Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Top) PeerlOn (96) end Tim Mertens bettled down to the wire for the w in. (Above left) Third piece Gery Scott leeds Scott Perker (11 ) end Steve Morehead. (Above right) Jey Springsteen (9) end Ricky Grehem finished seventh end ninth. but ere still up in the points. back, but was one position short of a transfer to the semi. Meanwhi le, Boody closed on the .lea ders and then slipped off the groove and decided to settle for third. Springsteen took th e pole for the National since this was the fastest heat race of the evening. Semi. Scott Pearson got his spot in the National the hard wa y - by winning the first semi. Only th e winner of the semis advances to th e National. Pearson was hounded by Jimmy Filice, on the "factory Yamaha, until th e engine went bang -. a very expensive so u nd ing bang, according to Filice. The second semi belonged to Hank Scott all the wa y as he stretched out a commanding lead over Mik e Gilkey for the win. Lest Chence Alex Jorgensen used every tri ck in the book to get by Steve Hall and gain the final transfer to th e National. It was not to be as Hall shook off th e pressure and held on for th e win. " Jorgensen was bitt erl y di sappointed. Netionel The limestone su rface at Louisvill e looked more lik e concrete. The gr oove was narrow and abrasive. The start would be all important, for passing was limited to " sticking it inside going in or bla sting pa st coming "o ff the turns," accordi ng to -. .. ~ .. - Springsteen. Tire choice was a much talked about subject. Poovey chose to run a soft compound and hoped it would last. Hall was also on a soft compound -- the only rear tire he had left. The majorit y ran a medium co m po u nd with onl y Boody a nd Kidd opting for th e hardest compound a vai la ble. T he 15 riders strung out in one line a cro ss th e track with heat winners Springsteen , Poovey, Shobert a nd Gary Sco tt op ting for basi cally middIe of the track grid posi tio ns. The riders get to choose a grid position ba sed o n how the y finished in th eir qualifying events. Hank Scott was d rawn o ff the lin e by movem ent o f ot her riders a nd go t h im self a spo t on th e pe na lty line. Pearson laid down a ligh tning quick start a nd led the field off turn two on a 20 lap dash to th e checkered £lag. Parker was £lying high up in th e cushion and holding second th ro ughout th e first two laps as th e field behind sh uffled. Things sorted th em sel ves o u t a bit by lap three with Mert ens and Boody behind Pearson, foll owed by Parker, Gary Scott, Moreh ead , Springsteen , Poovey and Graham as H ank Scott, King, Kidd , Hall , Shobert and Bradley strung ou t. Merten s adv an ced on P earson to beg in thei r duel as Gary Scott moved up o n Bood y to try and wrest a way third. The battle for fifth was led by Parker with Springsteen, Morehead, Poovey and Graham all strung together in a 10·wheeled freight train. The eigh th lap saw Pearson blocking Mertens' challenge to get by with a turn three pass inside. Bradley was out with a sei zed engine. There were pl enty of good battles going on and by this point Morehead had moved to th e front of the figh t for fifth . At th e halfway point the field was broken up into groups with Pearson/ Merten s a distance ahea d o f Bood y/Gary Scott. Moreh ead/Sprin gsteen held d ist an ce o n Parker /H a ll as Poovey/ ShobertlHank Scott/Gra ham! Kidd /Kin g were following. On lap 14, Boody slipped off th e groove a nd Gary Scott too k th ird for good . Boody's fo urth a nd Morehead 's fifth filled th e to p five to set the finish of th e front runn ers. H owever, H ank Sco tt was now wo rking hi s way from eighth to six th. H all was a lrea dy o u t after a cras h and Poovey soo n went down a lso, the victim of a wo rn out tire. By la p 17Gar y Sco tt wa s kn ocking o n Mert en 's back door as Merten s was do ing th e same to Pear son. T he last th ree laps were an exercise in how to challenge a nd ho w to block th ose cha lle nges . Shobert slid down rig h t in th e racing lin e as he exi ted turn four heading fo r the white £lag. He sca mpered o ff the track as tra ck wor kers ra n to remove his bike. Pearson , Mert en s and Sco tt had to alter their lines in the ru n to the checkered £lag. Team Honda crew members went wild, Harley-Davidson lovers sat in semistunned silence. Dick O 'Brien, Harley's team manager, was heard to mutter, " Well, they finally got one o n us." Jerry Griffith and Gen e Ro mero of Tea m Honda sla p pe d each other on the back. "This has been long overdue for Je rry ," said former Grand Na tio na l Ch ampion Romero. "T his is hi s bab y. H e's put sweat and blood int o these bikes." " I felt if Scott (Pearson) got th e hol esh ot he would be hard to beat," sai d Griffith. " I wasn ' t wrong ." • Resu lts NATIONA L: 1. Scott Peerson (Han); 2. Tim Mer· ten. (H·D ); 3. Gery Scott (H-D); 4 . Ted Boody (H-D); 5. Ste ve Moreheed (H-D); 6. Henk Scott (H-D); 7. J ey Spring.teen (H· D); B. Scott Perker (H· D); 9. Ricky Grahem (H-D); 1D. M ike Kidd (Han); 11. Rich King(H -D); 12. Bubba Shobert (H· DI; 13. Terry Peevey (H-D); 14 . Ste.. Hell (H-D); 15. Deve Bredley (H-D). TIME: 8 min.. 09 .734 sec. AVERAGE SPEED: 73 .509 MPH. AMA GRA ND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSH IP/ WI NSTON PRO SERIES POINT STANDINGS : 1. Ricky Greh em (107); 2. Jey Spri ngsteen (79); 3. Scott Parker (72); 4 . Terry Poovey (63); 5. Alex Jorgen.en (60); 6. Gary Scott (561; 7. Rendy Go.. (55); 8. Steve Morehead (50); 9. Mike Kidd (45 ); 10. Steve Eklund (43 ); 11. (TIE) Bubba Shobert /Steve w lee (32); 13. (TIE) Ted 800dy /Edd ie Lewson (26); 15. Tim Merten. (25); 16. Scott Pearson (23 1 17. ; M ickey Fay (2 1); 18 . (TIE) We. CooleylWayne Rainey (20); 20. (TIEl Nick Richich i/RonnieJone.(181. MANUFACTlJRERSPOINTSTANDINGS: 1. Harley· Devidson (153); 2. Honda (1031 3. Vamahe (59); 4. ; Cen-Am (40); 5. Suzuki (31t 6. Kawe ..ki (27); 7. Ma ico (11t. 8. Tr iumph (6). , •• • .. ~ ~ ~ ._ '" ..... -- .... ... _. " 11

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