Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eMOTOCROSS e Chad Lough (81), Mike Brown (54) and Steve Childress (82) led the way at the start of the second 12Sec A class moto. Overall winner Mike Andrews (601) and Ron Jones battled in the +25 class. Graves buries.'em at Hidden Acres By Barbara and Loren Williams KINGSPORT, TN, APR 11 cott Graves bought a new Honda CR250 on Saturday, then gave his dad an Easter present on Sunday at Hidden Acres MX Park by winning his first-ever 250cc B class race. Opened with an Easter sunrise service before practice, the third round of the MegaSeries offered approximately . 350 riders their first chance in several weeks to race under blue skies. With no mud to slow forward progress, the racing was fast and fun, especially.with the addition of the new section of tight turns and jumps at the top of the track. And with no rain to hide from, spectators lined the fence six-deep and cheered for everyone from 50cc class riders to the graying Super Seniors. And Graves was probably the one who had the most fun of all. Backed by Honda-Kawasaki of Nashville, Pro-Action, Gear and Scott USA, Graves has been a force to be reckoned with in the 12Scc B and Schoolboy classes for the past year, usually notching consistent top-five finishes. When other 125cc B class riders began to show up with 250s, Graves' dad decided it was time for him to diversify as well. With only one practice session aboard a 250 under his belt, Graves lined up for the first moto alongside a dozen racers more experienced in the handling of larger machines. Though he didn't pull a fairy-tale holeshot his first time out of S 20 the gate, he was third behind Shane Berryhill and Wallace Fincher. A few turns into the race, Fincher slid out on a comer and Graves moved up to second. Shawn Schultz muscled ahead of Graves in the switchbacks, intending to use his newfound advantage to hunt down Berryhill. Oosely following the 250cc A riders that started in the first row, the trio of Berryhill, Schultz and Graves began to pull away from the rest of the B class field. • Berryhill went down in a sharp corner and gave the lead to Schultz. But Schultz's position in front lasted only a lap, as Graves grabbed a handful on the next round and sacked Schultz back to second. Ryan Duff surprised Schultz in turn, dropping him to third. By that time, Graves was almost to the checkered flag, out of reach and hardly believing he'd won. Second moto action saw Schultz grab the holeshot, with Graves in attack position and directly on his rear fender. Early in the first lap, Schultz took a spill in the switchbacks and remounted well down in the pack, around eighth. Schultz's sudden exit left Graves all alone in front for the remainder of the race. Chris Shortridge's tenure in second lasted only as long as it took Fincher to decide where to pass. But if Wallace figured he was secure behind Graves, two Chad Lough finished second in the l25cc A class and fourth in the 250cc A division. Shane Berryhill (88) passed Jimmy Briggs (81) for the second 12Sec B class moto win. laps later the hard-charging Schultz convinced him otherwise. Schultz was arguably one of the two fastest riders on the track, passing with abandon, until finally on lap four of the six-lap contest, he had clawed his way back from eighth and deposed Fincher for second. Graves was not to be denied, though, and refused to be intimidated by Schultz and romped on to the moto and overall wins. "Everything went just fine. It was fun," said a happy Graves. In the 125cc B class, Jim's M.e. Salessponsored Jimmy Briggs earned the overall victory with 1-2 finishes, completely dominating the first moto. Competition was so fierce that the only rider who finished twice in the same place was Ryan Duff, way back in seventh both times out. Schultz claimed second overall with a 2-4, followed by Danny Haynes (6-3), Berryhill (9-1) and Larry Andrews (4-6). Directly following the first moto start, Shane Berryhill hit the dirt. Shane recovered, rode a while, then fell again. And again. "1 fell three times in a lap and a half," said Berryhill, shaking his head. "But there are three more motos to make up for it." Berryhill didn't count on Graves or Fincher in the 250cc B class, but still ended up fifth overall. However, true to his word, Berryhill rocketed into the lead in the second 125cc B moto when Graves slid out before the first turn. Briggs gave Berryhill a bad surprise when he passed him late in lap one, and held onto the top spot until the last lap, when Berryhill returned the favor. Briggs hadn't enough time" for a comeback and had to settle for moto second, though he knew he had the overall wrapped. Far and away the fiercest competition, however, took place in 125 and 250cc A classes. Mike Brown came up with the overall win in both classes, but the outcome was far from a foregone conclusion. . Brown began the first 12Scc A moto by grabbing his usual holeshot, and went on to lead the whole race. Chad Lough battled with Kevin Walker and Jim Chester until halfway through the moto when Stevie Childress relegated Chester to fifth. With that, the positions were set. In moto two, Lough pulled into the lead right away followed by Brown, Walker, Childress, Nathan Ramsey and Richard Prather. The pack set a torrid pace, and in an attempt to double in the new section, Brown missed his target and hit the ground. Brown rejoined the action behind Prather, in sixth. While Lough was busy up front with Walker and Childress, Brown was carving up the track with surgical precision in his mission to return to the front. By the halfway point, Brown was back to fourth and joined the front-runners: Lough, Childress and Walker. Shortly after, Walker put his left foot down wrong in a particularly tricky comer and almost immediately pulled off the track, out of the race. "1 knew when 1 did it that 1 should stop right away," reported Walker, who borrowed a crutch in order to hobble around on his wrapped ankle. "As soon as I collect any gas money that may come my way, we're going to the hospital to see if it's broken." With Walker out of contention, Childress pulled up to bedevil Lough for a lap or so. Soon they were joined by Brown, who spent the time watching their lines. Tearing up the track, just

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