Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eDIRTTRACK e ~ AMA Grand National Championship-:-/C_am_e_lP_ro_Se_n_'e_s:_Ro_u_nd_I_3 o 0') 0') """"' Bill Werner was all smiles after one of the " most trying" days of his caree~. Sco tt Parker, ha ving stretched his points lead to 14, lets out a " whoop ," _ was the 29-year-old Michigan rider's 36th National dirt track victory, just four sh y of Springsteen 's record 40. After thanking sponsors HarleyDavidson In c., Bell, Tsubaki, AIW of Ame rica/HOG and ITT, Parker let o u t what was perhaps his loudest " whoo p -whoo p " since he won the title fo r the second time last year. Following the race, David Durell e succ essfu ll y claimed Carr's motor. Durell e turned o ver the required $17,500 to the officials and an a ttempt was made to bl o ck the clai m by Co n way, who go t severa l o ther riders to also claim the motor. Durell e, Will Davis, Mike Hal e, Steve Moreh ead, T erry Po o vey a nd J ay Springsteen wi tnessed the drawing of a numbered sli p o ut of a ha t, Durel le's number 58 was d r a w n an d referee O ll i ges i n st r u c te d that Carr' s engine be removed fro m its fra me and given to the rider from Minneso ta. Asked wh y a Honda rid er would be invo lved in t he co u nter- cl a i ming process, Poovey sai d, " Yo u've got to reme m ber that Kenny Tolbert (Carr's tuner) is my brother-in-law. " l:III Results Following the 36th Grand National Championship victory of his career, defending champ Scott Parker took his father along on his victory lap. 8 had more at stak e than did the rookie Expert . " We made some changes since th e heat and we're read y to ro ll ," said Parker. "We're goi ng for four straight at San J ose." "We're hopin g to get out front and stay there," sai d Carr, fu lly aware of wh a t he had to do to cu t into the points lead Par ker had on him. Hale chose the .outside pole for th e start of the 25-lap National and si tting next to him was Rogers. T hey were joined by J ones, Pa rker, Ca rr and Fa rris on the front row. Row two , reading from the outside po le in, was occu pied by Poo vey, Kevin Atherton, Sp ri ngs teen , Day, Durell e a nd Morehea d , wi th Da vis, H ill , G r aha m , Mertens and Ingram on the third row. Th e Rollin g T h u n der Show exp lode d off the lin e and began th e always tens e sorting o ut process that makes the first lap of mi le raci ng a heart-stop ping affair. Bu t before the lap could be completed , the red flag was being wa ved. T wo-tim e Grand Na tional Champions Ricky Graham a nd Scott Pa rker were both down in tu rn four. Parker was q uickly up on his feet, but G raha m , who had gotten a tremendo us start to join the front run ners in less than a mile fro m his th ird row starting position, lay at the ou ter edge of the track. Opinion s differed as to what caused the accide nt. "Rogers ra n right into Graham and Sco tty had nowh ere to go ," said Farris. " I saw a bike going end-over-end. I didn 't know wh o it was or wh at ca used it," said Davis. " Ricky hit th e slick stuff comi ng ou t of four and lost co ntro l," said Morehead. " Scot ty had nowhere to go and he was go ing head over heels." " Ro gers ran right into Ricky and knocked him off the groove," said Parker , who went to referee Duke Olliges and told him th e same thi ng, smacki ng his hands together in a glancing manner to em phasize th e contact, . Rogers, who with help from ESP Ra cing is somewhat of a teammate of Graham, denied making contact. " No t that I know of," said Rogers wh en asked if he had run in to Graham. While the medical crew tended to Graham's broken left forearm befor e transporting him to the hosp ital, Bill Werner, aided by mor e tha n a handful of p eopl e, worked fe veri sh l y on Parker 's battered bike. T he most interested onlooker was no do u bt Carr. " I' d ra ther beat him heads up. I hope he ge ts it back together for the race," said Carr. As the time a llo ted (eight mi n u tes