Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

00 O'l (Left) Terry Poovey got a buss plus a sizeable trophy for his win Sunday.lTop right) Dava Despain interviews Boody while Miss Winston, lynn Griffis, and Hank Scott revel In winner's circle. (Above right) Gary Scott (51 dove into turn three before Scott Parker could shut the door for third on Saturday. Scott and Garth Brow got past Campbell. Wayne Rainey, in another of his patented cliff-han~r finishes, took third after being sixth at the beginning of lap eight. ''He hasn't changed a bit since the last National I was at," said his father Sandy. "He's still trying to give me and (tuner) Chris (Armstrong) grey hair." Heat four found Lance Jones and Ted Boody running in close quarters for the duration with Jones on top at the finish. Gary Scott, from a disastrous start in II th place, had sliced his way to fifth by lap five, engaged in a fierce battle with Brad Hurst and Steve Morehead. The fight carried right to the flag with Scott losing the advanta~ he had in the drag race to the flag. Morehead got the ~ and the transfer. Semi. The semis were the last chance to make the National field with four riden - two from each semi - transferring to make up the 16 rider grid. Terry Poovey had his game plan dialed in on runaway in the first semi. Alex Jorgensen, plagued by a pinched gas cap vent hose in his heat, outran Rob Crabbe in a race to the finish. The pressure was on Gary Scott in the final semi - if he failed to make the National it would certainly dim his chances of staying in contention in the WPS title chaIe. Scott and Brow began their battle for the win early with Campbell inching his way into the fracas by lap eight. Brow got the win with Scott, by the smallest of margins, holding off Campbell for the final transfer. TrophyR8ce Campbell, who sat out last season due to mjury and lack of sponsonhip, was not to be denied in the Trophy Race. "Things are beginning to work pretty good now," said Campbell after the race. "Skip Eaken works really hard on the bikes and South-East HarleyDavidson plus Newman's Sanitary Gasket Company have been really good tome." Junmy Filice put the Roberts- Lawwill Racing Yamaha into a strong closing fourth at the finish, "We're ~tting there," said Filice with a smile. National It was mostly routine work in the pits prior to the National, however, in Gary Scott's pit area the scene was controlled frenzy. Five people plus Scott himself were feverishly working to remove and replace the swingarm - held in place by a bolt that wouldn't lOOIIm - and replace the ignition. The work was finished with no time to spare. Springsteen, among the crowd's favorites, wasn't betting on himself. "We found a bit of metal on the plugs after the heat race," said Sprin~r. "I doubt if it will last l!5 laps. While it's running I'm going to let everyone know I'm there." Springsteen was challenging for the lead when his engine expired on lap nine. Morehead's engine wouldn't fire when they gridded. A spark plug chan~ fIXed that. Kidd, from the outside (grandstand) pole position, made a dash for the fint tum on the green light. Gary Scott's move from the third row to zip in ahead of second row starter Goss was impressive, but both were stuck in traffic at the back of the pack. Two riders drafting and passing each other for the lead is neat, with four it ~ts even more exciting and if you make it six then things get really wild. That's the way it was in the opening eight laps as the front· running pack grew to six with the addition of Boody on lap four. Kidd, Parker, Hank Scott, Pearson, Springsteen and then Boody gave the fans more than their money's worth of knock-down dragout racing. Being fint off the comer could tnean you were sixth at the end of the straight and sixth off the comer could just as easily turn into first. It was a Il!O mph plus game of seeing who would roll off the gas fint at the end of the straights played inches apart. The fans loved it. Behind this Il!