Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Left) 250cc winner Johnson accepts congratulations. (Top) Bailey rode to a 3-3 day and second overall in the 250s. (Above) Danny Chandler leads Shultz and Alan King in the second moto. Magoo was 500cc runner-up . down. 1 want to win the series with firsts, not seconds and thirds." Glover headed the pack at the start of moto two with Suzuki support rider Clint Hardick and Hansen next. H ansen went for it on lap two , trying an inside line on a downhill to pas s Hardick, but Donnie fell . Liles had been running fourth but eventually DNF with a motor balking thro ugh low and mid-range. By lap four Johnson was once again moving towards the front, taking second and then moving his production bike past Glover's works counterpart to lead. Glover held th e pace and stayed in second as Hardick, Reid, Hansen and Village CyclelWP Racing's Dave Holl is on a Suzuki tightened up the 3-4-5 slots. Bailey had his work cut out. H e fell in th e second turn on lap one and got rolling in 34th. Throughout the moto he passed rid er after rider, fin all y plugging into third, still on the move. Johnson pulled aw ay with a u thor it y during th e fina l laps, and th e crowd was running from fence to fencewatehing the Glover/Bail ey run to the finish . Glover blocked Bailey's every move and took second two feet ahead of Bailey through th e finish line turn. By the tim e that pair finished Johnson was already being interviewed by track announcer Larry Mai ers. Hansen , Reid and Honda supported Steve Martin were 4-5-6. Martin went out in moto on e with a sacked shock. " Hey, it looks lik e 1 can go fast on anything," said Johnson concerning hi s production-based bike. "T he track set up nicel y, so 1 just passed Broc wh en 1 could. It 's hard to stay back when you know yo u can beat 'em." Johnson and trophygal Tricia McCoy had a long kissing session in winner 's circle, after wh ich Johnson said, " Hey , that 's what it' s all about! Money comes second." Bailey seemed sati sfied with his ride. " H eck, at least 1go t to check o ut everyone's rid in g style after 1cras hed and ca me back for th ird ," he said. 500cc National Honda supported J immy Ellis blasted off to lead th e first500cc moto with Chandler, Kawasaki's Goat Breker and Shultz behind. Ellis' lead was short-lived; he cras hed in th e back section and injured h is foot. By lap two " Magoo" Chandler was in the lead for good, holding a 13 second lead over Shultz, wh o had outpaced Breker. Min i races set up behind with Honda's Chuck Sun and Yam aha 's Mike Bell 4-5, Honda supported Phil Larson and Yamaha sup ported J eff H icks 6-7 a nd Howerton and King 8-9. Bell drove hard into a downhill berm, putting Sun off hi s lin e, wi th Bell taking fourt h . The positions sta bilized, and near halfway Sun, Howerton a nd King were runnin g a tigh t 5-6-7. Breker retook second fro m Sh ul tz, but Darrell turned it up a notch and mov ed back int o the runner-up slo t. Bell held fourth and King mo ved past Howerton for fifth with a strong ride. Sun was seventh and Larson stuffed Hi cks to th e outside to hold eighth . Chandl e r r a n con ser va t iv el y throughout the race, bu t Magoo couldn't contain h im self off the last jump; he grabbed about 10 feet of air and threw the bik e com pletely sideways, sporting a table-top clicker reminiscent of Roger DeCoster 's stylish moves of th e '60s and '70s. Shultz rod e hi s own race for second and Breker held off Howerton for thi rd , Howerton putting on hi s usual charge la te in the race. A quarter of the track back was King followed by Larson, then Sun over Bell by five feet. Shultz, Chandler and Hicks led moto two off the line. Shultz and Ch andler pulled away ea rly in lap one while Bell a nd Kin g sn uc k in fro nt of H icks wh ile tra ffic was still heavy. For Shultz and Chandler it was winner take all , and Danny seemed to wan t it worse as he moved out front and started to pull away. Bell was out of it early in the race after crash ing. He popped his bad knee out of joint and had to call it a da y. Kin g fill ed in th e third spo t. Sun was fourth, and Hicks, KTM' s John Finkeldey and Howerton were 5-6-7. Breker had been moving up but dropped