Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ LOCAL EVENTS e O pen Am ateu r cla ss. Ben Saglim be ni gra bbed th e lead a t th e start a n d ra n away from th e re st of t he p a ck. Coolbe th wa s stuc k well back in th e tig h t group, but by lap two had mov ed 10 fift h. On lap th ree , Coo lbe th moved to fou rt h , a nd tw o laps lat er Coolbe th slid under Da rr yl Baer to take third behi nd J ohn Shaver. Shaver sli pped o ff th e groove in tu rn four o n la p seven, a nd Coolbe th, wi th Baer in tow, went o n by. At th e checkered flag it wa s Sagli mbeni by a stra ig h ta way o ver Coolbet h , Baer an d Shaver. CN Resu lts \ ' ~ lI N G E R so: I. Thomas K('("l y (Ya m ): 2. Sean e Heat h (Yam) ; 3.Kr ilh Bryant (Ya m). 60: I. Aa ron C reamer ( Ka w]: 2. Matth ew Mu rr ay ( K;: W). I Ken n y Cool beth (32) puts the move on Duane Veeder (99) on h is way to the 250cc Expert class Championship at the Afton Fairgrounds Half Mile. sai d to be th e wa ve o f th e future wh en it was bu ilt ea rly this season . Schu h]. was the next to fall. In th e very fir st ro u nd of eli mi na tio ns, th e recent So ut hern Natio nal C ha m p io n was u p set by local rider Ea rl T immons , 8.20 / 163. 19 to 8. 19/16 1.95. (T im mo ns wo n the rac e w ith a slower time by reaClin!-: q u icker to th e C hristmas tree starti ng ligh ts a nd gell ing ou t of the ho le first by four-h undredths o f a seco nd. 08 to . 12.) With a ll th e former N H RA cham pions ou t of th e wa y by the time he pu lled to the line for h is first-round ma tc h agai ns t Compton , Myer s m ust hav e th o ught he had the race in the bag. He cr u ised into th e sem i fin al s o n George Bryce' s Star Racin g Su zu ki G SXR with , naturall y, th e two best run s o f eliminations: a i .96/1 iO.29 fir st-round defeat of Compton 's 8.23/ 160.ll , and a i .9 l/1 iO. 19 second-round pounding of j o h n so n 's ab orted 10.03/ i6.6-l. • Bernard eas ily defeated Randy johnso n in hi s fir st-round match, i .98/ 168.50 to 8. 15/ 165.83. Gast, a fter being left a t th e sta rt ing line by Russ Nyber g (w ho took th e last upset victory in NHRA co mpetitio n , at th e '88 Su mm ernati onal s) pa ssed him ri ght in th e lig h ts to w in by less th an a hundredth of a seco nd , 8.09/ 161.20 to 8.13/ 161.5i . After track in g down a n electrica l b ug in th e pits, G ast b rok e into th e is in the seco nd ro u nd , ru n ni ng a i .99/ 162.39 to bea t Timmons' dista nt 8.36/ 144.i'1. W ith a nea rl y identical i. 99/ 16i .3 1, Bern a rd advanced to th e semi final s over Keith G ra y's 8.0 l/ 16iAi. Bernard th en coasted into the fin al s with a n 8.00/ 166.45 wh en Myers, o n hi s wa y to yet a nother N H RA fin al , in ex pl icabl y took off before th e starting lights were ac tiv a ted . G ast ea rn ed th e re ma ini ng final-round berth wi th a i.99/ 162.0i to 8.08/ 16i .09 over the clockwork-co nsistent Ron Ayer s (th ree ra et:-d a y r u ns w i t h in less than a hundredth o f a seco nd ). With bOlh m achines perform ing eq ua lly, Bernard 's reflex es shou ld hav e decided th e fin al right o n th e sta rt ing lin e. ( H is eve n t- bes t .0 5-second reaction -tim e a veraged rat es a m o ng t he qu ick est o ne-race av ~rages in h istory. ) As expected, Bernard ch arged to a n ea