Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Hon da- mounted Dwane Mii nch had a good start and was never far behi nd the leaders. He fini shed third overa ll a nd second pla ce Expert. Rusty Reynaud. a litt le off th e pa ce du e to engi ne problem s, fini shed th ird place Expert. Wayne Struckoll was fou rth place Expert foll owed by Steve Leivan, O pen class winne r Don Agnew thou gh t the co u rse was excelle n t a nd had o ne of h is bes t rid es this year . H e finished a n im p ressive six th overall . II m in ut es a head of the of his class . Carlo Cra cch io lo a nd Mitchell Deimund diced for th e lead in th e 250cc cla ss. Both were having problems wit h the slippery up hills follow ing the creek crossings. Deimund was in the lead o n th e las t la p bu t Cracchiolo passed him less thao a m ile fro m the end to La ke th e win . Kevin O 'Br ien powered h is KDX into the lead on the first lap and kept it there u ntil the end Ior the 200cc class win. La nce J\.l ills a nd Vin ce Th rock mo rton were bumping elbows a nd as th ey wrest led for the lead 10 the 125cc cia ss. Mill s flipped sideways o n a log a nd hit hi, kn ee o n a stu mp. Throckmorton pu lled a way 10 take the wi n. but Mill s was able to ge l go ing and ha ng o n lO second pl ace. Senior rider Bob Capli nger emerged victo rious o n his Cagiva a fter do in g ba ttle wi th Kawa saki mo un ted Bill Duffner. res, Res ults O/ A: 1. Tim New ell (Han). EX: 1. Jim Stan f ield IKaw); 2. Dwana Mi inch (Han); 3 . Rust v Revnaud (Yam); 4 . w evne Siruckoff (Yam); 4 . Stev e Leiva n (Kaw ) OPEN: 1. D. Ag new (ATK); 2, M. Turpin (A TK): 3. J . Willia ms (Kaw ): 4 . M . Shertdan (Hus). 250: 1,C. Cracchiolo (Hon ); 2. M. Deimu nd (Honl: 3. R. Gerding (Honl: 4 . R. Harr is (Yaml ; 5. M ittl eb8rg (Hus t, 200: 1. K. O' Brien (Kaw l; 2. R, Thorpe (Kaw); 3. S. Branstett er (Kaw ): 4 , 0 , Ryan (Kaw): 5 . T. Berry (Yaml . 125 : 1. V. Throck morton (Cag); 2. L Mills IHonl; 3 . C. Huff (Han ); 4 .J. Moo re; 5 . R. Cavin ess (Kaw) , 4 -STRK: 1. E. laChanc e (Han); 2. M , Heavens (Yam); 3 . C. Port er IHon); 4 . P. Taylo r (Han). J R: 1. S. Tayklr IHon); 2. J . Harr is (Yam). Vl NT: 1. S . Yarbrough (Husl. SR: 1. B. Caplinger (Cag); 2 . B, Duff ner (Kawl; 3 , R. W helove (Sur); 4 . J . Ortba ls (Hus); 5 . L Gill iand (ATKI. S/SR; 1. L Haves (AlK ); 2. B. Adams . . BEG; " C. Dobson (Hon ); 2. R, Ebr«:ht IKaw); 3 . K. Schmidt (Hont 4 . S. M oss (Hon); 5 . D. Bran son (Suzl. Price wins a pair at Trail-Way Short Track By Len Breech HANOVER. PA. SEPT . 9 \\~ith h is ma in co mpetitio n racin g at th e Syracuse Natio nal and Support ra ces. Georgie Price had a fairly easy time taki ng th e 250 a n d 600 cc Ex pert fin al s o n h is Do rsey Bu ild ~rs/D&S Cycles-sponsored bik es. The multi-tim e Amat eur National Champio n , took a relaxed sta rt in both, not taking th e lead until th e end of th e opening lap. A lock ed u p cra nk o n his Harley-Davidson XR750 in p ract ice pr evented him from a sho t a t becom ing o nly the second rider to sco re a hat tr ick o n th ree differ ent machines. Clarence Bull battled J im Hollister the entire distance to ta ke th e 750cc final, w hi le H o ll ister eas ily won th e 600cc Pro-Am fin al. The Winseu co usins staged ano ther battle in the 85cc fin al wi th T odd pullin g aw ay from Ricky, wh ile Ch uck Bucha nan took th e 250cc Amat eu r fina l and Phil Libhar t took hi s first nigh t win at Trail-Way in the 600cc Am ateur final. Dave Lesni ak , riding his first race since being injured over thr