Round #1 Tulare
Cycle Park
Tulare,
Calif.
5-5-2007
Article
by Jamey Blunt
Photos
by Jessyca Blunt
Tulare
Cycle Park hosted the opening round of
Eddie Mulder's West Coast Vintage Dirt Track Series with twenty four
heat races,
two semi's, and sixteen main events filled by one hundred fifty eight
entries.
The weather, not as cold as expected for a night race, in fact about as
perfect
as one could ask for.
The ARD Ignitions/
Johnson Cams Senior main event started
the sixteen mains. Of the seventeen riders over the age of fifty it was
Bob
Scally who lead into turn one. Jeff Lessley on a pristine Bultaco ran
in second
with Steve Craft in third and Rod
Lake
making a return to racing in fourth. On the second trip through turn
two Lessley
cut to the inside of Scally to take the lead away while Gary White
settled in
at fifth with Keith Speir sixth. Just
before the end of lap three Lake was up to third and closing as he
posted the
fastest lap of the race at 19.95/100 seconds, which made Lake a half
second
faster than anyone else on the track but time was running out with two
laps
remaining. Entering turn one Lake shot past
Scally for
second and was closing on Lessley when the checkered flag came out
ending his
drive. Speir also made a final push to overtake Craft to finish in
fourth, a
well earned position.

#48y Mike Vital topped the
Vet class with the fastest lap of the field at 19.15/100 seconds.
Vital who hails from Tulare used
a very potent C&J framed honda for the victory.
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Fifteen riders
would square off in the A&A Racing/ Mr.
Ed's Vet final where riders over the age of thirty five ride any
machine of
their choosing. Mike Vital started from pole and held point as Mike
O'Neil
settled in behind him with Bill Kolkman third and Lloyd McGregor and
Jason
Craven fighting over fourth. Three laps in saw Vital with a full
straight away
lead over O'Neil while McGregor had a mechanical handing fourth to
Craven. Kolkman
meanwhile was closing on O'Neil only to surrender the ground he had
made up due
to a mistake of his own doing on lap six leaving O'Neil secure in
second, with
Kolkman third, Craven fourth, and Gary Ritchie coming through the field
to
finish fifth.
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#49x
Mickey Alzola Started the season where he left off, at the front.Alzola
and his Eddie Mulder C&J Framed
Triumph are
going for yet anotherclass championship this year as well as returning
to Pikes Peak continuing his tradition.
The Barnett/ K
& N Filters Super Senior/Senior Novice
main event is becoming the Mickey Alzola showcase as no one seems
capable of
stopping Alzola. But Steve Lacey on his 350cc Honda took the lead off
the line
and looked as though he just might have something for Alzola. Ken
Barrow
starting from the second row quickly moved into second position down
the back
straight displacing Alzola to third. On the second time through turn
two Barrow
went down hard bringing out the red flag making for a restart which
Barrow
could not make. On the restart Lacey and Alzola hit turn one side by
side with
Lacey shutting off last for the lead. Lacey would lead for three laps
with
Alzola matching his pace waiting for a mistake which came in turn three
where
Alzola took over at the front. Lap four was Alzola's fastest at
20.61/100
seconds as he put Bob Harris the oldest racer in the program at 83, a
lap down.
On the final lap Alzola had a full straight lead over Lacey as he also
sailed
past Ted Hubbard making his return to racing aboard one of the cleanest
C&J
framed TT-500's on the planet, put together by Eddie Mulder himself.
Alzola
took the victory with Lacey second, Rod Peyron quietly slipped into
third and
Ron (Mohawk) Alexander fourth.

#41 Jay Gosvenor showed that the twin cylinder two strokes aren't dead
as he took the victory in the Modern 500 main event aboard his 350cc
Yamaha twin with a fastest lap time of 20.24/100 seconds.
The Berkeley
Honda/Yamaha Modern 500 class marked a return
to racing for the newly married Brad Rudy, somehow this has given Rudy
more
speed as he lead into turn one over Jay Gosvenor with Ron Lessley third
and Rod
Lake fourth. Down the back straight Gosvenor used the horsepower of his
Yamaha
360cc two stroke twin to shoot past Rudy's Honda 350. Up the front
straight the
second time Lake out drove Lessley up the
inside to take
third away. At crossed flags (half way point) Lake
was
closing on Rudy as he once again turned the fastest lap of a race at
19.57/100
seconds. When the white flag came out the front three had all gotten
back
together and it was anyone's race. Lake pulled
alongside
Rudy on the outside in turn three to take second away and just came up
short on
his run at Gosvenor for the win. Once again showing the fastest guy on
the
track didn't win. Rudy was a close solid third with Lessley fourth.

