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Team Green's Grant Palenske wrapped up the AMA/D-37 250cc number
one plate by winning the So Cal Hare & Hound/Turkey Chase.
National Hare & Hound champ Dan Smith (right) had the lead after the
bomb run but later dropped out of the race .
Suzuki-mounted Scott Stearns
fin ished second overall.
The 400-plus riders wait for the start of the 86 -mile desert race near Red Mountain .
Palenske tops So Cal
M.C.'s Hare & Hound/
Turkey Chase
By Donnetta and Bob Murray
R ED MO UNTAIN, CA, NOV. 13
Many riders h ad good reason for en terin g
the AMA 'District 37 So Cal H are & H ou nd
and Turkey Chase - some used it as a tune
up for the upco m ing Barstow-to Vegas H are
& H o und, some wanted to take
adva ntage of the cool high
deser t temperature, a n d most
.
Impo rt a n tly, many were h o p -
18
ing to earn va luab le di stri ct"poi nts,
as th e end o f th e D-37 hare & ho u nd
season is ra p id ly ap proachi ng. Team
Green's Grant Pal en ske came to Red
. Mounta in in ho pes of a n ear ly
cli nchi ng of the 250cc class title,
which he got by captu ring th e overa ll
victory in today's race .
Ho wever, fro m start to finish it
was not a smooth path for Palenske
who had ~evera l ~urd les to clear
before ea rn m g the first-p lace trophy.
So me of the h urd les included Cliff
T ho mas a nd Dan Smith, bo th of
wh om are vying fo r the district's '
number o ne pl ate in the Open class.
It was SoCaI M.C.·s 44th An nua l
Har e & H ound wh ich attracted more
tha n 500 riders to th e two-loop event.
T he banner dropped 30 minu tes
af ter th e sched uled start time d ue to
the large number o f la te sig n- ups.
H usky-mou nt ed Smith shot off the
line fir st and held on to a 100-yar d
lead aft er reachi ng th e bo m b. T he
bomb run was a rather slow-paced
cha rge over th e cross gra in beca use
of th e tri cky terrain and bushes.
Smi th 's lead , however, was sho rtlived as he made th e wrong decision
chosing two ribboned trails sta rt ing
th e trai l secti on of the cou rse. Both
Sm ith and Pal en ske unknowingly
chose the lo nger, tighter trail of th e
two. By th e time the two trai ls
merged a m ile la ter a t th e rai lroad
tracks, Thomas, aboard a Yamaha
YZ490, had blasted into the lead and
was clos ely p urs ued by Ron Sh uler,
T om Wi ll is, Scott St earns, Ph il
Gargone, then Smith, Charlie Morris
and Pa lenske, who rounded oUI the
top 10.
.
For Palenske, lu ck was shi ning
in h is direction. First of all , Sm ith
decided to pack it up early a fter
feeling th e effects o f two weeks preru nn ing in Mexico a nd raci ng th e
Baja 1000 just two da ys ea rl ier.
Shortly a fter, Sh uler cras hed a nd
W illi s becam e s ide li ned w i th
mechan ica l problems .
Thomas eventually found him self
in th e lead with Stea rns third and
Pal en ske co mi ng up fast.
"Stea rn s a nd I had a good dice in
the first loo p a bo ut 15 m inutes o u t,"
said th e Kawasak i/Metzeler/F&LI
O ' Neal / Sco tt/Acerbis / Wh ite Bro th -
e rs/Ts u ba k i l R e n t ha I I S pec troba cked Pal en ske.
As th e racers head ed for the pits
. fo llow ing th e fir st 42-mile loop
Thomas was lead ing the wa y.
T he red a nd whiteclad T hom as
was more tha n two minu tes on hi s
closest co mpe titor and d idn 't even
loo k back .as he spe d in and ou t of
h is p it. Palenske charge d through
the ch u te in seco nd positio n, whi le
merely 20 seco nds behi nd him were
Stearns, o n a 250cc Suzuki, a nd Brian
Nevestich, aboard a Yamaha. Stearns
and Nevestich gave the spec tato rs
somethi ng to watch as they jockeyed
for the thi rd p lace spot raci ng
towards pit row. Suzu ki-moun ted
Morris and Gorgone, on a Kawasaki,
were slig htly a head o f Kirk Koval eff,
who just recen tl y beca me a Vet rider,
a nd Husky pi lot Dave Chase, Back
. in 13th posi tio n was the first 125cc
rider Ed Arnet.
" I got a bad start," said Arnet, who
eventua lly powered h is Kawasaki to
a first-p lace fin ish in th e I25cc class.
"Then again , I never ge t a good sta rt,
so I do n't worry abou t it. "
The seco nd loop is where a ll the
"fu n beg an ," accordi ng to race
marsh all Dan Wi lson. T he trail
- starte d ou t by winding u p a little hill
with the riders facing a rock field on
the downhill side.
" I couldn' t ca tch Grant in the
roc ks," said th e Ans wer Productsl
Dad -spo n sored Stea rns. " He was
go ne. Nevesti ch passed me wh en I
wen t down in th e rocks a nd I could
see Morris in th e background trying
to ca tch me."
Once past Stearns, th e Montclair
