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GDIRT TRACK AMA 600cc National Championship_Dl_'rt_Tr_ac_kS_en_' R_OUll_d_5 es_: ~ _ Pegram scored his first-ever AMA 600cc National win at the Sturgis Fairgrounds. • races. The short track provided close · race action, as even the slowest qualifying time of 13.439, posted by Steve Liberty, was only .636 slower than Carr's fast time. . H eats Pegram pans gold at Sturgis Short Track By Dave Hoenig STURGIS, SD, AUG. 9 arry Pegram continued his hot streak by winning his first -ever 600cc National, the Sturgis Short Track which was promoted by the J ackp ine Gypsies M.C. The l8-yearold Eaken-Sponseller Racing/ Arai/ KK Supply/Yoko/MJ USA/Motion Pro/Smith-backed Honda rider held 'off the charges of veterans Mickey Fay . and Rick Hocking throughout his wire-to-wire win. "The first five to 10 laps I rode slower; you had to ride slow to protect L 14 your line," explained Pegram. " When I got a littl e room , I was more aggressive." .T ime Trials Among the 83 en tra nts , defending 600cc National Ch ampion Chris Carr rounded the track the fastest in time trials, stopping the clocks at 12.803 seconds. Keith Day, Mark Key, Mickey Fay, Tim Selby and Cory Perrault rounded out the six fastest who wou ld occupy the pole positions in the hea t Pegram topped Carr in the first of six heat races tha t offered two direct transfer spots, while Rodney Farris, Rich King and Mike Hale headed for a semi final. . Keith Day piloted his Cloninger Ce l l a r s / S uper trapp /D ia mond / O 'Bi-ien /R-J Performance/Sudco/ Zoom Cycle/Lillie R&D-sponsored Harley-Davidson to the win in heat number two, ahead of Bobby McDowell, while Corey Brink, Ben Bostrurn and Terry Poo vey would have to wait until a semi for another chance to make the final. Charlie Orr was the fastest rider in the third heat, and scored the win aboard his Royal Anderson/Shoei! Continental Tan-backed Harley. Billy Herndon foIlowed in second, content to earn a trip to the main. Fay stormed pas t Jeff Eklund to . score the win in the fourth heat aboard the Bay Area Fork Lift/Lester's Machine Shop/Peiroli/BeIl/US Tsubak ilMcCoy's Ra ci n g P ro d u cts! Works Performance-sponsored Harley. Ted Taylor and Speedy Kell finished close behind, but would have to compete in a semi . Kris Kiser tried every trick in the book to pass Hocking in the fifth heat, but to no avail. Hocking fended off all charges to score the win aboard his Budweiser/Sound Beverage/Bria n Billings/ BeIl/ Co ugar G ulch/Dave the Plumberz'Nyrno P lates /Knight! Maxima-backed Harley 600. J.P. Simonsen put his Budweiser/ E lectro Racing/Anderson Cycle! Mobil Window Tint/Grandparents/ BeIl/Kal-Gard-backed Harley in the point position in the final heat, and fended off the charges of Mike Gre sham to score the win. Rich King and WiIl Davis scored the two transfers available in th e semifinals, while Terry Poovey topped the Last Chance Qualifie r to earn the final p~sition .in the main. National As the 15 riders chose their starting positions for the main event, fast heat winner Charlie Orr said, "1£ you cheat too much (off the line), you get sent back to the penalty line, but if you don' t cheat eno ugh, you go back in the pack anyway." Row one consisted of Pegram on the ins ide pole, with Simonsen, Day, Orr, Fay and Hocking alongside. Eklund, Kiser, Herndon, Gresham, McDoweIl and Carr sat on row two, while Poovey, King and Davis made up the last row. Pegram read the ligh t perfectly, and sped into turn one first. "I didn't reaIly want to start on the inside, bu t the other guys had faster heats," said Pegram. " But I guess it worked out okay," Fay, Hocking an d Simonsen chased Pegram thro ugh the first turn. Kiser started fourth, but was pressured by Day and Orr. Carr was mired at the start an d ran ninth. Kiser slipped off the groove and allowed Day and Orr to scoot past. O n ce i n to fift h , Day rode i n Simonsen' s shadow .