rly lead in th e fin al with a clutch .03 rea ction. H e kept th e lead until half-track , wh ere Gast, on his best run o f th e event in th e most important ra ce of his life, took ov er the lead and inched ahead to win by a few feet , i.95/ 164.05 to Bernard 's tire-spinning 8.04/ 16i. 50, hi s slo wes t o f eli m inations. eN Snoop snares New York HM Championship By Tom Blach ek AITO~, ~Y, JUNE17 COIl Snoop was crowned New York State H alf Mil e C ha m p io n in the Sports man cl ass at the Afton Fa irgrou nds. T homas Ro tonda ro led the pack o f 12 P ro -Am a nd Exp ert Ama ieur rider s through th e first lap. R or ondaro wa s chased by R obert Weiss, Snoop a nd Sea n C lar k. On th e second lap, Sn oop slipped to fourth, bu t moved ba ck around Clark into tli ird o n th e fourth lap. While Snoop a n d Cl ark wer e battl ing , Rotondaro and Weiss were having th eir own argument over first. Sn oop dov e under Weiss on lap five to take second. The last three laps of th e ra ce saw Rotondaro, Snoop and Wei ss sw apping posit ions, with Snoop leading th e lap th at co u nted . R o to n d a ro fini shed seco nd, while Wei ss ca me u p third with Clark in fourth. Kenny Co olberh walked aw ay with two Half Mile Cham pi onsh ip s as he wo n bo th th e 125 and 250cc Expert cla sses. Coolbeth struggled in th e I25cc Expert hea t, but a fter some adj u stm ents 10 the carbu retor o n his Kawa saki h e ran away with the fina ls. Coolbeth h ad 10 co nten d with th e cr aft y Dua n e Veed er in the 250 cc Expert class. Veeder grabbed th e hol esh ot a nd Coolbet h , sta rt ing o n the o u ts ide , stayed o ut in the cu sh io n th ro ugh turns o ne and two, a nd passed two riders to mo ve into seco nd. Do wn the back str.tigh t, Coolbe th b lew by Veed er a n d th en j ust held Veede r o ff for the rest of th e ra ce. Ea ch la p Veede r would dra w close to Coolbet h o n th e fro nt stra ig h t o n ly to lose g ro u nd o n th e back strai ght. Vttder returned lat er in the day to win th e Open Expert class H al f Mil e Championship. Veeder led from sta rt to fin ish whi le Cl a ud e Racine a nd Crai g Estelle sq ua bbled over seco nd. Racin e pushed Estell e to th ird for good a t th e halfway mark o f th e race. Estelle, th e o n ly rid er o n a i 50cc twin, ex p la ine d after th e race th a t he was unable to get th e bi g bik e to hook up on th e slic k, grooved surface, Veed er was never cha lle n ged by eithe r rider . ] u stin Cool beth rode possibly th e best race of his yo u n g ca reer in th e S M ISI: I. Rich ard Win~ell (Suz); 2. Morgan Coo lbeth ( Ka w ): 3. Mauhew Kt"t"lt")'(Ya m); ·l, james Co n k lin ( Ka w); 5. Aaro n C reamer ( Yam). 125 AM: 1. Sia n Nitt iskie {Ho n): 2. j am es C.on kl in ( Hen): ~ . j ason Fu ller (Yam ); 4. Dan-k whuecouoe (Ho n) . 250 AM: 1. S ia n Nittiski e (Han ); 2. J OM'ph Addabbo (Ya m ); 3. David Gamble (Han ). OPEN AM: 1. Ben Sagl imbt-n i (R tx); 2. j ust in Coo l berh {Rt x]: 3. Darryl Baer (KT M); 4. Joh n Shaver (Hon): 5. Michael Althou se (Ya m). SR R: I. Dou g las Lent (R IX); 2. Will iam Allen (Ya m ); 3. Will iam Warrfon! (Yam): 4. j oseph Gou ld {Ho n ): 5. Da vid Gambit' (Ho n). SR A: I. Harold Hilliard {Ya m]: 2. j ose p h Herberf ing ( Ya m) ; ~. Ben Sag fimbeni (Rtx ): 4. Mark Kor vrko wski {Rt x]: 5. Nor ma n La vio let te ( Ka w). 