Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

....... ....... l-o iJ.) ..0 Three-time Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen (9 ) finis he d second, h is best performance in years. Here he leads Alex·Jorgensen . charge across the lin e at the end of lap seven. J ones led laps eigh t a nd nine a nd th e fina l la p saw th e Oklahoman take the win by in ch es over Day, who was second, a nd Mert en s, wh o fin ish ed th ird . In gram fin ish ed fourth , a bike length behind the front three fin ishers. Graham , who had twea ked hi s kn ee th e ni gh t bef o re a t Ascot, nipped Will Davi s and hi s Edd ie Ad k ins- tu ned H arl e y fo r fifth . They'd be joined in the semi by Bobby McDow ell , Don Estep a nd Bob McDonnell. T he track had a pparently sta bilized as J ones's wi n ni ng time was 6:26.72. Semis As the first of two 10-la p sem i-final races th at would adva nce the top two finish ers to th e final got underwa y, the wind pi cked up and as th e field . came o ut of turn four it smacked them in the face. H eading th e charge in to th e wi nd and to th e lin e a t the end of th e openin g la p was Charlie Orr, but th e Texas H a rley rider was dropped to seco nd by Scott Stump, aboard th e Stump-Patrick Racing Honda, on th e next lap a nd then Pearson d ropped him to th ir d on la p three. Orr hung to ugh and the fron tru nners crossed th e line three abreast at the en d of lap seven . O rr had the lead a t th e end o f lap eig h t, but went off the groove in turns one and two on th e wh ite flag lap to drop off th e pace. Pearson foll owed Stu m p ou t o f turn fo ur o n the fin a l lap to set him up for th e draft pass, bu t th e pass fell short a nd Stump took th e win to lead the two o f them into th e National. O rr finished fourth, a few bik e len gths back , a nd he faced th e Last Chance Q ual ifier. In gram a nd Eklu nd d uel ed for most of the seco nd semi, but In gram broke away fro m th e former champ o n lap nine and went on to win by several bike lengths. Eklund was cha llenged on the last lap by Roeder, but Roeder 's charge came too la te a nd he too was headed for th e Last Ch ance Qual ifier. last Chance Qualifier It was O rr first o ff th e lin e a t th e start of the LCQ, but the start was ragged a nd Orr and th e field were gr eeted by the red flag as they came down the fro nt straigh t o n the ope ni ng lap . Orr repeated hi s hol esh ot - in a big way - on th e restart a nd he led th e first two la ps, but it was Roeder out front a t the end o f th e next seven laps. Roeder was no way ridi ng al one as he was hounded across the line o n every lap by Orr, McDow ell and Camlin. It was anyone's race as they sta rt ed th e fina l lap, and a ll four hit th e line in a tightly bunched cl u m p th at had th e officials resort to th e Cycle News Finish Line Camera. The nod went to H ar ley-m ounted Mc Do well a n d he was i n the National. A disappointed Roeder, wh o ca me to th e lin e after th e race to vi ew the fini sh . for h im self, Ca m lin and O rr were sent packing. Junior Invitational T he 10-lap fin al for the yellow pl ate Junior riders saw heat race wi n ne rs Steve Raym ond and Larry Pegra m ru n 1-2 on the first two laps, but th e third to u r ended wi th An dy T resser at the point and he a nd Pegra m broke away from Ra ymo nd on the next lap a nd started a racelong lead swappi ng duel. Raym ond caught back up wi th the fro nt-ru n ners o n the white £lag la p a nd joined them on th e final charge to the finish line. Wood -Rota xmou nted Pegra m took th e win by th e narrowest of margins over Tresser , while Raym ond was for ced to settle for the final step on the victory rostrum. " I kept hoppin g off th e groove and th ey got away from me," sa id Ra y- mond. " I got ba ck with 