Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ DIRT TRACK AMA Grand National Championship_ /C_am_e1_Pr_oS_er_ies_: _ou_nd_3 R ~ Parker earned $5000 for his win in the six -ri der, five-lap Camel Challenge. Two-time Grand National Champion Graham handily woit his heat and finished a close four th in the main. Graham was the top-placing Honda rider. (Left to right) Atherton, Parker and Carr completed the first Team Harley-Davidson sweep of the season, and are 3-2-1, respectively, in the series point standings. 8 th e in side pole. Ne xt to Parker sa t Ath erton , Graham , Roed er, Du rell e a nd Ca rr . Carr had th e fastest reflexes a t th e flash o f th e gree n light triggered by starter Ri ck Hutchin, wh o rep laced fo rm er Na tio na l sta rter J err y Kennedy who was p romot ed to Nation al referee , replacin g Duke Oll iges. (See sideba r) Ca rr led Parker , Ath ert on, Roeder, Farris and Graham through turns o ne a nd two o n th e first o f 25 laps. Parker zapped Carr as th ey negotiat ed three a nd four a nd , for all intents a nd purposes, the race was over. " I just ra n it hi gh and stayed there," said Parker, who was never seri ous ly cha llenged for the remainder- of the race. " I tried running Iowa few times. bu t I wo u ld lose ground , so I went back up high." Carr ga ine d a nd lost grou nd to Parker throughout th e main but was never able to mount a serio us bid for th e lead. At o ne point, Ca rr look ed to be p ulli ng away from Ath erton a nd gai n ing gro u nd on Parker , but a slip in turns three and four sent him reeli ng back. "I ran it in real hard and just parked i t," exp la ined Ca rr. " I slipped into th e fluff y stuff a nd I could n't ge t go ing . Fro m th at point, I decid ed to save second." Ath ert on ca pitalized on Carr's mi sta ke but suffered a simi lar sli p whe n he tried 'to snea k past his teamma te. . " I s nu c k u p on Ch ris a nd h e slammed th e door on me, " said Atherton. "I got a little squ irr ely an d, all o f a sudden , 1 saw Graham on th e inside o f me." While Carr and Ath ert on were doin g their best to keep up with Parker , G ra ha m sn uc k past Farris a nd Roeder a nd clo sed in o n th e H arl ey team. " I didn 't ge t a great sta rt , bu t I was a ble to pass a co u p le of guys on th e ou tside," said G raham. Tho ugh he rod e the cus hio n in hi s hea t race , G rah a m discove red th a t he had to alter h is lines in the fea tu re. "The cus hion got pushed u p a li ttle higher a nd it was ha rd to ge t traction ," exp lai ned Graham. "That's when a H onda has a d isad vantage - when it's slippery. I had to try to stay dow n low o n the groove." At the ha lfway point, Pa rker held a comfortable two-second lead over Carr, who in tu rn en joyed a few bike len gths o n At he rton a nd Gra ha m. Beh ind the m, Roeder , Du rell e and Spr ingsteen waged a p rivat e war o ver fifth, whi le Davis, J on es and Farr is swa p ped positions a few seco nds back. Durell e a nd Roeder cha nge d positio ns repea ted ly, wh ile Sp rings teen seemed co n ten t to wa tch a nd wait for a m istak e by either rider. " I tri ed to run up to p 4 few laps bu t I