Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ W!A~..-; ~ ~ DAYTONA BEACH, FL. MAR. I Mark H artl ey of Newport News, Virgin ia, kic ked off a week of short track ra ci ng a t Mem orial Stad iu m wi th a win in the Novice progra m. H art ley powered ~ h is Cas ey Cycle C ity/Posey H ea tin g ~ a nd Air Co nd itioni ng/Gary Nixon sponsored H on da 250 to the fro nt off th e lin e, stayed o n th e groove. ma de U no mistakes a nd eas ily too k th e wi n . ~ Two other Virgi nians, Tony G rad y ~ o f Chesterfield and T on y Pitcock o f ~ Rich mond . ma de it an a ll Virgin ia winner's circle. A turnou t of 65 riders mad e th eir way th rou gh th e elim ina tio n heats before a less th an half fu ll Mem ori a l Stad iu m. In the scratch heat s Ro n Andrews wo n th e fir st an d fastest a nd the o the r seven h eat win ne rs were Tony G rady, David T emple, Jeff Middl ebrooks, T on y P itcock, Mark H artl ey, Dan Benn ett a nd David Betten court. On ly three riders o u t o f ten in th e fo u r sem is would ad vance to th e fin al an d T on y Pitcock wanted to be one o f th em . H e j u m ped ou t front in th e firs t semi a n d wa s followed into th e ma in by Ph il Vig neri and Sa n J ose, Ca liforn ia's David Caball ero . H artl ey was off the line thi rd in the seco nd semi a nd fou nd passing di fficu lt o n the nar row groove. But by the halfwa y poi nt he had dispat ch ed Betten cou rt to seco nd an d on the sevent h lap nudged the leader Curt Reh mert off the groove in turn one and too k the win wit h Reh mert holdin g o ff Betten court for seco nd. Even th ough he on ly go t third, th e third semi belonged to Michigan 's Cha rlie Bowl es. Bowles, who had won th e Novice main a t th e Dayto na Bu sch H alf-M ile on Su nday got off th e lin e in next to last p lace th en a lmost slid o ut while gassi ng it in tu rn two . H e moved to th e fron t a n d had th e ch ille d crowd warmin g to hi s mov es as he kn ocked Dan n y An gel o u t o f third . His last la p ch arge ca me up ' ten feet sh ort of second pl ace whi ch J eff Middlebrooks too k behind winner T ony Grad y. Th e fourth sem i was red- flagged ear ly and Dan Bennett led th e single fil e re-start a ll th e way to th e fin ish. Eric J ohncox an d Ba rry H ill t ook th e fina l two trans fers to the ma in. With the adva ntage of th e inside pole, H artl ey hook ed u p wi th the groove a nd led the pack int o the first tu rn a head of T on y P itcock, Curt Reh rnert , and Tony G rady. G rady moved pas t Reh m ert a n d the th ree Virginians were on their way to the wi n ner's circle. H artley p ull ed o u t a sa fe lead . but Grady wasn't content with third a n d overtook P itcock lat e in the rac e. Dann v Angel held off David Betten co urt fo~ fo urt h . " I race agai ns t th ese guys so metimes, but not a ll th e tim e," H artley sa id . "The track was real smooth an d go t fa ster a ll ni gh t long. You have to get o ff first or seco nd to do good h ere. Mak e sure you menti o n Ted Yarboro ug h ' an d Da nn y Dornme, an d, o f co urse, my dad Di ckey." Seco n d-p lace Grad y is a lso sponso red by Casey Cycle Ce nter a lo ng with h is fath er A.T. Grad y a nd Bell H elm ets. "We race tw o or three tim es a week," G rad y sai d o f H art ley. " So me times he wins, so me ti mes I win." • ..c Results 1. Mark Han ley (Han); ~~ ~. Tony Grady (Han); 3. Tony Pitcock (Yam ); 4 . David Caball ero (Yam); 5. David Bett enco urt (Suz ); 6. Dan Bennen (Hon) ; 7. Char lie Eto les (Hon); 8 ..Jeff"Middlebr ooks (Hon); 9. w Phil Vigneri (Yain); ro, Bar.ry HiII I Yam ); 11. Eric Johnc ox (Yaml : 12 . Cu'rt Reh mert ISu z). iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Novice/Junior Short Track Davis all the way By Henny Ray Abrams DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 2 "We'll get a lot of Krysta l burgers tonight," exclaime d Goldsboro, North Carolina 's " Wild Wi ll " Davis after besting the twel ve man field on the seco nd ni g h t o f short track rac ing a t Mem orial Stad iu m. T he Sure -Fire /Ti llev's H -D /C arl isl e sp on so red -Yam ah a mo unted Juni or had a knack for ge ttin g to the firs t corner first a nd tha t's wha t it took to beat Simi Va lley Ca liforni a 's Pete H am es a nd Disput an ta , Virginia 's William Muell er. T he on ly No vice in th e field, th e