Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

sta ndi ngs but was making his 250 debut at the H igh Point round. Roach registered a convinci ng ninth overa ll on the new bike while out -racing class runner-u p Bob Sloan by six minutes. Kent ucky's Harvey Whitaker finished about 50 seconds behind Sloa n, who was in the A class for the first time after clinchi ng the Four-Stroke B title. When the lead riders were scored at the end of the second ho ur, Summers was in total command, having guided his Honda to a lead of more tha n two minutes on Conner. Plessin ger, who was piloting a '92 KTM 250 DX, seemed LO lose his rhy thm goi ng into the last hour and ultim at ely faded to seventh overall. Ru ssell closed in on third-place Cunningha m but fell in a rocky comer wh en he collided with Senior leader Joe Lojak. H reh or took advantage of the sit ua tion by displ acing both Ru ssell and Cu nn in gh am , and with three laps left, it looked as though the Suzuki pi lo t had a shot a t Conner's runner-up posi tio n. However, H rehor' s rear tire selection for the event - a sand tire - kep t h im from getting too close to Conner. By the time the race ended th e tire had shed mos t of its knobbies on th e hard and sometimes rocky H igh Point trails. Summers cruised through th e late stages of the race and was three minutes clear of Conner at the finish. Thirdplace finisher Hrehor was able to get to within two seconds of Conner before the checkered flag dropped on the pair. Cunningham was another two and a half mi nutes back with Russell trail ing in fifth . Conner was the high-placin g 250cc A rider, followed by H rehor, Cunningha m, R ussell and Blackwell. The top Open A rider besides overall winner Summers was McSwain, fol lowed by 10th overa ll fini sher Frank Keegan and ATK rid ers Ron Pal ermo and David Dudash. " Abou t six races ago we thought th e title was' o ut of reach ," adm itted Summers, who now stands a good cha nce of winning what would be hi s fourth National Championship title in two years. (Summers is a two-time Har e Scrambles an d GNCC Champ ion). "Now 1 feel like I control my own destiny. Another first or second at th e final round should do it." Summers is backed by American H onda , H ondaLin e, O akley, PJ I , Bridgeston e, White Brothers, Sprocket Specialists, Ca m el b ak, Tsubaki , Fredette Racing, Maier , CFi, Power Mist, Arai, and Bloo m ington H on da. As for Conner, he already seemed happy with the season regardless of how th e Tennessee finale turns OUL " Going into the season I just wanted LO fin ish in the top three as often as possible," said the 23-year-old. " I feel like I' ve done a good job accomplishing that. Anything else would be a nice reward for all the hard work ." Indiana's Johnny Robbins stole the ear ly spotlight from 200cc A class contenders Tom Norton and Craig Jones aboard his 125cc KTM . Robbins and Junior (+25) leader Davey Coombs (also on a 125) spent the first 90 minutes of the race battling for top small-bore honors, but Jones fina lly kicked it in at th e halfway point LO take the lead . H owever, Jones' time at the front was short-lived wh en hi s bike suffered an engine seizure, allo wi ng Robbins, Norton an d Coombs back by. Then, with less tha n one-ha lf lap to go, bad luck also torpedoed Robbins' hopes of a first-ever G NCC class win . "The motor was dyin g on th e last lap," said 21-year -old Robbin s, "and Norton was sti ll running strong. H e passed me on an uphill and screamed at me the whole time. " ~ so .... Q) ..0 S Q) :> o Z Terry Cunningham (I ll) fin ished fourth overall, which keeps his title hopes alive. . Davey Coombs (6) leads win ner Tom Norton (behind Coombs), Craig Jones (16) and runner-up Johnny Robbins (573) at the start of th e 200cclJunior A row. " I was just having a little fun with him ," said Cliff's Cycle/KTM/ Ara i/ Acerbis -backed Norton. " He rod e a real good race but he just didn 't ha ve any pow er left at th e end." The High Point win was Norton's eighth of the series; he clin ch ed the 200cc A class title at the pr eviou s rou nd in West Virginia. Robbins held on for second over Bentley's Yamaha-backed Michael Burk. Coombs' seventh J un ior class win of the series