wo u ld screw up ," sai d Roeder. " Da vey wo uld ge t by me, so I decided to stay lo w." " I fou nd a good line a bo u t halfway into the main," said Durell e. " I wo u ld run it in high , the n cut down lo w." Meanwhi le u p front, Par ker co nti nued to ma intai n a IO-bike len gth lead over Carr, whi le Ath erton ha d his hands full with G raha m. " I loo ked back a co uple of times to mak e sure th ey weren 't ga ini ng," sa id Pa rker. " I just set a pace and stayed high." G raha m turned up th e wick wi th two laps to go a nd began to stick a whee l in side of Ath erton as th ey slid throu gh turn s o ne a nd tw o , but Ath ert on responded by d itching h is hi gh-line choice a nd g ua rdi ng th e groove. " I think h e actuall y passed m e o nce," sai d Ath ert on . " I sa w hi s wh eel right the re, but I hook ed up bett er 'com ing o u t of th e turn . From th at po int, I figured tha t I'd better gua rd th e low lin e and ho ld on to th ird." " It was to ugh ha vin g to change my lin es in th e main ," sa id Gra ham. "Thill'S the bad thi ng ab o u t rid ing the cushio n - if it goes a wa y you have to adjust." Parker gree ted th e checkered flag _ first, ahea d o f Ca rr, Athe rton, Graham, R oed er , Durell e a n d Sp ri ngs tee n, wh ile J ones, Da vis a nd Mo reh ead ro u nded o u t th e top 10. "Se venth a in't a ll bad," sai d Springsteen. " Whe n th ey tu rn th e (starting) card sideways, I usu ally put m y bik e in gear , but tonight th ey flashed the light as soo n as th e ca rd turned and I wasn' t even in gear wh en everyo ne took o ff." Moreh ead was a nothe r rider who was ca u ght o ff g uard by th e new starter 's technique, and circula ted the tra ck in last pl ace for severa l lap s before finding his momentum and raging up into 10th. " I wasn 't in gea r wh en th e green light flashed , th en I co u ldn' t even get it into gear ," sa id Morehead . " It took me quite a while to get going after that. " Wh en asked what his line selection was , Moreh ead laughed a nd replied, " U p top wh ere I assu me th e leaders were running, but I would 've had to loo k acro ss th e tra ck to tell for sure! " After running in th e top 10 throughou t the main, Farris' Harley ga ve up on th e last lap a nd he coasted across th e finish line 16th. "The motor just sta rted going bad, a nd sh e quit o n the last lap," said a disappointed Farris. " I can' t believe my luck." eN Resul ts TIME T RIALS: 1. Scou Parker (29.581 seconds) ; 2. R icky Graham (29.609); 3. Chris Carr (29.797); 4. George Roeder II (29.949 ); 5. J a)' Spri ngs teen (29 .958) ; 6. Kevi n Atbet to n (30. 176) ; 7. Ste ve Mo rehead (30. 194); 8. Davey Du relle (30.2 14); 9. Mike Hale (30.4 14); 10. Dan In gram (30.449); It. La rry Pegram (30.485); 12. Will Davis (30.525); 13. Rodn ey Farris (30.550); 14. Ja son Fletcher (30.&15); 16. R usty Rog ers (30.