Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eFLAT TRACK MARS Barberville Hall Mile ~ R usty Rogers tells announcer Dave Despain how he won the 750cc final. Steve Morehead, seen here on his 7!iO, was the whiner of the 600cc final at Volusia County Speedway. Morehead crashed in the 750cc final and didn't make the restart. Rusty Rogers took the lead early in the 750cc final and went on to win the first motorcycle race held on the Barberville track since it was paved in 1989. Rogers, Morehead score on asphalt oval By Dave Hoenig Phtos by Flat Trak Fotos BARBERVILLE, FL, MAR. 3 pav ed half mile? No problem for Virgini a 's Rust y Rogers and veteran dirt tracker Steve Morehead as On Track Promotions brought motorcycle raci ng back to the Volusia County Speedway half mile for the first time since it was pav ed in 1989. . Rogers pow ered his FIG Racing/ Inge Sport Wear/Pro-Class Cycles/ R ichmond Sports Car /Broad Rock Towing-sp onsored , Johnny Goadtuned Honda RS750 to a convincing win in the talent-laden 750cc class. For his effort, Rogers po cketed the lion's share of the $10,000 750cc purse in the Motorcycle Asphalt Racing Series event. • In the 600cc class it was Morehead A 38 winning the main event, h is first on hi s newly-formed T aylor White/M. L ynch Transportation /M ike Wheeler /KK Motorcycle Supply/Shep erd Chemi cal Co .lStorz/John Dragoo-backed team. Morehead edged Illinois' Erik Graybeal for the win . " It took three years, but he gave us , our first main in his first time out," Taylor White IV said. Wh ite is a former professional dirt track racer and th e son of Taylor White III , who sponsored the late Dale Singleton, the two-time Daytona 200 winner. Rain and high winds moved out of the area at around noon, pushing practice and time trials back a few hours. But as soon as the track was brushed dry the 46 entries took to th e fast banked half mile oval for the first time. There was a great deal of apprehension abou t how well th e riders would be abl e to handle the h igh speeds of th e paved oval. " It's fun , but everything happens so quick," Morehead said. " You don't know yourIimit. You do n 't know if you are going hard eno ugh because everything is there and th en you get to the limit and there's no time to save it. " Several riders found their limit as the day went on, but veteran Camel Pro Series competitor Tim Mertens su ffered th e o n ly serious injury. Mertens laid his Honda RS750 on its cases entering turn three and slid through the hay bal es and into the out side guard rai l, su££ering a broken leg. Morehead topped the 32-man 600cc class in time trial s, stopp ing the clock at 18.977 seconds. Graybeal and Rodney Farr is followed at 18.944 and 18.977, respectively. Farris came back to lead the 750cc q ualifiers with an 18.838-second lap. Defending MARS champ Will Davis was next with an 18.960 with Morehead th ird quickest at 18.977. In its dirt days, a 21-second lap was considered fast at Vol usia . Moreh ead ran away with the first 600cc heat race with Canadian Steve Aseltine and Davis battling over the last transfer with Davis coming out on top. T he second heat race started with Dave Durelle up front, but Graybeal quickly took over to lead the three-man train that included James Hart across the finish line. Farris took the lead in heat three from Robert Lewis and pulled away to an easy win. Jeremy Lucy an d Jason Fletcher's battle carried them past Lewis with Fletcher getting the nod in the race-long war . The fourth and final heat brought out the first red flag of the day as Craig Estelle and Keith Jacobsen tangled in turn one. Both riders, however, made the restart. Kris Kiser jumped to a quick and comfortable lea d over Georgie Price and Steve Beattie . But Kiser lost the front end and crashed, handing the win to Price with Beattie finishing second. Estelle and Jacobsen were third and fourth. J ames Hart held the early lead in the