Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127381
rider Mike Hale, the 1990 Camel Pro Series Rookie of th e Year , argued with Davey Du rell e and a hard charging Terry Poovey o ver fo urt h. Park er scored an easy win ahead of Moreh ead and Atherton, wh ile Hal e and Poovey headed for a semi. " I felt real good," said Parker. " Bill 's got my bike running real strong, and we're gon na be in there for the main." " Sco tty's going real fast , so we settled for second," sai d Mor ehead. "I had some problems with the fro nt end comi ng up and down, so we' re p utti ng on a narrower fron t wh eel so it'll slide better in the main." " I wasn't catching Morehead , and Hale wasn 't catching me, " said Atherton . "So I just spent the race feelin g the track out, trying different lines." When asked if he found any " ho t" lines, the youngest member of team Harley-Davidson smiled, and said, " A few." Ronnie Jones sped off the line in the second heat, bu t Rusty Rogers drafted past him on th e back straight and assumed the lead, while Bill y Herndon and J ay Sprin gsteen settled into th ird and fourth , respectively. O n lap seve n , Herndon swooped past Jones as they exited tum three and set ou t after Rogers. Within two laps, Texan Herndon had closed on the leader and drafted past Rogers at th e white flag. Herndon scored the wi n , leading Rogers across the finish line, while Springsteen edged Jones out of the last transfer position. " O nce I got going, things just kept rolling," said Herndon. ' 'I'm surprised that I got by Ron nie so easily, but that just gives me mo re confidence going into the final. Ro nnie's tied for the po ints lead , and if we can pass him , we're do ing something right. " " We' ve gotten off to a slow start this year, but I'm glad to see things picking up," said Ro gers. "This track is p retty slick and th e turns are rea l tight , bu t we've got it prett y dialed in." "Hey man , I' m feeling good tonight," said a happy Springsteen , who was the obvious crowd favorite at Pomona. " It's great to ma ke it di rectly from a heat ." George Roeder shot off the line with the lead in the th ird and fina l heat race with Carr and Steve. Aseltine close behind. Carr drafted into the lead on the second lap, but Roeder repassed the Jay Springsteen (9) passed Chris Carr (20) for fourth place in the main. Carr held on to Californian three la ps later. Roed er went on to notch the win with a fivebike length lead over Carr. Rodn ey . Farris overcame a poor start to secure third. Larry Pegram finished fourth with Aseltine crossing the line in fifth. " This slippery, skittery stuff is a lo t like the tracks ba ck home," sa id Roeder, a second generation racer who hails from Monroeville, Ohio. " It suits me fine ." " We' re still p laying a gu essing game wi th bike setup, " said Carr. " I was hoping to win that one , bu t Geo rge was going good." "That worked out better than anything all day," said Farris. " We had a problem with wheelsp in during practice, but we've got a handle on-it ~h fifth , ahead of Rodney Farris. Morehead (center) topped Carr (left) and Rusty Rogers (right) in the Camel Challen~ now." Darling held the early lead in the first of two semis, each of wh ich would transfer the top four finishers to the final, but Durelle snuck past on the fifth lap and pull ed out to an eventual IS-bi ke leng th lead, Durelle scored the win ahead of Darling, Pegram and H ale, wh o na bbed the fourth and final tra nsfer position. Davis ran as high as fifth , but p u lled off the track on the third la p with a slippi ng clutch . Keith Day grabbed the holesho t in the second heat and went on to score the win virtually unchalle nged. Jones started and finished in second place Graham arrested,,_fi:.::....:::..red=-R _ icky Graham, 32, who wo n the 1982 Gra nd National Cha mpionship as a privateer and again in 1984 as a H onda factory team rider, was arrested for speedin g and driving under the influence of a lcohol on Friday, May 10, according to Eaken-Sponseller Racing's Mike Sponseller. " The way I understand it," said Sponsell er in a phone conversa tio n from his New Market, Maryland office on Monda y, May 13, "is th at he was pulled over for speeding on Frida y mornin g in California wh ile headed to a Pro- Am race (a short track race at Santa Maria Speedway in Santa Mari a, California). Hi s van was impounded and after he was released he was trying to hi tch hike to th e race but never sho wed up th ere." L_~ ~~:ir,..A;:l::zajt,M.1I ยท; Two ESP Ra cing Honda RS 750s sat wa iting for Graham at Pomona the following ni ght, but he fai led to show up there as well. "While it 's up to Skip (Ea ken)," said Sponseller, " I' d hav e to say that at this point, until he cleans up his act, he's no longer em p loyed by us." Sponseller added, "Larry Pegram will ride Graham 's bike at San Jose and Ru sty Rogers will be aboard Larry 's." Attempts to reach Graham produced no more than a recorded message on hi s answering machine. . Attempts to reach Eaken were also unsuccessful, but contact was made with engine builder Ray PI.umb. Plumb said that Eaken told him that he was following Graham to Santa Marta, but let Graham go because he was speeding. Eaken arrived at Santa Maria Speedway and Graham wasn't there and never showed up. after fending off ch arges by Poovey and Ingram, who rounded out the top four that would go to th e final. Morehead sat o n th e in side pole position for the start of the five-lap $17,500 Camel Ch allenge, but i t was Rogers wh o was fastest at th e flash of the green light. Rogers' lead lasted o n ly momentaril y, as Mo reh ead drafted past on the back straigh t a nd stole the lead. Carr stormed into second place on lap three, but co u ld do little to reel in the 17-year veteran. Rogers held onto third place at th e finish ahead of Parker, Darling and Davis , who was still experienci n g clutch problems. It was Morehead 's sixth Camel Challenge win and just prior to the race he repeated his oft-quoted p hilosophy: "You have to leave your brain in your tool box for these das h races." Junior National Michael Dillon and Paul Polhem u s proved to be a litt le too anxio us at th e sta rt of th e Junior National , and were sent to the back row . The three hea t race winners - J am es Hart, Freitas and Pr ice . - were next to jump th e gun, and all three were sent to th e penalty li ne, leavin g o n ly Dor sey a nd J enneman o n th e fro nt row. ] en neman was th e fastest off the line in the third start, and led Dor sey and Cli nton Vah sch oltz down th e ba ck straigh t. Pri ce pu lled a strong start from the third ro w, and swooped o ut of nowhere to tak e o ver third. By lap four of the 1O-lap fin al , Pr ice had fo rced his way to th e point an d proceeded to establish a six-bike length lead over Hart, who had also worked through the pack. Price, aboard his Dorsey Bu i ld ers/ Bell / D&S Cyclebacked Harley-Davidson , earned hi s first win of the season, followed by Hart with Freitas, who came up just inches shan of second place at the finish, taking third. 7