&18); 17. Davey Camlin (30.6&11; 18. Kris Kiser (30.673); 19. Ronnie Jones (30.725); 20. Steve Beauie (30.891); 21. Tim Mer tens (30.937); 22. Aaron H ill (3 1.089); 23. Marlin Lavoi e (31.106); 24. Ro n Yama mo to (.!I t. 173); 25. T ony Do nahue (31.217); 26. Don Wil so n (31.240); 27. Sco u Slump (31.252); 28. Do nni e Estep (31.276); 29. Rex Fish er (31.280); 30. Ch an ce Da rl i n g (3 1.283) ; 3 1. Mic hael Va rnes (31.401); 32. Stephen Maylie1d (3 1.440); 33. Mike Ind erbitz en (31.553); 34. David Lloyd (31.593); 35. Pa ul Polhemu s (3 1.65 1); 36. Wink Freitas (31.804); 37. Dan McDo nnell (3 1.946); 38. Don Robert s (32.669); 39. Mar c Giflord (36.343). HEAT I: I. Scou Parker (H · D); 2. Da vey Du rell e (H · D); 3. T erry Poo vey (Ho n); 4. Mike Ha le (H D); 5. Dave Cam lin ( H · D); 6. Tony Don ah ue (H D); 7, Mik e lnderbi tzen (H -D); 8. Step he n Mayfield (H· D). Time: 5 minutes, 2.69 seco nds. HEAT ~ l. Ri ck y Gra ham (H un) ; 2. Steve Moreh ead (H -D); 3. Dan In gram (Hen): 4. Rusty Rogers (H ·D ); 5. Kri s Kiser (H o n); 6. Manin La voie (H· D); 7. Don Wilso n ( Ho n ); 8. Mich ael Varnes ( H ~ D); 9. Da vid Lloy d (H o n); 10. Marc Gillord (H-D). Time: 5:05. 17. HEAT 3: I. Kevin Ath er to n (H- D); 2. Chris Carr (H·D); 3. Ronni e J on es (H · D); 4. Aa ro n Hill (H· D); 5. La rry Pe-gram (H -D); 6. j ason Fletcher (HD); 7. Chance Dar lin g (H · D); 8. See n Slu mp (Ho n); 9. Pa ul Polhemus (H -D); 10. Dan Ro ber ts (H -D). Timr: 5:04.63. HEAT 4: 1. Oeorge Roed er 11 (H -D); 2. Will Davi s (H on ); 3. J ay Springsteen (H · D): 4. Rust)" Rogers (H -D); 5. Steve Bea n ie (H·D ); 6. Tim Mert en s (Hon ); 7. Do n Estep (H- D); 8. Rex Fisher (H· D); 9. Wink Freitas (H· D); 10. Dan McDo nn ell (H · D). Time: 5:06.92. 5L\lII : l. Poovey ; 2. H ill ; 3. Ro gers; 4. Donahue; 5. Beanie; 6. Darli ng : 7. Yamamoto; 8. Gifford ; 9. Wilson ; 10. Fish er. Time: 4:10.69. SL'\II 2: l. J ones; 2. Farris; 3. Kiser; 4. Ha le; 5. Fletcher; 6. Estep; 7. Inderbitzen: 8. Varnes; 9. " Po lh em us. Time: 4:05.38. SL\f1 3: l. Spri ngsteen: 2. Ca m li n; 3. Lavoie; 4. Pegra m ; 5. Mer tens: 6. In gram ; 7. Stu mp; 8. Freitas ; 9. Llo yd; 10. Mayfield. Timr: 4:06.86. CAMEL CHA LLENGE: 1. Sco n Pa rker (H -D); 2. George Roeder (H· D); 3. Ch ris Ca rr (H-D); 4. Kevin Athe rto n (H -D); 5. Ri cky Graham (Hon); 6. J ay Springsteen (H · D). Time: 2:3 1.97. NATIONAL: 1. Scou Par ker (H -D); 2. Chris Carr (H -D ); 3. Kevin Ath er ton (H · D); 4. Ricky Graha m (Hon): 5. George Roed er II (H-D); 6. Davey Duretle Springsteen (H- D): 8. Ron nie J on es (H -D); 7. (H -D); 9. Wi 1 Davis (H on) : 10. SIeve Morehead (H D); II. R ust y Ro gers (H · D); 12. Aaron Hill (H-D); 13. Davey Ca mlin (H- D); 14. Terry Poo vey (Ho n); 15. Kris Kiser (Ho n); 16. Rodney Farr is (H- D); 17. Martin La voie (H -D). Time: 12:39.997. AMA /CAMEL PRO GRAND NATIO NA L CHAMPIONSHtP SERIES POINT STA NDINGS: I. Chris Carr (56) (2 wins); 2. Scou Parker (44) ( I win ); 3. Kevin Atherton (3 1); 4. R icky Gr ah am (22); 5. Will Davis (20); 6. (T IE) Ro n nie Jon es/D an In gra m (17); 8. Larr y Peg ra m (15); 9. Jay Sp ring ste-en (1-1 ); 10. Rusty Ro gers (13): I I. T erry Poo vey (12); 12. Rodney Farris (I I); U . (T IE) Davey Durelle/ George Roeder 11 (10); 15. Rich King (9); 16. (T IE) Aar on H i ll/ Bria n Vill ell a (7); 18. (T IE) Dave Camlirr /S teve Mor ehead / Lea wash bon (6). Jar

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