Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

O/ln. Pegra m will spend the early part of th e seaso n ge tt in g used to th e H ar ley befo re co m in g o n strong towards mi dseaso n. Put hi m dow n for at least fifth . 6. (TIE) Steve Morehead #42 Age: 36 Hometown: Findlay, Ohio teve Moreh ead had a ra ther dry seaso n i n 1991. Although he score d th e $ 10,000 check fo r wi n ning the Po mon a H alf Mile Ca mel Cha lle nge, th e wil y veteran had his first winless season since 1986. "We were j us t down o n po wer a ll yea r lo ng ," sai d Mo reh ea d. " We co uld n 't seem to ' sq uee ze any more power out o f th e engine. ', A noted half-mile spe cialist, More, 'head look s forward to th e '92 sched ule that includes five half m iles. "The half miles involve more skill than th e miles, yo u don't have to be o n th e fast est bike to win. A rid er ca n use hi s head ins tea d of just hi s thrott le hand, " said Moreh ead . " So I want as many of those in the sche d ule as I ca n get! " Moreh ead will again ca m paign his own H arley-Dav ids ons in o rde r to po cket 100% o f his winnings, but engine builder H ank Scott will have to up th e horsep ow er ou tp u t of Morehead's XR750s if the " Fi ndlay Flyer" hopes to run up front a t th e eigh t mile events. ' " We' ve go tte n a few m ore horses o u t o f th e motor, so I hope we ca n run up th ere this year, " Moreh ead said. " Hell , th e la st time I wa s rea lly co mpe titive a t a m il e was o n Skip Eak en 's H ondas, A o ne or two horsepower disadv antage on a m ile tra ck ca n m ak e t he d iffer en ce be twee n fin ishing first and fin ishing 10th. " In hi s 19th year of Grand National compe ti tio n, we predi ct that Morehead will add to hi s list of career National ' wins on th e more technical half mile cours es, but the lack of power on th e miles will drop him to eigh th in th e fina l sta ndi ngs . S 6. (TIE) Rodney Farris #92 Age: 28 Hometown: Cockeysville, Maryland od ney Farris turned in h is best per forma nce o f th e yea r a t th e season-end ing Sacra me nto Mil e. Farr is ba ttl ed th rough ou t the race with th ree ot he r riders a nd crossed th e fin ish line th ird to sta nd atop th e lo w step of th e wi n ne r's podium. T hat gave " Hot Rod " so mething to reli sh durin g th e off-season. For ' '92, Farris is reu nited wit h Ed Adkins after being released by Cha r lie G ardner during th e off-seaso n. Farris p revio us ly ca m paig ne d Adkins' H arleys, but personal differen ces ca used the team to split. " Ed d ie and I h av e e ve r yt h i n g worked o u t now ; he 's happ y, a nd I'm R hap py ," said Farr is. " I' ve ridden th e bike before so I know that it's good, a nd Edd ie already knows how to set it u p for me," Kno wn as one o f th e most naturall y ta len ted , bu t wi ldest ri ders o n a nd off th e track , Farris will ha ve to work harder than ever to rep ea t his LOp 10 fini sh. We see Farr is fini sh ing h ig h at a few races, but drop p ing o u t o f the seaso n 's top 10: ing my butt off ," and vow s to put his tro ub les beh ind h im . J ohnny Goad wi ll do the tu n ing o n the F.I.G . Raci ng RS750 tha t Graham hopes to ride into the winner's ci rcle. Wit h 25 Na tio nal wi ns u nder hi s belt, " Ricky G " kn ow s what it ta kes to win. Barring mechanica l or perso nal proble ms , we see G ra ham fin ishi ng fourt h. 10. 8. Davey Durelle #58 Age: 28 Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota n .his seventh year as a National Expert, Davey Du rell e o pe ne d eyes a nd turned heads th rough out the 1991 season, as he estab lish ed himself as a legitim a te threat on th e Camel Pro circu it. Du rell e ca me pain fu lly clos e to scor ing hi s firs t Nati onal win a t the Lou isvill e Mi le, and scored 10 LOp 10 fin ish es. We ig hi ng o n ly 115 lb s. dripping wet, Du rell e has a defi n ite power- to -weigh t advantage o n the m ile tracks, b u t is forced to str uggle w it h his 3 15 lb. Ha rl ey-Davidson at the ro ughe r half m iles and sho rt tra cks. Durell e o p ted to skip th e Peoria TT ro u nd of