Cycle News

DIRT TRACK AMA Grand National Championship:/C==am=el~Pr:. :. .o~er=.:.:.:. . :R~o-.:.:.-un-=-dL , . . .: S ies (L eft 10 right) Dan Ingram, Miss Camel Michelle Fairman, Chris Ca rr and Will. Dav is celebra te in the winner's circl e. shot in to th e lead . Ca rr was close behind, with Poovey, Davi s, Durel le a nd Pegr am in to w. In gram slipped as he ent ered turn\ one for the seco nd time a nd clipped a tire linin g th e track with h is foo l. Carr dove underneath th e fla ilin g In gram, a nd ro de th e rest of the ra ce wi th dolla r sig ns in his eyes. Ingram managed to ho ld onto second, but co uldn't stay with Carr. Carr crossed the finish line . fo ur seconds a he ad o f In gram , Poovey, Da vis, Pegram a nd a dis ta nt Durelle, who conti n ued to ha ve tro u bles in the corners. " I can ' t seem to run it in as hard as Chris ," said Ingram. " I know I ca n goa lot faster. H opefull y, we' ll ma ke the right cha nges befor e the ma in ." " O nce Danny sli pped in tha t turn , tha t was a ll she wrote," said Carr. "My b ik e is h o okin g up so well , it ' s unbeli evabl e." National . 22 Carr again chose to sta rt on the ou tside po le as th e 15 fastest racers o f th e n ight lin ed up on three ro ws for th e 25-!ap feat u re. "Th is year, Cycle News predicted th at I wo uld win th e cha m p ions hip," Carr said. " Well, I'm goi ng to do all I can to prove th em ri gh t." With that in mind, Ca rr timed th e start perfect ly and jett ed o u t to a n im media te five-bik e len gth advantage over In gram, Mor eh ead , Caml in a nd Davi s. Parker was pinch ed o ff from h is seco n d- ro w s ta rt i ng po sition , and ci rcled th e track in eig h th, By la p two , th e cha mp had zipped in to fifth , but slip ped o ff th e groove in turns three , a nd four on the nex t lap. " She just sli d ou t from under me," said Parker, wh o remounted a t th e back o f -the pack, " I just figured I'd ge t up a nd keep cha rgi ng. " . Pegram ran near th e fron t o f th e pa ck , but in hi s charge towa rds th e front Parker sla m med last yea r's fifth ranked rid er off th e groo ve. " Man , I went from like third to last!" said Pegram. "I had to really wo rk hard to cat ch back up." Pegram 's luck wo uld go from bad wo rse as he . first 10 Sl part of hi s exhaus t pipe while cha rg ing th rou gh the pack, th en suffered a flat tire la te in the race whi le run ning fifth . By the sixt h la p , Carr had already p ut nea rl y a stra ig ht aw a y on Ingram, who had his ha nds fu ll w ith Morehead , More hea d shadowed In gram 's every mo ve, wai ting for a mi stake. " I cou ld hear h im back th ere," said Ingra m. " H e was right o n my ass, bu t I just stuc k to the low line and tried rea l hard not to mak e any mi stak es." Davis a nd Poovey waged the ir own p riva te war over fou rt h for nearl y ha lf the race before Dav is began to slow ly inch away . ' 'I' m go nn a have to teach Poovey how to train ," said Poovey's fellow T exa n , two -time Gra nd Natio na l C ha m p io n Bubba' S hob ert, as h e wa tched from th e p ressbox. " I felt good, but I o nly wa nte d to go as fast as I felt comfortable,'.' said Poovey, " I didn 't wa