#37 Jeff Johnson made one of his rare appearances, and showed the Modern
750cc class how it's done!!! Johnson still has what it takes as he puts the Triumph on top of the box.
The war of the big
bikes is the Motion Pro/Works Performance
Modern 750 class, which marked another return to racing in this series
from Jeff
Johnson. All eyes were on Johnson and Paul Herman a past 750cc champion
as they
squared off for the main.
Keith Speir
nailed the start to lead into turn one but was
quickly swallowed up by Johnson while Herman went down between turns
one and
two collecting Joe Suebert who had no where to go but over Herman. As
Herman
lay in the middle of the track there was no choice but to bring the red
flag
out calling for a full restart. This time Johnson nailed the start with
Gary
White in second and Herman with a taped on gas tank third. Herman made
quick
work of White for second but Johnson already had a nine bike length
lead at the
front. Speir and Bob Scally followed Herman's move past White as well
to run
third and fourth. Working the inside of turn two Scally took third from
Speir
only to have Speir come back at him and regain the position on the next
trip
down the back straight. Then on lap four Speir went down without injury
in turn
two handing third back to Scally. This causing Johnson to run way wide
allowing
Herman to take the lead, Johnson now just more motivated put his head
down and
quickly caught Herman with the two making contact in turn three. Herman
would
lead for another lap before surrendering the lead to Johnson, but
Herman wasn't
finished yet as he made a run at Johnson and they crossed the line side
by side
with the scoring crew giving the nod to Johnson by inches.

#33e Young Mikey Avila just keeps getting faster and faster. At
18.95/100 seconds he was the only Modern 250cc rider to break the 19
second lap time barrier. Avila handily won the Modern 250cc class!!!
Mikey Avila
shot
to the front from the outside of the front row in the Kawasaki of Simi
Valley/Maxima Racing Oils 250 Open main event and never looked back.
Briar
Bauman, Tony Davila, and Eric England settled in behind. By the half
way point
England had gotten past Davila for third while Bauman, the only one
capable of
matching Avila's 18.95/100
second
pace at the front searched for a way past, or hoped for a mistake from Avila,
which would never come. Avila
the
class of the field on this day was just a little faster than Bauman as
he went
wire to wire for the victory, Bauman was a close second with England
and Davila far back for third and fourth.

Joe
Steffen (with Jared Mees number plate) was the class of the field in
the 500 support "A" Main.
Joe Steffen is the
rider to beat in the Tuffplates/Maxxis
Tires 500 Support class this, a war of the Yamaha tt-500 machines in
various
states of finish. Off the line Steffen and Clay Chambers were side by
side into
turn one with Steffen taking the lead on the exit of turn two leaving
Chambers
second with Mike O'Neil third, Jimmy Abrams fourth, and Jeff Gonzales
fifth. At
the completion of one lap the red flag came out stopping the race for
three
fallen riders, Doug Cohon, Dave Simmerman and Ron Moore, who all
thankfully
were fine. On the restart Steffen would lead with Gonzales in hot
pursuit while
O'Neil ran third, Abrams fourth Jim Ottele fifth and Gary Ritchie
sixth.
Steffen and O'Neil were the only two riders capable of lapping under
twenty seconds
with Steffen's fastest lap of 19.54/100 three tenths ahead of O'Neil's.
By lap
four Gonzales, O'Neil and Abrams were all together in turn two when
Abrams
pushed Gonzales wide leaving a huge door for O'Neil to go through into
second.
On the next trip through turn one Abrams got by Gonzales for third and
locked
his sights on O'Neil. With one lap remaining Steffen had a full
straight away
lead, while Abrams was challenging O'Neil for second. On the final run
to the
stripe out of turn four Abrams came up short with O'Neil riding
flawlessly for
second, Abrams third, Gonzales fourth, and Ottele alone in fifth. Oh,
and
Steffen, he was long gone at the front!