th e Ca me l P ro Series, claiming th at th e tra ck " j ust doesn't like him ," but he hopes to o verco me h is bad 1uck a t th e track in '92. " I 'm shooting for a top five fin ish this year, a nd I g uess I' ll ha ve to hit Peo ria to do it," said Durel le. " Bu tch Donahue (owner o f Do na h ue HarleyDavid son, Durell e's major sponsor) and I spe nt th e off -season di aling in th e bik e a nd reall y m aking it fit m e." We predi ct that Dur elle wi ll ru n up fron t on the mi le track s in '92 and q uite possib ly sco re his first Na tio na l win , but hi s size wi ll contin ue to hold him ba ck o n the rough ha lf m iles. Put Durell e down for at least ninth. I 9. ,Ricky Graham #3 Age: 33 Hometown: Salinas, California icky G raha m described th e' 1991 season as "a gi ant ro ller coas ter." The two-time Grand Nat ional Champion was th e center of controversy th rough out th e season as a result of rep eated enc o un ters with the la w. Graham 's bright spo t of the season ca me whe n he scored his seven th Sp ri ng field Mile win a nd ended a fiveyear winless dr y spell. Gra ham bega n th e season aboa rd a n Eaken -Sponseller Racing H on da, bu t af ter being released from th e team, finish ed the seaso n aboa rd a F.I.G. Racing H on da. G ra ham 's Sp ringfield Mile win lit a fire under th e former factory H onda rider, a nd he feels th at ' th ere ar e st ill a lot of win s a head of him. " I' ve been kind o f half-hea rted th e last few years, " Graham sai d. " Bu t I'm fired up now , a nd I'm go ing to give it everything I'v e go t in '92." Graham sp ent the o ff-season " tra in - R MikeHale #32 Age: 19 Hometown: Carrollton, Texas ike H ale and th e Ba rtels' Performance Team spent most o f the , 1991 seaso n gett ing a feel for eac h o the r. A lack o f power a t th e begi n ni ng o f th e seaso n kept H al e o u t of the hunt, but by m id season the co llege student beca m e a for ce to' be reckoned with. T he h igh po int in H ille's season ca me a t the Peoria TT, where he smoked five of hi s peers and scored th e $10,000 Ca mel Cha llenge win. Hale qualified for every ma in event in '9 1, and capped off th e seaso n wit h a fourt h at the seaso n-end ing Sacra mento Mil e. T he 1990 Ca me l Pro Rookie of the Year w ill return aboard . Ba rt els' Perfor m an ce H arl eys wi th hi s fa th er Bob handl in g th e tun in g chores. Many o f H ale's fell ow ri ders feel th at better mach in ery a nd th e right breaks ca n m ake the d ifferen ce for h im , a nd tab t he yo un gs ter to be a fu ture cham p io n. " Well , I ended up rig h t wh ere Cycle N ews p redi cted th a t I wo u ld," sa id Ha le a t th e year-en d Cam el Pro banquet. Wh en asked what he pr edi cted for hi m self in 1992, H ale replied wi th a n aura of co nfidence, "Top three, th o se guys bett er wat ch ou t." While we wou ldn ' t bet again st him , we feel Hale will fin ish seven th . M ***** Well , tha t's how we see last year's to p 10 fin ish in g, but how abo u t the o th ers? Las t year, 11th overa ll was vetera n " T e rry Poovey, who mad e a vit al mistake a t th e start of the 1991 season; ' he parked hi s famili ar Honda RS750 in favor o f a H arl ey-Davidson XR7 50 with hopes th at it wo ul d carr y him to th e wi n ner 's ci rcle. It d idn 't. Instead , P o o vey' s results p lu m m e ted , a n d although he succee ded in mak ing th e mains, the gentle T exa n o ften brough t up th e rear o f the pack. In 1992, Poovey will return with h is fa m ilia r H onda RS750 with ma jor back in g from Sa kaida & Sons T ru cking, a Los Angeles, Ca lifornia -based ' co m pa ny. In the last races o f ' 1991, Poovey showed that he, whe n on th e ri gh t machine, still has th e spee d th a t carried him to ni ne career Na tiona l wins . We pr edi ct that Poovey will finis h l Oth , if not beuer , An d w ha t abo ut Will Davis> " Win k'n Will " ended th e seaso n in 12th , o n ly on e point behind Poovey in th e fin al po in t sta ndi ngs . Dav is finish ed seco nd at th e Rapid City H alf Mil e, a nd scored two $ 10,000 Ca me l Ch allen ge w in