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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126318
Jay Springsteen leads the start of the National, followed by Randy Goss (13),Ted Boody (12), Corky Keener (62), Eddie Lawson 111 R) and Gary Scott IS). AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series - Rounds Eklund wins back to back at Sa Newsies half mile By Gary Van Voorhis HINSDALE , IL, JUNE 23/COLUMBUS , OH , JUNE 25 Steve Eklund scored a pair of impressive victories over the weekend to tighten the points chase for the AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series' Number One plate. Eklund's win in Friday night's TT at Santa Fe Speedway was a come-from-behind ride for the Zanotti Enterprises /PJl-sponsored 12 . . . nder. Eklund turned his tr ick aboard a Yamaha 500. Gary Scott and h is trusty Sal Acosta Triu mph took second pla ce awa y from defending National Champion Ja y Springsteen a nd his Harley-Davidson with an incred ible last lap. last turn pass that left many shaking their heads. The Charity Newsies Half Mile , at the Ohio State Fairgrounds on Sunday afternoon provided Eklund with a showcase for his smooth riding style as he led the restarted National off the line and was never seriously challenged - for the remainder of the 20 laps ru n on the narrow groove track. Corky Keener held second for the majority of the event until Hank Scott's methodical charge toward the front made him one of the victims. The tr io were Harley-Davidson -mounted. Eklund's dual victories served to tighten the championship standing considerably with Springsteen now holding a slim eight-po int edge (Springer picked up fourth at Columbus), 135 to 127 over Eklund. Skip Aksland , who had held second in the standings go ing into the weekend, was involved in an accident at Santa Fe in which he sustained a b roken collarbone a nd a sho ulde r sepa ration . The injuries a re expec ted to keep Aksland out of ac tio n for a t least . six week~ a?d ' .a ppea r 10. effectively cu rtail hIS bid for th e championship . Santa Fe IT Time Trials Steve Eklund was th e rid er to wa tch in time trials as his smooth style earned him fast time and the honor of being the onl y rider in the 34 ·second bra cket. Yamaha TT500·mounted Eklund led the H arley of Jay Springsteen with the Shell Racing Specialties TT500 of Eddie Lawson tim ing th ird. Chuck's H ·D XR rider Joe Peterson and T riu m ph-moun ted Skip Aksland rounded out th e top five. A great varie ty of equipment graced th e pits including a Kawa sak i 750 stuffed into a - T rackmaster fram e owned by Mich igan rider Robert Lill. He qualified for the program . Heats Corkey Keener put a holeshot on the restart of heat on e that led th e HarleyDavidson rider on a 10·lap sprint to victory. Rookie of the Year ca nd id a te Don Bailey worked his Lill ie Racing Yamaha 750 into a challenging posit ion la te in the rac e. but ran out of laps while TT500 -mounted Terrv Poovey pu t his Bel-R ay/Teddy Poovey mount into thi rd. T he first hea t a lso saw Aksland go down in a group of riders with on e - unavoidably running over him , ca using th e afore me ntione d inju ries. Eklund's night was m ade a litt le harder when he fou nd himself sem i bound after losing his shift lever in a bash -and -bang tr affic jam on lap on e. A d ecisive victory in heat two on th e dry and dusty track over H -D teammate Ted Bood y put Sp ringsteen on lOp of the betting list. Alex Jorgense n took his J orgy's of Sto ckt on BSA 10 an easy th ird pla ce finish . Sp ringsteen had won th e W ednesda y nig h t National warm -up with relative ease after Gary Scott cr as hed whil e challengi ng. It was TT500 time in heat three with another Rook ie of the Year ca nd id a te , Eddie Lawson , leading the charge. T eam Dahmen's Dav id Aldana continually challenged Lawson, but to no avail. HarleyDa vidson ' West rider Scott Pearson wrote his ticket to the National with a last lap pass of Danny Cartwright as th e pair exited the infield. Klotz /Wiseco Piston/Full House/ Vista Sheen XR rider Randy Goss had an early lap tussle with Joe Peterson until Peterson took a header on the fro nt straight after hitting a rut and getting out of shape. That left Gary Scott and what is perhaps the most famous Triumph in the world: his Sal Acosta-tuned five-time Ascot TT winner , to move in to fill the void ; with Jolin Gennai's trusty BSA taking third . Ran d y Ca rthel , H ank Scott m ade a serious effo rt for second in th e closing la ps. "Da vid Aldana taught me th a t mo ve Wednesda y night ," said sem i two winn er Mike Ca ves. Caves, aboard th e Movin ' Mike TT500 , ousted Phil McDonald from the Nation al on a last lap , last turn bump a nd shuffle (or stuff) pass. Trophy Race H ank Scott, d espite a n opening lap crash with Bubba Rush , bou nced back on the restart to take th e win in th e Trop hy Race ' a bo a rd his Patrick Racing Triumph . Scott fought off th e cha llenges of Randy Carthel early on and th en had 10 contend with a slowing engine in the closing laps caused by an exhaust pipe knocked loose on th e ju m p. National "A back row start is bad, but I think I hav e a shot at a good finish ," said Steve Eklund as he waited fo th e call 10 the grid with mechanic Tom Hastlar. " I know the majority of H arley rid ers are going 10 get tired in 25 laps, tossing that iron around ." con tinued Eklund . " I'Il move as early and as quickly as I ca n and see what happens. " . Semis As expected, Springsteen exploded from the start to lead the pack around turns one and two and into the infield. The infield entrance traffic jam saw a lot of bashing and banging for position with Eklund right in the midst. Steve had moved to eighth from his last row . start and was sixth by the end of lap Steve Eklund made his comeback in semi one _ t\lkir'g the ,,,,,in _u_ncha l~c; ng~d after a clean pass .of . c;arly, leader . . .Springsteen's lead through the first seven laps were never secure as he o ne . .