125 EX: I. Ken net h Coolbe th (kaw); 2. Bill :'\'e w kir k (H o n k 3. Ro bert w eiss (Hen) . 250 EX: I. Ken neth Coolbeth (H o n ): 2. Du ane Veeder (R rx ]: 3. Robert \\' ei\ \ (Ho n) ; 4. Wi lli am Adams {H on ]: 5. Scot t Snoop ( O ~s). OPEX EX: 1. Duane Veeder (\V-R); 2. Claude Racine ( RIX); 3. Cra ig Estelle (H -D): ·" Sum Sn oop (Rtx ): 5. C onrad Parshall ( Rtx). S PTS MN: I. Scott Snoop ( R rx j: 2. Thomas Ro to n da ro (H a n): 3. Ro bert Wd)s ( R IX): 4. Sha w n Clark(H·DJ: 5. Todd H un ter (11-1» . 250 DTX: I. j od y P hel p s (lion): 2. Norman La viol ette (K3w): 3. John Shaver (Yam ). CMC Pac-West Nationals: Roun ds 5-6 Bell blazes at Hanagan Raceway By Do n Schneider BELLINGHAM, WA,J UNE 16-1 7 i ke ' s Suzuk i/Bell H elmets/ Answer/Scott US A-sp o n so red Mike Bell moved into th e serie s points lead in th e Pro class after strong finishes during rounds five and six at Hanagan Racewa y. In th e opening Pro cla ss mota on Sa turday, Chaun McAllister got the jump o ff th e pad, with J ack Gabelhausen , David Bailey and Frank Dunlap in to w, Bell o u t-ju mped McAllister in th e woods to take over th e lead and Bailey was a lso o n th e move, passin g Gabelha use n. Quickl y pi ckin g up th e pace, Bell ra n away and hid from the pack to ta ke th e win. Bailey a nd Gabelhausen blew by McAll ister wh en he took a so il sa m p le. Second fell to Bailey with Gabl eh ausen , McAll ister and Dunla p th ird th rough fifth . The second mot a saw McAlli ster get another hol eshot with Bell again hot o n h is heels. On lap two , Bell o vershot a sweeper, letting Bail ey by, Ba iley wa s o n th e gas and o n lap three he mad e a move a nd moved by McAlli ster and sto rmed away , Bell hounded McAll ister for th e rest of th e mota but to no avail as Bailey crossed th e fin ish lin e o ut from and hi s 2- 1 ga ve him th e '; vera ll victo ry. Bell took second ove ra ll with his 1-3 malO tall y, with third o vera ll ho no rs going to McAllister by virt ue of his 4-2 da y. The 125cc Imermediate class sa w Gerry Bums blast his Honda to an early lead . ] aso n McCormick sta rted seco nd, but m oved p assed Burns h alfway through the opening la p . Rya n Huffman, meanwhile. suffered through a dismal stan but soon began knifing through the pack. By lap three, Huf- M fm an was up to fifth : and he would en d up fourth. T he seco nd mot o , ho wever , was a ll Huffman 's; h is 4- 1 tall y giving him the overall win. Secon d o vera ll went to Sha ne West's 3-2 with Dan Moore tak in g th ird overa ll wi th h is 5-3 tall y. McCorm ick crashe d hard in th e seco nd m oto , a nd fin ish ed with a 1-12 tally for 12t h overa ll. In the 125cc P ro cla ss o n Su ndav, Bell g ra bbed the ea rly lead on his brand- new Suz uki RM1 25. H e led Ri ck Simmer. McAlister, Scott Ta kac ks a nd Lowell T hom pson . Simmer chased Bell unt il the latter mi ssed a sh ift. gi ving Si rn me t th e lead. T homs o n wa s o n th e m ove, di splacing fir st T akacs th en McAlister . The sixth lap saw a desperate McAlister pass Bell to m o ve into seco nd pl ace; Bell nearl y crashed a llowing Thompson to pass. They stay ed in that order a t the finish : Simmer. McA lister, Thomson a nd Bell. Th e secon d m ota saw McAlister taking th e win, a