Lightweight race seized on Friday, the first day of practice. The bike spit Gary off, and he went away with a bunch of his hide still stuck on the asphalt. Scott smiled all the same. “I’ve got no right to complain, feeling as good as I do after a get-off like that.”

The following morning he was all out of smiles. The machine stuck once more. . .same reason, same corner. Only this time Scott went over the high side and snapped a collarbone like a matchstick. That was it for the weekend, for the Mile National seven days later, and, most regrettably, unless a miracle happens by, for the Championship. It wasn’t hard to understand why Gary didn’t stick around to watch Roberts add another 165 points to his fattening total.

Novice racing has had its moments this season. Primarily dominated by Dale Singleton, John Volkman and Skip Aksland, hard fought races have been the rule rather than the exception. This time things were tough for John and Dale. . .tougher than the norm. Both crashed, Volkman in practice and Singleton in his heat. The Singleton crew spent a night rebuilding the bike for the Novice 50-Mile Final, but Volkman was out of business and sat things out.

This made it decidedly easier for Dick Schlachter to pester Aksland, even though he was aboard an air-cooled Yamaha, which couldn’t hold the water pumper of Aksland’s. Skip went on to win, the older machine of Schlachter’s held 2nd, with Cliff Guild not far back in 3rd. Singleton managed to scoot to 7th by the race’s end, in spite of starting 60th on the grid. The top road racing Novice will now have to be decided at Ontario; it’s down to Aksland or Singleton and it’ll be close.

Swift Junior Pat Hennen has not been pressed too tight all season; until now, that is. Pee Wee Gleason’s cleanrunning, Drew Pate 700 Yamaha followed in 2nd for a portion of the race; Pee Wee then picked his spot to nip Hennen in turn 1. Through the fast Talledega infield Gleason held his own, but the stronger 700 of Hennen’s took over again on the banking. Not about to let 1st out of his hands again, Pat screwed it on and won his 4th Junior road race for 1974. And his average lap speed wasn’t that far off from Roberts’ winning pace in the Expert event. More time, more experience, and Hennen will be tough. . .with the right machinery.

The continuing saga of the Scott/ Roberts 250 Combined duel, as you already know, was cut short this time around. Talledega was to be the 250 Harley and Yamaha tie-breaker; Scott won Loudon, Roberts got Laguna Seca. Alabama would hopefully offer the solution to the riddle of which factory had the fastest 250, though in the end it only created new questions.

Aside from the factory machinery, the H-D two-strokes in the hands of privateers have not faired well at all. After Loudon, plenty of riders were entertaining thoughts of switching. Now those same people are holding off, waiting to see if the Harleys are really worth the effort. The Yamahas have years of development and the owners know the bugs and how to iron them out. With the H-D it means starting anew, and most aren’t willing to sacrifice a few races to learn.

With Scott out, most figured Roberts would have an easy time of it. But there was also Don Castro to consider, he’d be tough, as would Ron Pierce and Gene Romero.

Lots of the 250s were now running Goodyear slicks designed for the smaller machines that were introduced at Laguna Seca. It takes a couple of hot laps to get them sticky and working just so, like Dunlops, but some of the riders have trouble adapting to them.

Pierce and Roberts carted off the heats; Castro was in the hunt until his engine seized near the corkscrew placed at the end of the back straight. Down he went. . .slide, slide, slide. . .said it was the fastest he’d ever gotten off in his life. Luckily he didn’t tweak his still mending knee, and had only abrasions to show for his trouble.

Pat Evans and Ted Henter headed Roberts briefly on the start of the main, but once the National Champ twisted his throttle to the stop and started dragging his knee around the infield, they did the following. Pierce moved up on Henter and the two fought the remainder of the event. Evans thought it was a bad idea to let the two get very far ahead, so he hung in there right to the finish line, just to keep things interesting. Roberts won by an unpressured margin, Henter was a steadfast 2nd, and Pierce stayed in 3rd just ahead of the not-giving-up Pat Evans. Conrad (Continued on page 85) Urbanowski was the first non-Yamaha to finish. His H-D 250 wound up 13th.

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Too bad only a few spectators were on hand to watch the goings on. Not surprising, since the Talledega International Speedway’s own billboards advertised the next event as a stock car race in the spring of 1975. Didn’t they know motorcycles were out there lapping their road course?! Either that or sign painters are getting expensive.

Big-bore practice sessions lived up to expectations. The factory Kawasakis were down on horsepower; Baumann ate up three engines and would be powered by the lone remaining spare; DuHamel was holding his own fast pace, wishing he had a radiator and more oomph; Hurley Wilvert looked as tho«fh he had his Daytona form back. A Mi for them was doubtful, in spite of Yvon’s past accomplishments at the track. There is no substitute for horsepower here and the green Kawasakis did not have enough. Period.

Gary Nixon was in the heart of the Suzuki pits. . .spectating. He was in much better spirits than the other Nixon, since only two days earlier he had his last remaining arm cast removed. The leg was still in plaster, though, and Gary was still entertaining thoughts of racing at Ontario. But we recently heard that his ankle was not healing, necessitating a bone graft, so Ontario looks out of the question for the fiesty pavement star.