ee mo nth s ago. grabbed the lead fro m Kevin Varnes, P rice a nd Ken Yoder. Price took seco nd as they came off the seco nd tum o n the next lap and started to pressure Lesniak. Halfwa y through th e third lap. Price a nd Lesniak traded th e lead. with Price secu ri ng hi s po siti on as th ey took th e ha lfwa y Hags. Wh ile Price was pulling aw ay. Varn es moved up to cha lle nge Lesniak for seco nd. but came up a littl e sho rt a t the finish . J oe Heberling took th e lead from Pri ce. Dall as Baer a nd Jerem y Lu cy as th e sma ll 600cc Expert class go t underw ay. Pri ce put hi s Ron Wood-Ro tax in the lead a t th e end of th e firs t lap and just disappeared from th e field. Lu cy q uickly got by Baer a nd slo wly pressured Heberling's agi ng Yamaha Tr500 for second. overtaki ng it as th ey too k th e while nag. H eberli n ~ had earlier eas ily won the Senior class, bu ilding up som e dis tan ce wh ile Steve Wi lson and J im Chapman fo ught over second in th e early laps with Wilson taking seco nd for good on the fifth lap. J im Hollister took. the 750cc Expert lead from Clarence Bu ll . Joe Gately, Barry HaH and Lu cy. As the y ended the fir st lap . Bull took the lead with Hollister stay ing close. Lucy . meanw hile, had star ted ro lling and went by Hall before he fell. a nd th en Gately abo u t haHway. Gately stayed close to L ucy, wi th L ucy ta king th ird by five yards. Todd Win sett took the lead from R icky Winsett . Pau l Lynch and .Jerry Alexander as the 85cc co mbined class buzzed o ut of the seco nd turn . Ric ky too k the lead as they exited the fourt h tu rn o n th e seco nd lap , with Alexa nder a nd Ha cker getti ng by Lynch . Co m ing off the second turn o n th e fourth lap . Todd took the lead for good. Ricky stayed close for a w hile . bu t started to dro p back i nt o a co mforta ble second. , Jerry Hash too k th e lead from Steve Ryder and Ph il Li bha rt as th e 600cc Am at eu rs p ulled several len g th s over th e rest of the fiel d. After two laps of close ba tt li ng . Libhart too k the OJ 00 OJ ...... ~ "'::::i'" .... V ..0 o .... u o Phil Lib hart (1 2 ) takes the high li ne on his way to t he 600cc Amateur class w in over Steve Ryder (3 0) and Jerry Hash at Tra il-Way. lead com ing off the second turn o n lap th ree. After two mor e laps. Ryder . look seco nd, loc kin g up the top th ree spots. The start of th e 250cc Am ateur class saw Chu ck Bucha nan a nd 200cc class winner Rob ert Mill er in fro nt as th ey sta rt ed to pull away from th e rest of th e field . In thi rd, a tight race-lon g battle raged between Dennis Angust, Jack Franklin and Ra nd y Buzzard . TIle spo t went to Angust over Buzzard and Franklin . Results 55: 1. Brody M ill er; 2. Sean Stewart (Yam): 3 . J acob J oh nson (yaml: 4 . Benja min Miller (Vam l. 6 5: 1. Jo hn Wi nsett (Kaw); 2. M ike M cKee (Kaw); 3 . Arran Crea mer (Kaw ): 4 . Josh Young (Ya m ~ 85 EX; 1. Todd W insett (Han); 2. Ricky W insett {Yam}; 3 . Jerry AJeu nder (Ka w). 85 AM: 1. M dt e Hacker (Kaw); 2. Paul lynch (Han ); 3. Gregory Batt l (Han); 4 . Arran Creamer (Yam t; 5 , Roy M ill er IKTM). 750 EX.: 1. Clarence Bull (Yam l; 2. J im Hol lister (Tn ); 3 _ Jeremy Lucy (H· D); 4 . Joe Gare ty (Tril; 5 . Jerry Hash (Tri ). 200 AM: 1. Robert M iner (Yam t 2. Tom Anania (Han); 3. Ja mes Miller (C-A). 200 EX: 1. Randy S"""" IKlwl. SR: 1. Joe Heber ling (Yam); 2. Steve Wi lson (H-D); 3. Jim Chapman (H-D): 4 . Wayne Frankli n (Yam); 5 . Thom as Stewart (Hon l. 600 PRO-AM ; 1•..km Holh ster (H·DI; 2. Dave M iller lHon); 3 . Dalla. Saer (Yaml. 600 AM : t . Ph il Ubhart (Yam); 2. Steve Ryder (Yaml; 3 . .Jerry Hash (Hon); 4 . Bill Harper (H-D); 5. M erv Sensenig (Han). 