Page 6 - speedway19770521

Around The Traci?- at Saugus By· ARCH SANFORD

5/14/77.
RACE RECAP.

"Ml GHTY Ml KE FORT I ER NAILS DOWN SAUGUS MAI

SAUGUS SPEEDWAY, MAY 14, 1977.

MI KE FORT I ER, VAN NUYS, WIN LESS IN 1976, PUT IT ALL TOGETHER SATURDAY NIGHT, TO CAPTURE

HIS FIRST SPORTSMAN MA IN EVENT IN ALMOST TWO YEARS, AS HE ENDED JIM ROBINSON'S MA IN EVENT

WIN STREAK AT THREE.

ROBINSON, WHO EARLIER IN THE EVENING, HAD BROKEN ALL EXISTING QUALIFYING RECORDS AT

SAUGUS SPEEDWAY WITH AN UNBELIEVABLE ONE LAP RUN OF 16:88, (THAT IS WELL OVER 100 M.P.H.

ON THE STRAIGHT-A-WAYS), LINED UP BESIDE FORTIER AT THE BACK OF THE TWENTY-FOUR CAR 40-

LAP SPORTSMAN MAIN. rookie, RANDY PALSHIS, VICTORVILLE, STORMED INTO THE LEAD ON LAP ONE,

BUT LOST IT TO DANNY RUTH IN HIS SLEEK CAMARO ON LAP FOUR AS FORTIER AND ROBINSON MOVED

THROUGH THE PACK TO TAKE OVER SIXTH AND SEVENTH POSITIONS. LAP EIGHT SAW RUTH IN FIRST AN

FORTIER SECOND WITH ROBINSON THIRD. RUTH SPUN BRINGING OUT THE YELLOW FLAG ON THE NEXT LA

ON THE RESTART IT WAS FORTIER, ROBINSON, RIAN ALDRICH, TUJUNGA, TRU CHEEK, SYLMAR AND

STEVE ROWE, OXNARD. ON LAP 13 Rowe BROUGHT OUT THE RED FLAG AS HIS CAMARO SPUN IN AN OIL

SLICK FROM A BLOWN ENGINE. ROWE WAS UNHURT but OUT FOR THE EVENING. FOR THE NEXT TWENTY-

SEVEN LAPS IT WAS A TROPHY DASH BETWEEN FORTIER AND ROBINSON. THE TWO VETERANS, SCREAMING

AROUND THE SAUGUS OVAL AT RECORD LAPS, ROBl'NSON BEATING FORTIER INTO THE CORNERS BUT FORT

COMING OUT STRONGER TO MAINTAIN THE LEAD. WHEN THE CHECKERED FELL IT WAS FORTIER FIRST by

INCHES, ROBINSON SECOND AND TRU CHEEK THIRD. JIMMY INSOLO, MISSION HILLS, WHO QUALIFIED

HIS CAMARO SECOND FASTEST, MISSED THE MAIN AS HE LOST TWO WATER PUMPS AND DAN PRESS OF

ARLETA, SECOND IN POINTS, LOST A VALVE IN HOT LAPPING.

GARY JOHNSON, VALENCIA WON THE STREET STOCK MAIN, WITH Bl LL KILLIAN, CANOGA PARK WINNING
THE WILD FIGURE 8 MAIN.

· SPORTSMAN MAIN 40-LAPS ...... FORTIER, J. ROBINSON; CHEEK; KOCH; RIAN ALDRICH, TUJUNGA;
HANS WESSKI, SIMI.

STREET STOCK MAIN 20-LAPS ... GARY JOHNSON, VALENCIA; M. WILLARD; WRONG WAY WILLARD;
TERRY LEIDHOLDT, SAUGUS; McKNIGHT; KILLIAN.

FIGURE 8 MAIN 15 LAPS ....... KI LLIAN; ALLEN THACKER, SAUGUS; M. WILLARD; CHALLGREN;
McKNIGHT; TONY BALZANO, SIMI.