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.... cu .D o ..... u o Doug Chandler (10) leads Dale Quarterley (32), Richard Arnaiz, Bubba Shobert (1) and the rest of the pack. Texan Doug Polen dominated the National, beating rival Bubba Shobert by 35 seconds, but Polen didn't w in the National Championship. AMA Camel Pro/Superbike Series: Rounds 15/7 . Round to Polen, knockout to Shobert By Paul Carruthers Photos by Henny Ray Abrams SONOMA, CA, ocr. 2 - . T eam H onda's Bubba Shobert added the AMA Nation al Superbike Champion sh ip to his already long list of accomplishments, finishin g second behind Yoshimu ra Suzuki's Doug Polen at Sears Point Interna tional Raceway. The weekend .bega n ,. however, on a somber note WIth the 6 tra gic death of longtime racer Russ Paulk. Paulk, 33, was involved in a single-bike accident during Friday's Supersport class practice. Pa ~l k was pronounced dead on arr ival at Napa's Queen of the Valley Hos p ital from mu ltiple trauma injuries. A moment of silence was observed in Paulk 's memory during Sunday's race program. The less-than-climatic Superbike National saw Shobert finish some 35 seconds behind Polen after 24 laps, but that was all the Honda-mounted T exan nee~ed to seal ?is .first-eve. . road race .u tle. Shobert s final tally of 121 pomts ended up bemg four points worthier than Pol en 's 117. Polen earned the winner 's share of $4170 from the $32,000 Superbike purse, while Shobert took home $2780. Shobert, however, pocketed $10,000 for winning th e five-lap $17,500 Camel Challenge. For Polen the win was his third of the season, matching Shobert 's three victories (the first round at Daytona was won b y Kevin Schwan tz). But it was on e he surely wo u ld h a ve tr aded for th e cha m pio nship. Pol en went into Sears eight points behind Shobert. He couldn 't win th e championship on his own, and he was desperately hoping to get help from others. The planned protagani st was supposed to be Polen's teammate Scott Gray, but the Sears Point local crashed horrifically in the Camel Challenge and was forced to withdraw from the National. Gray 's crash dashed an y slim hopes Polen had of pushing Shobert down the leaderboard and ou t of the cha mpio nship. Third pl ace today went to SuperT ra p p Honda's Doug Chandler, his fifth such fin ish of the season. The 13 points gave Chandler third place in the Super bi ke National Championship with 65 points. Behind him came a fierce battle consisting of the Suzuki s of Lockhart Racin g's Dal e Qu arterley, Vance &: H in es' Dave Sadowski and the Yamaha FZR750 of Richard Arnaiz. The race of the day saw those three wind up fourth , fifth and sixth, respectively. / A Suzuki GSXR750-mounted foursome of James Domay, J oe Pittman, Keith Pinkstaff and Cal vin Ray born III rounded out the top 10. The five money paying positions in the overall Camel Pro Series will be decided at the final round, the Sacr amento Mile on October 8. Shob ert (212 points) has already wra pped up the tide with dirt tracker Scott Parker (120) a safe second. Polen (101), however, will most likel y be taken out of the money po sitions by dirt trackers Chris Carr (100), Steve Morehead (99) and Doug Chandler (99). Missing from the National was Vance &: Hines' Randy Ren frow, who was recovering from injuries suffered at the Willow Springs 24Hour. H is Vance &: Hines ride was taken and handled admirably by Sadowski. Another notable absentee from the National was Scott R ussel l. The Georgia resident crashed the Team Targa Kawasaki entry in Saturday's endurance race, breaking his right knee. John Ashmead also missed the National when he crashed on the warm-up lap in a 600cc Supersport heat race, breaking his righ t collarbone and the area where the arm goes into its socket: Next year will mark the first time in three years that the Superbi ke champ will stay in the U.S. to defend his tide. Shobert announced that he will be staying home to contest the AMA Camel Pro Series in 1989, riding the same Honda VFR750 and RS750 in road races and dirt tracks, .respectively. In past years both 1986 champion Fred Merkel and 1987 champ Wayne Rainey have ventured to Europe following their championship years. Saturday's heat races saw Polen and Shobert score wins on the 12tum, 2.523-mile circuit, setting up what man y hoped would prove to be a sho wdo wn for the champ ion sh ip. Shobert grabbed the holeshot in heat race number one with Sadowski and Chandler in hot p ursuit. At the end of the second lap, Shobert had pulled clear, turning a 1:46.52. He later dipped into the 45s while cruising unchallenged to the win. Chandler, meanwhile, managed to move past Sadowski, who .would finish third and q ualify for his firstever Ca mel Challenge. Arnaiz and Ashmead rounded out the top five finishers. " It's the fastest thing I'v e ever been on," Sadowski said about his new ride, the Vance &: H ines 1988 Suzuki GSXR 750 Superbike. He wasn't too happy, however, with suspension setup, bu t that was cured du rin g the endurance race, which Sadowski used as a practice session on Saturday afternoon. The second five-lap heat race saw Russell grab the holeshot followed by Quarterley. By the time the pack got to the back section of the course, however, it was Gray leading the fray. This race and the Camel Challenge would provide Gray his only chances at winning races as most figured he would play second fiddle to Polen in the National. By th e end of the first lap Gray led Quarterley and Polen. On e lap later, however , and Pol en wa s second, but not before running off th e track in tum 10. " I was behind Quarterley," Polen said later. " And I couldn 't see the edge of the track. I was only this far off (holding his ha nds six inches apart), but there was a big cloud of dust." Polen didn't waste any time after the brief off-track excursion, and it was ap parent that he was gaining ground on his teammate. . Gray turned a 1:45.17 on the third lap , with Pol en sneaking in to the 1:44-range while continu ing to reelin the a t-home Gra y. As the white flag waved signa llin~ one lap to go, Gray punched his fist into the ai r and proceeded to ru n straight dow n the drag stri p. When he saw Polen negotiate tum one at race speed, he realized his act was a lap premature. He re-entered the track in fourth place behind Quarterley and R ussell , but managed to pass Russell for third, earning a spot in the Camel Challenge. It was a spot, in retrospect, he probably wishes he hadn 't earned. "I thought it was the checkered flag ," Gray, who was now on the recieving end of blunt " can 't you count" ridicule after the miscue. "The flagman was wearing black pants and a white shirt; I just saw waving." When asked if he had p roblems with the flags, Pol en said: "Heck no. It was a white flag. I don't stop for white flags." Polen 's heat race was considerably q u icker than Shobert's with th e Suzuki pilot turning the five laps in eight minutes, 51.569 seconds. Shobert completed the same 12.615 miles in eig h t minutes, 53.969 seconds. With pole position in hand, Polen discussed his strategy. "A ll I can do is try and win ," he said. "It's (the championship ) out of my ha nds. Anything can happen and I don't think he (Shobert ) will be able to cruise here . There will be a lot of guys going good."