1974 Beech Bend Bowling Green KY Drag Racing - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1974 Beech Bend Bowling Green KY Drag Racing - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green,
Kentucky means a variety of things
to different people. Many spend an
entire vacation here; the kids, the
camper, the whole bit. Beech Bend
is a huge privately owned campsite,
thickly shaded with large elm trees
and carpeted with clipped grass.
The amusement center alone brings
in people for miles. It features 40
rides and an assortment of carny type
attractions. There is a free zoo, fish-
ing, a river excursion boat, a large
grocery and supply store, swimming,
6500 free camping spaces, a
roundy-round race track, and an
NHRA sanctioned drag strip.
The drag strip operates on an ev-
ery week basis throughout the rac-
ing season, but every year, in mid-
July, it is the home of the annual
AMDRA/NHRA National Motorcycle
Record Championships. Race week-
end is a must for thousands of bikers
from every corner of the country, and
especially for two-wheeler fans from
Kentucky and the surrounding states.
Standard equipment, for most, in-
cludes a small pup-tent, for the area's
motels quickly fill to capacity, and
besides, camping out seems to go
better with biking. Even before the
weekend, Beech Bend Park is always
dotted with clusters of bikes and
pup-tents. Choppers are in the ma-
jority, yet just about any type of ma-
chine you can name is in attendance.
The fair-weather boys usually trailer
or van their chops to the park, but
most make the trip abroad their faith-
ful scoots.
Actually, nothing is free at Beech
Bend, since a one time admission
charge is collected upon entering.
But, since the ante is only one thin
dime per person, Beech Bend Park
probably offers the worlds biggest
bargain, at today's prices. Amuse-
ment rides, food, and race tickets are
among the extras, of course, but that
dime pays for most of the weekend
hours none the less.
Once inside the gate, almost any-
thing goes. Speeding on the park
California's Russ Collins aboard
the "Atchison, Topeka, and
Santa Fe" took low E.T., but
broke firing up for the finals.
The impressive A, T, and SF
fueler houses three (count
'em) big Honda motors.
Always the one to beat, T.C.
Christensen puts away Bob
Mauriello on Sonny Routt's
Triumph double. In the past
two racing seasons T. C. 's
Norton double has been almost
unbeatable.
This Jr. Fueler literally blew in
two, at about 140 mph, as the
front cylinder went south, not
to mention north, east, and
west. Miraculously the rider
was uninjured.
Saturday’s hot, humid weather
made things a tad
uncomfortable for the leather
dad riders waiting to qualify...
11339-7410-24
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