The Nixon/Kanemoto Suzuki was to be ridden by Paul Smart, who was not at all thrilled with the prospect of turning over half of whatever he won to KjÄmoto in a 50/50 arrangement. Cliff and Barry Sheene were aboard their usual mounts, fitted with Dunlop’s (Continued on page 101) Continued from page 85 new rear tire, their answer to the Goodyear “slick.” The tire resembles the general contour of the Goodyear, but has five grooves as its “tread.” Everyone who ran them said they stuck well and most expected about 400 racing miles from each tire. Quite a contrast to the tire chunking problems at Daytona in 1972, where the Suzukis were lucky if they made it 100 miles without ruining the rubber. DuHamel’s Kawasaki was another machine on the new Dunlops.

Yamahas, of course, were on Goodyears. Roberts was especially moody and serious; his on-the-rocks marriage had to be part of the reason. Romero and Castro joked around but Kenny rarely smiled. Yet somehow, you knew he was ready for business. . .calm, cool and calculating. Not at all like the old days when he was having fun. Carrying that special plate is a lot harder than most people can imagine.

Seems as though every Yamaha 700 tuner had his own ideas about exhaust pipes. The flat-sided stock units have ample ground clearance, put out nice power, but fracture, split and disintegrate. At every race you see something different, though the factory team seems to have one of the better answers. Ron Pierce had one of the most innovative arrangements, Steve McLaughlin’s were a nice try but didn’t work. No telling what they’ll all show up with at Ontario.

Race day dawned hazy and bright; a possible threat of rain, but not likely. Nobody was the least bit anxious to lay over one more night in the midst of the Alabama Militia and Crowd Control Co., Inc. Spectator turnout was as expected. . .dismal. Considering the odds, however, not too bad. It was muggy; riders were hoping for some breeze and cooler air. Team Suzuki was drilling holes in the fairings to allow more air for their riders. Though radiators keep the engines cooled off, hot air from the units can make it plenty warm for the man hanging on to the handlebars, usually in a warm position to begin with, making tracks at 170 mph. Other riders fitted little bottles of ice water behind the fairing; hooked up to clear plastic tubing, they could take a sip on the banking. . .or whenever.

Rider turnout was very low since prospects at Talledega are not that enticing. Many travel a long way to get there, the heat is sometimes unbearable, there is no crowd to cheer and money rewards don’t make a man rich. With this sort of trend underway, road racing in the United States is in imminent danger of virtual extinction. Couple that to the fact that racing machinery is becoming increasingly complex and cost factors are growing accordingly; not (Continued on page 102) Continued from page 101 hard to understand why privateers grumble, and without the privateers road racing will wither and die.

In the two heat races, Roberts and Cliff Carr came up as winners. Roberts seemed to hold back slightly during his, contrasting Carr’s hard-fought victory. Romero had clutch problems and dropped out, as did Paul Smart. Both would have to start at the back of the single wave of riders when it came time for the National. This did not make Romero happy, knowing that the start could make all the difference in a 19-lap race. “I’m really gonna have to gas it on that start,” and he said it in a way that made you glad you wouldn’t be in front of him.

Jim Evans looked especially confident on his Kevin Cameron-prepared TZ700 out of Boston Cycles. Evans recently moved to the panhandle of Idaho and maybe that clear air sparked him up some, because he was flat getting around that course.

Thirty-two riders charged for a narrow first turn at the drop of the green flag; Roberts gathered up the distance quicker than anybody and led from that point on. Castro rode to his limit trying to keep teammate Kenny in sight, while DuHamel was thinking about the run through the grass he had taken in that first turn. With those three holding the top positions and McLaughlin in 4th, it looked like a replay of their heat race.

But even before DuHamel had gotten on to the banking. . .he was down and tumbling along the asphalt and into the grass, his machine following. Scratch a favorite. Romero, his earlier threat of charging the start a reality now, inherited 3rd, with Cliff Carr’s Suzuki right behind. His teammate, Paul Smart, had parked his machine during lap one, thinking he had a flat tire. It wasn’t flat but his spirits were.

Next to go were Romero and Ron Pierce. Gene took the more spectacular route on the sixth go-round in a nastylooking turn-two endo. Carr narrowly missed both Gene and fallen Yamaha, giving himself a few gray hairs in the process. Gene was scuffed up heavily, as was DuHamel. . .but no serious problems like broken bones. Pierce discovered a flat tire before it flattened him. . .and he parked for the day.

The Suzuki Triples are not known for their quick starts, and Barry Sheene found himself with a pile of traffic to go around after he compounded the problem by “blowing the start.” But his 172-mph trap speeds were helping him along the way, and in no time he found himself running along with 4th and 6th-place men, Carr and Hurley Wilvert respectively. By this time Jim Evans (no relation to Pat), had charged to 3rd> after outscratching Carr. Privateer Steve McLaughlin, after running near the leaders as usual, began working his way back when his standard Yamaha exhaust pipes started coming adrift. “Every time a chunk would come out, I’d lose five horsepower.”

In the closing stages the drama centered on the two running factory Suzukis. Carr (in 4th) and Sheene (in 5th) were running out of fuel. This was most noticeable on the banking, where the petcocks were not picking up the gasoline. Both wondered if they’d make it; as it turned out, both ran dry on the final lap chasing winner Roberts, Castro and Evans to the flag. Carr ran out first, costing him a position, as Sheene sputtered by at 80 mph, about 90 mph slower than his previous lap. Roberts averaged 111.957 for the race, making it the fastest on the AMA Calendar. The $3685 lst-place money does not make it the richest, however.

As for the crowd, the “motorcyclists and others,” they remained sedate and quiet and caused no trouble of any kind. You just know ol’ Sheriff H.E. “Gene” Mitchell and the Colonel went away disappointed. ... [<5