previous ni ght 's winner Mark H art ley, finished fourth. A break in th e co ld weath er helped fi ll th e sta n ds, a lt hough th ey still re mai ned half em p ty. Th ose o n hand wat ch ed as Davis won th e first a nd fastest of the eig h t heat s. Danny Angel, Er ic Rausch . Pete H ames. Mark H art ley, Dan In gram , Matt Rozowi cz, and Ma rk Mannsch reck a lso took heat wms, It was East Coast vs. West Coast in th e first semi as Jun ior s Eric Ra u sch o f Middl eto wn , Dela wa re, a nd Pete H ames o f Ca lifornia we nt at it. H am es, a w inner here last yea r a nd th e winner of th e Jun ior ma in of Sun day's Daytona -Bu sch H alf-Mile, was off th e lin e seco nd a n d co u ld n' t mak e up any ground o n Ra usch wh o pulled o u t a 40 yard lead . Th ird went to T im Pa lone. Dav is once again was off to a good sta rt a nd took th e seco n d a nd fastest sem i aft er a n ou tside pass o n th e third la p . T im H oughton fough t hi s way u p to second and Sammy Sweet nursed hi s backfirin g H on da into th ird. So far it wa s a n a ll Ju n ior mai n , but H art ley wo u ld soon cha nge a ll th at. With three rider s o n th e p en alty line, H artl ey gat ed well in second p lace a nd soo n moved pas t Don Kru sniki for th e lead . Kru sn iki had hi s ha nds full wit h J eff J oiner who p ressured h im a ll th e wav to th e ch eckered flag of " Poochie;' Cox. Will ia m Mueller, also a winner here last year, wa ited a lap to ta ke the lead from Scott Podergois whil e th e top Novice in the co u n try last year , Matt Rozowicz a lso joi ned th e fray . Mueller woul d hol d his p lace , bu t P odergo is wo uldn ' t wi th Rozowi cz slippi ng into seco nd when Pod ergoi s wen t off the groove o n the six th la p. Davis p ut a hol esho t o n th e fie ld as th ey p acked into tu rn o ne in th e fin al , but co m in g o u t of tu rn two a cha in react io n acci dent started which took o u t h alf o f th e field. Eric "Flea" Ra u sch was the la st rider up a nd some h ur ried rep a ir s had to be do ne to h is R-C Raci ng/ Midd leto wn Service Center Yamaha to ge t it back in th e p ro gram. Sam my Swee t was th e on ly racer side lined by the cras h a n d a lte rnate T on y Grad y was in th e field . On th e re-start Davis o nce agai n jumped out in front with Hames, Hart ley, an d Mu eller close behind. T he trick was to stay o n the groove a nd ou t o f the loos e stu ff and Davi s kn ew it well as h e stre tche d hi s lead o n seco nd p lace H ames. Mu ell er d ispl aced H artl ey for third mak in g it a n a ll j u n ior wi n ner's circle. " T h e bike o n ly had o ne m or e lap in it. T he pipe broke a nd it wa s sta rt in g to run bad ," Da vis sai d. " O nce yo u 're o n th e groove yo u 're O K. I sta rted low ea rly bu t go t good sta rts th e rest o f th e n ight. " " When I was a n ov ice a nd I d id good o n the Novice-Jun ior n ight p eopl e were sur prised , but no w I'm supposed to do good," Muell er sa id. " T h e track seems to get ro ughe r as th e week wears o n. T he re's goi ng to be so me worn o u t bik es by th e end of th e week." • . Results l . W ill Day js {Yam) ; 2. Pet e Ham es (Kaw ); 3. Wi l· liam Mueller (Hon); 4 . Mark Hartley (Hon ); 5. Ma n Rozowicz (Hon); 6 . Tim Hought on (Kaw); 7. Eric Ra us ch (Yaml; 8. Tim Palon e (Hon); 9. Danny A ngel (Ka w); 1. J eff Jo in er (Han); 11 . Don Krusniki (Yam); 12. Ton y Grady. Harley-Davidson Dirt Track Series: Final round L.abrie heats' up Oglethorpe Half Mile By Mike & Anne Adair SAVANNA H , GA , MA R. 8 Billy Labrie proved unbeatable at Oglethorpe Speedway Park as he easily took the Expert class win in the final ' series round. Ted Boody and series winner Terry Poovey followed L a brie to wi nner's circl e. Dan Ben n e tt took th e Novice wi n while Da vid Muel ler wa s the J un ior winner. T he event was origi na lly to have been th e ope n in g series round , but Mother Nature washed away the race an d it was resch edul ed. On hand a t th e fin al ro u nd was H a rley-Da vidso n 's Scott Bro wer to present Poovey with a chec k for $5,000 a nd co ngra tu la te him on h is second stra igh t title. In add ition, Dayton a Internationa l Speedway's Jim France was al so th ere. " T h is is even better th an last year," said Poovey. Hi s two wi ns, two seco nd place fin ish es a nd three th