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starting to smile::-.v:ily; JOHN lt;DAWSr^R E st»H writer.TRAVERSE CITY — Up until now, the luck of Leon M;;lt;TMsa-h.oy: ^ ; snownbbile; racingmightr'have.:i possiblyb€en'printedin:less5pacethan• it .takes-to1 write •his jiarhe;::.;v^,,-ixBut’iithe :iway;yiiings^have' been•. going recbhtly:: for: the '■Tea| verse r■ Clty,lt; native,;, • it:;ap-’ pears', tliat^/he. viriay ..•be.-..-.-.well. on ,:the; way ito capturing ' more. tham ione titie;: this' year,:,in* •eluding-: the:. ;.one ...;of;'••:Lucky .;I'.e6h',l':i- .'-'LLL •'•V;-iV McMahon’ssla test and; ;mosT i mportaht; triumph; so lar,, has been the capturing -of: the pole position ; at;. the-TC '250 during: time; -trials; Prior; to that, he's lieeni able to ; come close, but never'-'• quite experience the sweet Taste of victory. : \■ Before this 'jyear,' the only; ■two races McMahon competed in ' were; - the 1973- and ;1974 running of .the -TC 250.; He ■ never: finished :either one. _ a--.: -Mechanical problems■ took'their • toll;; L in : Iroth;; :races, ■preventing, .-.their ' completion,, which McMahon recaHs^quite; vividly■ ::; ■ -I/—,:' 'I ;‘T:'■■In 1973 I had,problems with-the track: (that'runs, tinder themachine)- and.: couldn’t replaceit,’’ he said, t was in 33rd ■position to start the race ■; and-had a: qualifying - speed; of :64.389 ;mlies per-hour.” i /Thet/1974 race :was^: even more disappointing . as;v. he started' in -second -place witha' speed of 70.613, about one :half m.p.h. behind the pole sitter, Ken Hunt, who had turned in a record' speed o!TITSO’IAgaihMcMahon'neversaw:'th;chec^TT'ThaLTimei’ if was'the; recoil from; the! storier/ThatTeHtoff and ;weri t--- inta^the?; ignition;1 -he recalled: i‘1 was 1 n . second’ place in : the trials’but- hadto leave;theraceafter;258-laps.’’■ .’This; year,1 MeMahon/decided to;.'test, his machine ’out 'before the- Traverse:- city; race , sohe entered::-the;::';World’A..;;Trophy Race; at Ironivobdhoping' to wdrk; out .'the'-';'' bugs’ ;ln his machine^asK^ misfortunes;)-- ;i;; r ^ V;,-; As the ’■ ■■ ironwobd ;i • race-.progressed,: it looked aS, if he had- finally ,done ju s f that',;-but Then the. 'mostdisheartening ending of all;(came on.-the’last lap.' of '.the- race: ■; r.'.:z’McMahon.. had istarted ; in second place in that race but captured the lead !and stayed there right,, up to fhe finish.. Running under the 'white; flag, .on.:, the -final. circuit,-' V-.and' leading by half a lap .over the second place sled,; misfortune struck-again:l': • T ;:■;; - ’I was' ;.going: around.; .the th\i^.:..turh:;;and; he- was’-,Just domiiig out; of the . second,”, McMahon iexplalhedi. TTKen I. started : , to have electrical problems with the sled:' I. was Just barely moving when I, crossed the finish-line and he passed .me right at the endin almost a'photo'finish.’* ': Yeah,:was really' :•■ Sickening thing to.;see,’’ said' ■Hbwa rd;,. Geyer,: '■’■ the ’ head mechanic -- of'• the .McMahon team. ,-I;; :y'y;T Now, after coming as - close -as : possible; to.. winning■ ;t»V big: race,- it appears .as though' he: may, Tie;;the.. target of some of '-.those;!- smiles- ;iAdy /Luck; passes out tor:a selected, few.Hev captured ' ;the:» pole position; for this year’s TC 250 'with a recprd:settlng. speed;:o£ 781045; The ' luck : comes - into play, with the realization; that this- speed was: attained ; wlth the same machineMcMahon has raced the previous two years.': That;; :• along with.' the $500; top; qualifier! prize brings about a few jsmiles of' his-own:’'i‘The; engine -isn't .;1 much different than it; was:when::.I. first .. started,”; -McMahon . observed. . As' a; matter of factit's the engine that: I used for The) last TC, 250, for the Iron wood race,1: and for this . year's; trials.:'VI had to economize this year,’* he added. So. I haven't touched a thing in the engine.’.*: The ; recordTsetting speed; which - surpassed. even ■ the expectations of the . officials, came. as no surprise' to McMahon and Geyer.. . ,“When; we went to Ironwood, which . was-only; ;to get an idea .of: how; we; might run, and then finishedsecond, I knew . we had a good shot at this race, McMahon : said; “Then when we came out here. for Open House’ and just missed the track record, I knew we could hit 80 m.p.h. if the track conditions were perfect.’’McMahon pointed out that •track , conditions were in “superior” • shape for' this year’s trials and credited thatRecord-jJoe Coiiklin, Sports Editor•with being a major factor ill turning high speeds;He added lhat- other factors which came intov play were keeping the suspension and the machine’s track in shape and setting them- properly for track conditions, and , also waiting, for colder weather in which to make his runs,McMahon ,vwho repairs snowmobiles and . motorbikes for a 'living' when he’s not racing them) explained that the warmer a machine gets the slower it runs so waiting for colder temperatures playsa big role in speeds.He is expecting his stiffest: competition in Saturday’s race to come from Dave Yarhous of, Evart who is in second position with a Speed of 77.693 which .he turned on his second attempt: Yarhous won the time1 trials; and the race at Marion last Saturday. ,Also driving with McMahon on the “ Bill Bright-owned Yamaha, will, be Lee Wyatt; and George Rousch; who also are from Traverse City.And. should Lady Luck, keep him ' in her good graces, McMahon will be one- of thev drivers on a sled qualified by Gene Denman in the' TC 2W and- will then go. on to drive in the 1-500 . at . Sault Ste. Marie.But first, Lucky Leon” will be satisfied with finishing the TC 250.
Newspaper Details
Traverse City Record Eagle
Traverse City, Michigan, US
Tue, Jan 21, 1975
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Traverse A.
MI, USA 23 May 2024
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