#65y Kris Bunch not only won the Open
Amateur "A" main event, his 18.87/100 second lap time
was fast enough to land him a sixth place in the Digger Helm pro
final as well.
The largest class
of the day was the AGV Helmets/C&J
Racing Frames Open Amateur. Some twenty four riders attempted to make
one of
only twelve spots in the "A" final. Garrett Stout leads the field
into turn one followed by Kris Bunch, Jesse Sleeper, Briar Bauman, and
Kayl
Kolkman. Two and a half laps in the books saw Bunch get a drive and
pass Stout
for the lead going down the back straight. The next go round had
Kolkman
advance past Bauman for fourth while Sleeper was alone in third some
ten bike
lengths back of Stout. At the finish Bunch would win by six lengths
over Stout
with Sleeper third, Kolkman fourth, and Bauman fifth.

National #20 Johnny Murphree on the Vizzo Racing Honda won the opening
round Digger Helm Pro 600 main event in convincing style leading the
last seven laps of the twenty lap final for the victory.
Four heat races
and two semis determined which fourteen pros
filled the grid for the twenty lap Digger Helm Pro 600 final. With the
fastest
heat, national number 21 Jared Mees sat on pole with Daytona short
track winner
and national number 54 Mikey Rush along side. Slotting on the outside
of the
front row was national number 20 Johnny Murphree on a new Ron Wood
framed VIZZO
Racing Honda. Murphree had the initial jump off the line but upon the
exit from
turn two both Kris Bunch and Mees were past with Murphree third and
Rush
fourth. On the entrance to turn one starting lap three Mees shot
underneath
Bunch for the lead with Murphree following suit dropping Bunch to third
while Rush
still held fourth with Brandan Bergen fifth, and Garrett Stout sixth.
By the
start of lap five Mees had a five bike length gap at the front and Rush
found a
way around Bunch for third. On the next go round Bergen
on a march forward dropped Bunch yet another rung on the ladder.
Exiting turn
two Mees had a small mistake which brought Murphree within a bike
length as the
front two pulled a gap on the rest of the field. Bergen
had also closed the gap to Rush and was knocking hard on Rushes back
door for
the third place position. Mees went wide in turn two on lap nine
leaving the
door open, which Murphree shot through for the lead, while Bergen found
his way
past Rush for third and began to pull away. Mees wasn't through yet as
he came
charging back at Murphree and stayed within a bike length till lap
fifteen when
lappers came into play. Bergen
was
alone in third some two seconds back with Rush in fourth, Bunch fifth,
and
Stout sixth. Mees posted the single fastest lap time at 18.33/100
seconds but
Murphree was consistent and rock solid as he inched away at the front.
With
three laps remaining Murphree had a 1.5 second lead and Stout had
caught and
passed Bunch on the exit of turn four for the fifth place position.
Making the
finial tally Murphree, Mees, Bergen,
Rush, Stout and Bunch. This giving the VIZZO Racing Honda a win in it's
first
ever race. Murphree had this to say," Steve Vizzo put a special set of
tires on before the main and they didn't come in until about lap five
and then
started driving forward. I thought Jared was on my tail the whole time
but I'm
glad I had a little gap especially after my tangle with a lapper. This
VIZZO
machine is a rocket ship it should have wings. Steve Berg and Steve
Vizzo
worked their tail off for this and it's racing at home for me, I just