first 600cc semi, but Aseltine made a strong move just past the halfway mark. Kiser worked his way around Tony Donahue for third and what appeared to be the final ticket to the main. Kiser, however, made a mistake exiting turn two on the last lap and Greg Sims en ded up with the final transfer spot. Jeremy Lucy led the last semi from start to fin ish . Bryan Villella was a close second with Jeff Eklund working his way up to third. Former Grand National Champion Ricky Graham had the initial lead in the first 750cc heat while Steve Beattie, Durelle, Farris and Morehead battled for second. Farris won that battle and then took over the lead just past the halfway point in the race. Late in the race , Morehead also moved by Graham, dropping him to third. The second heat produced an excellent race between Davis and Larry Pegram . Pegram led from lap three, but Davis was glued to his rear wheel. Pegram persevered to win with Rusty Rogers finishing a short distance behind Davis for third. The 750cc semi belonged to Mike Scott as Chance Darling, Robert Lewis and Beattie battled for second. Beattie , though, eventually took over to top Lewis and Durelle. Jason Fletcher got the 'ho leshot in the 600cc ma in with Morehead, Graybeal, Farris and Durelle in pursuit. Morehead took over the lead on "lap two as Graybeal closed in on Fletcher from third. ' On lap five, Graybeal slipped past Fletcher to take over second and Farris made it a four -rider race as he caught the lead trio. Graybea l made several runs . at Morehead, but came up short each time. Fletcher held o££ Farris for third with Durelle, Aseltine, Davis, Price, Lucy and Sims rounding out the top 10 finishers. As the sun started to set, th e 750cc main cam e to the line and at the drop of the flag , it was Graham leading th e way with Davis, Pegram, Rogers, Morehead and Roeder' in tow. Suddenly, Morehead was down and the red flag was thrown. " I just hit oil or something, " Morehead said. "I was clear up on the outside edge. I saw those gu ys all bunched up and stopping. I thought I'd just jump up top and I was driving around them because their momentum had stopped. B oy, I hit something and tha t thing went quick." Clutch problems kept Morehead from restarting, and Graham once again led th e first lap, this time with Rogers: Farris and Davis in tow. Rogers used the high line to take over on lap two : " I just stayed above the groove and kept my momentum, . up," he said. "I like the 750s better: than the 600s. I can just be so much smoother on the 750. The 600s steer so quick." Rogers pulled away to a good lead as Farris worked h is way ,aro u nd Graham. A bobble with only two laps to go cost Rogers his cushion. "Going into turn one on the next to last lap , my tires heated up and when I went in my bike got sideways and layed over , on the cases or the frame and picked the tires up and I slid all the way up to the bales. That's when Rodney (Farris) caught me," Rogers explained. He managed to hold on to the win, however, in an exciting finish': Gra ham cruised alone in third place with Davis likewise in fourth. Mike Scott put in a fine ride for fifth over Pegram" Cl'I Durelle, Darling and Lewis. Results 600 FINAL: I. Steve Morehead (H ·D ); 2. Erik Graybeal (W-R ): 3. Jason Fletcher (H -D); 4. Rodney Farris (H-D); 5. Dave Dur elle (W-R ); 6. Steve Aseltine (H·D); 7. Will Davis (H -D); 8. Georgie Price (WR); 9. Jeremy Lucy (H-D ); 10. Greg Sims (H.D ); II. Steve Beattie (H-D ); 12. James Har t (Rtx) ; 13. Bryan Villella (W-R); 14. Jell Eklu nd (W·R). 750 FINAL: I. Rusty Rogers (Ho n); 2. Rodney Farris (H ·D); 3. Ricky Graham (Hon); 4. Will Davis (H-D); 5. Mike Scott (Hon); 6. Larry Pegram (Hon); 7. David Durell e (H-D ); 8. Chance Darling (H·D) ; 9. Robert Lewis (H· D); 10. Steve Beattie (H-D); II. Lee Parker (Yam); 12. George Roeder (H-D ); U . Steve , Morehead (H-D). . , I

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