Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127585
~ DIRT TRACK Series: Round 10 ~ Ricky Graham (3) pulled the ho leshot and led all the way at the Hagerstown H alf Mile. Ste ve Morehead (42), Te rry Poovey (lS) and the rest of the fiel d chased Graham. Un do Racing's Ricky Graham hoi sts his vict ory clock/p laque in wi nner's circle. • Gra a strikes agaIn hm in Hagerstown ~ By Henny Ray A b rams HAGERSTOWN, MD,JULY10 a thering s tre ng th and confide nce with every race, Undo Racin g 's Ricky Graha m conti n ued h is renaissance by running away with the 13th Annual Hub City Classic Half Mile on a steamy night at the Hagers tow n Speedway. It was the fo rme r Gra nd National Champion's third victory in a rowand, from the flash of the g reen light, there was neve r any dou bt that he would take his fourth Grand Na tional win of the season. "I'm ridi ng better tha n I ever have in my life," the Sali nas resi de n t sai d follo w ing his runawa y w in abo ard th e Johnny Goad -tu ned Hon da RS750. "I'm obsessed w ith racin g. I'm do in g what every racer wants to do . To come back like this is unbelievable." Wha t was unbelievable was his margin of vic tory after 25 laps in the normally nip and tuck sport. He won by over a stra igh taway, coa s ting into the first tum after winn ing as second place fini sher Steve Mor eh ead, aboa rd the KK/Sh epherd/F & S/Storz /Dragooba cked H arl ey-Dav id son XR750, eme r ged from the fourt h turn. Moreh ead had a comfortable margin on Winchester H-D's Rodney Farris . Fourth place went to Don Estep who was slowed when the brakes on his Steel Master s l]ohny' s Cycl e /Moti on Prosponsored XR750 faded late in the race. And Gilco/Tex as H-D /H ap Jones/Sisemore's Terry Poovey finished G 8 fifth in his return to racing follow ing a six-week layoff. As the Grand National Cha m pion ship Se ri es a pproaches the halfway mark, Graham holds a commanding 36po in t lead , 140 to 114 over Ha rl eyDavi dson's Grand National Cha mpion Chris Carr. Carr chose the wrong tire and finis he d nin th . His HarleyDavi dson factory team teammate Scott Parke r continues to ho ld third place in the po ints with 96, despite fa ili ng to score tonigh t. Parker slid ou t in the second turn on the seventh lap while running fifth. In winn in g .h is 30 th career G ra nd · National ra ce, Gra ha m earned $4000 from the $28,000 purse. Morehead pocketed $2750 an d Farris earned $2000. Graham's winnings didn't stop with the Nation al. H e a ls o took the 883 National, th ou gh by a less impressive margin after bending the valv es on his H-D 883 late in the race. "You 've almo st got to blow the bike up on these tracks," Graham said, referring to Hagers town's long straigh ts and tigh t corners. "I hammered the valves about halfwa y through and it started slowing down." Bartel s' H-D' s Jay Springsteen and Moroney's H -D's Jason Fle tch er were able to catch Graham at the end, but not deny him his four th win in the seventh round of the I l -race series. Springsteen got the better of a thrilling race-long