Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126619
flag on the last lap hampered their ability to , perhaps, change the final outcome. The results did Iiule to alter the standings in the top 10. jay Springsteen, Scott Parker and R icky Graham finished 7-8-9 , allowing Springsteen to pick up a sca n t two points on Graham in th e standings, 107 to 79. G ary Scott moved to sixth from a tie in seventh in the standings. Alex j orgensen and Randy Goss, fifth and sixth, respectivel y, going into Louisville watched from th e p its. Time Trial. T erry Poovey collected fast time in qual ifying, but h is 24.093 second ride was well off Steve Eklund's 1981 track record of 22.263 seconds. Scott Pearson, Gary Scott, Alex jorgensen and Charlie Roberts filled out the top five. Rodney Farris rounded out the 48 rider field at 25.472 . An entry of ove r 60 riders wa s on hand. ScottPe8I'MKl.hereenjoyingMi.. WinstonSuunCa.cutt".~.pveHondaibfimN.tionIIlha"mi"win . AHA.Grand National Championship / Winsto n Pro Series: Round . ~o Pearsonl Ronda malle history at Louisville By Gery Ven Voorh is Photos by Bert Shepherd /Silver Shutter LOUISVILLE. KY, JUNE 5 H onda 's Scott Pearson earned himself a niche in the record books when he won the Louisville Half Mile National aboard a factory Honda CX500-based NS750. The 10 win not only gave the Honda team its first-ever National half mile victory which ended a 15 year domination of Louisville by Harley-Davidson. but was done in record-setting fashion. Pearson 's 8 minute 09.7!l4 secon d run to victo ry shattered Hank Scou's record of 8:26.408 seconds set in 1980. Tim Mertens, a third year Expert out of Belleville, Illinois, posted his best finish ever by shadowing Pearson for 15 of the 20 laps in the Winston Pro Series ra ce. He came up less than two bike lengths short a t the finish . . In third. less than a half a bike length farther ba ck . was G ary Scou, It was Scott's best National finish of the season. Filling out the top five were T ed Boody and Steve Morehead. Pearson. in onl y h is fift h ri de fo r Team Honda after being signed j us t before the Sacramento Mile. was ela ted with his win . " T h is h as to be th e most satisfying of m y four National wins: ' said Pearson afterward. " It' s a new bike, the team is new and I'm the newest learn member. Everyone looked at us as underdogs, I wo nder what they think now. What really makes me happy is m y dad was here to see me win." Team Honda began their 750cc dirt track effort last year. "I'm jazzed: ' said Mertens as his father hugged him after the win. " We've been working so hard I knew things would begin paying off." Gary.Scon was a bit miffed with himself. "I kept waiting for the five laps-to-go signal from the starter, but he never gave one - or if he did I sure missed it. The white flag surprised me and I had to change m y strategy and charge for all I was worth. I came up just a bit short." Both Menens and Scott said that people trying to remove Bubba Shobert's bike from the front straight as the top three charged the checkered Heats Poovey charged to the win in the first heat after holding off th e repeated challenges of- Scou Parker in the opening four laps. Parker had taken a high line up in th e cushion while Poovey stayed low on the groove. The lead cha n ged back and forth until Parker dropped down onto the groove. The battle for third between Morehead and Garth Brow heated up and they began swapping positions at will while catching Parker. Morehead moved past Parker for second leaving him to hold off Brow's final lap charge. The second heat was red flagged on the second lap when Eklund slid into the haybales and guardrail in turn three. On the restart it was Bubba Shobert who took the lead and didn 't look back. Dave Bradley and Rich King were bickering over second with Eklund a short distance behind. Bradley held command until the two were exiting turn four heading for the white flag. King slipped past and the two ran that way to the checkered flag. " I was being a bit too cautious," said Bradley of his drop to third. Lance jones set sail in heat three with Mertens right behind followed by Gary Scott, Grand National Champion Mike Kidd and Mike Gilkey. There was plenty of handlebar bang' ing going on. The five rider battle continued and on lap three jones slipped off the groove, allowing Mertens. Scott and Kidd by. That set the top three, but the battle was far from over. Scott, aboard his KK Motorcycle Suppl y/Sisemore/Bell sponso red Harley. probed Mertens and his Belleville Honda/KRW/ Esp rit sponsored XR a t ever y chance, sticking a wheel underneath in turns one and three and trying to drive past off turns tw o and four. As th ey headed into turn th ree o n th e final lap Scott executed a textbook-style pass for th e lead and th e win. " I knew he was coming: ' said Mertens, " I just didn 't know when." Scott wa s grinning from ear toear. " The fo urt h heat won 't be a race : ' sa id Springsteen. " it' ll be a war." Alex jorgensen. Graham. Springsteen, Randy Goss and Ted Boody were ready for battle. It was Graham leading Springer, Boody and Goss on the start. Graham went into turns one-two a bit hot on lap two, slid off the groove and Springsteen took the lead and the eventual win. Graham hung on his rear tire for the remainder of the laps. Goss m et disaster on laps four and five. First he hit his kill-switch while removing a tear-off and that shut off . his engine momentarily. On the next lap he chargd in to turn one, got hit with a blinding spray of limestone off someone's rear wheel and went down. He remounted and charged