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/126965
The battle for fourth at one point involved Hank Scott (14), Terry Poovey (18), Doug Chandler (10), Scott Pearson (95) and Tim Mertens (53). pull o ff th e lin e firs t but it was Carr who led th rough turns o ne a nd two. Fil ice draft ed by Carr o n th e back stra ig h t a n d held th e lead over Carr and Chandler a t th e line. Chandler held th e lead at th e end o f lap two but Carr a nd Fil ice were sh ad ow in g h im a nd th e tri o hooked up in a d rafti ng war o n th e stra igh ts th at wa s narrowed to a two-man fight wh en Ca rr slowed a n d began 10 d rop back on lap six. Ca rr cir cu la ted aro u nd 10 fini sh last , elim in ated fro m th e da y's p rogr am. "'I guess 1 didn 't tighten up th e coi l a nd it shook ,loose a n d began to short ou t," sa id Carr' s tuner , former Grand Na tio n a l Cham p io n Men Lawwi ll. Cha nd ler led Filice across the line at th e end of la p seven bu t th e follo wing lap saw Cha nd ler's H onda slo w dramaticall y a nd Filice was by h imself in th e lead , " It felt like 1 went on o ne cyl inder," said Chandl er, "but the n it kicked back in ." Cha nd ler had dropped back 10 fourth, behind a Wa yne Ra in eyH ank Scott battle a nd he joined those two in th e duel for seco nd . T he trio crossed the lin e in a bunch wi th seco nd going to th e Honda o f Ra in ey, n ea rl y two seco nds behi n d win ner Fili ce. Ch andl er took thi rd 10 adva nce 10 the Na tional wh ile Sco tt was fourt h a nd semi -bou nd . The first heat was th e fastest by a wide margin over th e heats th a't followed. Shobert had cove red the 10 la ps in 6 m inutes. 0.884 seconds and thus earned h imself th e p ol e posi tio n for the lationa l. T he three heats th a t followed slowed by approximately two seconds each , with the fou rth heat taki ng 6:06.162. Sem is Kin g p u lled the hol esh o t in th e first of two 10-lap semis, eac h of w h ich wo u ld see th e first and seco nd p lace fin ish ers a d va nce 10 th e National. La p two saw Kin g , Sp ringsteen, Boody a nd Hames d ive into turn th ree fou r-abreast a nd Kin g saw h is lead go a way as he slip ped off the groove. Springsteen an d Hames led Bood y a nd Kin g across the lin e at th e en d o f the seco n d lap a nd the n the frontru n n ing d uo tu rn ed in fi ve la ps of lead swa p p ing rac in g with Springsteen h olding the point a t th e end o f laps fou r through seven a nd Hames o u t front a t th e end o f la p eig h t. . Bood y. wh o had hook ed up with Hames a nd Sp ri n gsteen on lap seven, led la p eigh t and for th e next two la ps it was a nyo ne's race as th e th ree ra n whee l-to- wheel and side-by-side in a cro wd pl easing d ispla y of m ile rac ing a t its fin est. The chec kered flag saw H ames ge t th e nod by inc he s over Springsteen a nd Boody. H ames a nd Springsteen went to th e National , Bood y to th e Last Cha ne Qualifier. Veteran H ank Sco tt, wh o says he'll retire from ra cing a t th e end of th is seaso n, celebra ted hi s '33rd birthday a d ~ y early by winning th e seco nd semi. Sco tt led every lap a t th e start/ fin ish lin e but he had h is hands full hol ding o ff th e cha lle nges o f J on Corn well , wh o slipped off the groove o n la p eigh t, a nd the n Eric Ra usch a nd Randy Tex ter. Rausch took th e lead a t th e sta rt o f the fin al lap , but bo th Sco tt a nd T exter dra fted by him o n the back st raight and Scott, a member of th e KK Aftermar ke t Racin g T eam, m anaged by Sco tt 's brother G a ry, took th e win by inc hes over Tex ter a nd Rausch . Last C hance Qualifier Wi th o n ly th e wi n ner adva nci ng 10 the Na tional , the LCQ usually prod uces heated raci ng a nd Sunday's 10-la p go did j ust that as it turned into a rea l barnburn er. A five-rider battle ensued in th e early la ps with Boo dy, King , Cornwell, Bro w and Billy Hern don, who was raci ng with a suspected broken foo t - th e resu lt of a ge t-off in the previo us ni gh t's short track race th e co m ba ta nts . By the mid wa y po int o f the race Co rn we ll had dropped o ut a nd th e fig h t was narrowed do wn to a twom an duel between Bood y a nd Kin g. Kin g a nd Boody swapped the lead a ll arou n d th e track a nd carried th ei r fig h t right down 10 th e finish lin e. No hum an eye co u ld pick a winner and Boody and Kin g were in for a lo ng sus pensefu l wait as officials reviewed th e Cycle News Fin,ish L ine An estimated 7500 fans watched Scott Parker (1 1) average 101.563 mph in w inning the Springfield Mile, the 12th National w in of his career . Camera's videota pe. T he result? Rich King by three-quarters of an inch, Boody wa tched th e ta pe a nd studied the stop-motio n fra me. Bood y gave h is approval to th e decision by nodding his head, sh rugging his shou lders and strolli ng away, hand in ha nd with his wife.