want to
thank them along with Vortex, Motion Pro, K&N, and A&A. This
all came
together eleven days ago and I just want to thank them for this"
The awards
ceremony immediately following the races saw a happy
60cc main event winner Tyler Shelter take home a brand new top of the
line AGV
helmet, and Modern 750cc participant Joe Suebert score a new MAXXIS
tire from
these series sponsors.
#3
Mike O'Neil won the Dinosaur class on a 1949 Indian Arrow 250cc four
stroke single cylinder mount....
This over bikes with three times the displacement! His best lap time
was 21.54/100 seconds.
Senior “A” Main
1. 12e Jeff Lessley
2. 98 Rod Lake
3. 71z Bob Scally
4. 57 Keith Speir
5. 25d Steve Craft
6. 15 Mark Stuckert
7. 74r Gary White
8. 80g John Grant
9. 28d Ron Lessley
Senior “B” Main
1. 209 Cliff Nagatani
2. 17q Herb Wolff
3. 96a Jack Alexander
4. 79r Scott Shoup
5. 13p Allan Malm
6. 3 Steve Baker
7. 65y Jerry Robertson
Vet
1. 48y Mike Vital
2. 571 Mike O’Neil
3. 42 Bill Kolkman
4. 77 Jason Craven
5. 28b Gary Ritchie
6. 68 Jeffrey Evans
7. 77 Joe Suebert
8. 25n Joe Schmitt
9. 86 Steven Sandman
10. 28z Tony Harrell
11. 317 Geoff Ball
12. 24 Mark Babcock Sr
Sr Novice/Super Sr
1. 49x Mickey Alzola
2. 27t Steve Lacey
3. 45 Rod Peyron
4. 27 Ron Alexander
5. 52c Dave Cheney
6. 14t Ted Hubbard
7. 80x Bob Harris
Youth 50
1. 80 AJ Alves
2. 45 Tyler Kolkman
Youth 60
1. 88t Tyler Shelter
Youth 80
1. 700 Evan Stafford
2. 309w Bronson Bauman
3. 24 Zachery Lenhof
4. 33g Geoffery Shelter
Classic 500
1. 97w Alan Shaw
2. 14 James Kohls
3. 86d Ross Stuckert
4. 48d Joe DiSalvo
5. 4r Lenny Rodriguez
6. 52c Dave Cheney
Dinosaur
1. 3 Mike O’Neil
2. 1 Jim Ottele
3. 53 Brent Johnson
Modern 250
1. 12e Jeff Lessley
2. 80g John Grant
3. 71e John Frank
Modern 500
1. 41 Jay Gosvenor
2. 98 Rod Lake
3. 19r Brad Rudy
4. 28d Ron Lessley
5. 209 Cliff Nagatani
6. 52c Dave Cheney
7. 13p Allan Malm
Modern 750
1. 37 Jeff Johnson
2. 68 Paul Herman
3. 71z Robert Scally
4. 77 Joe Suebert
5. 74r Gary White
6. 48d Joe DiSalvo
250 Open
1. 33e Mikey Avila
2. 310w Briar Bauman
3. 22 Eric England
4. 18h Tony Davila
5. 55 Patrick Osmer
6. 58 Brandon Bates
7. 309w Bronson Bauman
8. 28 Pauly Herman
9. 87 Lindsey King
10. 12y Jacqui Van Noort
500 Support “A” Main
1. 6 Joe Steffen
2. 571 Mike O’Neil
3. 24p Jimmy Abrams
4. 84j Jeff Gonzales
5. 58y Jim Ottele
6. 28b Gary Ritchie
7. 10w Dave Simmerman
8. 3 Clay Chambers
9. 82c Mike Riddell
10. 80k Augie Alves, Jr
11. 41 Doug Cohon
500 Support “B” Main
1. 77j Jason Craven
2. 32y Mike Gonzales
3. 32 Dominic Stewart
4. 317 Geoff Ball
5. 382 Brad Richard
Open Amateur “A” Main
1. 65y Kris Bunch
2. 15 Garrett Stout
3. 342 Jesse Sleeper
4. 45 Kayl Kolkman
5. 310w Briar Bauman
6. 93v Garrett Slate
7. 55 Patrick Osmer
8. 42 Bill Kolkman
9. 88 Dillon Allen
10. 79 Joey Alves
Open Amateur “B” Main
1. 58 Brandon Bates
2. 65 Ross Gallaher
3. 45 Ross Stuckert
4. 68x Lloyd McGregor
5. 25n Joe Schmitt
6. 146 Bill Wright
7. 21y Bubba VanNoort
Digger Pro 600
1. 20 Johnny Murphree
2. 21 Jared Mees
3. 17y Brandan Bergen
4. 54 Mikey Rush
5. 15 Garrett Stout
6. 65y Kris Bunch
7. 23z Joe Hernandez, Jr
8. 45 Kayl Kolkman
9. 20m Brady Mueller
10. 18h Tony Davila
11. 342w Jesse Sleeper
12. 49y Chad Cose
13. 33e Mikey Avila
14. 35 Kyle Ragsdale
It was great to see everyone after the
winter layoff! The track came
around and the racing was really good.
Please keep Ken Barrow in your
prayers. Thanks and congrats to the winners! Jodi and Eddie
Article by
Jamey Blunt
Photos by
Jessyca Blunt