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/126482
o 00 O"l (Top left! Scott Parker celebrates his Santa Fe win with enthusiasm.IAbove left! Parker and new point leader Randy Goss (13) battle at Peoria. They finished 2-3. (Above right! Scott Pearson took his first National win at Peoria. 12 riders nose to tail and side by side going for it. However , most if no t a ll eyes were focused on the leading four. Here was Parker leading two of the best short trackers in th e business with Goss no slouch himself - making it a three pron ged attack . T o the amazement of everyone incl udi ng Parker he held the lead - sometimes by a wheel , sometimes by a length or two . Eklund made his move in tum three on lap 13 going h igh and around Parker for the lead. That was short lived as Parker came right back in turn one on the low line. "Eklu nd tried me too early," Parker would say later. "He showed me his line, and I went right there to take his advantage away." Parker led the rema ining laps unfazed while World War III raged behind. Only when the checkered flag was in sight d id he pull the front wheel up coming out of tum four and punctuate his victory wh eelie with a fist in the air. Spectacular, bu t Poovey almost stole the win . Goss took t hi rd from Eklund as Eklund slipped a nd the pa ir bumped . Goss bounded past. Fifth was resolved in Shobert 's fa vor over Ra iney. Kidd and Spencer. Jones had been nin th , but went into the wall on th e fro nt stra ig ht coming to the wh ite fla g. "Kid d stuffed me into the wall," sai d an angry J on es. "A few laps into the ra ce ," sa id Parker in the winner's ci rcle, " I saw Poovey's wheel on on e side and then Eklund's on th e other. Damn, I d idn't know what to do. So I just got the gas on a littl e harder. I guess it worked ." And how. . Result s SANTA FE NATIONA L: 1. Scott Park.. IH-D); 2_ Terry Poovey (Han); 3_ Randy Goss IH-D!; 4. SIeve Eklund (Yam!; 5. Bubba Shobert IYam); 6. Wayne Rainey IKawl: 7. Mike Kidd (Hon): 8. Rod Spencer (Yaml: 9. Scon Pearson('Yam); 10, Tim Mertens CHon); 11. Rick Hocking (Vam); 12. Mickey Fav (Han); 13. Willie Crabbe (Yam); 14. Ronnie Jones(Yaml. TIME : 5 min .. 11.68 sec. TROPHY RACE: 1. SIeve Elo (Yam!; 2. Billy Schaeff.. (Yam); 3. Mike Gilkey IC-AI; 4. SIeve Morehead IH-D!; 5_ Randy Waldrop lYam ); 6. SIeve Penderqraff(Yam); 7. lars Trulson (Hon); 8. Kevin Burk (Yam); 9 . Phil Darcy (Kaw ): 10 . Jeff Haney (Hoo!. TIM E: 3 min., 15.01 sec. Peoria " I wanted to win here more than anything else ," said Scott Pearson after a champagne soaking in winner's circle from second and third place fin ish ers Randy Goss and Scott Parker. " Last year I led for 20 laps , bu t I lost to Jay (Spri ngstee n) after we ha d a helluva race . This yea r I tol d m yself I wasn 't go ing to be second." Pearson never looked bac k in his 25 ยท lap runawa )' win , althou gh befor e Steve Eklund dropped ou t with mecha n ical p rob lem s a t a bout ha lfway it look ed as th ou gh he m ight ha ve a stiff challenge . " Believe it or not , t h is was m y practice motor ," continued Pearson . "T he good engine soured in the heat race and we had to put this one in. Harry Lilli e knows how to build a win ner. Megacycle Cams, Boss Frames and Circle Bell Enterprises a lso helped me a lot. " " I rea lly needed to do good th is weekend ." said second place finisher Randy Goss. " Last year it was Santa Fe and Peoria that killed me . This tim e around it was great. I guess that (mechanic) Brent Thompson and I are beginning to click . I think I've got the momentum now for the rest of th e season ." "H ey, w e were going for it, weren't we?" questioned Parker from behind an ear-to -ear grin . "T he heat was really terrible, but I feel so good now I could probably run another race." Qualifying , Steve Eklund . riding a Triumph tha t tuner Frank Nye spent the better pa rt of Sa turday night work ing on. was fast qualifier on the natural terrain track of th e Peoria M .C . Eklund's 28.9 35 seconds was a good bi t off Kenny Roberts' 1975 tra ck record of 28 .2 7 . Sc o tt Pe arson , Ga ry Sco tt , Buddy Robinson and Mike Cav es, Olit of semi- retire men t. rounded out d ie fast five. Heats Scott Parker, riding sideline d Jal Springsteen's TT b ike. got the hol eshot in the first of th e four heats wh ich would transfer the top three to th e National grid. Eklund soa red by on th e jump and that was that . Parker kept his distance from a battle for third invol ving Caves and Mickey Fay. Hon da's Fay won out to put the first of five 500cc four-strokes into the National. The second heat looked like Pearson all the way, but Mike Kidd and his Army/Dallas-Ft. Worth Honda XR500 had different ideas. Kidd chewed his way from seventh to third by lap four and then int o the lead as he and Pearson dove into tum one on lap seven . Meanwhile, Hank Scott was putting a move on John W incewicz t ha t would end with Wincewicz in the dirt with a dislocated shou lder and Scott , after a quick down a nd up crash, taking th ird . lit A b ru ised a n d batte red Chuck Springsteen didn't make th e restart in heat three a lthough Bubba Shobert d id afte r th eir crash on the opening lap . Crowd favorite Joe Peterson aboard