Bultaco Cup at AMA Flat Track Gas City Round Was a Gas, Gas, Gas

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Bultaco Cup Main Event Winner Bill Snyder's #4 Bultacos sit in his pit area at Gas City in between practice sessions and the main event. Bill is out of Manhathan, KS., and was sponsored for the event by Great Plains Racing Assoc. and Custom Engine Svc. You can almost smell the castor oil in the air just looking at these immaculately prepared machines. Former racer Wayne Hosaka, who runs the bitchin' FlatTrack.com website, put up the $1200 winner's purse for the event in a grand jesture to help out with expenses.
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Art Randall on the #95K keeps it revvin' while waiting with some of the Bultaco Cup entrants to roll out for the main event. To his left on the #90N is Jim Henry and on the #66 T.J. Souza. In the left background Wild Will Kelley can be seen on the #6 machine. All are members of the FlatTrack.com community as well as long-time flat track racers, enthusiasts and fans. Art made it possible for everyone in this picture to compete in the race with his stable of fine looking steeds.
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This is one of Art Randall's immaculate Bultaco Astros. This particular machine was at one time raced by the late Roger Crump in his early career in AMA Flat Track, and now sits on display at Kilroy's Sports Bar in St. Louis, owned by Mr. Randall, who can be seen sitting in the background in the red/yellow Bultaco jersey. Some other members of the FlatTrack.com community can be seen in the shot as well, including Art's wife Brenda, Mia Moore and TJ Souza. All were on hand to support the Kilroy's Sports Bar Race Team who put in a lot of effort to get this race run. After the rain out from June 5, everyone had to re-group with less then two weeks notice to get back to Gas City for the inaugaral Bultaco Cup race. A fine effort was put in by all believe me!
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The #66 machine of TJ Souza sits in the left background as several members of the Kilroy's Race Team make final preps on the #6 machine of Willard Kelley. Art Randall's #95K sits on the right. The #1 Astro in background right is the bike that Art displays at his bar in St. Louis. In the photo from left are 'Jimbo', Wild Will and Ken Saillant, who finished third in the main event aboard the #54 machine.
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Grinning like a cheshire cat ready to pounce, Will Kelley gets ready to roll out on his #6 machine for the Inaugaral Bultaco Cup at Gas City on June 19. Main event winner Bill Snyder sits on the #4 machine and third-place finisher Ken Saillant on the #54 machine is in the rear of this shot.
Will set fast time in the combined practice sessions and is a multi-time champion in the Vintage Dirt Track Racing Association. Will made the trip again from his home-base in Texas after the rain out to compete in this event.
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Nostalgia was in the air last Saturday night as the inaugaral Bultaco Cup ran in conjunction with the AMA Flat Track event at Gas City/I-69 Speedway. After a two week rain delay, everyone made it back for what was a major blast from the past for all to see and do in a meeting of the old classic two-stroke racers.
AMA Flat Track Manager and 1981 AMA Grand National Champion Mike Kidd came up with the original idea to run a support class at Gas City featuring some of the two-stroke Bultaco racers of yesteryear. Running as the support class to the AMA Grand National Singles and the Pro Singles race event, the Bultaco Cup served as a great reminder of the popularity of the Bultaco brand from days gone by. Ridden by a variety of racers in the '70s including Kidd, John Gennai, Jay Springsteen and Garth Brow just to name a few. The castor oil was in the air again as 10 riders entered to run the event. Won by Bill Snyder on the #4 Bultaco Astro, the event served as a great exhibition event and helped bring back some super memories of flat track history to all who were there to see it.

Special thanks go to Art 'The Dart' Randall/Kilroy's Sports Bar in St. Louis for bringing in his stable of fine looking machines for some of the guys to ride and Wayne Hosaka of FlatTrack.com who put up the winner's purse money for the race. Take a bow gentlemen, you deserve it for making this neat little race a possibility for everyone to enjoy

We hope that sometime again in the future that we'll get another chance to see these great vintage machines as part of the AMA program fill-in. The evening made for a great time and waxed nostalgia for those of us who remember the shrieks of the old chain saws! And we thank all of those involved for making this event possible!!

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Thanks to Mike Kidd and his great group of people for putting on this great event (Bravo!) and for supplying us with the PDF results as well! Mike has proved time and again what a great program he can put together for AMA Flat Track and this was another shining example. You rock dude!

Combined practice results:
http://results.amaproracing.com/pdfresults/ft/2010/06-gascity/blpc.pdf

Bultaco Cup Main Event results:
http://results.amaproracing.com/pdfresults/ft/2010/06-gascity/blm1.pdf
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A great lighter-side story thanks to Kevin 'Chew' Larcom and Mia Moore over at FlatTrack.com on the running of this super event:
http://www.flattrack.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=841&Itemid=1

And here's a great little video put together by Chew and Mia of the Bultaco Cup event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7forKnRCs8
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