250 EX: 1. Georg ie Pt (Yam); 2. Dave Lesn iak IHus); a 3 . kevin Varne s (Yam); 4 , Ken Yoder (Yaml; 5. Buzz Skiles IH· DI. 250 A M : 1. Chuck Buchanan ISu r ); 2, Robert M iUer (Yam); 3. Denn is A nu ust (Yam); 4 . Randy Buzzard (Hon); 5. Jack Fran kli n (Yaml , 600 EX; 1. Georgie Price (W -RI; 2. Jer emy lucy (H- D); 3. J oe Heberl ing (Yam); 4 . Dallas Baer (Yam). Donaca delivers at PIR MX By Dan Meeker PORTLAND. O R . SE PT. 7 O nce agai n the 125cc In ter media te class p rov ided so me of th e most exci ting racin g of th e even ing a t Portlan d In terna tion al Racewa y's M OI OCfO SS Northwest event . Ed Jensen took the ea rly lead in m o to o ne fol lo wed clo sely by Shane Dona ca a nd Dan U lven. Wh ile the three fro nt -runners co ntinued to cro wd eac h o ther for the lead. R ian Ga m was balllin!l Troy Shanafelt for th e fourth pl ace po siu on . On lap two Gant go t by Shana felt and by the end of th e lap . was in co n ten tion wit h th e o ther th ree frontru nn ers. For the nex t two laps not mo re than a bik e len g th sepa ra ted th e first four riders. Then o n lap fou r U lven pa ssed Dona ca to tak e o ver seco nd. Ulven immediat ely a ttacked J en sen for the lead. but when th e chec kered nag fen it was J ensen clinging to first by ha lf a bike len gth o ver U lven with Donaca a nd G ant close behind. Mot a two sa w T im Park er grab the earl y lead a head of Donaca, Jensen and G ant, Ul ven finished the first lap in sixth after a poor start. O n lap two Par ker fen a nd su rrendered th e lead to Donaca. For th e nex t two laps th e o rder rema ined Donaca . J en sen, Gant and Mik e Ha mness until Ulven worked hi s way past both H amness and G ant to tak e over th ird. With o ne lap remaining. Vlven o ut- ju mped J ensen to finis h second behind Donaca. Results W /PIW: 1. John Hardy (Yam); 2. Jaso n M OOI"e (Yam); 3 . Greg Blackwe ll (Yaml, pIW 6 -8 : 1. Ja son Hanson (Kaw); 2. M icha el Sm ith IKaw ); 3 . John Hardy IKaw) . P/W 9 -1 1: 1. J essv W ill ia ms IKaw); 2. Cory Joh nson (Kawl : 3 . Kevin Eakin (Han). PP: 1. Rachel Brock (Yam); 2. J anet Dean (Yamt; 3. Kell y Sm ith IHo nl. MI NI BEG: 1. Cory Johnso n (Kawl; 2. M inn Zen ner (Sur); 3 . J essy W illi ams (Kaw) . MINI JR : 1. Russell Post ma (Kaw); 2. Travis W ebber fKaw ); 3 . Brandon lucas (Han). M INI EX: 1. Jaso n McCormick (Kawl. 12 5 BEG 0 · 1: 1. Shawn Lowery (Hon); 2. M ichael Hc;aj~":G6~2~~ .3Se ~~~::J~:~); 2. Larry Row land (Han ); 3 , 8randon Plen (Yam). 125 JR : 1. Richa rd Postma lKa w); 2. Ben Parter IHonl; 3 , David Hucke {Yam ~ 125 INT: 1. Sh ane Donaca (Hon ); 2. Dan Ulven (Kawl; 3, Ed J ensen (Han). 125 PRO: 1. David Germa in (Han); 2. DaYKt BrO Wni ng (Yam ). 250 BEG: 1. Pau l Gagner (Hon t 2. Brett Soren son (Han); 3. J eff Nichol s (Hon). B illy Hamill (ri g ht) won the National Speedway Qualifier at Ascot. Scott Brant t ook third . 250 JR : 1. Lou Caulkins (Sur); 2. Jesse Dean {Hont 3 Rod Nees (Yam). 