Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Ricky Graham. here leading Rodney Farris (92). Garth Brow (15) and Scott Adams in a heat. took fifth and kept the points lead. nable attempt to pass being turned in by veteran Garth Brow. Brow was forced to settle for third behind winner Graham and Farris, who was riding the John Goad-prepared Harley. The fourth heat also required a restart after Kenny Tolbert unloaded hard on the back stretch on the first lap. That restart was delayed for quite some time as Tolbert, who eventually walked away from the scene, was tended to. He elected not to continue and that brought in Steve Morehead. The restart saw Goss pull the holeshot and then walk away from the field for an unchallenged win. Taking second, also virtually unchallenged was veteran Jorgensen. Third went to Maitland who dueled with Mickey Fay, who was riding the Bill Wernerprepared Harley normally ridden by Springsteen. Scott Pearson led the first two laps of the fifth heat, but former Camel Pro Series Rookie of the Year Doug Chandler took over the lead on the third go-around and rode his Jerry Griffith-tuned Honda to the win. Pearson was dropped to third on the next lap by Honda Support rider Randy Green, who got by Pearson in turn two - the same spot Chandler had made work for him. The race was red flagged after eight laps due to a crash involving Kansas rider Kirk Englund, who was taken to a hospital with suspected 'back andlor neck injuries. Called a race at that point, Chandler and Green had advanced to the National, while Pearson was semi bound. The sixth and final heat had to be stopped on the third lap when Rusty Gourley crashed on the back stretch. On the restart, William Davis took over where he left off - in the lead. The North Carolinian held the point position until the ninth lap when Scott Parker, who had started on the second row, got by him and went on to win. Parker had earlier diced with Fran Brown for second and it was Brown taking third behind Parker and Davis. Semis Both semi-final events turned out to be crowd pleasers if you can call an announced 10,200 spectators a crowd in a stadium which seats in excess of 50,000. With only the winner advancing to the National the racing was furious in the first semi wi th the win eventually going to former Grand National Champion Steve Eklund. Billy Herndon and Ted Boody, who both led the race at one point or another, finished second and third, respectively. While Eklund and Herndon rode the groove, Boody took to the cushion and tried to make the long way around work. Eklund scored the win by getting inside of Herndon in turns three and four on the final lap. That left Herndon beating on his handlebars in disappointment. Semi number two saw Pearson, unquestionably the fastest man off the line in Camel Pro competition, pull the holeshot, but Fran Brown dropped him to second on the third lap and Mickey Fay relegated him to third on the seventh. Fay, who reportedly was being given a one-shot ride on the factory Harley, tried every trick in the boo k 0 n B row n, but Brown masterfully rode the inside line and shut the door on Fay's every attempt to pass. Last Chance Qualifier Fay held the pole for the LCQ which would advance only the winner to the National, but once again it was Pearson who pulled the holeshot. With Pearson riding the groove, the crowd's eyes were glued on Boody who had taken to the cushion just as he had done in his semi. Pearson and Boody rode the middle laps of the race side-by-side but a bobble by Pearson in turn two on the seventh lap gave Boody the advantage he was looking for. He then moved down to the groove and went on to win. Pearson took second while Fa'y rode around in/last place after crashing on the seventh lap. Junior National Fast qualifier Brad Furlong, who had finished a distant second to Chris Carr in the first of three six-lap Junior heats, pulled the holeshot at the start of the 12-lap Junior National Championship final. Furlong held the lead until the seventh lap when Californian Carr passed him in the fourth turn. Carr's Wood-Rotax teammate Don Estep followed suit, dropping Furlong to third on the next lap. Ohioan Estep pressured Carr and that paid off when Carr slipped off the groove between turns one and two on the 10th lap, allowing Estep to pass and open up a gap over the remaining two laps to take the win by a comfortable margin. Estep, who had survived a near getoff on the back straight after exiting turn two on the fourth lap, displayed more emotion over the win than he has in previous '84 successes. "I calmed down after that near get-off and pulled it off," said the 17-yearold.high school student in winner's circle. "Ron Wood calls Don Team East and me Team West," said runner-up Carr. "I gu~~s you can say East beat West fair and square tonight." Third-place finisher Furlong summed up the talent the top two Juniors have by saying, "They're tough. I'm glad to be in winner's tir- New York's Fran Brown !leld off. strong challenges - here from Pearson - to win the second semi and transfer to the National. cle with them." National Goss, by virtue of having posted the best winning heat race time, got to choose first for his National starting position and he chose a spot four slots out from the pole. He was joined on the front row by Parker, Shobert, Graham, Jones and Chandler. Occupying the second row were Jorgensen, Hames, Davis, Hardin, Green and Farris. Semi winners Eklund and Brown and LCQ winner Boody made up the third row. Honda's Shobert was fastest off the line but Goss was on his rear tire at the end of the opening lap of the 25lap race. Goss swept into the lead on the second lap and that was that as far as the front spot was concerned. While Goss stretched his lead on every lap, chief scorer Carol Meiferdt, who was forced to delay celebrating her 37th wedding anniversary with husband BUll until after the race, had her hands full as positions behind Goss changed in every turn. Shobert slipped back a notch or two each lap, dropping as far back as 10th as he dueled with Filice and Brown in mid-pack. Parker took over second on the second lap but then was dropped to third by Chandler on the seventh lap and from there on the top three positions were set. Green took over fourth for good from Graham on the 10th lap and Graham found himself in a fierce duel with Jones. Graham and Jones went at it hammer and tongs and their fight kept them in touch with Green. As the race wound down either Goss slowed a bit or Chandler found some added traction and Goss' runaway appeared threatened. But the two-time champ wicked uphis Brent Thompson-tuned factory Harley over th.e last few laps and sailed home the WInner. Chandler crossed the line a few seconds behind Goss with Parker taking a distant third. The white and checkered flags saw a tightly bunched trio consisting of Green, Graham and Jones cross the finish line in that order. Hames, Davis, Shobert and Brown rounded out the top reno Boody, Hardin, Eklund and Jorgensen followed while Farris watched from the sidelines after high-siding after getting out of shape while exiting turn four on the seventh lap. After taking a victory lap with the checkered flag, winner Goss stopped to bear hug tuner Thompson, wife Vicky and da~ghter Janice. Joining a reserved Chandler and a jubilant Parker on the victory podium, Goss said, "We had trouble getting the bike to work good all day, but Brent stuck with it, got it all together and we did it! Short track racing isn't my favorite, but after winning two National short tracks this year I might have to change my mind. The track developed some holes like any onetime track will and the turns were tighter than Houston, but I didn't have any real problems." Runner-up Chandler, who won the Santa Fe Short Track National as a rookie Expert last year, said, "I got into the first corner too hot a couple of times and that was probably the difference, although Randy was really going fast and rode a good race all the way." Parker, the most excited of the three occupants of winner's circle, said, "We had some tire problems and I got a terrible start in my heat but I found a hot line, made the National and now I'm here in winner's circle. I'm chargin' to put HarleyDavidson on top where they belong!" Results • 25-LAP NATIONAL: 1. Randy Goss (H-D): 2. Doug Chandler (Han); 3. Scott Per1

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