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/127182
Daytona Camel Pro Kickoff winner Steve Aseltine (center). runner-up Chris ' Car r (left) and third-place finisher Scott Pearson celebrate in ~inner's circle. It was this closeI Canadian Steve Aseltine (36) nipped Chris Carr (20) at the finish line. Aseltine led only one lap - the winning one. AMA Grand National Championship/ Camel Pro Series: Round 1 - Aseltine·nips Carr at Daytona By Gary Van Voorhis Photos by Bert Shepard DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. II Canadian Steve Aseltine completed the final chapter of his Daytona Cycle Week Cinderella tale by winning the Camel Pro Kickoff National Short Track by a scant two feet 14 over Chris Carr in a th rilling, . last lap charge off turn four. Scott Pearson, a close third; could only watch as the drama unfolded. Aseltine, as he had proved in his 600 National victory the night before and in w inning th e inaugura l Municipal Stadium short track race of the Daytona Budweiser/Wiseco Dirt Track Series Thursday night, knew how to get th e job done. " T h u rs day night I fo u nd th e com bina tion to winning on this track," said th e elated 19-year-old Asel tine after win ning h is fir st G rand Nati onal Championship event. " On Friday, I didn 't have to hang it out to win so I basically polep utted around and held off (Chris) Carr 's charges," co nti n ue d the Abbottsford, British Col umbia, resident. "T onigh t, well I too k my b . ..s o ut of my pocket, went up hi gh through turns th ree-four and gambled everything." Aseltine 's stra tegy paid off to th e tune of more than $10,000. In addition to hi s $4135 winner's share of the $30,000 purse, $20 lap money for leading that single lap, and $2500 for second behind winner Carr in the Ca mel ' Challenge, Aseltine a lso pocketed the $4000 top payoff for the Daytona Dirt T rack Seri es. Carr came o ut jus t short in the series as well as ton ight's race, finishing o ne po int behind Aseltine, 60 to 59. The o peni ng ro u n d i n Sco tt Parker 's defense of his AMA Grand National Ch ampionsh ip title was derai led during h is heat race. Parker slid down wh ile cha llenging for a transfer posi tio n in the heat and spe nt th e rest of the night spectating. The new Daytona Beach Municipa l Stad ium p rovided a welcome ch a nge from the old Memorial Stadiu m, site of more than 30 years worth of short track memories until it was demolished following last year 's Cycle Week to make way for a p a rking lot. The new facility features 10,000 seat s, a limestone and marl-based track designed specifically for racing and an atmosphere that is definitely National caliber. The Camel Pro Kickoff also fills a void in the Camel Pro Ser ies schedu le, providing riders with a sh o rt track National. After the running of the 1986 Houston Astrodome even t, short track racing disappeared from the schedule. Time Trials H ar lev-Davidsorr 's Chris Carr tripped th e tim ing cloc ks at 19.592 seconds on the quar ter-m ile oval to top th e 81 rider entry in tim e tri als. Ga rt h Brow, a boa rd his Frost Farm Eq uipmen t-bac ked H onda, posted a lap at 19.777 for second fastest time. Sco tt Pearson was th ird fastest at 19.785 on h is Bud Beck H on da. Brian Bonesteel, aboard the Mar io Ber. na rd i Wood· Ro ta x, Ma r ioneaux Racing's Terry Poovey and Aseltine, aboard the Cougar Gulch .Distilting Rotax, rounded ou t th e top six. Cam el is again putting up the bucks for Camel Challenge races at selec ted National s and tonight's Daytona event was, the first of '89. That meant a coo l $10,000 would go to the winner of th e five-lap dash for cash between th e top six qualifiers. A sho t at a pi ece of the $17,5000 bo n us purse co u ld h av e been Parker's, but the reigning champ waved off his firs t-run in qualifiying and on his second attempt turned an iden tica l 19.915 to Aseltine's run. Un fortunatel y for Parker, that meant sevent h in qual ifying and no berth in th e Camel Challenge. Heats H arl ey-David son 's Carr grabbed the lead off the lin e in th e first of six l O-lap heat races th at would advance the top two fin ish ers to the main. Carr was never headed for the 10 laps. Team ma te Jay Springsteen pl ayed bump-and-run in traffic off turn two and picked up second and the top two spots were set. Steve Morehead , aboard the Sponseller Ra cing H onda, tried in vain to reel in Springsteen from third, but to no avail. Heat two saw Dan Ingram, Morehead's Sponseller Racing teammate, pull th e holeshot and cruise home th e winner. Garvis Honda's Ronnie J ones spent the entire race lurking a b o u t 15 bike lengths behind Ingram, never able to close the gap. Dan McDonnell, on the Amal Harley; fini shed a distant th ird. The riders in heat number three got an extra chance to practice their starts as the first start was red-