or until the track is clear, accord ing to th e AMA rul ebook j-ran ou t, severa l rid er s began what appeared to be delayin g tactics - pulling ou t of line a nd th en circli ng back to the gr id to ·give Wern er a precious few extra minutes to fini sh the repairs. Carr sat on the front row , co ntinuall y taking glances over hi s shou lder a t the clump of peop le around Pa rker's bike. He didn 't ha ve to take another look when he heard the loud cheer go up when Parker mounted the bik e and ro lled towards the gr id to tak e h is place in line. " I don't kn ow who was hel pi ng me on the bike, but I a ppreciated it," sai d Werner who said wha t he had j us t pu lled off was the most intense wor k he ha d ever do ne. Wh en the race got underway for good, J ones and Hale led the field into tu rn one. At the end of lap o ne, J o nes held the lead, foll owed by Carr, H ale, Poovey, Parker , Farris and the rest of the field. Wi th the exceptio n of Springsteen crossi ng the line betw een Parker and Farris, the order remain ed the same on the second lap. Lap three was led by Carr, wh o had drafted by Jones on the backstraight, J ones was back in fro nt on the next two laps, but la p six saw Parker get by Poov ey a nd join the battle up front. The crowd let out a tremendous roar when Parker drafted pas t Carr into second behind J on es on the six th lap, but Carr was back in fro nt a t the lin e at the end of lap seven. Lap eight saw J ones, Carr and Parker cross the line three abreast with Hale in their wake. As Parker's wife, Wanda, paced and rubbed her ha nds together and Carr's girlfriend Stacey bit her nails on th e sideli nes, th e Harley teammates and Jones began to open up a gap on their pursuers. Carr led over Jones and Parker at the end of lap 12 and Poovey cro ssed the lin e in fo urt h, inches a hea d of Hale. T he order rem ain ed the same as the halfway sign was giv en by th e sta rter a t the end of the l Sth lap, but o n the follo wing lap it was defending champ Park er at the point wi th Jones second a nd Carr th ird. J ones led lap 15, Parker was back in fron t at the line at the end of lap 16 and o n lap 17 he pi cked up the $20 lap leader prize by pulling off a draft pass down the front straight that saw him nearl y brush the guardrai l as he blasted by Carr on the o utsi de. As Parker , Ca rr a nd J on es fough t for the lead , Kevin Atherton took over fourth fro m Poovey when th e Texa n' s Honda went sour on lap 19. Poovey cro ssed the line with what sounded like a bike runni ng on one cylinder a nd didn't come around at the end of la p 20. " It sp un a rod bear in g," said Poov ey after the race. . Poovey joined Rogers, who " go t high on the groove a nd went down," and Farris, who dr opped out with what tu ner Bill Weibler said was a " locked up bo tto m end," on the sidelines. It was still anyone's race as the laps ra n down, but o n th e 24th lap Parker go t a stro ng drive ou t of tum four and held a lead of a cou p le of bike lengths over Carr and Jones as he entered turn three o n the final lap. Carr was able to close back up, but an a tte m p ted draft pass came up short and Parker had pulled it off. J ones, o nce agai n, fin ished third a nd Kevin Atherto n too k a clo se fourth after having closed up on th e front runnin g trio on the last few laps. At her ton's p erforman ce m ade a believer ou t of Harley team manager Co nway. " He' s been telling me his injured shoulder is okay. Now I believe him," said Conway. Morehead and hi s Harley, 01' Paint, fi n ish ed fifth , having outdueled Springsteen, who was sixth. Winner Parker stopped at the start! finish line to pick up his father and the checkered flag and they took what had to be one of the most satisfying victory laps of Parker's brilliant career. The win, his sixth of the 1990 season, TIME T IUALS: I. Chri s Carr (36.75t) ; 2. Rusty Rogers (36.753); 3. Ronnie J on es (36.997); 4. Kevin Athenon (37.011); 5. Scou Par