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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127284
~ HARE &HOUND AMA National Championship Hare Ie Hound Series: Final round ~ ,.....; C'C') lo-< a; ..c o ..... u o nan Smith jumped ou t into the lead at the start of the [mal National Hare ~ Hound of the year. The race began in Wells, Nevada, and mded 132 miles later in Wendover, Roeseler wins; Smith clinches fifth title By Anne and Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Reveren W Eill, NV ocr. 14 , T M'S Dan Smith took his fifth Nationa l Hare and Hou nd Ch ampionship in a ro w wit h a second place fini sh at th e fina l round of th e Nat io na l Championship Series in the desert of Nevada. Smith completed the 132-mi le pointto-p oint event one minute behind Kawasaki's Larry Roeseler, bu t the fin ish was eno ugh to continue hi s clea n sw eep of th e five-ye ar-o ld National hare & ho und co mpe titio n. " It leels grea tto get five in a row ," said Smi th. " T h is is the best o ne because it was the hardest to get, with a ll the little injuries and stuff I' ve had , and it's really specia l becau se now that it's five in a ro w it' ll be really hard fo r somebody to bea t the record." In additio n to Smith's overall and Open class victo ries, the fina l round of th e seven-event National series saw Roeseler g ra b num ber -on e plate hon ors in the 250cc division , while KTM 's J imm y Lewi s captured th e 125cc class titl e. Bill Max im took th e Over 38 class titl e, while the Over 30 K 6 class tro p hy went to Kawasaki rider Pau lOstbo. More tha n 170 racers were o n han d for the start of the She's a Screamer Hare & Ho und, wh ich was organized by Ron Dill on 's USA Pro mo tions and spo nso red by T he R a n ch H o u se Casino , the Well s Chamber of Co mmerce a n d the Nevada Crossi ng Casi no . The 132-mile spri nt across northern Nevada took the racers from Well s, Neva da, to the town of Wen do ver, on th e Uta h border, and is believed to be the last po int- to-po int hare and hound rema ining in th e Uni ted States. All eyes were focu sed on Kawasak i's T ed Hunni cutt wh en the Expe rts lined up for the start at 9.30 a.m . The KX500 p ilo t was th e o nly racer with eno ug h poi nts to threaten Smith's bid for the cham pionship , 'and a n overall win in the fin al event cou ld'v e gi ven Hunnicutt th e overa ll champions hip by a margin of ju st one point . The Team Gr een ho tshot rocketed off the lin e when the sta rti ng banner dropped and was neck- in-neck with Smith as they cha rged through th e cho p py terra in and sage brus h towards the smokebo mb. H un n icu tt too k th e lead as th e field funnelled th ro ugh a ga te just past th e bomb and Sm ith tucked in behind wit h Roeseler in third for the 43-mi le sp ri n t to pit o ne. A fi!s t start was also racked up by Grant Palen ske, who was pushing for n umb er two in the Vet class cha m pio n ship, but for the defending Vet class champ, Gr eg Searle, it was a different story . " I got a lousy start; I kicked about five times," said Searle. " It was .really du sty go ing to the bomb but when I got through the gate I got off into the virgin sagebrus h where there wasn't any dust and I passed a few gu ys and started picking riders off slowly one by one. " Danny H am el' s hopes of a cha mp ion ship title in the 250cc division were dashed by mechanical problems that sidelined the KT M pilot at the 32m ile mark, and a promising sta rt by fir st -t im e H u sa berg pi lot David Rh od es was slo wed by stomac h cram p just five mil es from the start. Hunnicutt led the way th rough th firs t 18 mi les of ceda r trees and stay ou t in front th rough the twisty roa d and tigh t trees of the first mountai ra nge. Sm ith was pushing hard i second, trying to keep hi s champion shi p riva l in sig ht. " I cras hed twice on the first sectio - just little slide-o u ts, but they Ie Hunnicutt ge t away a bit," said Smi th " I foll owed h im a ll the way to the firs gas and it was prett y close there, s I'd made up a lot of gro und." I It was Hunnicutt, Smith and th e Roeseler as the racers cleared pit o ne a nd th e front-running KX500 wa extending the lead as it rocketed int the 25-m ile second section tha t I through a barren seven- mi le valley an th en headed into th e Sp ruc e Moun tai ns. H unn icutt was one and a hal mi nutes ahead of the competition a he dashed towards pit two, but hi hopes of a National title bit the dus justtwo mil es into the second section