nt to ris k slip p ing off th e groove a nd th rowing it all . away ." . Poovey was rewarded for his ca u tio n .whe n third-ru n n ing Moreh ead coa sted to th e side o f th e track wi th a n ai ling mo tor , bumpin g everyone up a notch . " It was running rea l strong, then a ll of a sudde n it dropped a valve," sai d a surprisi ngly lig h thea rted Mor eh ead . " T he re was no wa rn ing at a ll. It so u nded lik e th e spark ' plug fell o ut , or something ," Davi s was glad to take over th ird, and set o u t after In gra m. Alt ho ugh he stayed g lued to th e rea r o f In gram 's H onda, he wo uld have to sett le for thi rd as In gram mad e no m istak es. By th e 20th lap, Ca rr began to lap th e field a nd circled the track with a eig h t second lead . At th e fin ish , Carr ca me up o n ly a few feet short o f lapping Parker, wh o recovered from h is fall to fini sh sevent h. Ingram and Davi s crossed th e finish line in close form at ion for seco nd a nd third, resp ectiv ely, while Poovey ro de home a lonel y fourth. Ath erton sta rted poorl y a nd rode a n uneventful race to finish fifth , quite a ways behind Poovey. to "I've never don e well here," said Atherton. "This is act ua lly th e best I' ve ever finis hed here, so I guess I'm happy. A lot o f us j ok e arou nd, say ing that thi s race do esn 't cou n t - a ny po ints yo u sco re here ar e like a bonus." Kin g crossed th e fini sh line sixt h , co m forta bly ahead of Park er. "Well eig h t poi n ts :is bet ter : th an zero , lik e I had last year," said an op ti m istic Pa rker. " So we're a hea d of th e ga me by thos e s ta nd ards, rig ht?" eN Resu lts T IME T RI ALS : I. C h ris Ca rr ( 17.89 1 seco nds) ; 2. Will Davis (17.9 11); 3. Larry Pegram (17.9 11); 4. Davey D Uff'IIe ( 18.200); 5. Dan Ing ra m ( 18.228) ; 6. T err y Poov ey ( 18. 288 ); 7. Steve Mor ehead (18.298); 8. Bill y Herndon ( 18.302); 9. Dave Camli n (18.3 14): 10. Kevin Ath erton (18.321); II. Mi ckey Fa y (18.331); 12. G eor g ie Price (18.345); 13. Mi chae l Varnes \ (18.377); 14. Ma rk Co rse tt i ( 18.383 ); 1. . Ri ck y Graha m ( 18.392); 16. Bryan Villl-II" ( 18.407); 17. -.-��� Keith Da y (18.4 17); 18. Les Wash bon (18.456 ); 19. Don W ilson (18.467); 20. Scott Pa r ker (18.476); 21. Rob ert Lewi s (18.503); 22. Garth Brow (18.5 18); 23. Ro ger Durkee (18.519 ); 24. Ronni e J on es (18.520); 25. Si eve Bea u ie f 18.530 ); 26. Mich ael Dillo n ( 18.543) ; ��� 27. Keith J acob sen (18.556); 28. Cra ig Estelle ( 18.563); 29 . J a5011 Fletch er (18. 566); 30. H a rol d Do rsey ( 18.580); 31. Sco tt Scher b ( 18.598); 32. J ay Sp rin gsteen ( 18.608); 33. Br ian Tillson (18.643); 34. Ch a rles O rr (18.652 ); 35. Rodn ey Farris (18.6110); 36. Erik Grav beal (18.671 ); 37. RUM)' R014t'TS (18.702); 38. M i k~ H al e (18.702); 39. Mar c Gilford (.18.732); 40. Tim Mer ten s (18.785). HEAT I: I. Chri s Carr (H�� D); 2. Ronn ie Jones [Ro t]; 3. Ric h Kin g (H on) ; .1. Mich ael Varnes (Rot ); 5. Er ik G ravhea l (\V-R): 6. Ru sty Rog er s (W- R); 7. j ea n Bou rr et (W- R) ; 8. Step he n Bea ttie (Ro t); 9. Scott Stump (Ro t); 10. Georg ie Price (Rot). T ime: 3 min ut es, 6.671 seco nds . H EAT 2: I. Roger Du rk ee (ROl); 2. Will Davis (Ro t): 3. Rod ney Farris (ROI); 4: Mike H a le ( Ro t); 5. Ma rk C rsetti (W-R) ; 6. Mik e Dillon (W�� R): 7. o Da vid Ll o yd (Ro t); 8. Royal Adderson (H e n): 9. Mid,ey Fay (Rot); 10. jim Sum ne r (Ro t)." T ime: 3: 13.346. HEAT 3: I. La rr y Pegram (Ro t); 2. Gar th Bro w (Ro t): 3. Kevin Atherto n (H- D); 4. Rick y Graham (Rut); 5. Kris Kiser (Rot); 6. Ma rc G ifford (Ro t); 7. Ch a rli e Orr (Ro t); 8. Mik e l nderbitzen (W-R); 9. Gffirrrt'y Cla rk (W�� R): 10. Keith j ack sen (Ro t). Time: 3:08.32 1. HEAT 4: I. Dave Ca mlin (Ro t): 2. Brian Vill ell a (Ro t); 3. Dave Du rell e (W�� R) ; 4. Bria n T illi son (Rot); 5. Craig ESII;'l1e (Ro t); 6. Ro be r t Lewi s (Ro t); 7. Tim Merten s (W- R); 8. Ia n Segedy (Ro t); 9. Rand y Roo se (Ro t); �� I O. G reg Si ms (R()(). Time: 3: 12.765. . H EAT 5: I. Dan In gr am (Han) ; 2. Sco u Parker (H -D).; 3. Keith Da y ( Ro t); 4. jay Sp rin gs teen (Ro t); .~ .. George Roed t'r (ROl); 6. Willi e McCo y (\\' -R ); 7. Don Estep (W�� R); 8. john Par ker (W�� R); 9. j aso n Fle tc her (\V-R); 10. Ch r is Evan s (W-R l. Time: 3:11.7i0. H EAT 6: 1. Steve Mor eh ead (W-R ); 2. T err y Poo vey ( Ro t); 3. Les w ushb on (\- R); 4. Don Wi lson ' V�� (Ro t); 5. Steve Aselti ne (Ro t); 6. H arol d Dorsey (WR ); 7. Chan ce Dar li ng: (Rot) ; 8. Dua ne Veeder (WR ); 10. SCOll Buch an (Rot) . T im e: 3; 11:1-17. SEMI 1: I. Kin g ; 2. Varnes ; 3. Dillon; 1. Beattie: .5. Bou rr et: 6. Kiser; 7. Co rsett i; 8. Ind erbi tzen : 9. Fa y; 10.Su m ner; II . Cl ark ; 12. G ra ham. Time: 3; 1��1. 185. SEMI 2: I. Ather ton : 2. H al e; 3. G ifford ; 4. Ll oyd ; 5. Gra ybea l; 6. Price; 7. Orr; B. Rogers; 9. Stu mp; 10. jacobse n : I I. Farri s; 12. Adde rson . Time: 3:07.5 10. SEMI 3: I. w asbbon: 2. Roed er: 3. Sche rb ; 4. Estelle: 5. Wilson ; 6. Lewis; 7. Fletcher; B. Sims; 9. Roo se; 10. Darl in g ; 11. P ar ker; 12. Spri ng steen. T ime: 3; 11.707. SEMI 4: 1. T ill son ; 2. Asel ti ne: 3. Dur ett e: 4. Md:oy: 5. Estep ; 6. Da y; 7. Buchan: 8. Merten s; 9. Eva n s; 10. Dors ey; II. Seged v. T ime : 3:10.702. arr (11-0); 2. CAME L C H ALLENG E: I. Chri s C Dan Tng ra m (H un]: 3. Terry Poovey (Ro t); 4. Will Davi s (Ro t); 5. Larry Peg ram (Rot); 6. Da ve Durette (W- R). Ti me: 1:35.503. NATIO~AL: I. Ch r is Ca rr (H�� D): 2. Da n In gram (H o n ); 3. Will Davis (Ro t): 4. Terry Poovey (Rot) ; 5. Kevin Ath erton (1'1-0 ); 6. Ri ch Kiug . f llo n ): 7. Sco tt Parker (H�� D): 8. Brian Tillson (Rot); 9. Les Wa shbon (\ V-R); 10. Brian Vill ell a (Ro t); 11. Roger Du rkee (ROl); 12. Ron ni e Jones (Rot); 13. Larr y Pegr am (Ro t); 11. Steve Mo reh ead (ROl); 15. Dave Ca m li n (Ro t): 1' G arth Brow (ROl). 5. Time: 7:-1 6.860. AMA / CAM EL PRO G R AN O NATIO NAL CH AMP IO NS H IP S ERI ES POINT STAN OI NG S: I: Chris. Carr (20) I wi n; 2. Dan Ing ra m (16 ); 3. Wi ll Da vis. (13): 4. Terry P oo vey (11)- 5. Kevin Atherton ; (10); 6. Rich Kin g (9); 7. SCOll Pa rker (8); 8. Bria n T ill so n (7); 9. Les Wa shbon (6); 10. Brian Vill ell a (5); II. Ro g-er Durkee (4); 12. Ron n ie Jo n es (3); 13. La rry Pegram (2); 14. (T IE) Steve Mor eh ead/Dave Cam li n /Garth Bro w ( I).

• Cover