Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Graha~ headed the single-file res ta rt after Kevin Atherton crashed on lap 12. started tryin g different st uff. T he track is sli ck; 1 ch u n ked my tire because 1 was slid ing so har d out of the tu rns." , '" felt rea l good out th ere," said Farris. "It was pretty wild , there wa s a lot o f passing go ing on." ." 1 haven't been on a 750 all year," sa id Hebb, wh o lives in nearby Canton, Illinois. "My bike is running rea l stro ng, and 1 feel th a t 1 ca n run with th ese guys. There's no thing like the Springfield Mile' " T he rain co ntin ued to pour fro m the sky for a lm os t an hour, causi ng the ra ce program to be delayed for nearly four hours. After wa iting for th e track to dry , and a wheel-packing session th at in cl uded over 30 vehicles, many rid ers were a nxi ous to co m pe te o n t he dampened track. I . "It'll ge t real fast now," said Ath erto n . '" don 't th ink we 'll have any tir e problems now." . " T he track is going to work to m y ad vantage, " sai d G raham. " It' ll be wide open no w. When it's dry and slippery it seems to even things o ut, beca use nobod y can really get on it , career Graham's 25th win gave him sole posession of seventh on the all-time win list, a spot he'd shared with Dick Mann. Only inches separated Graham (3) and Parker (I) at the finish of the 25-lap final. . Graham (center), Parker (right) and Miss Camel celebrate in the winner's circle. but wh en it's tacky , guys like me and Scouy will shine." Semis The raci ng resumed a t 6:00 p.m., and Davis sped off th e line fastest in the fir st semi final. Behind Davis wer e H ale, Keith Day and Steve Aseltine. Missing from the lineup was Morehead, who packed up and left during th e rain delay. Davi s led all but o ne of th e 10 la ps and crossed the finish line in firs t p lace . Day fi nished sec on d a fter momentarily passing Davis o n lap five, while H erndon and H al e rounded out th e top four. They transferred to th e fin al , while th e rest of the rid ers would be forced to specta te. Rog ers got th e jump in th e second sem i, bu t J ones drafted past on th e first lap. Pegram, Bri an Ather ton and Sp ringsteen jo ined in th e battle for th e lead , but when th e checkered flag was waved, it was J o nes w ho scored th e wi n. Pegram cro ssed th e finish line in second , a hea d of Springs teen and Br ian At he r to n, b rother o f Tea m H a rley-Da vids on 's Kevin Ath erton . Camel Challenge Ca rr got the jump o n th e pack a t th e sta rt o f the Camel Chall en ge, but Atherton, Parker , H al e, Graham a nd .Du relle were in hot p urs ui t. ·Parker charge d into the lead on th e back straigh t, bu t Atherto n dr afted past th e defending champ in to tu rn one o n lap two. Parker retaliat ed on lap three, a nd led Ath ert on, Carr a nd Graham unti l th e white flag ca m e out. Durell e stormed out of nowhere o n the fifth and fina l lap and moved into th ird, while Athe rto n led Parker through the last two tu rns. Parker tucked in behind Ath erton 's Al Stangler-tuned XR750, but his a ttem p ted dra ft pass came u p j ust in ch es short a t the fin ish line a nd it was Atherton scoring his first-ever Camel Challen ge wi n. T he 20-year -old Michigan rid er was presented with a check for $10,000 from th e R .j. Reynolds Tobacco Compan y. Parker ea rned $2500 fo r h is second pl ace finish , a nd Durel le's thi r d p la ce performance was worth $2000. " I've go tt en seco nds , thirds a nd fou rths," said a n ecsta tic Ath erton. "But this is m y first Camel Challenge win, and it feels great. I didn't see Scotty pull al on gside m e into 't h ree, so 1 figured wha t th e heck , I'll lead it outa' four and hope for the best." Junior National J ames H art ' top ped Cory Perrault and T im Selby in co nvi nci ng fash ion in the firs t h eat race , whil e Pa u l Pol hemus led Danny Koelsch and Jess Roeder acro ss the finish line in th e seco nd hea t. Dal e J ennem an ra n away with th e third an d fin al heat race win , besting Bret Beyer a nd SCOII Sehl. Ko e ls ch p ow er ed h is Ko el sch Farrna/Be lf/Northeastern Yam aha / Oury/Tex Peel Racing-backed HarleyDavid son into th e po int position early in th e 10-lap Junior Nat ional , which 5

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