Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

00 0) twIk Scott leeds winner Steve MorehelId l42I. Gery Scott I&L Terry Poovey (18) and Randy Goa 111. Henk led for 1& ..... but DNF with • nipped ole nut. between the races which followed. AMA Grand National Championship/Winston Pro Series: Round 10 Time Trials Morehead scores again at Harrington By Jack Mangus Photos by Henny Ray Abrams HARRINGTON, DE,JUNE6-7 Steve Morehead enjoyed the thrill of victory five laps after Hank Scott suffered the agony of defeat in the Pabst Classic at the Delaware State Fairgrounds Sunday afternoon. Scott led 15 6 laps of the 20-lap haIf mile round of the Winston Pro Series but a stripped axle nut sidelin~d him . and handed the WID to Morehead, who had glued himself and his borrowed Harley-Davidson XR750 to Scott from the start. The win was the second straight for Morehead at the Delaware track, and the 20 poinu he earned moved him from 19th to 11th in the '81 point standings. Three-time Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen, the fastest qualifier and winner of the fastest heat, took sec.ond after a crowd pleast } ... , Cl ~ I II 1 O. I r 1, 0( 1: . ing. charge from a mid-pac;k start. Spnnger entered the race Just two poinu ahead of Steve Eklund, but Eklund was relegated to spectator status via a get-off in his heat, and the 16 poinuJay earned put him 18 poinu in front of Eklund, 94 to 76. 1975 Grand National Champion Gary Scott took third, losing the runner-up spot to Springsteen on the last lap. The event was a split affair with three of the four heau running Saturday night before rain brought racing to a halt. The program resumed Sunday afternoon with the fourth heat, but questionable officiating and a narrow groove track led to lengthy delays I ~ 1 .. J' , , • t J If' '. I , . J: J A healthy Jay Springsteen dazzled onlookers with wheelies and seemingly effortless passes in practice, and then backed that up with fastest qualifying time, a track blistering 25.714 second tour of the Harrington track. Ted Boody, at 25.888, and Scott Parker, with a 25.977, were the only other racers of the 48 who time trialed who cut sub-26 second laps. Heats Canadian Peter Grant pulled off a holeshot at the start of the first heat and led the field across the line at the end of lap one. Odds-on favorite Jay Springsteen got by Grant on the second lap and pulled away to win by a wide margin over Gary Scott, who moved by Grant on the fifth lap. With Springer and Scott long-gone, a four-man dice for the third transfer spot to the National shaped up, and at the finish it was Willie Crabbe ahead of Steve Hall, Grant and Ricky Campbell. "Boy, do I ever have a nasty onel" said Ted Boody as, he looked at the heat lineups posted in the piu. "They're all tough," said another competitor. In addition to Boody, the second heat front row had defending Grand National Champion Randy Goss and former champ Steve Eklund among the entranu. But it was Oklahoman Ron· nie Jones with the holeshot at the flash of the green starting light, and he led the field across the line at the end of lap one, only to give way to both Boody and a red flag at the end of the second lap. The red flag was brought out by an Eklund get·off in tum three, and despite help from several people, the former champ was unable to get his bike running again, and he was out of the program. Jones pulled off another holeshot, but once again it was Boody in front on lap two. Goss got by Jones alotll{ "'i:SJ::-tl it) I~ .,-~ } .. with Boody and pressured Boody iii the late laps, but Boody held on for the win. Jones had to fight off Ricky Graham to hold on to third. The third heat started with Tim Mertens, Jon Cornwell, Bubba Shobert and Rodney Farris on the penalty line. It was Morehead quickest off the line, followed closely by Mike Kidd, Scott Parker and Garth Brow. Parker got around Kidd on the second lap and with tuner Tex Peel yelIing, "Hook up, hook up, Scott," he began to pTeIIIUre MQrebead. But Parker skid· ded the groove in tum twcrtrn the fifth lap, and Morehead broke away into a commanding lead. . With the front two spou apparently set, attention was focused on a duel between Garth Brow and Mike Kidd. That ended when Kidd pulled out of the battle with a covered over face shield and stopped at the line and began screaming at the officials. "You're going to get us all killed. We can't seel" said an irate Kidd. The race was stopped and heated argumenu took place among the riders and mechanics. Parker and Kidd were involved in a screaming match until mechanic Rick Toldo told ' Kidd he'd punch him in the mouth if he didn't get out of Parker's face. Most riden said the light drizzle and the spray of dirt from riden in front of them had made for questionable vis· ability, but as one rider put it, "That's why they make tear-offs_" Former Grand National Champion Mert Lawwill, Kidd's team manager, said, "Remember LouisviJle in the old days?" Following a half hour delay, the riden were informed that the heat would be started over and run as though the seven previous lape had never occurred. That brought cries such as, "Unbelievablel" The decision was official, and the riden lined up. Once again it was Morehead in front with Parker, Kidd and Brow presuring. Morehead broke away and estat • I

• Cover