'em, but that was all I could do." R u n ner-u p Tresser, who had fol low ed Pegram through turns three and four on the last lap, said , " I held back a litt le too long (to pull o ff a dra ft pass)." Winner Pegram, when told th a t Jun ior Na tional Champion Mike H a le wo uld com pe te in a Junior race th e next weekend in Sacramento , sa id , " I'm looking forward to racing with him again." Pegram, who hails from Baltimore, Ohio , fini shed second in the Junior title chase th is year. H e's been cam paig ning a Mike Carnphouse-tuned Wood-Ro tax all year, but rode one ou t o f Ron Wood 's sta ble a t Sa n J ose. National Ro nn ie J o nes p ulled the hol esh o t at the start of the 25-la p final, b u t it was Parker first across the line by a co uple of bi ke len gths at the end o f la p one. Poovey crossed in seco nd , Chandler in third, J o nes fourth, veteran J or gensen fifth, Ca rr nex t, Farris sixth and then Mertens and the rest of the field. T he fro nt four repeated over the next two la ps bu t J orgensen was dropped to six th o n lap two by Carr and then to seven th by Farris by lap three. By the en d of the fo urth lap, i t was apparent that barr ing a mec han ica l problem or a m ajor rider error, the race belonged to defendin g cha mp . Parker. Lap five saw Parker stretch out his lead a nd Sp ri ngs tee n begin hi s charge by dropping J orgensen down another no tch to eig h th. T he next lap saw the beginning of a sh uffle of spots behind Parker, who was lo ng go ne - crossing the line as his (Left to right) Third place finisher Doug Chandler, Miss Camel Pro, winner Scott Parker and runner-up Jay Springsteen celebrate in winner's circle. pursu ers were exi ting turn four, a nd _ Camel Pro Ser ies cham p . As Parker, lap seven ended with Carr a nd J ones his left fist sta bbing th e a ir , circu running 2-3, Chandler a nd Poo vey lated ' the track, Springsteen came 4-5, an d Farris in six th .. begi nn ing ac ros s a di st ant seco n d wi th to feel the pressure being a ppl ied by C h andler third , a n ' ela ted Farris Sp ringsteen . fourth , Poovey fifth , Day six th, J o nes Sp ri ngsteen's charge conti n ued nex t, Carr a disappointed e i~h th, and on th e ninth lap he moved into a nd th en a ga p a nd the remainder o f th e field. . fifth beh in d Parker , Poo vey, Carr and J ones. On the very next lap he Parker ca me back arou nd to grab crossed the line in fourth and on lap the checkered fla g for a celebrato ry I I he moved past J ones and then la p , but he sto p ped long enough to Poo vey to take over second for good. p ick up not o nly the flag but tuner T he next few laps saw Par ker Bill Werner as well. T hey mad e their co nti n ue to strut o u t front, now by lap o f triu m p h a nd as P a r ker a ma rgin of six seco nds, and Sp ri ngm ounted the vic to ry rostr u m, steen p ulled a li ttl e breathing room Werner stood back and grin ne d. For on Poovey who continued to ru n Werner , it was his six th title. thi rd. Before he sen t o u t shock waves Bobby McDowell dropped out of . with his now fam ilia r screams of jo y, th e race with ap pare nt mechanical H ar ley- Da vidson /B ell /T subak il problems on la p 15, the on ly casualty AIW o f Am er ica/Ha rl ey O wner s o f th e grind, a nd th e running or der Gro u p / ITT-spon sored P arker was Pa rker long gone, Spri nger yell ed, " Harley-Davidson! Harl eysecond , Poovey th ird, foll owed by th e Davidso n ! T he baddest motorcycle drafting quartet o f J ones, Carr , on the road!" . Farr is a nd Ch andler. Springsteen, sportin g a sm ile as Carr's shot at a top spo t ended o n bi g as Parker's, sai d, "Th is is grea t. lap 16 wh en he go t in to bi g troub le It 's been a long ti me since I've in turn four. finished this high a nd it really feel s " I h it a rut