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/127394
~ DIRT TRACK AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series: Round II e Ronnie Jones (16), Chris Carr (20), Will Davis (21), Scott Parker (I ), Rodney Farris (92) and Dan Ingram (31) blast off the front row at the start of the 2O.lap main event. Carr (20) led most of the race , bu t dropped to ninth place with a flat rear tire. Davis (21) held on to second place. of many act ivities held during th e 51st Annual Sturgis Black H ill s Rally. Although th e ra ll y attracted over 70,000 bikers, the threat of thundershowers kept race track attenda nce down to an estimated 7000. Though he finished only ninth, Carr added five points to his series po ints lead as defending Grand National Ch ampi on Sco tt Park er su ffe re d engi ne problem s in the final and could on ly mu ster a 14th pl ace fin ish, good for o ne po int . Carr now lead s the poi nts chase , 152-133. More im porta ntly, J ones' win closed the ga p between himself and second p lace, as he trai ls Parker wit h 130. "This puts me back in the title hunt," said a happy J ones, who collected $3985 of the $28,000 Expert purse. "Sco tty better watch out , here we come." Time Trials Jones prevails at Rapid City Half Mile By Donn Maeda RAPID CITY, SD, AUG. 7 o nn ie J o nes has no respect for tradition . For one week each year, the sma ll town of Sturgis, South Da kota, plays host to the Annual Sturgis Black H ill s Motorcycle Rall y. T he to wn is filled with leather and ch ro me , as bikers (mostly aboard Ha rley- Davidso ns) from across the nation flock to what is affectionately known as "the biggest party west of the Mississippi." In front of a hi ghly' p art isan Ha rl ey-Da vid son crow d, Jones powered hi s Honda RS750 to the win at the Camel Pro Seri es half mile R 10 at nearb y Black H ills Speedway in Rap id City . " It doesn't feel qui te the same as winning at home," said J ones, referring to his hometown win two weeks earl ier at the Oklahoma City Fair ground s. " Bu t nevertheless, it feels pretty dam n good." After foll ow in g Chris Carr for most of the 20-lap race, J ones sto le the lead o n lap 15 and p ulled away fro m the Team Harley-Davidson rider to score hi s third National win of the season. Foll owing Jones across the line were Will Davis and Larr y Pegr am as Ca rr suffered a flat tire sho rt ly after gi vin g up first, dropping back to n inth place at the finis h. J ones' win came under threatening skies as show ers throughout the day dam pened the banked , half-mile oval. The un usua l Wednesday ni ght race marked the first tim e tha t the Camel . Pro Serie s has visited the Black Hills Speedway, and it was th e first time since 1955 th at a G rand Nat io na l Championsh ip race had been held in South Dakota. The race was just on e Ca rr was the fastest of the 59 riders who too k tim e tria l la ps, pos ting a lap tim e of 21.756 seconds, just ahead of North Ca rol ina 's Will Davi s, wh o sto pped the cloc ks at 21.808. Indian an Dan In gr am tu rn ed in the day's th ird fastest la p tim e of 21.895, while twotime Grand Nation al Ch ampion Ricky ' G ra h a m fo ll o wed w i th a 21. 920. Roundin g o ut the six fast qpalifiers wh o would compe te in the $ 17,500 Ca mel Ch allen ge were Ohioan Chan ce Darling and T exan Bill y Herndon, wh o turned in times of 21.994 and 22.035, respectively. "The rai n has made the track real fast," said Carr. " You can really gi ve it everything you 've . go t. T his is a confidence boost, we've been struggling with bike setup at the half miles." Heats In the first of three heat races that wou ld offer three direct tran sfer pos itio ns to the Na tio na l, Rodn ey Farr is blasted off the line and led Hern don , Carr and George Roeder int o tu rn one. Farris went wide and allo wed Hern don and Carr to slip by, but he scoo ted back into second by the second lap. " I got the hol eshot , but I go t exci ted and screwed up ," sa id Ga rne r Racin g's Farris . With a clear trac k ahead of h im , Carr rode hi s Kenn y T olbert -tuned factory Harley-Davidson across the finish line