s, m akin g th e 199 1 season one of the mo st financially rewa rdi ng ever for the North Carolina n. Thou gh he pos ted five top five finishes , inconsistent resu lts kep t him o u t of th e season 's top 10. For 1992, Davis has switc hed from Ed Adkins' familiar H arleys to Louie Aruta a nd Craig Rogers' Honda RS750, the one previousl y ca mpa ig ne d by th e lat e Steve Eklu nd. Da vis spen t h is entire ca reer thus far aboard H arleys, a nd hopes th at th e swi tch to a H on da will ca rry hi m to th e high-step o n the winner 's pod ium. H e's a lready proved tha t he has the spee d to run up fro nt, a nd if he ca n pair it wi th co nsistency, loo k for Davis to be a legi timate LOp 10 th reat . T hree -time ' Grand Na tio na l Cha m p io n Jay Springs t een stru gg led thro ugho ut the 199 1 season . T h e for mer cha mp tu rn ed in four top 10 fi nishes a board a Bartels' Perfor ma nce XR750, but on ly suceeded in q ualifyin g for eigh t ma in events. Springstee n's persi st ant sto mach a i lme n t d id n' t affect hi m , but it was the lack o f hors ep ow er tha t kep t the cro wd favor ite o u t of th e o ther eig h t ma in event s. " We just co uld n 't get the bike runni ng right," said Spr ingsteen a t th e sea son- e ndi ng Sa cra m e n to Mi le , whe re he finish ed 15th . " I'm j ust g lad to end this seaso n in the show." Many in sid ers feel that the lack of dri ve, rather tha n horsep ow er, is wh at held Spri ngsteen back. This year, Phil Dar cy will bu ild the motors in th e Ba rtels' Perform an ce-backed H arl eyDavid son th at " Sp ringer " will ra ce. Darcy traditionally bui lds fast motors, so Sp ri ngs teen should ha ve the eq ui pment. His early season performan ces sh o uld set th e stage for. the rem ainder o f the year. Sorry, cham p , but we don 't see a top 10 fi ni sh happen in g. And how abo u t Dan lngram? The Indiana rider fai led to secure a stea dy sponsor in 1991 a nd it sho wed in his resu lts. Althou gh he stoo d o n th e low step o f the winner 's podium a t th e Oklah oma City H alf Mile, In gram turn ed in o n ly tw o o ther top- 10 finishes, as mech anical woes played a major rol e in hi s season. Ingram is a nxi ous to start the new seaso n, as he will be aboard th e sa me H onda th at ca rr ied him to the Da ytona Short T rack w in two years ea rlier. Previously o wned by Ea ken/S po nse ller. Racing, th e bikes were bou ght by Mike Moore of Co lorado a nd wi ll now carry th e M&M R a cin g bann e r. In gram is pumped to have fina lly secured a firm sponsorsh ip, and has a lready p roven th at he's a serio us th reat wh en on the right mach in es. Don 't be su rp rised to see In gra m score a h igh top 10 fin ish in '92. Ill ino is' Tim Mertens w ill return to actio n this year after break ing his femu r a t last year's seaso n-o pe nin g Daytona Sh ort Track. Mert ens ended th e 1990 season 10th overa ll , bu t scored no po in ts in 1991 as he wia ted for his leg to mend. Mertens suffered another set-back in th e su m mer wh en doctor s d iscovered that his leg had no t heal ed pr o perl y and were forced to re-break it. T he past year spe n t away from th e race track ca n affect Merten s in two ways: he'll eithe r be h un gry after hi s time o ff a nd race back with a vengea nce, or fear o f rei nju ring his leg wi ll affect his th rottle hand. With 12 years o f Grand Nat io na l competitio n under hi s belt, we say Merte ns will retu rn with the speed, bu t wo n 't be able to d uplicat e his 1990 top 10 fini sh. Ca mel Pro Rookie of th e Year Ian Segedy earn ed h is title with a fourthp lace finish a t th e seaso n -open ing Daytona Short T rack. After Daytona, Segedy failed to scor e any add itio nal points as he never qual ified for ano ther main even t. As o f th is writing, th e O hio-based rid er had not secu red a steady sponsor for the '92 season and wi ll a gain ca mpa ign h is o wn mach inery. Segedy may again finish well a t the Daytona Short Track , but we don 't expect him to brea k into th e year 's top IQ ~ 19

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