back after crashi ng. Lap after lap it was Ch andler, Shultz and King. Then Shultz took th e lead, wi th th e three still in a 10 yard stretc h I King saw hi s openi ng and too k second, setting up th e even tual fin ish. Ch andler pushed ha rd for a few la ps, bu t th en settl ed into th ird . H e - and T eam Honda - were thi n king th in gs over. H e needed the valuab le points after failin g to score at th e o pener , and decided to pl ay it safe instead of risking a cras h. Besides, if King passed Shultz, Ch andler would have th e overall anyway. Kin g pressured Shultz until he almost lost it wh en he shot over th e top of a berm . After th at th e race was Shultz's, if he didn 't fall. Darrell was visibly tired during th e fin al laps and started to flop aro und on th e bik e, but still had enough strength to lift th e front wh eel to the crowd over th e finish lin e. King landed second, Chandler third, and Howerton fourth aft er using a m id-a ir pa ss on Finkeldey, th en passing Sun. Sun and Finkeld ey were 5-6, H icks was sevent h and Maico's Mickey Kessler pushed through the pa ck for eig h th . " Wo wl T his feels as good as wh en 1 won my first race!" said Shultz. "I co uldn' t hold that pace but 1 did anywa y. 1 had to pull o ut some menta l reserve. T here was o ne hairy part whe n 1 had to pass Magoo on an offcamber. With Magoo , he usua lly wins or so rne o ne 's goin g down. Th is H onda 's alright, it took me all th e way. " " I tried to pass him ,"said King, " bu t then 1 figu red 1 better not get in over my head ." • Results 250 NATIONA L: 1. Rick Johnson (Yam) 1·1 ; 2. David Bailey (Hon) 3-3; 3. Donnie Hansen (Hon) 2-4 ; 4 . Brae Glover (Yam) 6·2; 5. Warren Reid (Suz) 4·5; 6. Scon Burnwonh (Yam) 5·8 ; 7. J im Tarant ino (Hon) 8·7 ; B. Kenny Keylon (Hon) 9-10; 9. Dave Hollis (SUl) 11-9; 10 . Clint Hardick (SUl) 10 · 11; 11. Mark Murphy (Yam) 13-12; 12 . Kris Bigelow (Hus) 12 ·14; 13. Steve Mart in (Hon) " ·6; 14 . Billy U les (Kew )7-"; 15 . Fred Vertucci ISul) 14 · 16; 16. Juan Benavidel (Yam) " · 13; 17 . Marlt Garr ison (Yam) 19 -15 ; 18. Dan Wallace (Hon) 17 ·17; 19. David McCla in (Yam) 15·19; 20 . TrO'( Bradshaw (Yam) 18-18 ; 2 1. 80b Buffaloe (Hon) 16- 20; 22. Robert Reisinge r (Sul) 20 -" . " denotes placing out of top 20. 500 NATIONAL: 1. Darre ll Shultz (Han) 2-1; 2. Danny Chand ler (Hon) 1-3; 3. Alan King (SUl) 5-2; 4 . Kent Howerton (SUl) 4-4; 5. Chuck Sun (Hon) 7·5 ; 6. Goat Breker (Kew) 3-1 3; 7. J eff Hicks (Yam) 9·7 ; B. John Finkeldey (KTM) 11-6; 9. Phil ~rson (Han) 6-11; 10 . M ickey Kessler (Mai ) 10-8; 11. Bill Gross i (Hus) 13-9; 12. Tom Carson (Mai) 14·12; 13. Jo Jo Kelle r IHon) 17·10; 14 . Jerome Heiberger (M al) 12-17; 15. M ike Bell (Yam) B·"; 16. Kevin Oavis (Ma i) 16-15; 17. Andy Stacy (Ma i) " · 14; 18. Ji m Holle y (Yam) 15·"; 19. loli Barany i (Hon) " - 16; 20 . M ichael Harnden(Yam) 19-1 8; 2 1. David Taylor (SUl) 1B·"; 22 . Brad Wallace (Hon) 20 · "; 23 . Steve Banning (Han) - ·20. AMA 250 NATIONAl CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS : r. RickJohnson (247); 2. Brae Glover (207); 3 . Donn ie Hensen (205); 4. Kenn y Keylon (l 96t. 5. Warren Reid (180 ); 6_ Scott Burnworth 1162t. 7. David Bailey (160); B. S'eve Martin 11 56); 9. Jim Tarantino (153) ; 10. Clin, Hardick (lOB); 11. ~ rry Wos ick (85 ); 12. Kris 8ige low (Bl ); 13 . Mark Murphy (70 ); 14 . Ross Pederson (69t. 15 . Billy Li les (68); 16. Denny Bent ley (68 ); 17. Dave Holis (64); 18. Tom Benolk in (46); 19 .Juan Benavidel (33 ); 20. Bobby Hendy (29). AMA 500 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Kent Howerton (83); 2. Darrell Shultz (78); 3. Chuck Sun (7 2); 4 . Alen King (70); 5. John Finkeldev (55); 6. Phil ~rson (54); 7. Goet Breker(47); 8.(T1E) Danny Chandler /Mickey Kessler (45 ); 10 . Jo Jo Keller (40); 11. Jeff Hicks (38 ); 12. Mike Bell (35); 13. J immy Ellis (34 ); 14. Andy Stacy (28); 15. (TIE) Bill y Grossi /Jerome Heiberger (27t. 17. (T1E)Tom Carson/Gary Pustelak (19 ); 19. Eric McKenna (13); 20. Keith Davis (11)_ MX MANUFACTURER POINT STANDINGS: 1. Honda (541) ; 2. SUluki (4 6 1); 3. Yamaha (460); 4 . Kawasek i(300); 5. HU5qvarna (109); 6. KTM(55 ~ 7. Maico(52). 7

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