Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Carr had fought his way back into third behind a very-determined Beyer. At the finish, it was Parker with a commanding win over Beyer, who finished a secure second after Carr bobbled on the las t lap. . . Springsteen led the way in heat three but Davis took control of the point on the first lap and led Springsteen an d Farris away from the rest of the field. George Roed e r II suffered a horrib le start, as his transmission refused to shift into third gea r. Springsteen tired of chasing Davis and swooped into the lead on lap three, and thou ght that he had the win in the bag. Farris had other ideas, though, and after d isplacing Davis on lap six, carried his momentum past Sp ringsteen and into the lead on lap seven. With that, the fini shin g orde r was set and Farris .nabbed the win with a comfortable lead ov er Springst een, Davis and Roeder, who rod e like a man possessed after his last-place start. The final heat saw Fletcher grab the holeshot and control the first three laps of the race before fall ing victim to the Findlay Flyer. Moreh ead pe rfo rme d a spec tacular, up-in-the-cu sh ion pa ss on Flet ch er in tu rns three a nd fou r and stole the lead. Next to challenge Fletcher were Kevi n Athe r ton and Don Estep. Ather ton made his move in tum three on lap five, but charged a little too hard and low -sided his Harley. Though unhurt, Atherton was pinned under his machine and the red flag came out. It was the second time that Atherton tasted the Lima dirt, as he had a terrific fall in 'practice that rendered him unconscious. Morehead satat the fron t of the pack on the restart, and was never challenged in the remaining five laps. Fletcher looked to have second wrapped up ahead of Tommy Colson and Estep, but Estep let it all hang out on the last lap and passed both Colson and Fletche r in the last turn for second. Morehead and Estep nabbed the two transfers, while a dazed Fletcher and Colson prepared for a semi. Sem is . Brett Landes grabbed the holeshot in the first semi after two restarts, but Aaro n Hill too k control of tile lead on lap one. Scott Buchan also displaced Landes, and set out after Hill. Buchan worked past Hill on lap four and went on to w in and qualify for his first-ever Grand National ahead of Hill . Once again, Roeder suffered a terrible start and rode like a wildman in his attempt to catch up. On several occasions, Roeder looked like he would crash violently, but each time he regained control of his Harley. Roeder nabbed the third and ·final transfer position, just inches ahead of an out-of-luck Landes. Darling had the best reactions off the line in the second semi, but Carr took over on the second lap and rode away with a landslide win. Colson took over second and left Darling to do battle with Jim Sumner for the final transfer position, bu t almost didn't make it across the line when his Harley began. to sputter out of turn four on the last lap . Darling looked to have third in the bag, bu t he was forced to slow in order to avoid the ailing Colson and Su m ne r raced past for third . Carr, Colson and Sumner headed for the main. Fletcher led semi three from start to finish, and never got to see the grea t battle betw een Davis and Atherton for second . The two riders swapped the position several times, and in the end it was Atherton who na il ed down seco nd. Fletcher, Ath erton and Davis all read ied them selves for the Nationa l while the rest were sent packi ng. Canadian Champion Steve Beattie (26) finished a solid fourth ahead of George Roeder II (66). Kevin Atherton (23) was ninth. (Left to right) Grand National Champion Chris Carr, Ricky Graham and Rodney Farris were all smiles on the vi ctory podium. 9TITCH 883 Nati on al Crashes marred the 883 National, and the race was called after only nine of 15 laps . Steve Champine led heat race winners Graham and Hale at the start, but crashed in tum two and brought out the red flag. Graham led Hale and Fletcher on the restart a nd the three riders quickly pulled well clear of the rest of the field. Fletcher passed Hale and set his sigh ts on G ra h a m, bu t co uldn't match the lead er's torrid pace. A seco nd red flag cam e out on the eigh th lap when Ch a m p in e crashed again in turn three, and th e field including Champine - lined up for a single-file restart. Gra ha m, Fletcher a nd Hale again assumed the top three spots and began to pull away from the field, but Shawn McNary high-sided in tum one two laps into the restarted race and brought out another red flag. With that, the race was called and Graham was credited with his third win of the series over Fletcher, Hale and Springsteen. "I was just trying to stay smooth. The track is ge tt ing ro ugher, but my bike worked great," said Graha m of his T. Room/CMT Marketing/Dun lop/ Motul/ Noleen/ Arai/Fox-sponsored 883. National With the crowd behind h im, Morehead smoke d off the line and led Graham, Fa rris, Parker and At he r ton through tum one. Graham had stra pped on his titanium shoe and he showered the rest of the field with a wave of sparks as he latched on to Morehead's rear fender in tum one. "I think that it adds to the show," said Graham. "And this whole thing is about getting the spectators fired up, right?" And the crowd loved it . After announcer Larry Maiers informed them that it was th e shoe, not Graham's Honda that was sparking, they roared with approval. . Atherton over took Parker as they raced through turns one and two on lap two, and Pa rker's evening came to an abrupt halt on the back s traight a few seconds later. "Something le t go big time," said Parker. "There was no warning, it just blew." 7

• Cover