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/126328
lAbove' Gary Scott moved around Ted Boody and held on to win his first National of 1978. Later linset! he enjoyed the spoils of victory. AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series - Round : . Gary Scott edges Boody; Sprin By Gary Van Voorhis DES MOINES, lA, AUG . 20 Gary Scott . returned to winning form in the Camel ProSeries half mile at Des Moines' Iowa State Fairgrounds. Scott, in a confrontation that lasted the full 20 laps of the Dr. Peppersponsored National, out-battled, out-bashed and ?ut·ra~ Ted Boody for the WIn while Jay Springsteen was cutting his way 6 . . through traffic for third place . Phil McDonald and Steve Eklund stayed glu:e d together for the entire race to fimsh fourth an~ fifth. The win , Scott's first of the season , marked the end of a long drought for t? e KK Motorcycle Supply.spo~red rider, It also served to thrust Scott Into fifth place in the point standings. " , " . Don t count me out yet , said Scott after r~eivi~g a !Jr. Pepper shower in the . wmner s CIrcle from HarleyDa~ldson t;amsters Boody. and Spnn$S.teen. A lot can happen In the remaining seven ra.ces.,~ plan to make up for a lot of lost time. Two points , 255-255 , are all that now separate lea der Ek lund from defending champion Sp ringsteen in their ever -tigh teni ng ba ttle for the crown. Ted Boody took a giant .step toward cementin~ his hold on third place in ~e s~ndlngs and keeping the leaders invsight. Boody n?w le~ds Hank .Scott 15~ to 125 J?Olnts WIth Gary In fifth, Just 10 POints shy of brother Hank. The race marked the first time in over 25 years that a National has been held at the Fairgrounds. It was enthusiastically received by an estimated 9,000 fans and fa ir goers . Time trials . . Had there beet;' a Happiest RIder of the Day Award , It would have gone to Ph il McDonald when he found out he'd set fast qualifying time on his Team Bel- Ra y/Cycle Parts Distributing of Wichita K&N Harley. "I' m pumped," said McDonald as he hugged his pretty wife. " It' s been a long, long year , and starti ng off the year like this is just what I needed." Steve Eklund, Mike Kidd, Corky Keener and T rl?CO O il /KRW sponso red Brad Hurst rounded ou t the top five. Gary Scott qualified sixth, which is not unusual. However , Scott was cutting his first laps on the track on his spare bike , since his half miler blew up in the final laps of practice. Hank Sco tt was in a similar situation. He was aboard Eddie Lawson's spare Shell Racing ' Specialties Yamaha after his Patrick . Racing/Sure-Fire Distributing Harley burned a piston in practice. A full night of stock car racing had left the track with what appeared to be a very wide groove . Practice narrowed it down to a two rider notch with passing ' room available if you wanted to take the chance. It was slick as many found out with an uneven surface that produced a distinctive chirp of tires as riders scrubbed off speed charging into the corners. A member of the Iowa State Patrol using a VASCAR radar unit 'caught several riders turning in excess of 95 mph on the back straight. Heats Phil McDonald ran away with the first heat to set himself up ' as th e sent imental fa vorite of many fans . Self-sponsored Dewayne Howton slowly worked his way around Hank Scott and Brad Hurst for second , leaving the pair to fight to the flag for the final transfer. Scott took it by inches, or as he later said , "I beat Hurst by sheer determination, 'cause I know it wasn't horsepower. " Hurst was to spend a frustrating day of being just one position too far back in every race. The second heat looked like it would be all Steve Eklund. But Gary Scott • had other ideas . He slowly began to close the gap on the leader and took over when Eklund slipped off the groove on lap six. Scott took command and the win with Ted Boody closing on Eklund on the fina l laps . ' Mike Kidd and Circle Bell Enterprises /Harley-Davidson West ; sponsored Scott Pearson were never in danger of losing their top spots in heat three . Terry Poovey, on the Tex Peel/Team Bel-Ray Harley, quickly moved past Rookie of the Year candidates Don Ba iley and Eddie Lawson for thi rd , but could not shake them. Bailey crashed while challenging, leaving Lawson to hound Poovey to th e flag . Corky Keener ran light to flag in the final heat. Sonny Burres, in second for the opening two laps, found that his Rick Senke/Fun-Fun .Fun.sponsored . T riump h was no match for Harley power and slowly slipped to the back. Billy Schaeffer pu t his Team Bel-Ra y/ Schaeffer's H -D XR into second to stay on lap three while a battle was shaping