nd with it the overa ll vi a h is 2-1 score. Thompson wa s seco n d, hi s 3-2 g iving him third o vera ll. Sim rn ir's 1-3 tally ga ve him second overa ll. T h e l2 5cc Interm edi at e cl ass saw tw o Oregon speeds ters a board H onda s go untouch ed to ca p tu re fir st and seco nd , respectivel y. After three resta rts, McCorm ick kep t th e lead o n Huffman for nea rl y th e en u re m or o , u nti l H u ffm a n fou nd a way pa st lat e in th e rare. Mo ore. Rh o d es, a n d Pa ul sen rou nded o u t th e top five fi n ish er», M OI O two saw McCormick gra b th e lead over th e I ;i·ride r fiel d . H e en ded u p going wi re-to-wire fo r th e win a nd th e overa ll over Hu ffm a n 's 1·2. :\e'\ oore was agai n a dista n t th ird , taking third ('~ o vera ll with h is :3 -3 showi ng. Resu hs SATURDAY 50: 1. Nick Foss (Yam ); 2. Travis Taylor « Yam ): 3. T avis Howard (I ta ). 60 9-tt: I. Troy Hew ard (Ka w): 2. j ason Dempsey (Ka w]: S. Phil j ohnson (Kaw). PI P: I. Shannon Starba rd (Hon ): 2. Kris Ha nnan (Ho n ): 3. Sherrin Blzinkenbaker. 60 BEG: I. Dennv Dewall {Kaw): 2. j ason Hong: 3. Aa ron Know les (Han). 80 OPEN: I. jason Hon g: 2. J ason Dem psey (Ra w ); S. Troy How (Kaw]. anl 80 Ill: I. Michael Y Olk (lion); 2. jerry Clark (Sua); S. Bit y Binckley (YamI. 80 tNT: I. Michael Boehm ( Kaw ): 2. Sian Sloboda. jr.. (Ka w ): S. Brett Boeh m (Kaw ]. 80 LX: I. Chris Pa terson (H on), 125 BEG 1).1: I. Matt Bleckh ov ( Kaw) : 2. Eric Waunch (H on ); 3. Pat Hrn ry ( Ka w) . 125 BEG D-2: I. D-an 1101"" {Suz): 2. D anny Sessler (SUl): S. Sax, j o hnson (Sur). 125 JR D-I: l. f.ddie G<'1Ti:oh (S uz ~ 2. David M l')'en (Suz): S. Alex Travagllone (SUl). 125 JR D-2: I. Bria n Anderson : 2. Mar k Bjorkquist ( Kaw) : 3. Oliver Benek (Ka w), 125 I:\'T: I. Ryan Ho ££ma n (Ho n): 2. Shane Wr'!lol Dan M oo re (Sue), PRO: I. Low<1I Thompson (Y am): 2. Chaun (Yarn ); 3. 125 ~ lcA lisllT (Suz); 3. David Bailey (Yam). 250 BEG 1>-1 : 1. T ravi\ Thorton (Yam ): 2. Randy M om (Yam ); 3. Marl Atchl ey (Suzj. 250 BEG D-2: l. john T erpstra (lion); 2. B rian SOOIl (H en ): S. Anrhony 0 ", (lion). 250 jR D-t: I. Dave Ingra ha m (lion): 2. Ernie Tru lson IHon): 3. Alan Evans (S UI ). 250 1:"1: I. Ryan Hu ffman (Ho n); 2. Darren Paul sen (Kaw): 3. Shan. W (Y est am). 250 PRO: I. David Ilaill')' (Y am): 2. Mike &11 ( SU1~ 3. Cllaun M cAlliSlcr(Su,). 500 BEG : I. Mike Longo (H on); 2. Shain Ston er 3. Ot ri~ Jensen (Ho n). SOO JR: 1. Erni e T ru lson (Yam ); 2. Da'\'id Scheda (Ha n); 3. Wayne F..gr-rdal ( Ka w). 500 1~'T: I. Brt"11 Bit'Tl"k (Ha n): 2. T ony DeVries ( H o n ); 3. Eric POlla (Ha n ). !)()() PRO : 1. Mike l .arson (l io n); 2. Ron Wesl lake (Ka w); (Kawl. VET JR: l. Alan [vaIlS (S UI ); 2, Mile Boyct" (Yam); 3. Burom A ldrid~ ( H( )I1). VET I~": I. Gr~ Nelson ( Kaw ); 2. Richa rd Sather (lion): 3. Jdl Throop(lion). VET MST R: J. Ron Wallat"t'(Ho n ), VET PR O: l. Brian Doyle (Ho n); 2. Don Schnt'idt' l (SUl); 3. n,lO M a th i ~ (S Ul) . UTH JR: I. Dave In ~ra h a m (Hon) ; 2. ~'fik t' Raulen l>t....~ (Suz); 3. Rick Ik t:k (Ha n). UT H INT: I. AI And erwn (Suz), OT jll: I . Paul Budai(IInnl:2. Dav< Nyhlom(Hon): 3. Tmy I.:",on(Kaw). OT INT: I. AI Andt'1'!Oon (S UI) . OT MST\l: l. M . Pmy (Suz): 2. Dav< M il

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