250 INT: 1. Doug Grav elle (Kaw ); 2. Shaw n Colange lo (Kaw l: 3. Tonv Renf ro (Yaml , 250 PAO: 1. M ike Bell (Sur); 2. Lance Sma il (Su r ); 3 Don Boespflug IKaw) . OPEN BEG: 1. Craig Buck (Yam). • OPEN JA ; 1. Kory Crippen (Han); 2. Mik e Wh alen (Kaw); 3 . Bill W arin g (KTM). OPEN INT: t . Tony Ma rti n IHon). OPEN PRO: 1. Ben Wage nma n (Han). UTH: 1. Steve Sm it h (Surl: 2. Mi ke Dean (Yam ); 3 , M ichael Far ia (75); 6 . Al an Chr istian (59 ); 7 . Scott Brant (58); 8 . Ed Cast ro (51); 9 . J im Sisemor e (4 9 ); 10 , Brad OxieV (4 8). Lucero wins Speedway USA Track Championship HmHnga,~J : t1kins (Kaw); 2. Dav id Siossar (Kaw ); 3 .1es Benn et t (Hon). OTH B: 1. Jay Loundagan (Yam); 2. Ron Kent (Yam); 3 . Jesse Dean (Hon l. OTH A : 1. Dave Eakin (Honl; 2. Mike Chase (Yam); 3. Tom Viell e (Honl. OT NOV: t . M ike Reuth er (Suz). OT A M ; 1. Erie Burlti nshaw (Hon l. OT EX: 1. J im Lampk in IHon); 2. Bruce W aganman (Suz), By M. Sober VICTORVILLE. CA. SEPT. 9 Befor e a record-tying crowd of 4000 spectator s, 1988 V .S. Natio nal Speedw ay Ch ampion Steve Lu cero co n ti n ued hi s winn in g ways o r last seaso n by takin g th e first Track Ch am p ionshi p o n th e 1989 ca lend ar a t Speed way VS A. Lucero fini shed th ird to Bill y Ham ill and Alan Christian in hi s fir st hea l but co llec ted victories in his fina l four rides o r th e ni ght to finis h with 13 points a nd the overa ll win. Five rid ers tied fo r seco n d place with II poi n ts eac h whi ch fo rced a runoff to determine wh o wo uld sta nd o n th e rostrum in second a n d third p lace. The riders were Seen Bram , Bobb y Schwartz. Bill y Ham ill . Alan Ch ristia n and Ji m Sisemo re. Bran t had th e po le a nd took a n early lead in the runoff wi th Sisemo re ho t o n hi s ta il. Battlin g Ior third spot was Schwa rtz a nd Ham ill. On the secon d lap Ham ill drifted wid e and Schwa rtz j um ped III u nde rnea th th e young rider to gra b a solid hold o n third pl ace. Brant's lead grew especially wh en Sisemo re' s engi ne fa iled moving th e remaini ng riders u p a no tch in the fin ish ing o rde r. The mos t fortuna te o r these riders was Schwartz, wh o fini shed seco nd in th e run oH a nd su bsequently took third o vera ll. Ro un di ng o ut th e top Iinis bers o n the n igh t were Sco tty Bro wn , Brad Ox ley a nd Mike Fa ria , a ll of wh om fin ished with eig ht po in ts a nd tied for fifth I,lace. The Support ( ass main was won by New Zeala nd's Craig \\' i1kie. Seco nd p lace went to 44-yea r-o ld Way ne Manch ester. with Kelsey Gordo n in th ird a nd Rich Perkins in fourth . Hamill hammers Ascot Speedway Qualifier By Scott Da lo isio G AR DE NA. CA. SEP T . 7 N ine teen-year-old Bill y "The Bull et"Hamill GlIDe back from a slo w sta rt 10 win rou nd five of the 1989 AMA Speedway Nati onal Qualifier Series. Like he d id befo re his victo ry in th e openi ng rou nd of the six race series . Ham ill go t o ff to a slo w sta rt in th e preliminari es. In his openi ng rid e. he p ulled off th e track after frying hi s cl utc h. From tha i point o n, th e Sa n Marino , Ca liforn ia . rid er wen t undefeated. Ascot spec ia list Ph il Co ll ins was th e o n ly ride r to eme rge from th e heat races with a pe rfect . n ine-po int score. Series leader Bobby "Booga loo " Schw artz and Mike Faria were o ne po int beh ind after th e 18 heat s. Pugn acio us " Fast" Edd ie Castro had to righ t hi s way into th e semi s via a runoff. Tied o n three po ints for the fina l two SPOLS in the sem is, Ca stro defeate d northern Cal ifomia 's Charl ie Ven ega s, Kevin J or dan and An dy Northrup in the added four-lap race. Like Cas tro, Ven ega s abo tra ns ferred o n. The first semi went to Reno , Nevada, native SCOIl Bran t. He came fro m beh in d to pass a despera te-fo r -p oi ru s S haw n McConnell. Fari a , mou nted o n a Godden, destr o yed the co m pe ti tio n in the seco nd sem i to jo in Bra nt in the ma in. The third semi prov ided the bigges t shoc