Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The top riders and tuners : (From left) Parker and Bill Werner. Shobert and Skip Eaken. Carr and Kenny Tolbert. Parker (center) hoists his Camel g,allenge check and salutes the fans with Poovey (left) and Shobert (right). slid by during the shunt and moved on Carr for second. On the last lap, Shobert closed on the back straight and got by Carr in tum three. Parker crossed the line safely ahead of Poovey and Shobert, holding off Carr and a distant Villella. Parker was ecstatic about his big payoff. "I've been spending so much money at home," he said. "You got to put some money away." Parker said he was faster in the Camel Ch allenge, thanks to some suspension adjustments by tuner Bill Werner. Last Chance Qualifier 12 fie In the LCQ, Will Davis never the others a chance. He led off the line and led wire to wire. Ru sty Rogers followed in second the entire distance, but in th e LCQ, only first matters and puts a rider into the final. . National From the inside to the outside, the front row for the 25-lap National held J o nes, Chandler, Day, Carr, Parker and Shobert. Parker started the final the way he finished it - out front. He was trailed close ly by Carr and Shobert. Carr too k over the lead on the next lap , drafting do wn the back straight. But lap th ree saw the start of the back-and-forth war between Shobert and Parker.. It carried them out of reach of the pack behind them, which included Carr, Poovey, Graham and Chandler. By lap seven, the lead had changed seven times as Shobert and Parker drafted back and forth. Then Shobert fell back . " I knew it was going to be tough," Shobert said. " A couple of times I almost sli pped off the groove." But Shobert was back on line soon and reeled in Parker, drafting by yet again. Meanw hi le, on lap 12, mo re than two seconds back, Graham, Poo vey and Carr traded slots, with Chandler hanging o n behin d. Parker and Shobert continued their second round of musical chairs for the next seven laps. On lap 19, nearly four seconds behind the leaders, Carr stunned the crowd by shutting off and raising his han d going into turn one. H is Harley had suffered a broken crank pin. "It sou nded nas ty," Carr sai d, pondering his cha nces of winning the title. "It' not over. I'm not laying down yet." Shobert had his own problems, with an oil leak greasing up his left boot. " I thought it was going to be on the tire, " he said. In the closing five laps, Par ker led as Shobert closed in for a late race shot at the flag . Now more than six seconds behind, Chandler found a way to dice with Poovey and Graham and challenged for third. Beh ind them, the awkward but fas t Scott Pearson led Day, and J ones. The final round saw Shobert all over Parker as they raced toward the flag. But Shobert came up a half a wheel short. , "The lap before that, I looked back," Par ker said. "I saw I ha d a little lead and I beat him around th e race track. " The drama wasn' t over as Ri cky Graham went down in turn th ree on the last la p after a bump wi th Poo vey. Poo vey said that he had dra fted Graham on th e straigh t and was ahead goi ng into the turn when Graham dropped down and h it him. T uner Mert Lawwill, spea king for a shaken Graham, said that Graham never saw Poovey and that it was P oo vey' s res p on sib i l i ty to p as s clea nly. Graham filed a protest, but it was denied by the referee, based o n accounts from comer workers and another rider on the track, said ].B. Norris, AMA P ro fessio n a l Di rt Track Manager. Lawwill said that Graham, who was sufferi ng chest pain, went to the hospital. Lawwi ll also said the pro test denia l would not b e appealed. After the collision, Poovey stayed uprig h t and rolled home third, followed by Chandler and a surprising Alex J orgensen , completing a late-race charge for fifth. Pearson too k sixth whi le Day settled for seventh, Jones eighth . Parker said that th e main event was strange, as sand began dr ifting onto the trac k. " O n one lap it wo uld be fin e. Nex t lap . . . I started to get a li ttle sideways, " he said. H e also loo ks forwa r d to a n exci ting conclusion to the Grand National Cham pion sh ip Series. . "As the series starts to wind down, you start thinking, 'Well, I' ve just got to push it a littl e harder,' " he said. "Sometimes you do . You just got to push it right up to the limit." Shobert was disappointed over dropping four more points to Parker , but not discouraged about the GNC title chase. " T h er e' s st ill a co u p le more races," he said. " It's good to get the Camel P ro behind me." ' . Results 25 ·LAP GRAND NATIONA L CHAM PIONSHIP FINAl: 1. Scott Parker ( H- D~ 2. Bubba Shobert 3. Terry Poovey (Hon); 4. Doug Chand ler (Hon); 5. Al ex Jorgensen (Hon); 6. Scott Pearson ( H · D~ 7. Keith Day IH on); B. Ronnie Jones (Hon~ 9. William Davis (H-D); 10. Da.. Durelle (H-D); 11. Bryan Vill ella (H-D); 12. George Roeder II (H- D~ 13. Doug Davis (H-D); 14. Ricl

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