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Steve Eklund Makes History at the Astrodome
By Kent Taylor
Once heralded as “The Eighth Wonder of the World,” the Houston Astrodome is now the world’s largest storage unit. The playing surface where the Astros’ Nolan Ryan once threw 100-mile-per-hour fastballs is now packed with rusty, dirty retractable seats, their brittle fabric cracking and splitting. The football field where the Oilers’ Earl Campbell knocked down linebackers like bowling pins is hidden beneath portable outhouses and various other equipment. Shuttered since 2009, the Astrodome is undoubtedly a ghost, but one that Houstonians can’t bring themselves to cast aside, so it stands at rest, ignominiously serving as a holding pen for its replacement, the shiny new NRG Stadium.
But oh—if this dome could talk? The stories it could tell!
Long ago, during the lull between the end of the NFL season and the beginning of Major League Baseball, the Houston Astrodome served as the home for the opening round of the AMA’s Grand National Championship series. Two nights of racing inside the dome featured TT racing on the first night, while day two showcased a short track event. The victors’ list from the Astrodome is both a registry of “Who’s Who” and “Who’s That?” in motorcycle racing: many-time World Champion Kenny Roberts won here, as did one-time Grand National race winner Mike Haney.
There were repeat winners, first-time winners, and winners who could make a trophy girl blush, but nobody had ever won both the TT and the short track events on consecutive nights. Nobody, that is, until “Super Steve” Eklund did it on February 3rd and 4th in 1978.
The Houston TT and short track races were oddballs on the Grand National circuit. These two racetracks were built, dismantled, and then rebuilt the next year, making them the only tracks that were essentially “new” each season. Dirt trackers and their tuners liked to take notes on what worked and what didn’t, regarding gearing, tires, etc. The Houston Astrodome resembled a first date every year, and teams struggled to become reacquainted with her.
The event did not favor champions, and on this first night of racing, it bit the number one plate holder, Jay Springsteen. “Springer” had grabbed the holeshot on his Harley-Davidson XR750 in his heat but went down when his front wheel washed out under heavy braking. He charged back with vigor but failed to make the cut and had to find his way into the main event via the semi. That night, Dave Aldana, riding a Yamaha, took the heat race win ahead of Terry Poovey. Other heat race winners included John Gennai, who topped first-year pro Eddie Lawson, and Gary Scott, riding an Evel Knievel-sponsored Triumph. The fourth and final (and fastest) heat went to Eklund, with Ted Boody and Chuck Palmgren earning spots in the main. Springsteen and Rick Hocking were the winners in the semi events.
The main event featured an early battle between Eklund and Triumph-mounted John Gennai. By the midway point, Gennai began experiencing battery issues with his mount, and Eklund, on his Yamaha TT500, pulled away for the win. Gennai held on for second, which would be one of his three consecutive TT runner-up finishes at the Dome.
Steve Eklund was a 22-year-old privateer racer from San Jose. He started riding when he was 13 and began his racing career in motocross, competing on a toaster-tank Hodaka. He quickly transitioned to flat track, where he grew up racing against competitors like Rick Hocking, another Astrodome TT winner. As an AMA pro, Eklund partnered with an Italian named Mario Zanotti, an engineer and professor at Stanford University who would sponsor Eklund for much of his career.
The day after his TT victory, Eklund and his fellow racers returned to the Astrodome to compete in the short track, which was built around the previous night’s TT course. He quickly made it clear that he would be a force that night as well, posting the second-fastest qualifying time behind Hank Scott. Scott went on to win the first heat of the evening, and Eklund did the same in heat number two. Mike Caves, on an Ossa, won the third heat, and Jay Springsteen won heat number four. Terry Poovey rode his Bultaco to victory in the sixth and final heat. It is unknown whether anyone anticipated this kind of Spanish Inquisition, but two Bultacos and two Ossas qualified for the main event.
The 20-lap final was somewhat of a snoozer, with Eklund controlling the race from green to checkered flag, with Springsteen in second. Texas fans hooted and hollered when one of their own, Terry Poovey, nipped former Grand National Champion Gary Scott at the line for third.
It was the 10th anniversary of the Houston Astrodome TT and short track, and for the first time ever, one rider had mastered two very different tracks for the wins. In the glory days of Grand National racing, there were TT specialists and short track specialists. That weekend, Steve Eklund was both. CN
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