and went sideways. I good. I' ve got 'to th ank Bill Bartels saved it , but I do n 't know how. You for everything he's done, and Mi ke sho u ld as k Ronni e (Jones) abou t it . Mockabee, who builds th e engine s, H e was right there a nd saw it," sa id and AI Stangler , who prepares the Carr. bike, for a ll th eir help." " It wa s a big o ne," said J ones. T hird pl ace fini sher Chandler, " T here's a soft spot in fo ur who moved to within four points of p rob abl y fro m the wateri ng - and _ Ingram a nd Moreh ead wh o are tied he hit it and rea ll y got crossed up. for third in the Camel P ro Seri es H e was going from lock to lock. H e point standi ngs, explained his la te pu lled off o ne gr eat save." race charge: " It took me a while to The running o rder a t th e end of figure out turns o ne a nd two. They lap 15 read P a rker , Springsteen, were gett ing th ro ugh there and the P oo vey, J o nes, Farri s, Chandler , o the r turns better tha n me and were Ca rr, Da y, Morehead , E kl u n d, gone. " Mer ten s, At her to n, J org e n sen ,. Carr cli nc hed seco nd in the Camel In gram a nd Pearson. Pro point standi ngs a nd will recei ve The la ps wo u nd down with Park er $30,000 for th at, but In gram , Morema intain ing a six-seco nd lead over head, Chand ler and Poovey all have Sp ri ngsteen who had enough time a shot a t finishing third which is in hand over Poovey to come down worth $20,000 in point fu nd money, the front straigh t with his fist on the $5000 more tha n fourth. • tank cradling his chin in an exp resResults sion of boredo m or perhaps in 25-LA P NATIONA L FINA L: 1. Scan' Parker (Hkno win g that h e co u ld n't ca tch . D); 2. J ay Spri ngsteen (H- D); 3. Doug Chandl er Parker a nd no o ne was near him. (H on ~ 4 . Rodney Farris (H-D); 5. Terry Poovey (Han); .6. Keit h Day (Han); 7. Ronn ie Jon es (Han); 8. Chris Poovey lost his seemingly fixed Carr (H - D ~ 9. Steve Morehead (Han); 10 . Tim grip o n third on lap 20 when Fa rri s M ert ens (Han); 11. Kevin Atherton (H-D); 12. Steve Eklun d (H-D); 13. Alex Jorgensen (Han); 14 . Dan and Ch an dl er closed o n him a nd Ingram (Han); 15. Scan Pearson (H-D); 16. Scan began swapping th e positio n. T wo Stump (Han); 17. Bobby McDowell (H-D). TIM E: 15 min .. 46 .422 sec. la ps lat er, Chandler moved into third AVERAGE SPEED: 95.51 mph. for good a nd a la p la ter Farri s A M A GRAND NATI ONA L CHAMPI ONSHIP/ dropped Poovey to fifth. CAM EL PRO SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1. Scan Parker (24 6): 2. Chri s Carr (20 5); 3. (TIE) Dan The fo llowing la p saw Day presIngram/ Steve Morehead 1 126 ); 5. Doug Chandler suring J ones for sixth .a nd as the 1122);6. Terry Poovey (117); 7. Ronnie J ones (102 ); 8. Rodn ey Farri s (91 ); 9. Ja y Spr in gst een (89); 10. white flag came o ut i t was Day in Will Davis 1781; 11. Kevin A thert on (51); 12. Ricky tha t spot. " I was getting oi l ba ck on Graham (49 ); 13. Tim Mert ens (4 1); 14 . Steve Eklun d (37); 15. Steve A seltine (34); 16 . George the rear tir e from a cracked case," Roeder II (29); 17. 8 ill Hernd on (27); 18. Scan said J ones a fter the race, "and that Pearson (19); 19. Keith Day (18); 20 . Don Estep p robabl y took a way some of the bi te (17). . JUNIOR INVITATIONAL: 1. Larry Pegram (W-R); I ha d in the turns." 2. Andy Tresser (W- R); 3. St eve Raymond (H-D); T he crowd, sli m by San J o se 4 . Kris Kiser IRtx); 5. Steve Rasmu ssen (H· DI; 6. Steve Mayfield ( H - D ~ 7. An thony Holdsclaw (Rtx ); standards , was on its feet as Parker 8. Don Stanley (Ra ); 9. M ichael McDonnell (Hcame roari ng o ut o f turn four and D); 10 . Sean Plyma le (W-R); 11. Donald Paul; 12. crossed the line the winner and 1989 Kevin Bricker (Han). o .... . U o II

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