Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eDIRT TRACK AM! Grand National Cham~ionshi~_ /C_am_eI_Pr_o_Sen__ :R _d1_ 'es _O_Ull 3 Mor eh ead rounded o u t th e top six fastest qua lifiers th a t wo u ld com p rise -th e five-la p $17,500 Ca mel Ch allenge, posti ng times of 35.600 a nd 35.610, respectively . " Well, it 's a gua ra nteed extra 500 at least," said Moreh ead , who seeme d q u ite pleased wit h h is q ua li fying lap. " Tv e fi na ll y got this new chassis figu red out, I th ink we' ll give 'em hell today." ~ Inches hom the fence, Scott Parker (1) drafted past R onnie Jones (16) to score his 42nd career win. Chris Carr (20) was third. Parker (I), Terry Poovey (18), Kevin Atherton (23), Carr (20) and Davey Durelle (58) blast into turn one at the lllinois Motorcycle Dealers Association.promoted event. _. Parker gains ground at Springfield Mile By Do n n Maed a Photos by Bert Shepard and Maeda "B 8 _ SPRINGFIELD, IL, SEPT. I y the time I realized how hairy it was, I had already won," said defending Grand National Champion Scott Parker, after scoring the win at the Springfield Mile in front of an estimated I 1,000 spectators. In the dash for th e che ckered flag , Parker followed Ronnie Jones as they exited turn four , but pulled alongside the Garvis Honda Town rider on the outside and drafted past only inches away from the fence that lines the track to win by inches. The win was Parker's 42nd in Grand National competition and extends th e record he esta blished last weekend wh en he surpassed Jay Springsteen on th e all-tim e win list . It was also his seventh a t th e Springfield -Mil e, and ties him o nce aga in with former Grand Nati on al Ch ampion Ri cky Graham as th e all -time winner a t th e Illinois State Fa irgrounds. They had started th e seaso n tied with six wins eac h a t Springfield , but Graham added hi s seventh win at th e spring event. But m o re importantl y, Parker ' s win brought him within five points o f cha m p io ns h ip ser ies points leader Chris Ca rr, who filled th e third spot on th e podium. Carr continues to lead Parker 178 points to 173, while Jones maintains third with 156. " I'm just where I want to be, " said Parker, who pocketed $5760 of th e $38,000 Expert purse. "I've closed the (po ints) gap, and I' ve won at a ll of th e tracks that we have left thi s year." The day's big money winner was Parker ' s Harley teamm ate Kevin Athert on . The you ngs ter from Michigan won th e 17,500 Camel Challen ge, to earn $10,000. Dann y Ko el sch , wh o won the Springfield Mile in Ma y and th e previous day' s Regional , mad e it three stra ig h t a t th e fairgrounds by winning th e Junior Nati onal. Brett Beyer w~s second, a nd J am es H art was third. Wink Frieta s, wh o wrapped up th e Junior Nati onal Championship th e pr evious weekend a t Indianapolis, was fourth. T ime tria ls T err y Poovey sto pped th e clock s at 35~ 22 7 seco nds at a n avera ge speed of 102.194 m iles per hour aboard his Marioneaux Racing/Hap Jones/Dalla s H ond a /Bell /Si semore-backed Honda RS750 to become the fastest of the 42 rid er s th a t would fill th e afternoon's program , The lap was far sho rt of th e track record of 34.548/ 104.203 set by Ricky Graham in 1984. "It sure makes a difference when yo u' re on a . fast bike, " sa id Poovey, who has returned to his Honda RS750 after an I I National race stint aboard a Harley-Davidson XR7 50. Ath erton rounded th e tra ck second fastest, po sting a 35.256, just ahead of Parker 's 35.470. Carr was fourth fastest at 35.532, while Dave Durelle and Steve Heats Each o f th e three 1O-lap heat ra ces o ffered th ree direct transfers to the main event, wh ile riders who finished fourth th rough eleve nth, wo uld hav e to co mpete in a semi for a no the r chance to ma ke the fea ture. Poo vey took advantage of hi s pole positio n in th e fir st heat , an d blasted through turn one a hea d of Moreh ead , George Roed er , Scott Stump a n d Rodney Far ris. Farris wasted little time a nd shot past Stump as they exited turn two, whi le Morehead drafted past P oo vey o n th e ba ck straigh t and assumed th e lead. Farris then drafted past both Mo reh ead an d Poo vey to ta ke over the lead as they entered turn one on the next lap, but Poovey motored past on th e back straight and retook the lead. "I'd win every race if the ch eckered £lag was in turn on e," joked Farris. For th e next three laps, Poo vey, Morehead and Farris swapped th e lead back and forth, while Ronnie J ones began to come a live after a n II th place start. "I had troubles in qualifying, so I had to start from th e second row ," said J ones, wh o qualified 3 1st fastest. " I got a lousy sta rt, a nd th ere's not much room to pass ou t th ere." By lap five of th e 10-lap heat ra ce, Jones had muscled hi s way into fourth , behind Mor eh ead, Poov ey and Farris. Poo vey took com ma nd a nd led laps six through eig h t, but J ones drafted into th e lead just as th ey met the white flag and held th e lead to th e finish aboard his Garvis H onda/Missile Engineering/Motorcycle StufflHondalin elTX10/ Arai /Hi ckman Ra ci ng-backed Honda. Poov ey scored seco nd, on ly inches ahead of Farris. Moreh ead finished a clos e fourth, bu t wo uld ha ve to ride a sem i. "We were trying out a pair of new mag wh eels, and we're not sure, but th ey're affecting th e handling somehow," said Jones. " After qualifyi ng, we ch anged th e whol e bik e around." "That was pretty wild o u t there," said Poovey, referring to th e amount of passing that went on. " No sooner would I tak e th e lead , th en someone else wou Id scoot by." Ath er ton ha d th e fastest reflexes in th e second hea t, but diminutive Davey Durell e sped past th e Team Harley rider o n lap two. Larry Pegram and Dan Ingram followed su it, as Atherton fell back nearl y five bike-l engths. Durell e a nd Pegram swa p ped the lead, while Graham emerged from the pack a nd began to cha llenge Atherton for fourth. " I didn 't want to blister m y tire, so I was taking it easy ," Atherton said. "I was holding a steady pace wh en all of a sudden everybody started going by. Then I decided 10 gas it." On la p six, Ath erton turned up the wick and cha rged into the lead pack. One la p later , he drafted past Durell e a nd took co m ma nd of the lead , a nd stayed in front until th e white flag came o ut. Dure lle shadowed Athe rto n's AI Stangler- tuned H arl ey as they exited turn four for th e last time, and pulled alongsid e as th ey crossed th e finish line. Pegram crossed the finish line in third to score th e last direct trip to the main.

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