ird pla- ~ fin ish es in the seven race series showed th e st rength of both rider a n d ma chine. " Pa u l Sch miel bu ilt th e H arley I rode a n d he deserves th e credit fo r my ti tle. I would a lso like to praise th e h osp itality show n us by Daytona Internat ional Speedway a nd to thank H arley-Davidson for spo nso ring th e series." Co-p romoters And y Sto ne and Ra msey Khal id i a nd m ed ia pe rso n Sa ndy R oach su ffered a not he r near freezi ng n ight an d lack of spectators , but riders praised th e track. . Dan Bennett a nd Dan n y Angel ea rned their p ick o f th e Novice mai n even t sta rti ng lin e with sem i w in s. An gel blew hi s Ka wasak i in pract ice and rode th e Ed Sall ey prep ar ed wat ercooled Yamah a th at Garth Bro w rid es in Nationa l short tra cks . At th e green light, Ben nett c h u rned into the fir st turn , but Angel hel d th e in side line a nd took the lead down th e back straight. Ben nett ca ught Angel down th e front straigh t o n lap seven, bu t Angel clu ng to his fender. On the next lap Angel dove insi de Ben n ett and th e two made co ntact in turn two . Bennett surged ahead. "T he guy cen ter-p u nche d m e," sai d a n a ngry An gel. Ben n ett p ointed to h is tire-ma rked g love and sa id , "I wa s in th e gro ove. H e go t loose o n the i n side a nd slid into me." th e ND P lugs/KRW/ BelR a y sponsored winner said , "We seized two motors in practice, so Dad wa s busy to ni ght. I h a ve to fly home to Oregon for sch oo l tomorrow. I'm gla d it's on a wi n ni n g note." J immy! Oliver took advantage of Angel 's m is- cue for seco n d. David Mu ell er put h is Bob Croft/ Carl Pa trick H arl ey past J eff J o iner to jo in Matt R ozowicz for a front row sea t in th e Juni or mai n. Rozowicz took the ea rly lead, fo llowed by Muel ler. " I stayed o n th e groove it! turn tw o , h oo ked u p better an d passed him on th e inside," sa id Mu ell er . " I rea lly goofed," sai d Rozowicz, " I go t o u t i n th e bumps a nd lost tra ction. " Roger Du rke e th en moved past R ozowica for seco nd . Labrie, wh o set an Expert lap record (24.50 seconds) in qualifying, blitzed his heat . Scott Dra ke led th e seco nd h ea t, bu t T ed Boody cl ipped second p lace J a y Beach a n Drake for the wi n. Labri e thundered into the lead of th e main even t with Bood y, R o bert Crabbe and Po ovey fo llowi ng. As La bri e put h is wi n on ice a nd Bood y locked u p seco nd, Poovey, Crabbe a nd C has Ro bert s waged a du el fo r third. " T h ird was my wor st fin ish and I didn ' t want fo urt h ," said Poove y. R o bert s h eaded Cra bbe for fo u rt h wh ile Ti m Mert en s moved throug h th e pack for six th. Labrie sa id, " Actuall y. m y bik e is ru n ni ng terribl y. At half th rottl e it 's great, but a t full th rott le o ne o f th e cyli nders cuts out. After I sta rte d this series wi th a DNF o n my sho rt tracker, third place loo ks g rea t to me." Expert Tay lor Wh ite spoke for ma ny rid ers whe n he sa id to refer ees Freddie Ep hrem a nd Da rr yl Dov el, " Yo u guys ran a smooth program through th e whole series. We apprecia te it ." Dovel sa id, " We've go t so me gre at help , clerks Grann y Ro bin son and Peggy (Dovel), sco rers Marcia and Susan R in gen berg a n d Bill Boyers • are part o f a great team." Results NOV: 1. Dan Benn ett (Honl; 2. J ame s Oliver (Han); (Yam); (Yam); (Vam); (Kaw ). 3 . Danny Ang el (Vam); 4. John Faulkner 5. Jeff Middleb rooks (Han); 6. Mark Russo 7. Clayton Oliver (Han); 8. 80b Sobering 9. Larr y Shackl alord (Vam); 10. 8rad Ha.. JR : 1. Dav id Mueller (H-D ); 2. Roger Du rkee (H- D); 3. Man Rozowicz (H· D); 4. Jeff Jo iner (H·D); 5. Tim Palone(H·D); 6. Tom Davis (H·D); 7. Dale Ging rich (H· D); 8. Gary Conkling (H·D); 9. 8ill y Norflee t (H·D); 10. M ike Ashlon (H· D). EXP: 1. 8illy Labrie (H·D); 2. Ted 800dy (H-D); 3. Terr y Poovey (H·D ); 4. Charl ie Roben s (H·D); 5. WiI· lie Crabbe (H-D); 6. Tim Menen. (H-D); 7. Mike Cole (H-D); 8. Jay 8each (H-D); 9. Scan Drake (H· D); 10. Tammy Kirlt (H· D). FINAL SERIES STANDINGS : 1. Terry Poovey (Ill); 2. Ronnie Jones 1 ); 3. BiliV Labrie (66) ; 4 . 69 Bubbe Shoben (61 ); 5. Randy Goal (57); 6. Tim Menen.; 7. Micltey Fay; 8. Will ie Crabbe; 9. Ted .. oody; 10. Scon Parker. B ~ ~ . . ~

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