k o r the night. Sch wa rtz raced int o the lead on th e sta rt, a nd was sell ing th e pace when Ca stro swept by o n th e o utside. T h e lill ie rider from Oj ai , Ca liforn ia, opened up some breath in g room a nd ca rried it a ll th e way to th e checkered. In th e final sem i. Hamill, o n the Monrovia Diesel/ G reat Whi te Limou sine/STP/Quak er Sta te/ BieHe/Mesa MuHl er-b acked Weslak e bea t Co lli ns to co m plete th e ma in event field . Schwartz ga ted first and led all th e way to cap tu re first place in the co nso la tio n. Collin s fin ished seco nd ahe-ad of McConnell and Brad Oxley. Faria flew off gate o ne wh en th e ma in sta rted. and led Hamill a nd Bra nt by a bik e len glh wh en they reached turn o ne. Brant went under Faria a nd took first. Brant d id not have mu ch ti me to enjo y li re in th e van ~uard . A second a fter Brant look firs t from Fana. Ham ill screa med between bo th of them in stunning fashi on. Bran t did a good job staying wit h in striking di sta nce of Ha mill until the end of the first circu it. whe n Ham ill turned o n the a fterbur ner s and was go ne. Faria, nOlliking th e idea o r go ing fro m rirs t to third in the blink of a n eye, lried to go o utside Bra nt , but th ere was nothin g the re. T he 32-year-o ld vetera n went backw a rds and firm ed up Brant's gr ip o n seco nd. When Roy Kell ing dis p layed his chec kered. H amill had a hu ge lead . Brant stayed in seco nd for the duration foll owed by Faria and Castro. Results MAIN: 1. Bilty Ham ill (Wes); 2. Sc:on Branl lJaw); 3. M ike Faria (Gdn ); 4 . Ed Castro (Wesl. AFTER FIVE ROUNDS : 1. Bobby Schwanz (89); 2. Phil Colli ns (7 8); 3 . (TIE) Bilty Hamill/ St."e lucero (76); 5 . M ike Results - POINT STANDINGS; 1. Sfeve Lucer o 1131: 2. (TIE) Scott Brant/Bobby Sc:hwa rt s/Billy Ham ill / Alan Chr istianlJim Sise more (1 1); 7 . (TIEl Scott y Brow n/Brad Dx leylMike Far la(8). Bennett tops Dade City MX By Scott Shepherd DADE CITY. FL. SEPT. 9 Hon da rider J oey Bennett used good form to take th e overa ll 80cc class win at th e Sat urday • n ight Dade Cit y Raceway MX. Bennett bla sted off th e lin e first a nd led to the first tum; Kawasaki rid er Mich ael Ha lley moved in to seco nd with Honda pil ot Scott La m b th ir d . They held these posit ions thro ugh the first lap . as they pulled a 30-yard lead over the rest of th e pa ck. At ,h e ha lfway point of the race Lamb took over seco nd place from Ha lley wh en he bobbled slig h tly in a drop-off turn a t the end of th e fro nt straigh t. By th e last lap . Lamb was 20 yards beh ind the leader and p lo tti ng to pass. He set up his move in a broad horseshoe tum, bu t co u ld n' t pull it off as Ben nett wisely used lapped riders to help ho ld back La mb to the nag. Hall ey fin ished a steady th ird. Bennett agai n grabbed the ho leshOl in ,h e seco nd 80cc mo ta with Yamaha rider J osh Kiet lY' in seco nd . Hall ey a nd La m b ro unded o ut th e top four riders at the end of the first lap. Benneu had p u t distan ce o n the ol her three riders i n' the lead group by the th ird la p, and Ha lley soo n fell ou t of the lead group. At th e hal fwa y poi n t. Bennett had a 30-yard lead o ver Kielt y and La mb. Halley, mean while, was sti ll 75 yards back in fou rt h spoL La mb came within 15 yards of passing Kiel ty but co u ld n' t do so on the lo ng fro nt straightaway. On the fin al la p Bennett still had the lead follo wed by Lamb and Kielt y. La m b finally put the move o n 31

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