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were Carr, four-time Louisville winner jay Springsteen, Sammy Sweet, SCOLI Pearson and Terry Poovey. The 48th and final qualifier from the 66 Experts who attempted to make the field was Mark Dolacin. His cutoff time was 26.825. Heats Second place rider Don Estep celebrates his best National showing ever while Miss Camel. Galia Gomez. dodges champagne being poured on Louisville winner Scott Parker by third-place finisher Doug Chandler. . AltA Grand National Champion$hip Dirt Track SeriesLCamel Pro Series: Rounds 5/4 Parker edges Estep at Louisville Half Mile .By Farren Williams Photos by Bert Shepard LOUISVILLE, KY, MAY 30 Flint, Michigan's Scott Parker powered his Bill Werner-tuned factory Harley-Davidson to a slim victory over Harley-mounted Ohio privateer Don Estep at the 21st running of the Louisville Half Mile. Fred· . d Ie Speneer/SuperTrapp Raeing's Doug Chandler, from California, took a close third. 6 The victory was Parker's second win in a row on the crushed limestone oval at Louisville Downs and marked his second ational vi~tory in as many weeks. Parker also won here in May, 1986 ana preceded tonight's victory with a win at the Springfield Mile on May 24. . Parker put hIS H-D Mot?r Co.! Bell/Coors(TsubakI XR750 mto the lead early rn I.ap one and he~d on -:- full-lock SIdeways, throwrng a lrmestone roostertaII - al~ the way to the checkered flag.. HIS performance delrghted the estrmated 15,500 ra~e fans, most of whom were defInItely pro-Harley. The factory rider held down a f~ursecond. lead by the end of lap frve, but ~hIrd-year Expert Estep reeled hIm In an.d almost st?le the race from Parker WIth an outSide pass.commg out of tum four on the fmal goaround. "I knew he (Estep) was close but 1 didn't know how close," said Parker. "I couldn't believe it when J turned around. I was happy to see the checkered nag." "All at once we were bunched together," said Estep, describing the exit from turn four on lap 20. "Scotty got sideways and I got a good drive, but I almost hIt hIm. If ~ could have kept my dnve up, I thInk 1 could have go~ him." E~tep s second place was the best Nauonal frmsh ever for th~ Steel M?sters/Custom Cycle/Shoel/Smnty s/H-D Motor Co.!Scott ~SA/ Answer/Castrol-sponsored nder. The race also provided the best Louisville firrish ever for Chandler, who worked his way through traffic after being blasted with blinding limestone on the opening lap. "Estep had the fastest line on the race track and when Scotty went by (just after the start) 1 knew the high line was the line,"· said Chandler. "Once 1 got going, 1 moved my line up. I wish 1 would have had two more laps - just two more laps." Parker earned approximately $8000 at Louisville Downs. He collected $5000 for winning the main event, $2000 for placing third in the Camel Challenge, and raked in another $1000 or so in contengencies and bonuses. In all, a purse of $55,500 was divided among the 48 Expert riders who made up the field. The big money winner, however, was privateer Tim Mertens of Belleville, Illinois, who earned $10,000 for winning the $17,500 Camel Challenge, a special five-lap sprint race held between the top six qualifiers. In so doing, Mertens became the first privateer ever to earn the lion's share of the Camel Challenge pot. Parker's win gave him the lead in the National Dirt Track Series point standings. He now holds the edge on Chandler, 72-66. Team Honda's Bubba Shobert came into the race tied with Parker for the lead, but dropped to third, with 58 points, after finishing ninth in Saturday'S final.. Parker's Harley teammate, Californian Chris Carr, moved up to fourth in the standings with 42 points after finishing fourth in the main event. Because Louisville is one of nine 1987 National dirt track races that will pay Camel Pro points, Chandler's performance narrowly put him on top of the 'Camel Pro Series point standings. He leads road racer Wayne Rainey, who failed to qualify for Louisville's feature race, 41-40. Shobert is third in the Camel standings with 35 points. Time Trials Parker set fast time, stopping the clock at 25.065 seconds, well off the 22.263-second record set by Steve Eklund on a blue groove track in 1981. Parker's slower showing was attributed to the AMA's efforts to, "bring the cushion back to Louisville." The track was reworked after time trials and constantly groomed throughout the evening. "Findlay Flyer" Steve Morehead turned the timers at 25.079 to claim second fastest time, while Chandler rode the Freddie Spencer/SuperTrapp/ ArailHi-Point/Nankai/ ERC/Bel-Ray/ND/RK Chain Honda to third fastest time with a 25.126 showing. Mertens qualified fourth fastest at 25.224, and Shobert rode the factory Honda to fifth fastest with a 25.249 clocking. RoundinR out the top 10 qualifiers Brookville, Ohio' Doug Davis led the first 1O-]ap Expert qualifying heat from start to finish aboard his LZ Racing/KK Motorycle Supply/ F&S H-D XR750. Sweet, recovering from a broken right shoulder suffered during a turn one crash at the San jose Mile four weeks ago, pressured Davis for the entire race but had to seule for second. Parker and Pearson had a heated argument over third for eight laps until Pearson bobbled in turns three and four on the final lap, allowing Parker to , gas it around the outside and take the last direct transfer to the main. Springsteen powered out of the hole a little too fast at the start of the second heat race, bringing out the red £lag. Springer soon lined up on row three for the restart, but Morehead never made it back to the grid with his ~K/Laubes Cycle/F&S H-D/Storz/john Dragoo/j.W. Hunt Harley-Davidson. "The oil pump gave up and it tied the rods up," said Morehead, who is fighting a Louisville jinx.. "I haven't finished here for seven years in a row." The ailing engine not only knocked Morehead out of the National, but also eliminated the second-fastest qualifier from the Camel Challenge race, even though he was still eligible to run, because he didn't have enough time to change engines. Poovey led the group into turn one on the restart, followed by Canadian jon Cornwell, Indiana's Dan Ingram and Springsteen, who blasted off row three. Springer took third from Ingram on lap four, about the same time Cornwell, sponsored by Deeley H-D/Central Ontario Cycle/Champion/Shoei/Treen, passed Poovey and powered into the lead. Springsteen worked on Poovey for the rest of the race and passed him on lap nine to set the finishing order. Carr and Chandler grappled for the top spot in the third, 10-lap Expert heat, with Carr leading the first six laps and Chandler taking 1 command on the final four. Chandler worked his way around the factory Harley rider coming out of turn three on lap six when Carr drifted wide and Chandler tucked his Honda underneath. Third, and the final transfer spot, weDlto two-time National Champion Ricky Graham, who was riding a· Harley-Davidson borrowed from rookie Bryan McDowell. Graham showed up at Louisville without a . ride after discovering cracks in the cases of a brand new engine on his RS750 Honda following the Springfield Mile. The fourth heat race was won by Iowa's Rich King aboard his Garvis Honda Town/Missile Eng.!Shoei/ Hickman Racing/RK Chain/Bell Industries Honda. King nabbed the holeshot and pulled away from the field to take his first-ever Expert heat race win from wire to wire. Shobert chased King in the early going but finally decided to let the • youngster go and settle for second, and the transfer spot that went along with it. Mertens finished third to take . the final transfer spot. Semis Under AMA Expert rules for half mile competition, the two IO-Iap semis are just like the last chance qualifier - only the winners transfer . directly to the main event.