ker (37.049); 6. Terry Poovey (37.240); 7. Steve Morehead (37.263); 8. Mike Hal e (37.282);9. Ja ySp rin gsteen (37.282); to . Rodn ey Farri s (37.315); 11. Ted Taylor (37.329); 12. Larry Pegram (37.353); U . David Durell e (37.378); 14. Keith Day (37.4t6); 15. Bryan Villella (37.6t 8); 16. Dave Hebb (37.699); 17. Scou Slump (37.711); 18. Aaron Hill (37.731); 19. Will Davis (37.743); 20. Brian Atherton (37.755); 21. Tim Menens (37.762); 22. Cun Rehm en (37.805); 23. Chance Darling (37.806); 24. Bobby MeDowell (37.915); 25. Mike tnderb iuin (37.926); 26. Dan Ingra m (37.942); 27. Sal Hoffman (38.019); 28. Ricky Grah am (38.115); 29. Ken neth Netto (38.116); 30. Don Wilson (38.136); 31. Scott Saunders (38. 161); 32. Pete H am es (38.232); 33. Michael McDonn ell (38.346); 34. Stephen Beattie (38.352); 35. Robert Damron (38.405); 36. Dan McDonnell (38.680); 37. Kris Kiser (38.711); 38. Dave Bostrom (39.578). HEAT t : I. Mike Hale (H ·D); 2. Chri s Carr (H· D); 3. Ja y Springsteen (H ·D); 4. Dave Hebb (H·D); 5. Scott Stump (Ha n ); 6. Bobby McDowell (H·D); 7. Mike Inderbitzin (H- D); 8. Pete Ha mes (H· D); 9. Michael McDonnell (Han). Timf:: 6 min ., 12.440 sec. HEAT 2: I. Rust y Rogers (Ho n); 2. Rodney Farris (H·D); 3. Steve Morehead (H·D); 4. Bryan Villella (H· D); 5. Dan Ingram (H· D); 6. Aaron H ill (H· D); 7. Stephen Beattie (H· D); 8. Chance Darling (H ·D); 9. Seen Saunders (H·D). Time: 6:15.954. . , HEAT 3: l. Ronme Jon es (Ha n ); 2. Terry Poo vey (Han ); 3. Keith Day (Hon ); 4. Will Davis (H· D); 5. Ted T aylor (Ho n); 6. CUrl Rehm er' (H·D); 7. Don Wilson (Ho n); 8. Sal Hoffm an (H·D); 9. Dave Bostrom (Ho n ); 10. Robert Damron (H·D). Time: 6;20.444: . H EAT 4: 1. Soon Parker (H- O); 2. Kevin Atherton (H·D); 3. David Durelle (H·D); 4. Larry Pegra m (Hon); 5. T im Merten s (Han ); 6. Brian Atherton (H · D); 7. Ricky Gra ham (Ha n); 8. Kris Kiser (H·D); 9. Dan iel McDonnell (Hon ); 10. Kenneth Nett o (HD ). Time: 6:22.425. SEMI I: 1. Aaro n Hill : 2. Dan Ingram: 3. Dave Hebb: 4. Brian Villella; 5. Scott Stump; 6. Stephen Beattie; 7. Scou Sau nders; 8. Cha nce Dar ling; 9. Pete Hames: 10. Mike Ind erbi tzin. T ime: 6:28.961. SEMI 2: I. Will Davis; 2. Ricky Gra ham ; 3. Tim Mertens: 4. Ted Taylor; 5. Brian Atherton; 6. Larry Pegram: 7. Curt Reh mert; 8. Kris Kiser; 9. Sal Hoffman: 1O. Daniel McDonnell. Time: 6:28. 125. LAST CHANCE QUAUFl£R.,1. T im Merten s; 2. Ted Taylor; 3. Bn an Atherton: 4. Dave Hebb ; 5. La rry Pegram: 6. Cun Rehm ert : 7. Brian Villella: 8. Scott Stump ; 9. Scott Saunders : 10. Step hen Beattie. T ime: 6:24.845. NATIONAL: I. SCOll Parker (H· D); 2. Chr is Carr (H·D); 3. Ronnie J on es (Han); 4. Kevin Atherton (H.D); 5. SIeve Morehead (H· D); 6. .Jay Springsteen (H ·D); 7. Mike Hale (H .D); 8. Will Davis (H ·D); 9. Dave Durelle (H·D ); 10. Keith Day (Ho n); 11. Tim Mertens (Hon ); 12. Dan t ngra m (H· D); 1 3. Aaron Hill (H·D); 14. T erry Poovey (Ho n); 15. Rusty Rogers (Han ); 16. Rodn ey Farris (H·D); 17. Ricky Gra ha m (Ho n). Time: 15:50.752. Average Speed: 94.662 mph. AMA CAMEL PRO SERIES POINT STANDtNGS: I. Scott Park er (216); 2. Chri s Carr (202); 3. Ronnie Jones (135); 4. Jay Spri ngsteen (117); 5. Dan tn gram (103);6. Steve MorehCld (93); 7. Terry Poo vey (68); 8. Rodn ey Farris (66); 9. Will Davis (59); 10. T im Mertens (49); II. Ricky G raham (47); 12. Kevin Atherto n (40); 13. Ru sty Roger s (39); 14. Keith Day (38); t5. Mike Hal e (35); 16. Dave Durelle (29); 17. Steve Eklund (23); 18. Rich King (19); 19. Doug Chandler (14); 20. Steve Aseltin e (13). AMA CAMEL PRO ROOUE OF THE YEAR POINT STANDINGS: I. Mike Hale (164); 2. Larry Pegram (43); 3. Ted Taylor (30); 4. Rober! Lewis J r. (28); 5. Dave Camlin (21); 6. Troy Norri s (19); 'I. Marc Gifford (17); 8. Kenneth Neu o (14); 9. (TI E) Erik Graybeal /Michael Scott (12). AMA MANUFACTUItER POINT STANDINGS: I. Harley -Davidson (256); 2. Honda (172); 3. Wood -Rolax (8).

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