Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ HR A ESC!UMBLES AMA National Cham~ionshiE Hare Scrambles Series: Round,--7_....,...""...~~ e Winner Ed Lojak (fa r left ) sp rin ts ahead of Ron Nay lo r (4) at the sta r t of the Spring Creek Nati on a l in Minnesota. Just moments before taking th e checkered flag , Lojak (left) stuffed Duane Co nner for the lead and too k the o verall win. It was Lojak's first win of the series. Lojak's w in,Summrs' e title atMillville By Mer le Aco rd ~HLL VILLE , ~IJIi , 22 r JULY8 ea m Ya ma ha's Ed Loj ak , with a n aggressiv e co me -fro m-be hi n d pas s for th e lead just moments before ta ki n g t h e chec ke re d fla g , ca p t u re d hi s fir st N ati on al Hare Scramb les overa ll o f th e season. Lojak beat Ka wasa ki rider Du a ne Co n ner to the ba rrel s by less tha n a bike len gth , Scott Summers (left) clinched the series Championship at Millville. whi le AT K's Ron Nayl o r, two minu tes off the pace, was th ird. H onda's Scott Su m mers , rid ing a XR 600 fo ur-stro ke, fini shed fifth just un der th ree mi nutes o ff the winner 's pace. But mor e importa n tly, Su m mers ended u p cl in ching th e :\;\IA Na tion al C ha m p ions hip Ha re Scra mbles title a t the Sp ring Creek Na tion al. " I' m not positive but I ma y ha ve wo n th e C hamp ion s h ip, " sa id Summers im med iat ely fo llo wing the race. " T'm ha p py a bo u t th a t, bu t I wa n ted tow in the Cha mp ionshi p wi th a n o vera ll wi n." Indeed Summers . did ca p ture hi s first-eve r Nati on a l Ch ampi onship H are Scra m bles title, taking over th e re igns from Sco tt Plessin ger, who sa t o u t the Mill vill e Nati o na l due to inj uries suffered a t th e last ro u nd a week ago in Idah o. Johnny Martin , a fa nn er Na tiona l Ha re Scram bles Cha mp io n himse lf .a nd cu rre nt o pe ra to r a nd o wner o f th e Spr ing Cree k faci li ty, was cha lle nged by a flash flood a t the tra ck , resultin g from nine inches o f rain the day befo re the even t. Mart in a nd his crew worked int o the ni gh t rem oving do wn ed trees, filli ng hol es, bu lldoz ing a nd resh aping the mot ocro ss sectio n o f th e track, Su m m ers fin ish ed fifth overa ll, giving Honda its first H are Scra mbles titl e. as well as rerouti ng sections o f the 12mi ll' co u rse th at became unrideable. By race morn ing, the first wa ve o f AA rid ers were ready to go . " I had th e ho lesho t," sai d Lojak, " b u t Na ylor's ATK p u lled me in the mud o n th e mo to cro ss track. Bu t th roug h th e fir st co u p le o f la ps we were pa ssing the lead a rou nd. T hen when I pitted at the end o f the third la p m y crew to ld me Na ylor had a 30-secon d lead . Then Co nne r pa ssed me o n the mo tocross track and th en I passed him back again, bu t Duan e was riding a lill ie faster pace today th an me, so ' I p u lled over a nd let hi m go. H e was rea lly pushi ng a nd I figu red if I let him o u t front we wou ld mak e up the time o n Naylor. I kn ew I had to pass Duane a nd I did. T he n I fell in the woods a nd Duan e flew by. I ca ug ht u p agai n bu t it was close to th e finish a nd I kn ew the o nly cha nce I would have was when we went into the d itch j us t before th e barrel s. I look the chance a nd went to th.. inside a nd it wo r ked. " " It was a clea n move a nd a smart o ne, " said Co nner, " I rea lly th o ught I had Ed and I just rode the trail in . I was n' t, ready for the move Ed put o n me. H e has the experience a nd it showed. H e taug ht me so me th in g toda y." " I ca n ' t w in t he seaso n o vera ll cha m p io nship, " sa id Loja k, " I brok e a t Ida ho and that pu t me o ut of it so me a nd a bunch o f guys a re raci ng for seco nd place now ." Nayl or p u lled into the pits a t th e end of the th ird lap with a 30-seco nd lead a nd p u lled o u t in third place. H is h igh tech q u ick fill gas G ill was j ust d rib bl in g o u t the ga s. " Maybe the gas goo f cost me overa ll," said Na ylo r. " I do n' t know, but it cos t me th e lead a nd the n I had o the r prob lems, I too k a sp ill in th e mud a nd fou led up my levers a nd I had to get a fresh pai r o f g loves. T hen I go t ca ug h t in a bike pil eup o n a h ill a nd I spe nt a n aw fu l lot of energy th er e. T hi s was a tou gh race. All th e trai ls were ru tted a nd ra n into roots or a pile o f bikes o r rocks. I qu it look in g aro u nd beca use it seeme d like the re were a lwa ys a bunch o f peopl e th ere waiting to wa tch a crash." . T eam Yam a ha 's J eff R ussell whose on ly cha nce o f o verco m ing Su m mers' h uge points lead was to overa ll th e rem a ini ng events had th at cha nce dash ed whe n he finished fourth, four mi nutes dow n. " I just hung in there most of th e

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