Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ ~ Interview: National Hare Scrambles Cham ion Scott Plessinger HONDA Come ridewith us. The 'hare thet couldn'tbe caught Now Taking Deposits On HONDA'S NEW RC30 Great Prices on all CRs 1989 and 1990 IN STOCK NOW W Call BOB EMDE or GEORGE DAWKINS 0 O"l O"l POWAY HONDA KAWASAKI 14010 Pow.y RoM, Pow.y. Col92064 (6 19) 748-415 1 ......-l ~ G('") ..... ~ S e ll your old moto rcycl e \Nith a Cycl e Ne\N s Want A d . ro ~ I C boredom PRESCRIPTION s ro ~ A • • • • • • • • • • • I 0 I ·0 • • Send cata log #13 (116 color pages) listin g produ cts for Dirt Bikes. ATV's. and Watercraft. Enclosed is check for I $3.00. Send catalog #135 (28 color pages) list- • in g products for Harl ey-Davidson . StreerSingles,and 5portbikes. Enclosed is check for $2.00. . ' • NAME - - - -- - - - -- - • STREET - - - - - - - -'-- - - • CITY STATE • ZIP - - -- - - - - - - -- -- - - - - _ - - hen the fina l ro und of th e AMA Nationa l Cha mpionsh ip Hare Scrambles Series ro lled into Wrentha m, Massachuse t ts, la st N o vember, th e 1989 nu mber o ne pla te was on th e li ne a nd da ngli ng in the faces of three of this co unt ry's fastest hare scra mbles racers. Onl y a few meaningless points separated them in the standmgs, one of whom was the veteran of cross country a nd hare scra mbles racing, the wil y a nd aggressive 29year-old mu lti -time ch ampion Ed Lojak. Armed and ready to challenge Lojak , th ough , were two ex treme ly hungry yo ung ri ders seeking th eir first-ever National Champio ns h ip titles - SCOll Sum mers a nd SCOll Plessin ger, both of whom a re fa irl y new to the Na tion al Har e Scra mbles circu it. During th e c ha m p io ns h i p deciding race, Summers reluctan tly d ropped ou t wh en his gas ca p came loose a nd dren ched hi s bod y wi th th e skin-burn ing liqu id. With Sum mers out of th e running, th e bailie was now down to two - Pennsylvania 's Loj ak and Ohio's P lessin ger. As the race drew to a close, all eyes were focused on the vetera n race r, Lojak, and th e new kid, Pl essinger, wh o was in second place with Lojak closing fast in th ird. If Kawasak imounted Plessinger cou ld ho ld back Yamaha-mounted Lojak, th e titl e wo uld be hi s. If no t, then Loj ak would ad d another num ber o ne tro p hy to hi s collection . When the dust had fina ll y seu led after three hours of intense corn perition, Pl essin ger had bea ten Loj ak to th e checkered flag by in ch es, a nd in doi ng so sea led hi s fir st-eve r Na tiona l Cha m p io n sh ip H a re Scra mbles titl e. " It was close," said Plessinger. " I knew I had to bea t Ed (Loja k) or I would lose the championship. I had to go as fast as I cou ld, but I cou ld n' t a ffo rd ' to m ak e a ny m is ta kes. I co uldn' t cra sh ; if. I did then th at would've been it. " Bu t the 22-year-o ld P lessin ger didn 't crash or make a ny mi sta kes and n ipped h is off-the-track friend a t the wire. P lessinger 's accomplishment is even more noteworthy wh en yo u consider that he bea t not onl y Lojak but som e of the other fast est woods rid ers in the country, suc h as Ohio's umm er s, Kevin Brown , for m er H are Scrambles Ch ampion Ma rk Hyde, Ca lifo rn ia's Ron Na ylor a nd Pennsvlvan ia's Dua ne Conner. Born a nd raised in H a m ilto n , Ohio, whi ch he still calls hom e, Plessin ger began racin g hare scra mbles in 1984. In 1986, he first cha llen ged the Nati onal Championshi p Hare Scra mbles circui t a nd finished 12th . Ever since th en , P lessin ger has been inchi ng h is wa y tow ards the top. In '87 he fin ished fourth , in '88 he took n inth " . . . bad year, " a nd in '89 he zeroed in a nd mad e a di rect hit on th e number o ne p lat e. Through out hi s rela tively short racing ca reer, Plessin ger has never reall y stra yed far from hare scra mbles compe titio n. "I've ridden some end uros and motocross , but my favorite is hare scra mbles. I don 't reall y lik e- having to timekeep in enduros. " Unlike some of th e top rid ers on the National Ha re Scrambles circu it like Lojak, Summers, Hyde a nd Brown, Ple ssinger ha s not com pe ted in the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE), nor does he want to. " It 's too much hassle to ride the Six Days. I don 't really have the desire to go to Europe and compete over there, pi us it takes a lot of money." Although the cost of contesting the National Championship is staggering, P lessinger does so with very Iiule in th e way of sponsorship. "Kawasaki gave me two bikes and

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