Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Tammy Kirk made history. Da n Ing ra m finis he d third . Grand National Champion, took the win aboard his RS750 in the first semi , leading all 10 laps to advance to the National. Bubba Shobert took second and Steve Eklund finished fourth. Texan Sammy Sweet led the first six laps of the second semi, but was dropped to second by Ted Boody, who went on to win , on the seventh lap. Sweet was dropped to fourth by Crabbe and Eric Rausch , who finished second and third, respectively. engine started missing. Springsteen lapped Ted Boody on the 20th and final lap of the National and one more lap would probably have seen him put a lap on Hank Scott. Ro unding out th e top 10 behind the front three were Graham, Parker, Morehead, Mertens, Shobert, Farris and Kidd. Springsteen, who had loo ked uncomfortable in practice, sprayed champagne and then told the crowd, "I didn 't like this track at first , but I sure do now! I was sick when this race ran the last two years and I was sorry I couldn 't race for you, but I'm glad I could tonight , particularly since I Last Chance Qualifier Sweet pulled th e holeshot at the start of th e La st Chance Qualifier, but by the time the field complet~d the first lap it was Bubba Shobert m front. Shobert went on to win by a comfortable margin over Rich King and Rausch. Junior Invitational The Hl-lap Junior race was a thriller and the fireworks were produced by three riders - Mark Hartley, Ron Andrews and Greg Tysor. Hartley, just as he had done at the Harrington . National two weeks prior, took the win aboard his Sm itty'S H-D/Casey Cycle City /Cycle Experts/Bill 's Pipes/Gary Nixon Enterprises/Wiseco/GT Engines-sponsored XR750. "I'd like to thank Johnny Goad and Ray Kennett who work on the bike," said Hartley in winner's circle while his wife, Kelly, watched with an earto-ear smile, " a nd Clayton Oliver for helping me out here." National Several riders, including Jay Springsteen, jumped the attempted sta rt of the National. but after they had lined up on the penalty line referee Du~e O lli ges waved them back to their original positions as the crowd cheered in approval. The next try produced a clean start and saw Ricky Graham first into turn one and first across the line at the completion of the opening lap, ahead of Ingram, Springsteen, Mertens and Goss . The front three stayed the same for the next two laps, but Goss dropped Mertens to fifth on the third lap. The following lap saw Springsteen get by Ingram to take over second and mount an attack on the leader, Graham. Springsteen and Graham went through turns one and two side -byside at th e beginning of th e fifth lap and Springsteen took over the lead for good down the backstraight. Goss moved by Ingram and into third on lap six and two laps later he worked his way around Graham to take over second, the position he held to the fini sh. Graham was forced to watch the man he was fighting with in the point standings pull away , and his disappointment was compounded when Ingram dropped him to fourth with just two laps to go . . As the winner's circle-bound trio of Springsteen , Goss and Ingram headed for the finish line, they were being watched by Keith Day, who had coasted to a stop on the ninth lap, and Tammy Kirk, who's recordmaking evening ended on the 15th lap when her XR750's condenser won. " Bill Werner, Springsteen's tuner, was jumping up and down as though his rider had won his first National. " I work with Jay every race weekend of the year and have done so for years, but I still get thrilled watching him ride every time he slings a leg over a bike. " When asked how many Nationals had been won on bikes he had prepared, Werner answered, " MY wife figured it out - 42. I've got to keep winning them to stay ahead of my age, but Jay is so far ahead of his age he could sit back for years and not fall behind!" Runner-up Goss thanked his sponsors - Harley-Davidson, Pabst and Bell - then added, "lowe a special thanks to my tuner , Br ent (Thompson) who really works hard on my equipment. " Goss then looked over at his wife and month-old daughter and with a smile said, ''I'll tell you one thing. They could make it a lot easier for all of us jf they'd put Jay on the penalty line at all the ball miles." Perhaps the happiest rider in wiimer 's circle was young Dan Ingram. Like most of the competitors and crew members, Ingram had made the long trek from Chicago, ~here the previous night's 'TF National had been held, to Tennessee. " I' ve got to thank Bill Armstrong and my dad who helped me drive down. I got four hours of sleep and felt tired earlier, but gelling third makes me feel great." Ingram's bike is prepared by his father, Sam, and Bob Farmer, and is sponsored by Pre cision B,!-lancing, Nippondenso, KR W, Diamond , Smitty's H -D and IBCO Gaskets . Ever yone left Smoky Mountain Raceway knowing they had seen a National on a hot and humid summer night that would be long rem embered for several reasons :Springsteen 's 37th National win and his recordbreaking 19th National Half Mil e win, Tammy Kirk becoming the first lady to ever make a dirt track National final and ea rn a point in one, and Randy Goss ' strong ride which kept him on top of th e point standings as he attempts to win his second Grand National Championship titl e. • Results 20 · LAP NATIONAL: I. J-r Springsteen (H·Ot 2Rlnc!y Goes (H-Ot; 3. DIn 1"V,"m (H-Ot 4. Rodty G,"h"m (H-Ot 5. Scott Porter (H-Ot 6. St_ Ma'ehold (H-Ot 7. Tim Mertens (H·Ot, 8: Bubbo Sh abert(H -Ot 9. Rodney Fon-is(H-Ot 10. MiU Kidd (Hanl; 11. Frln Brown (H-Ot 12- Hlnk Scott (Hont, 13. Tid 800dy (H·O); 14 . Timmy Kirk (H·Ot, 15 . Klilh DIY!H-Ol. Micke y Fay led Sa.nta Fe start t o finis h. AMA Grand National Championship/ Camel Pro Series: Round 15 Fay all the way in Santa FeTT By Gary Van Voorhis Photos by Bert Sheperd/Silver Shutter 11D5D:UL, IL JU . E!!R Honda's ickey Fay led the 25-1ap Ch icagoland 'IT National at Santa Fe Park from start to finish and was never seriou sly challen ged after the opening laps. Steve Ekl u nd displaced Bubba Shobert for d h 0 second on th ~ It h. Ial? an t e cast of th e winner s CIrcle was set from there on. Jay Springsteen an~ Ra~dy C oss ro unded o ut the top five wit h Ri cky Graha~ in s!xt h to keep t~e Camel Pro Sen es P0lnISrace mar~m s n e~ rl y eq ua l to ~he way th ey.went m . Sprin gsteen gamed o ne POint o n Goss a nd two on Graham , but th e weeken d d irt trac k doubleh ead er, with a Saturda y nigh t half mile National a t Knox ville, isn' t over yet. Fay, the 1981 even t winner, is a Honda Iacto rv rid er o n T'T and sho rt tra ck Nat ional s. Ekl und, who is sponsored by Gardner Ra cin g , is o ne o r th e many ri ders usin g Ron Wood Rac in g's version of th e Rotax 500cc four-strok e single which he ca lls a Wood-Ro tax . Sh obert uses th e sa me basic power package in his Shobert Ra cing ent ry, bu t is not in the WoodRotax program. TIme Trials Shobert topped qualifying with a 39.983-second ride, the only rider to break into the 39-second bracket. ni gh! National warm-up,. Mickey Fay, rookie of the year ca ndida te Randy Green a nd J ay Sprin~steen rounded ou t the top five. The mi x of machin~ contained two 500cc four-stroke smgles based on the Ro tax engine , a pair of 600c c H onda fo u r-stro kes and S p ri ngst ee n 's H ar l ev- Dav i dso n XR75 0. . The fina l qualifying posi tion in th e4!hider field went to Steve Kasten a t 43.379. Heats T he first hea t was red nagged when J im Fil ice and Mike Ragan co lli ded before th e first jump. Both mad e th e restart. Sh obert quickl y established command on th e restart wi th Gary Scott tuc king in beh ind. The battle then cen tered on th e run for thi rd between Jimmy Fil ice a nd Springsteen . The two traded th e position five times before tak ing th e halfwa y flags with Fi lice ho lding the edge. On the sevent h lap, Springsteen got by when Fil ice swu ng wide exiting the infield. Shobert held a commanding lead as the IO laps wore down w~ile F~lice

• Cover