Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

_ (Clockw ise from top left) Jay Spr ingsteen led the National start to finish . Ricky Graham's second place kept him in the points lead w ith only one dirt track left before mid-season pay-off. Terry Poovey rounded out the winner's circle crowd. O kla homa 's Dave Bradley led the second sem i fro m start to fin ish and Rob Crabbe finished second. Rob's bro th er Willie died recently as a resu lt • of injuries suffered in th e San Jose Mil e on Ma y 2. A mome nt of silence was dedicated to Willie p rior to the 1 start of th e night's racing and 'Rob was certai nly th e crowd's sentimen tal favorite. Last Chance l 6 Wh en Bill Bo yce info rmed the rid ers that the Las t Chance race (thus nam ed because on ly the winner would advance to the final) had been trimmed from 10 laps to five, Gary Scott comp lained. ~ ' Fi ve laps doesn't give us enough time to sort thi ngs out," said Scott. "Well, Gary, we could run the Last Chance race all nigh t long until th e Na tional gets rained out and no o ne makes any money," said Boyce. Scott, with a grin on his face, said, " You've got good point there, Bill." Everyon e on the sta rting line knew a good start was a m ust if. they expect ed to win the shortened race and throttle ha nds were ju mpy, to say the least. The firs t a ttempt at a start saw Pearson and Bubba Shobert jump before the green ligh t and th ey were mov ed back to the penalty line. The green light flashed and before th e pa ck hi t the first turn the red flag was pulled ou t to stop th em as they ca me down the fron t straight. This tim e, Ga ry Scott, Randy Spence and Mi ckey Cole j oined Pearson and Shobert on the penalty lin e. Once the race got official ly underway, five laps turned out to be just enough for Gary Scott when he nipped Kidd a t the line and wa s National bound . National Tbeelimination of Team H onda 's Kidd and Pearson in the Last Chance race ma de the National an all H arl ey- Da vidson show. Team Yamaha 's J im my Fili ce was on hand, but as a spectato r. " We broke a rod at Louisville and th e eq ui pment was taken back to California. I'll road ra ce nex t weekend at Loudon, but I don 't th ink we'll be back on dirt until Indy (July 3)," said Filice. Springs teen, wh o has apparently beaten th e myster ious stomach ai lment tha t has plagued h im over th e past severa l years, was a picture of confidence as he wa tched tuner Bill Werner wheel his bi ke to the outside pole position. The confidence was further displayed as he led the field down the back straight after the 15 riders hit turn one in a tightly bunched pack. Springer led through turns 3-4 and by the time he hit the start/finish line it was obvious he was on his way to adding yet another National to his all-time record win list. And it was just as obvious afte r the first co uple of la ps tha t R icky Graham a nd his Iron H orse magazine sponsored H arley had second place in the bag. Ear lier in the eveni ng, Gra ha m's tuner T ex Peel had looked up at the dark, dark clouds and said, " He ll, i t can rain if it wants to. Tha t' ll lock up that $10,000 of Winsto n mo ney righ t now." But sta nding on th e sidelines as Graham settled into sceond, keepi ng Springsteen in his sights, Peel expressed a different mood. "Go, Ricky!" Peel yelled. " Get hi m, get him !" . But it soo n became apparent that no o ne was go ing to catch Springsteen , j ust as no one was going to catch Graha m -;Attent ion focused on a fight for third between Springsteen 's Ha rley-Davidson team mate Goss and Poovey, who had spent th e week working on his Conley's H- D sponsored XR in Peel' s garage in Flint, Michigan . Poovey got aro und Goss o n th e fifth lap and the winner 's circle cast was set, a nd Goss was in a secu re fourth. Behind th e fro n t running quartet severa l di ces too k place. One saw T ed Boody, wh o was wearing the most colorful leathers to hit th e Winston Pro Series circui t since David Aldan a used to dazzle everyone with his creations, work his way around HarleyDavidson factory rider Scott Parker o n the seventh lap and secure fifth . Parker was far from secure in sixth, and on the next to last lap he was dropped to seventh by Tim Mertens, who was aboard the Bellevill e (Illinois) Honda sponsored XR he had ridden to second at Louisville the weekend before. With the exception of a dice for 10th between Oklahoman Bradley and Jorgensen, which Bradley won, the field was strung out as the race ended. Already in the p its were Steve H all ("My gea rbox packed it in o n th e secon d lap. ") and Steve Moreh ead (" I tried to get inside Merten s in tu rn three on the ninth la p a nd I went dow n ."). Circul ating slowly throughou t th e last half of the race was Lance Jones. " I chose th e wrong tire and was just cru ising around ," said Jon es who fin ished the race a lap down. Springsteen too k a lap wit h the checkered flag and th en joined Gra ham, Pooveyand Miss Winston, Susan Cal licut, in the winner 's circle. H e po pped the first bottle of cha mpagne, but after spraying everyo ne arou nd him, swapped the bo ttle for a can of Pa bst beer. " I think it's neat that I won a race th at Pabst sponsored, becau se th ey also sponsor the Harley team ," said Springsteen: Graham and Poo vey th en opened their bottles of champagne, Graham sprayed th e crowd and Poovey scored a direct hit on Graham as his bottle "exp loded." , The morning following th e race, Springsteen entered the dining room of th e motel housing the HarleyDavidson team and grabbed a cup of coffee, opting to sk ip br eakfa st. " R icky (Gra ham) and 1 have to dri ve to Washington to catch a plane ho me. H ar ley's flyi ng me to the races now and that sure saves a lo t of wear and tear on my truck and me," said Springsteen. Whether Springsteen has handled his illness by positive thi nking, or things like flying to the races have hi m in a healthy state, everyo ne on the circuit knows a healthy Spri ngsteen is difficult to beat. The Knox'vill e Half Mile and the second hald of the season should produce loud claps of thunder from the Rolli ng Thunder Show. J unior Invitational A 10-la p invitational for J un ior class riders followed the National and fast qualifier Jeff J oin er hooked up in an exciting 10 lap battle with Will Davis. The chec kered flag saw Floridian J oin er and his Robinson's H arley-Davidson of Dayton a Beach sponsored XR750 in front. • Results NATIONA L: 1. J ey Springsteen (H· D); 2. Riclcy Grehem (H· D); 3. Terry Poovey (H-D);4. Rendy GalS (H· D); 5. Ted Boody (H·D) ; 6. Tim Mertens (H· D); 7. Scott Perker (H· D); B. Gery Scan (H-D); 9. Jon Cornwell (H-D); 10. nev e Bredley (H-D); 11. Al e. Jorgensen (H·D); 12. Tom Meitlend (H· D); 13. lance Jones (H·D); 14. Steve Moreheed (H· D); 15. Steve Hell (H-D).' Ave rege Speed: B min .• 2B.767 sec. AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAM PIONSHIPIWIN· STON PRO SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1. Riclcy Grehem (123); 2. Jey Springsteen (99); 3. Scan Parker (80) ; 4. Terry Poovey (76); 5. Rendy GalS (66); 6. Ale. Jo rgensen (64); 7. Gery Scan (631 B. ; Steve Moreh eed (51); 9. M ike Kidd (45); 10 , Ste.e Eklun d (43); 11. Ted Boody (36); 12. TIm Merten s (34 ); 13. (TIE) Bubbe Shobert /Steve W ise (3 2);,15. Eddie Lewson (26); 16. Scan Peerson ( 23~ 17. M ickey Fey (21); 1B. (TIEl Wes CooleylWeyne Reiney (20); 20. (TIE) Nick Richich i/lance Jones (18). 15

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