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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127565
eDIRTTRACK e Hart and Springsteen were awarded $1000 and $650, respectively. Time Trials Davis rounded the track the aboard his Mother Fletchers/Motion Prof Bell/Fun Products/Dennis Town/SB5sponsored Can-Am in 17.712 seconds, and earned the pole in the first heat. Second fastest was Carr, only a tick back at 17.744, while Brett Landes, Parker, Steve Morehead and Dan Ingram rounded out the top six and would fill the pole positions in the remaining heats. "Yeah, I hauled butt," said Davis with a grin. "But fast time doesn't mean a thing if you can't get a good start." Five-ti.me 600ce National Champion Chris Can'stayed on the groove and led nearly every inch of the 25-lap main event. (Left to right> Will Davis, Chris Can' and Ricky Graham finished 3-1-2, respectively. art, Brow score at Da tona T By Donn Maeda . Photos by Kinney Jones DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR 5 inee the inception of the AMA 600ce National Championship Series, only one rider has carried the number one plate - Chris Carr. And at the seriesopening Daytona Short Track held at Municipal Stadium, Carr showed the 10,OOO-plus fans on hand why he is the five-time 600cc National Champion by romping away ~ith a convincing win aboard his Kenny Tolbert-tuned HarleyDavidson XR600. . S 26 "I didn't feel that comfortable at first, but then I started to really flick it in and things got better," said Carr, who also earned his first-ever Grand National Championship in 1992. "The track seemed to get better as the night wore on, rather than getting slower like it usually does." Chasing Carr across the line and rounding out the top three finishers were two-time Grand National Champion Ricky Graham and three-time Grand National winner Will Davis. Graham started fourth aboard his Johnny Goad-tuned Team Undo Rotax 600, and muscled his way past four-time Grand National Champion Scott Parker and rookie expert Kevin Varnes to finish a distant second "I felt great," said Graham. "There's not much room to pass out there, so you have to get a little aggressive. Davis started the 25-lap main event fifth, and though he didn't force the issue like Graham, also· found his way past Parker and Varnes. "I came to Daytona to get some points, not to hurt anyone," said Davis. "I tried not to slam into anyone, the track is too slick off the groove to be running in there too hard. I finished the main without touching anyone." But Davis would be one of the only riders to escape unscathed, as the thin blue groove that formed on the track provided many exciting moments. A bevy of crashes marred the evening's program, as it seemed the only way to pass another rider was to dive to the iriside and take away their line. For his win, Carr was awarded $2000 of the $10,000 class purse, while Graham and Davis earned $1000 and $600, respectively. While winning in the 600 National Series might be old hat to Carr, Garth Brow rode his way into the record books as the winner of the first-ever AMA Continental Tire 883 National Championship round by playing it safe aboard his Tom Cummings/Arai/Joe Bisha/RC J'rucking/KJ< MC Supplysponsored Harley-Davidson 883. Threetime Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen led the majority of the laps, only to be run off the track by Edmonds Racing's Jason Fletcher, who crashed shortly thereafter. In all of the confusion, Brow slipped into the lead and on to vietory. Hart Racing's James Hart also motored past the commotion, while Springsteen recovered to salvage third. "These heavy SOBs are too heavy to be diving into the comers," said Brow. "I just followed those guys and rode safe. It looks like it pard off." Brow won $1250 for the win, and Heats Six ID-lap, 10-rider heat races were run, with each offering only two directtransfer positions. All riders that didn't make the cut in the first go-round would compete in one of four eight-lap semis in which only the winner would advance. The short lap times, combined with the tIiin groove made for some follow-theleader race action. Fast qualifier Davis read the light perfectly in the first heat and led from start to finish, just out of reach of Terry Poovey, who has spent considerable time on the Daytona Short Track in his career. Finishing a distant third but out of luck was Kevin Atherton, the former Team Harley rider who competed aboard a Skip Eaken-tuned Texas Harley-Davidson. Carr owned the second heat, hands down. While Carr sprinted away with a full straightaway lead, Sacramento Harley's Aaron Hill held a firm grip on second and a direct transfer into the main. Third but no cigar went to Brow, just ahead of Rich King and Ronnie Jones. Landes flat trounced his opposition in heat race three, and enjoyed a 20-bike length lead over veteran Rick Hocking at the finish. Doug O'Boyle and 1991 Junior National Champion Wink Freitas finished third and fourth. Parker ran away with the fourth heat, while Hart Racing teammates Kris Kiser and Hart argued over second. Hart held the position at the start, but .Kiser swatted him back to third with an aggressive pass on the inside of turns one and two. Kiser held to position to the finish, sending Hart to a semi. Penn State Cycles' Varnes continued his impressive debut week as an Expert by topping veteran Morebead in the fifth heat. Vames took the lead early "and then continued to inch away as the laps wore down to enjoy a comfortable lead at the finish. Morehead, who borrowed a motor for the event, struggled with the unfamiliar powerband but held on to second Graham led the first three laps of the last heat, just inches ahead of Ingram and Bartels' Harley's Mike Hale. Hale slid out in turn two on the third lap and brought out the red flag, but was uninjured and sat at the back of the single-file restart. Graham led every lap of the remaining portion of the race and boasted a 15bike length lead over Ingram at the finish. Georgie Price was third, but along with eighth-place finisher Hale, would race again in a semi. Semis King led the opening semi from start to finish and earned a third-row starting position in the main, as did Atherton in winning the second semi. Cumming's Ho rider Greg Sims topped the third semi and would ride in the main, and Price won a crash-filled fourth'semHe round" out the field. Notable riders who failed to qualify