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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127383
eMOTOCROSS e AMA 125/250cc National Champ_io_ns_hiA-p_MX_S_er_ie_s:_Ro_u_nd_s3_/3 Jeff Sta nton scored the overall win in the 250cc class with 2-1 moto finishes . Stanton, Swink cook at High P in ot By Nate Rauba 8 M . MORRIS, PA, MAY 26 I " w e really , put on a show, 'and 1 just came out a lillie bi t better," said Honda's J eff Stanton aft er scoring th e overall win in , the 250cc Nati on al at H igh Point Raceway. What a sho w it was for over 10,000 spectators who lined the hilly course for the 15th an n u a l event in the southern Pennsylvania mountains. Defending 250cc Na tional Champion Stanton foiled the attempts of Yamaha 's Dam o n Bradshaw, who scored his first 250cc National victory here a year ago, in two fantastic battles with the speed y teen ager. J ust as they had done the previous week in the Meadowlands Supercross, Sta nton and Bradshaw exch anged the lead severa l times in both 30-minute plus two-lap motos. Bradshaw managed to narrowly beat Stanton in the first moto after the two ran wh eel-to -wheel throughout th e race. Points lead er J ean -Michel Bayl e was also in th e th ick of the bailie, bu t he was content 10 watch from a safe distance in third so as not to take any unnecessary cha nces whi ch would jeo pardize his chances of clinching th e Camel Supereross title on June 8 in Ok lahoma City. Moto two was another all-out bailie between Stanton and Bradshaw as the two streaked away from the pack. After trading p laces at the front a coup le of times, Sta nton finally forced his way into the lead and Bradshaw just shook h is head as he wen t by, content to back off for a safe second as Stanton went on to record his second 250cc National win th is season . Suzuki 's Mike La Roc co finished a distant third, while Bayle ,was involved in a second-turn pileup a t the start and charged from near last to finish fou rth. " I kn ow 1 must win every moto if I'm going to win the championship;" said Stanton, who earned $1600 of the $15,000 250cc class purse. After failing 10 fin ish the previous National moto in the rain at Hang town, Stanton climbed from third in the standings to second where he trails Ba yl e, 107-91, with four ro unds remai n ing in the 250cc series. Bradshaw j umped from fifth to third with 85 points. ' _ Wh ile the 250cc National provided all the sho w, the usually-exciting 125cc National tur ned out to be a one-man parad e led by Peak Antifreeze/Pro Circuit Honda rid er Brian Swink. The Michigan rider, who clinched th e 125cc Eas tern Regional Supercross titl e one week ear lier, swept both 125cc mo tos 10 record his first -ever National win and earn $1200 of the $10,000 I25cc pu rse. "T h is feels great ," said 19-year-old Swin k. " It' s been a goa l of mine for years to win a National." H e did it in con vinci ng fashio n, taking the lead early in the firs t moto a n d stretching out a four-second a d va n ta ge on teamma te J er em y McGrath at th e finish. Tuf Racing's Ron Tichenor finished third with AXO/P ro Circui t-backed privateer Er ik Kehoe claiming fourt h over Yama ha 's J eff Em ig. Swink led from start to finish in rno to two, thwarting a late-race charge by former 125cc National Champion ' Mike Kiedrowski. Kehoe finished third in the mo to to earn runner-up overall honors. Swi nk's sweep also moved him 10 the top of the l25cc National Championsh ip point standings where h e leads Kiedrowski 101-88. Defending 125cc N ational Champion Guy Cooper fell from first 10 third with 84 points aft er crash es in each moto left h im with 14-6 rnoto fini shes. Neither of th e privateer winners of the prev io us Hangtown Nati onal could maintain th eir momemtum at , H igh Point. J ohn Dowd, the 250cc Hangtown National winner, skipped the race du e 10 a braken collarbo ne su ffered a t th e ' previous weekend's su percros s a n d he dropped from second in the standings 10 seventh. DGY 's Doug Hen ry crashed while running ninth in the first 125cc moto and was forced to retire, then finished _ 10th in mo to two. He dropped from secon d to fifth in the point standings. 125 National P ea k/P ro Circ uit Hon da rid er Jeromy Buehl emerged with the lead at the start of moto one as the l 25cc class ro unded the first turn, ' a long, sweeping left-hander. Kehoe was immediately beh ind him, but before J the opening lap had finished, Tichenor shot by bo th riders to take the lead. Cooper also charged through the field to take over second with Peak' teamster Jeremy McGrath on h is heels. Kehoe fin ishe d the la p in fourth as Buehl slipped to sixth behind Swink. Swink soon shot up to third, and for a couple of laps Tichenor, Cooper and Swink ran nose-to-tail, leavin g Kehoe behind in fourt h to -fend off McGrath. On lap four, Swink passed the two Suzuki riders ahead of him to ' permanently take the lead. Coo per moved into second, as Tichenor fell back into a bailie between Kehoe and McGrath. " Everybody was getting squirrelly the firs t few laps," said Kehoe. " I just dropped back a lillie and waited for something to happen . 1 saw them all ramming into each o ther." A li ttle further back, Suzuki's T allon Voh land battled wit h Emi g for sixth, while Buehl had slipped to eight h. He nry went out on the sixth lap when he fell on one of High Point's many off-camber turns and his foot knocked the carbureter out of the air boot, Kiedrowski was busy making his wa'y up from a poor start and took over ninth. One of the riders who ha d given him a bit of a battle was Ri ck Ryan, ) who has been campaigning the 250cc GP circuit but missed the Finnish 'rou nd by competing at Mt. Morris. Ryan led a freight train consisting of several riders who were close behind him. Up front, Swink ,pulled ou t .a few seconds on Cooper, only to have the defending champ reel him back in. But just as he had Swink within striking distance, Cooper crashed at high speed. "We were going around a sweeping turn , and 1 was in fu ll tuck trying to . hoo k up for a dri ve through the rolling whoops, " said Cooper. "Then it swapped and the back wheel hi t a hole , and 1just cartwheeled down the track. " L uckily, Cooper landed in soft dirt