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/126332
Corky Keene~ lost third place to Hank Scott (14) on lap 16. bikelength margin a t the checkers in , the first semi. Springsteen's IO-Iap dash in the second semi to take the final spot in the National was ' intently watched ' fro m the pits by Eklund . Springer grabbed the lead immediately and was repeatedl y challenged by Chuck Palmgren . " Tr op hy Race " The Trophy Race, run last due to a threat of bad weat her . provided ·a not her cliffhanger finish for Gary " SCOtt , but this time the win was his. Garth .Brow moved to second on lap 1 five and then began to reel in Scott. Brow wailed until the final turn of the • final lap to make his move. He slipped under Scott and the two charged to the flag. It was Scott's KK Motorcycle oSupply XR by a whisker in front of the Klotz /Wiseco Harley of Brow's. " It n was a heck of a show for the fa ns ," said oScou afterwards. " It shou ld have been rl in the National. " National The main topic of conversation in the pits was tire choice . With the va n n o u nce m e n t that the National .would 'ru n before the Trophy R ace. the choice boiled down to a flip of the coin for many . The dilemma was simple: A soft compound tire gives immediate traction and thus an early lap edge, but might not last 20 laps: a hard compound wouldn't stick until it heated up , but would be good for a late lap charge - if you could make one on the narrow groove. Most riders, including the top three finishers, went with a softie. Mike Kidd's ignition failed on the line and he was a non-starter. A superb start by Keener went for nothing as Lance Jones slid into t he bales in turn three, bringing out the red flag . Jones was up and back on the line quickly . After straightening the front end and hand leba rs, he was I ready to go . Duri ng tha t time Drake went to the pits and added a few pounds air press ure to h is rear tire. "Those few pounds of a ir mad e a ll th e di fference ," said Drak e la ter . "I was slipping ' and slid ing badly on that from lap ." It was Morehead who led the restart and his rea r tire was all that anyone would see for the remaining 20 laps. Schaeffer tu cked in behind with Keener , Drake , SCOll. Sehl and Eklund in tow . This time as the p ac k re ached turn three Boody slid out a n d into the ba les. H owever , there was no red flag ' and Bood y was quick to get back into action. Springer, starting from the second ro w, was last away on the restart . He picked up four spots on the opening lap and just as quickly lost them when he slipped off the groove. Take it easy for the next few laps beca me t he strategy, as he waited for his hard compound rear tire to warm up. By lap five Morehead had pulled out about eight bikelengths' insurance as Schaeffer, Keener , SCOtt, Drake, Poovey, Eklund , Sehl and Cartwright all waited for so meone to make a mis take in their follow the leader game. Passing in the corners was practically no n -existent. By lap 10 the front fou r were sti ll the sa me while Poovey had moved past Dra ke . J ones, feeli ng the effects of th e crash , had a lready pulled into t he pits. Springer was closing on Ek lund although it wou ld ta ke another five la ps before he could pass . Scott slowly ate away the distance between himself and Keener and on lap 16 took third with a pass going into turn three. The winner's circle was set. On the same lap Springer made his move past Eklund and began to set his sights on Drake , Cartwright, Sehl, Mitchell and Boody were all having th eir troubles hooking u p and swa pped the last few spots among themselves . . Scott 's pressure on Sch aeffer had carried the pair closer and closer to Morehead . The fin al la p was a mad dash . Scott al most picked off Schaeffer in turn three and again in turn four. The margin was no more than two feet at the flag with the nod to Sch aeffer . Morehead was less than 15 feet ahead of their dash . • (Above) Jay Springsteen picked up two points over Steve Eklund at Meadowlands. (Below) Gary Scott IS)lost a National berth on the last lap to Jackie Mitchell.IBottom) Ricky Campbell on Bill Kennedy's American. Results NATIONAL: 1. Steve Morehead (H-D); 2. Billy Schaeffer {H·D); 3. Hank Scott (H-DI; 4. Corky Keener (H·D); 5. Terry Poovey (H·D); 6. Jay Springst een (H·DI; 7. Scan Drake (H-D); 8. Steve Eklund (H-D); 9. Dannv Cartw righ t (H·D); 10. Jackie M itchell (H·D); 11. Dave Sehl (H·D); 12. Ted Boody (H·D); 13. Lance J ones (H·D); 14. Mike Kidd (H·D). Time : 9 min ., 27.093 sec. Average Speed: 79.352 mph. TROPHY RACE: t , Gary Scon (H·D); 2. Garth Brow IH·D); 3. Keith U)icki (H·Dl: 4. Scott Pearson (H·D); 5. Phil McDonald (H·D); 6. Chuck Palmgren (H·D); 7. Steve Freeman (H·D); 8. Bubba Rush (H-D); 9. Joe Wilson (H-DI; 10. Rick CampbelllAmrl . CAMEL PRO SERIES POINT STANDI NGS: 1. Jay Springsteen (270); 2. Steve Eklund (265); 3. Hank Soon 118n; 4. Ted Boody 1176); 5. Garth Brow (138); 6. Gary Scon (128); 7. Steve Morehead 1127); 8. Corky Keener 11111: 9. Mike Kidd (971; 10. Skip Aksland 1951, 17