Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126061
By Gary Van Voorhis TERRE HAUTE, IN D., AU G. 15 "Alllriiight!" Kenny Roberts screamed it out so all could hear. It was directed not so much at his breathtaking half-a-wheel victo ry over Jay Sp ringsteen as it was toward the rest of the co mpetitors to let them know that he was back on top of the AMA Grand Steve Eklund , charging hard, but caught sho rt in power. Roberts - " Got my th ing work ing, now." National Championship/Camel Pro Series point standings by the slim margin of one - yes, one - point. It was a helluva race that boiled down to a last lap confrontation between Kenny and Springer. Jay, with more motor and a beautiful drive off tum four slipped by into the lead going into tum one on the final lap only to slide a little high exiting two, allowing Kenny to blast by and, in his mind , gain enough breathing room for the win. Jay nailed the throttle after his bobble and wheelied almost the length of the back straigh t making a do-or-die charge. Ken n y still had a good advantage coming out of four, b ut Jay was gobbling up the gap at a rapid pace. Roberts, with victory in sight, raised his fist in a victory sal ute halfway to the flag, unaware that Springsteen was pouring on the coal. " I got to the first white line on the track and real ized that it was a grid line and not the finish line. At that same instant I saw J ay 's shadow. It was close." Closer than Kenny wanted, b ut Jay was short of stealing the victo ry. A disappointed Springsteen co mmented, "I should have reached over and pulled Kenny back or stuck my nose over the handlebars or something. We'll get him at Indy:' Third place finisher Hank Scott was the only quiet person during the winner's circle ceremony and afterwards. Fourth place Gary Scott found, as did a number of other riders, that what worked for them in the beat race didn't always work in the National. The top four placings served to create even a tighter race at the top of the standings with Roberts (180) leading Gary Scott (17 9) by one point and Springsteen (165) b reathing down their necks. Heats Boody tweaked his knee in his heat race and was out. It was five in the afternoon before the first heat rolled to the grid as an uncooperative Mother Nature dr en ch ed the track t he night before and then kept th e sky a da rk grey un til almost one. Two hours of track packing by vans rend ered the track ridable, bu t it deteriorated througho ut the day in to ru ts, holes, be rms and gullys, Fortunately there were few accidents. Fast qualifier Kenny Rober ts led off the heats with a win, but not before he played a tough game of pass and rep ass with Hank Scott. Corky Keen er joined in briefly , then eased back to finish third. Ted Boody got a wrenched left knee from a crash in the second heat when he tried to get underneath Randy Cleek. Boody led initially, but was then passed by Springsteen who had just swooped Cleek for second. Cleek turned the tables on Boody while Steve Eklund closed the gap and took the final transfer to the National on Boody,'s crash . Ch uck Joyner brought Triumph fans to their feet as he hel d off repeated charges by Dave Sehl and Gene Romero. Sehl 's eng ine wen t off song and Gene, riding with a fire that hasn't burned as b righ t1y in a lon g time, battered by for the win with .Iovner leading Rickey Campbell to the -fla"g. The fourth heat was a real slam-bang affair. So mu ch so that Gary Scott, af ter complaints by riders, was allegedly fi ed n fo r ove r-aggressive riding. Larry Zum bru n led th e field with Billy Eves che wing his rear tire an d taking the lead th ree lap s in to th e race. Mike Kidd , Gary Scott and Rex Beauchamp were rat tling everything in sight. .Scott charged to second as Beauchamp droppe d to sixth. Paul Bostrom came up to challenge and worked his way into the lead only to lo se it two laps fro m the en d with a bobble in turn two which let Ev;s by for the win . Bostrom kept