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/126807
lJl :i: -c a: m <{ ~ a: > z z w :I: ~ lJl .R ....""' a .... ~ c>. Winner Randy Goss (6 , above) tries an outside line around Alex Jorgensen as Steve Eklund (8) and Terry Poovey (18) trail. (Below ) Texan Terry Poovey rode his Harley to a hard-fought third over Steve Eklund. Scott Pearson leads Honda's Bubba Shobert. Pearson came off a good ride the night before to finish sixth in the short track. th e man- made oval ins ide th e Astrodome. C oss' style a n d det ermination in w inning signa led th at th e two -time Camel ANA Grand National Championshipl Camel Pro Series: Round Z Goss steady lor Rouston ST win By Gary Van Voorhis H OUSTO N , T X, FEB . 9 R and y Goss put in a solid , bus iness-li ke 25lap performance in th e H o usto n Sho rt T rack National to earn h is 15th career Nationa l 10 victo ry a n d his second in as many yea rs on Pro Series Champion isn ' t let ting stillhea ling broken bones in h is lo wer left leg h in der his rep u ta tion as o ne of th e to ughest and most co nsisten t riders o n th e circu it, Goss ' wi n a lso gave Team Goss / (Doug ) Cha nd ler, backed by Fredd ie Spencer Racin g a nd SuperTrapp, a big boost in th eir debut as a team an d Goss' deb ut on a Honda after five seasons as a H arleyDa vidson factory team member , Goss ' win d idn 't come eas y, a nd it wa s Alex jorgense n who fell h is sting the most af ter j orgen sen led to th e halfwa y flags befor e G oss took o ver a nd left j o rgy to fo llow h im 10 th e ch eckered flag. T hird went 10 Terry Poovey over Steve Ekl und , after th e two ball led for posit ion n earl y th e en tire race. T im Merten s ro unded o u t the to p five. The race was also notable for th ose riders wh o di dn't ma ke th e Natio na l. especia lly R icky G raha m a nd j a y Spri ngsteen . Graham was in a H ousIOn h osp ital resti ng from a hard cras h in Fri day 's TT Na tio nal. wh ile Springs teen came up one positio n short in every race h e rode a n d h ad 10 wa tch th e Na tio na l. as he did o n Fr iday ni gh t. from the p its. H arl ey-Davidson 's SCOll Parker, via his TT Na tio na l win a nd a seven th in th is National, left H o u ston wit h 28 Camel Pro Seri es poi n ts a nd the lead in th e sta n dings - a fir st-ever for Parker , who ha s never led th e standings, Consi stent showings by SCOIl Pearson saw hi m co me away in second with 25 p oints whil e Ekl u nd an d j orgen sen are tied a t 24. G oss ro un ds o u t the to p five with 20 points. . Time Trials Pearson, a boa rd h is Circle Bell H onda , topped time tri al s wit h a 14.798 secon d o ne- la p run . Pet e H ames took h is Gard ne r Racin g/ . Roger Griswo ld-sponsored H arl eyDavid son 10 seco nd fast tim e o ver th e Ron Wood Racing Wood -R ot ax of Eklu nd, wi th j or gen sen turning in fo urt h fas t time on his Pi on eer T ru ck Lin es Wood- Rotax. Gardner Racing's Poovey was Iifth on hi s Har ley. Dan _ In gram was the 60th a nd fin al qualifier for th e progra m a t 15.487. Heats T he six Hl-rid er, JO-Iap hea ts sa w q ui te a bi t o f ac tion fo r th e tw o transfers to the Na tiona l o u t o f eac h. H on da 's Bubba Shobert p layed foll owthe- leader beh ind Pea rson in h eat o ne; on lap seven Pea rson bo bbled m omenta ril y a nd Shobert was irn m edia re lv by. P ea r so n q uic k ly retu rned th e favor and wo n over Shobert. Ra ndy Green an d G arth Bro w were o n ly bikelen g th s short o f Sh obert at th e flag. . H eat two provided th e co n tro versy o f the even ing. Lan ce j on es quick ly esta blis hed h im self in th e lead o n hi s S ure -Fire Harl ey, a n d was o n hi s wa y 10 the fas test heat o f th e n ight a nd th e pol e cho ice in th e Nat ional , leaving Ted Bood y a n d Chris Ca rr to p u t o n a cro wd -p lea sing show in th eir baule for seco nd. After repeat ed posit ion swa pp ing, in whi ch rookie Carr ga ve vetera n Boody no quarter , th e race boi led down to a last-lap figh t. Roundin g turn fo u r a n d heading to the finish , it appeared Carr h ad the edge o n the o u tside lin e whi le Boody made h is move down low . The two co ll ided co m ing o ff th e turn a nd Ca rr cras hed . Bood y fin ish ed seco nd behind j ones whi le H ames was th ird af ter Carr's fall. Boody was su bseq uen tly di sq ualifie d for ro ugh ridi ng a nd ca us ing th e acc ide n t, H ames was a wa rde d seco nd and a spot in th e Nati onal. "Can yo u beli eve it?" said Boody wh en in formed of hi s di squali ficati on. " We don't agree with th e deci sion a t a ll," said Norm McDo nald, Boody's fath er-in-law a nd o ne o f hi s main sponsors. A di scu ssion with Bill Boyce didn't cha nge a ny thi ng. Ekl un d didn 't waste much time in hi s bid for the win in h eat three, bu t had pl ent y of co m pa ny from Rich Kin g , Ron n ie j o nes, Parker a n d Spring steen ear ly on. Eklund fin a lly broke away w hil e Pa rker an d Sp ringsteen meth odi call y wo rked th eir wa y to seco nd a nd th ird with King crashing o u t of h is baule wi th j ones lat e in th e ra ce. Eklu nd was th e easy win ner wh ile Pa rker hel d off Sp ringsteen and earned second and a spo t in th e National. H a n k SC Oll, Goss and Peter Hook