Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

$200,000. But I'm going to give $100,000 of that to George, and then I've got expenses. So I end up spending $20,000 on expenses thro ughou t the year and th en Uncle Sam gets $15,000 of it. So you en d up netting $50;000 or $60,000 - for bei ng number one in yo ur field: And that's if I win the ch a m p io n sh i p, The d ifferen ce between first an d third is $80,000 in point fund mo ney. So now yo u' re down to $20,000. So you pay George, pay your taxes and you don ' t have anything left." Come July 27, Jones will try his ha nd at race promoting. He and a par tner are the dr iving force behind the Oklahoma City Half Mile, a round of the Cam el' Pro Series. Ronnie doesn ' t really know wh at to expect, excep t one th in g - the track will be ' nice an d tacky. " I'm not rea l nervous about it, " Jones said. "I'm sure we'll make some mi stakes. It 's the first one I' ve do ne, so I hope I can just get throu gh it and no t lose my butt. Winning all my own purse mo ney wo uld help, but I'd hate to win' the purse money and end up pay ing it all ba ck in because there's no people in the stands. Reall y i t was just a dream of mine to have a race in Oklahoma City. I'm just banking on the fact that there 's enough peopl e aro und that part of the country wh o have been wanting to see th e same th in g. Hopefully, th ey'll come out and su pport it. "The first year I don't even care if I make money. I just don't want to lose money, or no t much money, so I can afford to do it again and have it continue. That's wh at I'd really li ke to see happen. " Jones tak es his pl ace on th e middle of the back row for the start of the 25lap National. H e ends the first lap in 13th pla ce,' m oves up to 12t h, the n l l th, and finally back to 12t h. M eanwh ile; up front, Park er runs away and hides fro m th e field. Jones is rewarded with three po in ts for h is effo rts and he slips to second beh ind Chris Carr ~n th e cham pionsh ip. The long night IS over. " I was losing the rear brake," Jon es said as the minivan was being packed by Garvis and crew, and the occasional fan stopped by to w ish Jones lu ck and get an autograph. Jones' wife of a year, Trina, was also through for the night after keeping lap times from the first practice session through to the end of the National. "It (th e rear brake ) felt like it was dragging, too . Maybe it was that wheel," Jones said. "The first time I raced that bike I won Ascot, so I guess this race evens things out. If we had the other bike, I'd have parked this one after the first practice. " A baseball season is often broken down into months. If th e 17-race AMA Camel Pro Series can be looked upon in the same light, Ronnie Jones had a bad May. After his 12th place finish at the Pomona Half Mile, Jones crashed o n the warm-up lap for the San J ose Mile Na tional and hurt his left ha nd badl y eno ugh to keep h im fro m starting the race. His troubles continued to foll o w him to the Springfield Mile where he str u ggled throughout practi ce, but ' managed to pocket 10 po in ts for his fifth -p lace fin ish: ' With May behind him, J ones opened June with a fourth place fin ish at Louisville and he's no w third in points, 30 behind leader Chris Carr. He's got his work cu t out for him as he attempts to win the Camel Pro Series Championship, but there 's probably more that a few lO-year-old boys out there who will 'sit in fron t of their TVs and hope that their hero Ronnie Jones can pull it off. (JII / Doug Polen's Fast-By-Ferracci Ducati Dominates World'Championship Superbike Series Round #4, June 9 Brainerd, Minnesota Cycle News Advertising gets results. Call 404/934-7850 East 213/427-7433 West Send me more information Na me : Ad dress: _ -------~-------- City : . Leatherstocking Country, n.y. Sta te : Zip: 327 N. Main St. • PO Box 447 Herkimer, NY 13350 • 1-800-233-8778· (315) 866-1500 I.NY 23

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