·wheeled freight train came Lance Jones , Poovey, Morehead, Gary Scott, Rainey and Goss playing their own form of high speed chicken crossing the finish line three a breast more often than not. The first break in action came on lap nine when both Springsteen and Pearson went out with engine failures. Expensive noises, as Pearson said. Boody and Hank Scott began to dominate the show as Parker found that his aggressive riding style had worn his tire out way too early. Eklund had his engine go south on lap I~, followed two laps later by Kidd who had a rocker arm shaft break. Kidd coasted to a halt just past the fmish line, got off the bike and threw up his arms in despair as a member of the Roberts-LawwilJ team came to get the bike. Where was Gary Scott all this time? He was working his way through traffic and taking advanta~ of the bad luck of othen. By lap 14 he was challenging for fifth. Goss was ninth while Poovey had slithered his way to futh. By lap 15 things smoothed out a bit. It was Hank Scott and Boody sharing the lead followed by Parker and the PooYey/Brow/Jones/Gary Scott/Rainey fight for fourth with Goss, Morehead, Jo~nsen and Schaeffer trailing. Hank Scott established his power advantage by lap l!O, although he couldn't draw away. Once these two passed one had just enough time to focus on the Gary Scott/Poovey/Brow duel as it drew closer and closer to Parker. Hank Scott led the final lap all the way although Boody dOLled dramatically in tum one and took the finish right down to the last feet. The Gary Scott/Brow/Poovey trio caught Parker going down the back straight with Gary diving into turn three before Parker could close the door. Scott held third at the flag. Results :z5.l.AP NATIONAL: 1. IWlk Scott (tH»; 2. Ted Boody (tH»; 3. Gory Scott 1tH>1; 4. Scott Pwtc. Oi·DI; 5. Torry " - 1tH>1; 6. Gor1h Brow IH-DI; 7. lM1c:e - ' - (tH>I; 8. W..,... fWney (tH>I; 9. Rendy G.-IH01; 10. 5_ _ 1tH»; 11. _ ~ tH01; 12. BHIy s-.. (tH>I; 13. Mik. Kidd (H-D); 14. 5 _ Eklund 1tH>1; , 5. Scott Poor-. IH-DI; 16. .J-v Splh~I(tH>I. TIME: 15 min.. 42.963 ..... 12 L» TllOPtIY RACE: 1. Ricky CompboII IH-D); 2. Bred Hum IH-DI; 3. Rob ~ (H-DI; 4. Jimmy Filico lYornl; 5. Ilubbo Ruoh IH-DI; 8. Rod Ferrie 1tH»; 7. Scott DnIk. (1-1-0); 8. Milco Gllkov IH-DI; 9. _ Grent 1tH>1; 10. Donny Porki.. 1tH». TIME: 7 min., 39.781 IIOCS. Sunday Sunday's National was almost an instant replay of Saturday with only the names changed. This time it was Terry Poovey who came up with about six inches of breathing room over Mike Kidd at the checkered flag. Lance Jones, in the best National finish of his career, filled winner's circle, but had to hold off the last lap charge of Randy Goss. Gary Scott, with a pack of riders nipping at his heels, took fifth. The event was run at night after a long delay caused by heavy rains early Sunday morning. "I know Mike was going to run high on that last lap," said Poovey, "so I tried to play it cool, follow him and let him lead it off tum four. It was a gamble, but I timed the draft pass just right." The win was Poovey's fifth National victory in his career and fint this season. Kidd shru~ his shoulden, but there was a smile on his face. "What can I say? I passed him (Poovey) on the back straight and thought I could hold on with a good drive off tum four. It didn't work. Hey, that was a fun race. The track was JtTeat. How many times do you see Mike Kidd running high in the cushion? Not too many, but that was the place." "When Hank blew up (at the end of lap l!~) it cut the draft on Mike and Terry," said Jones. "From then on the race was history. I lost the brakes on about lap IS, but that didn't really bother me. I've got a good bike (injured Billy Labrie's) and I want to do good. Slowly, but surely we're getting there." The National was interesting for two names were not in it. Jay Springsteen, after setting fast time in qualifying, scratched from the program because of sickness. "It was one of those things," said Springsteen's tuner Bill Werner. "His sugar level reaches a certain point and bingo, that's it." Steve Eklund fried his bike's clutch 1m the staft of. his heat ~nd put a,n 11

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