pu t him in good shape for the class title. Lojak's Yamaha's David Santi and Lineman Cycle's John Vincent ran second and third. Tommy Harris won his third Vet A race of the series and ensured that the titl e would not be decided until th e final round. Class points leader Rick Kresic occupied second pl ace at the checkered flag while Honda-mounted Jeff Murgel, th e third cha llenger for the championship, retired after five laps. Yamaha YZI25 rider David Fallas was third in th e Vet A group at H igh Point. J oe Lojak was , once again , the Senior A (+40) class cha mp ion, though the Yama ha pilot started his day by celebrating his 50th birthday at the rider's meeting. Tops in th e Super Senior (+5 0) A group wa s Dave Coombs, Sr., who passed Harry Greenlee two mi les from the fin ish to record h is bes t fin ish to date in th e '91 series. (;If Results 0 / A: 1. Scott Summers (Hon); 2. Duane- Conner (Kaw); 3. Jan Hrebor (Suz); 4. T erry Cunningham (Kaw); 5. J ell RUS5 (Han ); 1. Steve McSwain (Kaw); 2. Fra nk Keegan (ATK); 3. Ro nal d Palermo (ATK); 4. Da vid Du dash (ATK) ; 5. Greg Hol den (KT M). ~ A: 1. Duane Co ner (Kaw); 2. 1an Hreh c r (Suz); 3. Terry Cu nn ingham (Kaw); 4. Jdl Russell (KTM ); 5. Doug Blackwel l (Kaw). 200 A: 1. Tho ma. Norton (KT M); 2. Jo bn ny Rob bin . (KTM ); 3. Mich ael Burk (Yam ); 4. Robert T omindlo ( Ka w ); 5. Brian Walker (KTM). 4-STKK A: 1. Gary Roa ch (H a n); 2. Bob Sloan (Han); 3. Harvey whuaker (Han); 4. Andrew Smith (SU z); 5. R ick Parsons (Han ). JIl: 1. Davey Coombs (Suz); 2. David Sami (Yam ); 3. J ohn Vin cent (Yam ); 4. David Molnar (Ya m ); 5. Eric Davis (Yam) . VET A: I. T ommy Harris,(Yam ); 2. Richard Krestc (Ya m); ! . Dav id Fallas (Ya m); 4. Mark Lambtrt (Suz); 5. Paul Cuny (Suz). _ SR A: I. Joe Lojak (Yam). SlSR A: 1. Dave Coombs ('Yam ); 2. Harry G reenl ee (Ya m ); !. Do nald Ha rless (Ya m); 4. Charles H aw k. (Suz). OPL'" 8: I. Doug Miller (Kaw); 2. Tim Mos ber ger (KT M): 3. joseph Ycrna ux (Kaw); 4. Lawrence Hullman (KIM ); 5. Sa m Dyk e (KTM). 2SO B: I. Duane Spro use (Suz); 2. Rich ard Brya n (Suz); 3. Jell Lowery (Ya m); 4. Clim Bard on ncr (Ya m ); 5. Sha wn Brei! (Yam ). 200 B: l. Todd Mo ra in {Ho n ): 2. 'Ti mo thy Aretl (Yam); S. C urd5 Bardonner (Suz); 4. Mart in Daubert (Ka w]: 5. Ro bert 'Thompson (Ka w ). "'·STRIC &: 1. Steve H ol bat (H on ); 2. Benn y Mans (Ha n ); 3. Gary Bower> (H a n); 4. Mar k Niggemyer (H a n ); 5. Robert Mu rra y (Ha n). VET B: 1. Ma rk AUma n (Han); 2. Mike Holbert (Yam); 3. Greg Rzepl inski (Ya m) ; 4. Gary Shipley (Kaw); 5. T roy Sch lereth (Ha n). SR B: I. Dave Dehner (Kaw ): 2. Shel by Murra y (Ya m ); 3. Steve Zdybicki (Suz); 4. Jo hn Dunn (Kaw); 5. Regi s Ferre re (Ya m). S/SR 8: I. J ohn Baker (Ya m ); 2. Bill Har tsell (Ya m ). NOV C: 1. jason Ward (H a n ); 2. Daryl Allman (Kaw); 3. Brian Pep ka (Kaw); 4. Tim Saville (AT K); 5. Phi Uip Ball (Han). T EAM: I. Chris Shaller/ Will iam Reger (Kaw ); 2. Tom Parfitt (Ya m )/ Willi a m Kenyan (KTM). G RAND NA T IONAL CROSS COUNT R Y POINTS STANDIN GS: I. Duane Co nner (167); 2. Sco u Sum mer> (163); 3. T erry Cunningham (162); 4. lell R ussell (156); 5. Doug Blackwel l (144); 6. Frank Keegan (124); 7. Thoma. Norton (123); 8. Tim Shephard ( 119); 9. Craig j ones (117); 10. See n Plo inger (84); II. Rick Kresic (67); 12. Ro bert T ominell o (56); 13. (T I E) Gary Ro ach/Aar on H ough/Jell Murgel (54); 16. (TIE) Stan Lojakl T ommy Ham. (51); 18. Harvey Whitaker (SO 19. ); Steve McSwain (49 ); 20. Davey Coombs (43). There's no future in mixing alcohol or drugs with rmtorcyc\ing. But even riding sober doesn't mean you're riding safely. Thats why you need to weara helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. And responsible motorcyclists take the time to really understand their machines by reading their owner's manuals. And they never ride without a motorcycle license. So remember, ride straight Or don't ride at alL d'HONDA. Come ride with us. Q 199 American HondaMotorCo.,Inc.( 11191) 1 I:lwck Out MDtDrcycl. RielM" Skill. Traininq I-BOD 447-4700 A .,..,.. from h OfIa l)IIl'4IQI"*aV SaNty and MoIor \WIlde OM-on (II the 0epwtrNIl'1t (II T~bOI'l 33

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