Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Above) Ricky Graham and Scott Parker were this close at the start of the last la p ofthe San Jose Mile. (Below) The two victors celebrate a win and a championship; it was Graham 's day, but Shobert's year. For Graha m i t was a co me- fro mbe hi nd win a fter a p oo r sta rt , for Par ker another close seco n d pl ace, a nd for Shobert a 17th tr ip to a mil e winner's circle a nd, mor e importa n tly, h is first Na tional Cha mpionship. Ted Boody. the on ly rider wi th any chance o f sto p p ing Shobert's cha m p io nsh ip ra m page, co u ld n' t put to gether th e perfect effo rt that was needed to sto p th e T exan an d wound up in 10th pl ace. Parker's third-pla ce fini sh put him o ne point ahead o f Doug Chandler fo r third in seri es points. Fourth p lace went to rookie Expert Chris Carr o n th e R &B H arlev Davidso n wh ile Wa yne Ra iney ttirn ed in hi s best-ever National dirt track finish with fifth pl ace o n his !\[ert Lawwill-prepared Har ley Davidson. Alex jorgensen a nd his Pio neer Truck Lin es-spon sored R S 75 0 Honda nipped Rod n ey Fa rris (H-D ) to tak e sixth. Time t rials AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series: Round 27 Graham wins, Shobert takes championship By Pa ul Ca rrut hers SAN JOSE , CA , SEPT. 15 It turned out to be a p erfect day for Team H o nda as Ricky G raham edg ed out Harley Da vidson 's Scott P a rker fo r the win in the San Jose Stroh 's Mile and Graha m 's team - 6 mate Bu bba Shobert cruised in for th ird to clinch the 1985 I Al\IA Grand Nati onal Cham pi onship. G ra ha m proved to be th e fastest m an o n the Sa nta Cl ara Cou n ty Fai rgrou nds' ova l a fte r posti ng a 37.069seco nd q ualifying tim e, just off h is 3 6 . 996-~eco n d San j ose record la p . jorgensen qua lified second wi th a 37.231-seco n d lap. Carr was th e first non- Honda qualifi er in third , fol lowed by road racer Ra iney. Although Rainey's H arley still sho wed sig ns o f wobblin g , Lawwill has a p p are nt ly worked o u t m ost o f th e handling p robl ems th at have p lagued th e team most of this season. Boody nipped Shobert for th e fifth fast est time, 37.1 18 to 37.165, a nd th e duo was followed by j ay Springsteen , Mi ch ael Manning and Scott Pea rso n . Parker was over a lull seco nd slower th an Grah am a nd back in 27th spot; Edward Braasch III wa s the final rider in th e 16-entry field to qualify. a t 39.777. Heats Wh en h eat o ne fin ally ro ll ed off th e line a fter extra track preparat ion , Eric Rausch 's H arl ey led into the first turn . H is lead was sh ort- li ved , however. as both Spring steen and Graham sho t by o n th e o u ts ide in tu rn tw o . G raham pull ed ou t o f Springsteen's dra ft and into th e lead o n th ~ backst retch a n d took Rodn ey Farri s wit h him . At th e start /fi ni sh line, it was Gra ha m. Farr is, Sp ri ngs tee n , Rausch an d i\like Garnson . Farr is wa s g iving th e two veter ans a r u n a nd took the lead go ing int o turn threeon the seco nd la p . Gra ham and Springsteen weren 't ea sy prey a nd the tri o ended th e second lap three abreast. Graham us ed his horsepower ad vantage to gain the point position o n th e back strai ght a n d immedi atel y opene d up a lead. While G ra ham was o n hi s way to posting th e day's fastest h eat race, Springsteen had h is hands full. On the las t la p , Spri ngsteen gra bbed seco nd goi ng into tu rn th ree, but Farris sho t by a t the fin ish to ta ke seco nd by a wh eellen gth. T he second h ea t was a II j o rgen sen . H ank Sco tt, however, grabbed the holeshot into turn o ne , bu t lost th e lead to Steve Ek lu nd i n turn two . Bu t at the end of the first la p , jorgensen had put himself i n the top spot a nd started to put distance on th e fie ld . T he ot her two transfers were sti ll very much in doubt as Eklund, Pea rson a nd j imm y Filice - ridi ng a H onda for th e first tim e as a new member of the Freddi e Spencer/S uperTrapp Racin g team - wer e three a breast going into turn three o n th e thi rd lap. Mid sea son p o int-lead er Chan dler wa s hav ing problems ge tt ing things togethe r and fo u nd himself midpack. Filice disposed o f Pearson and Eklund a nd sta rted mak in g a n effo rt to ca tch j o rgy . Pearson h ad gotte n th e better of Eklund a nd sudde n ly became a nother th reat to j o rgen sen 's lead. The veteran , ho wever, h eld o ff th e cha llenge and took the win wi th Fil ice nipping Pea rso n for second. Ek lu nd cruised in with a lo n el y fourt h p lace whil e Chandler ed ged Garth Brow for fifth. Shobert a nd Ca rr sh owed a glimpse o f co m ing a tt rac tio ns with a good battle in heat three. Shobert grabbed th e lead in turn o ne a nd looked set fo r a runaway win , but o n lap four Carr sta rt ed to reel-in th e H onda pilot. While Shobert a nd Carr were bo th sure bets for a transfer, nothing was cert a in in th e battle for third , the final direct transfer spo t. Ra nd y Goss, Don H o ward and Pa rker were in a h eated battle for the fi rst seven la p s until Goss pulled in with a sick bike a t th e beginning of lap eight. Th e three-rider battle was reduced to a two- man duel, but i n th e en d , it wa s Park er tak ing th e fin al tra ns fer. Up front , Carr was rig h t o n Sho bert , a nd o n th e last la p m ad e a n effo rt to ge t by in tu rns three/four, but the rooki e co u ld n' t ge t by a t th e fin ish line. Th e fina l heat saw Ra in ey score h is second hea t-race win in two weeks a nd th e first o f th e day for Ha rl eyDavidson . Boody grabbed th e holeshot into turn one, but at th e end of the fir st lap, it wa s two-time Camel Pro Seri es ro ad race winner Rainey in co m ma nd. Ra iney took the win ahead of Boody. but th e AMA needed to use its new video ca mera to decid e th e fina l transfer. When th e tape was reviewed, it was Roger Thompson (H -D) edging o u t Steve Morehead. Semis Five riders were going for th e two tra nsfers a t th e end o f th e fir st lap in th e opening semi. Chandler led across th e li ne fo ll owed by Pete Hames, Garth Bro w, Tom Mai tland and Mik e Garr iso n . Hames and C handler looked to have the ed ge o n th e o th ers, a nd Hames appeared a little stronger than Cha ndl er. Maitla nd joined th e fra y on lap six a nd both h e a nd Hames were pulling Chandler noticeabl y co m ing o u t o f turn two . Whatever he was losing in turn two, however . Ch and ler was making up in three and four. Th e T eam Freddi e Spe nce r/ Su pe rT ra p p -sponsored rid er went int o turn three rea l h ard o n the la st lap a nd ca me o u t a head o f Maitl and and a lmo st in fron t of H am es. Ek lu nd was stuck in midpack a nd ended u p

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