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o 00 0') Ricky Graham. on the way to an easy win at Tulsa that threw the points race into turmoil. Unset! Graham and the spoils of victory. .AMA Grand National Championship/Winston Pro Series: Round 23 Graham throws a wrench in the points battle at Tulsa By Dale Brown TULSA, OK, SEPT. 14 "Whoooweeeel" was Ricky Graham's winner's circle cry .of joy after easily outdistancing the competition in .the 20-lap National Half Mile at Tulsa's State Fairgrounds track. Hank Scott and Scott Drake finished 2-3 in the J.A.S. Promotions event, where the results intensified the battle for number one. 6. Randy Goss, the points leader coming into the race, failed to make the National field when Rookie Rob Crabbe stole the lead from him two turns before the cheekered flag fell in the second semi. Hank Scott's 16 points moved him into a tie for the points lead, and the 20 points earned by Graham leaves him only six back. 177·171. With the exception of Goss, most other ride,rs near the top of the points stayed there by finishing well. Bill Labrie. Mike Kidd. Gary Scott and ~::;;:'~.er pl:aet;d fc;»u~~. th.rc;»ugh , ~ ." " '~:I .'~"'I With only two races left - the San Jose Mile and Ascot Half Mile - the points battle ought to go down to the wire. Scolt, Goss and Graham have usually done well at San Jose, and Goss and Graham are very tough at Ascot. Harik Scott said, '"If it goes down to the wire. I'm /(oing to be there. It's going to be one of those Leonard/ Durand fights."' In contrast to previous attempts to run a GNC/WPS race in the Midwest. weather for this event was clear. sunny and warm - hot. actually. The track was a wide, longish. eliptical ova~ with no true straights. Time trials Sophomore Expen Scott Parker found the fast wa,v. ,~!l!'iWt t~ }rack with his Klotz/WiRco/AMF H·D· sponsored XR750. posting a 24.185second clocking. Scott Pearson had second fastest time, while Rookie Bubba Shobert rode the sidelined Jay Springsteen's Bill Werner-tuned factory Harley to third fastest. best effon this year by a Rookie at a din track Nation· al. Graham rounded out the heat race polesitters on his Klou/Wiseco/Tex PeellJB Racing/Sam's Mobil entry. Goss. who later said that they were having trouble setting up the gearing and tires for the track. found his time indicative of thaI: It was .03 second slower than the one set by Jeff Haney on a 500cc Honda. Both made the front row of the founh heat. Heats Arai/Lectron-sponsored Ted Boody didn't have anything but the bare track 10 look at in the first heat, leading start to finish. Bill Schaeffer, who lists Schaeffer's H·D, Taylor White'. Zeekman's Cycle Center, j.C. Indus· tires and Ness Oil Company as sponsors, stayed right with Boody all the way, but settled for second. Peter Hook was in third in the early going. until being outsted f~ ti:lat s~Jlt J'1et~~:s Ii· D/Dayrona International Speedway's Bill Labrie. Hook was also passed by Scott Parker. making his way up from a bad stan. Parker could make no more Pj()gJl~lIS and made plans to attend the first semi. Valvoline/Circle Bellllndiana H-D/ JB Racing-backed ScOtt Pearson took off in the second heat and proceeded laps. In the to lead for another meantime Scott Drake, on a Skip Eaken-tuned South·East H-D/KK Supply mount. held second in front of Gary Scott's KK Supply/Sisemore Traveland machine. On the last lap, after Drake and ScOtt had closed In on Pearson, Pearson slipped up in tum three and Drake and SCOtt surged by_ Pearson didn't make any more mistakes and took third and the ticket to the National. Steve Morehead and Tim Menena led those who would have to try again. 9* Hank Scott got out first in the third heat and staned building a healthy lead ~ore Phil McDonald's crash in tum two on the founh lap brought out the red flag. McDonald appeared to ,1,-1 r'?e'i~.~t~u~ f~ ~~ ~~ ~~ too