Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

..... 00 ..... 0") IClockwlN from top IeftJ FIlIce grabbed the lead from Poovey jU8t peat the mldwey point. with Boody In third. Rlice end Mert Lewwlil. Rlice IeecIa Steve Moreh_d 8ncIJliy SprIngateen In their heet. TIm MerteIWI&3) but Billy Schee"-r III) In their Hm!. A few false starts held things up but on the third try Goss and Wund went into battle. Eklund made constant challenges but Goss stuck low on the groove to hold his lead by the slightest margin at the checkers. Graham dis· placed Steve Lawson early in the heat for a stable third a distance back from Ithe front·running duo. Scott Parker and Scott Pearson headed heat two and by lap three Kidd came up to join the pair. The threesome lined up on the groove in that order and on the last straight Pearson tried a low draft move. It was Parker. Pearson and Kidd in a cluster over the line. Hank Scott was coming up from the back but was never able to challenge for third and a transfer to the National. Two false starts kept heat three riders from officially leaving the line but once they did it was Boody and Poovey shuffling past Bill Hofmeister on the Iback straight on lap one to lead. The back straight on lap one to lead. The two went at it for the entire eight laps with Poovey trying to push high when· ever he could. but to no avail. On the rmal lap Rob Crabbe bumped past Shane Parrish with an inside line on the front straight for fourth after Jay Beach went down in turn one. Ambulance flags came out, but Parrish was OK. and the race was called complete with Boody. Poovey and Hofmeister making the direct transfers. It was Filice's game in heat four as he led from start to finish. Springsteen moved past Steve Morehead in turn four on the final lap with a hot low line with Scott Drake in tow and almost nipped Filice at the line. It was Filice. Spnngsteen and Drake with the transfers. Semi. Mertens made his way to the National by virtue of a wire·to-wire run in the first semi. Billy Schaeffer and Bubba Rush had been on top of Mertens in the early laps but Tim showed his style on the groove and pulled out a safe lead to the checkers. Hank Scott was out of it on the line with a broken chain. Gary Scott was yelling for his bike at the pit gate as semi two riders lined up. Scott go to the line in the nick of time and made it off the line in third. Mike Gilkey had the lead after having thrown his chain in his heat. and Scott was soon plugged in behind. On lap three Scott took off and started to pull a commanding lead to. the finish line, making himself the 14th and final rider to go to the National's starting grid. Trophy Race Charlie Roberts, Peter Hook and Gilkey spread out through lap one, but by lap two it was Roberts and Hook fighting for first while Gilkey and Crabbe went at it for second. It was rough riding high and off the groove, 90 on lap five Gilkey edged low through corner one for second_ On lap seven Hook went low side through tum one. and on the next go-around Crabbe went high on the back straight over Gilkey. By the final lap Crabbe put it on Roberts to take the win. Roberts and Gilkey went 2-3. National The National was run before the Trophy Race as the skies threatened to o~~ at any moment. A long delay p ed the National as riders argued on the line over who was going to start on the groove. "There's no place for that in racing. it's unprofessional. Arguing in front of all the fans while it might rain at any moment." said two-time Grand National Champion Dick Mann to Watson. Off the line and onto the groove the pack went through tum ·one. with Poovey. Filice. Parker. Drake and Boody showing the way. Springsteen got off to a bad start and was trying to work through riders off the cushion. almost going into swappers in the process. By lap five Poovey and Filice were putting a gap on Parker, who in turn was planting a cushion on a Drak~/ Boody battle for fourth. Gary Scott was left way off the pace with a smoking engine. "I guess I had a stuck compression ring." said Scott later. Goss had been using a slightly higher line than the rest of the pack and had moved into a tight seventh behind Graham. but then Randy went off the groove to the point he lost optimum traction and lost position. Poovey and Filice ran about 10 feet apart and Drake broke free to move up on Parker. It all came to an abrupt halt on lap 11 when Drake made his move. Parker and Drake clicked together and both went tumbling into the haybales on the back straight. Drake got up a bit slower than Parker, but both were all right. The red flags came out and many riders opted for quick tire changes during the delay. Turner Tex Peel put some rubber on Parker's bike and got everything straight in time for the restart. Drake headed to the pits for good with a front end too damaged to continue. Filice had passed Poovey during the crash. but the line-up was called back to the positions that were being held before the crash. with the exception of Parker - he was placed last off the single-file restart. Poovey and Filice went at it again, only this time Jimmy saw a low line underneath on lap 15 to lead. From there he hugged the low line, ~oldinll: off Poovey's attempts to get by. Boody grabbed third but Goss sliced in for the position. Goss again slipped off the groove and almost fell back. but got back on the black strip in time_ Pearson held onto fifth with Springer looking ready to make a move but finding nowhere to do it. Eltlund was going through the same ordeal in seventh. the Kidd and Graham went a stable 8-9. Scott's bike came back on the powerband, but by that point he was too far back to make up ground. Filice kept it pegged to hold a two foot edge across the finish line. and was so happy that he could barely take his parade lap. He jumped into .the arms of Mert Lawwill and Dick Mann in winner's circle and after the ceremonies, went running through the pits screaming and yelling, shaking hands and hugging everyone in sight. "The crash (that Parker and Drake took) sort of screwed me up, but after the restart Poovey went a little high and I got underneath." said Filice. "I didn't know if I could get by but I just jammed it in there_ My tire was completely bald. We didn't make a' tire change before the restart. Let me tell you, that's my first National win. and it sure won't be my last'" • Results 25-lAP NATIONAL: 1. Jim Filice IH-D); 2. T""Y PocMoy IH-DI; 3. Randy Goa IH-DI; 4. Ted Boody IH-DI; 5. Scott "-son IH-D); 6. Jey SpringstMn IH-D); 7. 51.... Eklund IH-D); 6. Milte Kidd IH-D); 9. Ray G

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