Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eOFF·ROAD e AMA National Cham~ionshi~ Hare Scrambles Series: Round 5 Czech Jan Hrehor was the runner-up, overcoming a badly injured hand. Winner Scott Plessinger lea ds Rodney Smith, who would later drop out due to heat-related problems. • eSSln er eats t e eat By Randy Ross Photos by Davey Coombs "I HooKSTOWN,PA,jULY 11 've been trai ning really hard in this heat for the past few weeks," said Scott Plessinger. And all his training paid off, as Plessinger ou t-lasted the rest of the field on a hot a nd humid da y in southwestern Pennsylvania to win th e Hookstown National Hare Scrambles for the th ird year in a row. The defending serie s ch amp from Hamilton, Ohio, moved into second place behind Rodney Smith in the series points standings with four rounds remaining. The win wasn't exactly easy for the KIM mounted winner. Smith was lead- . ing the race on the last lap when it is believed that he crashed, which led to him pulling out of the race and being taken to the hospital. "We're not exactly sure what happened ," said Smith's mechanic Mark Hyd e two days after the race. "He (Smith) doesn' t remember a thing, but his bike was really bent up . We think he hit his head, and shortly after tha t his body overheated and he became dehydrated. He physically couldn't ride anymore." 28 Smith was rushed to a nearby hospital. "He (Smith) eventually passed out," sai d Hyde. "I mean he was really out. We poured ice water on him, but he had no reflexes. We were really getting worried . He was eventuall y flow n to the Presbyterian Un iv ersity H o spital in Pittsburgh. About midnight he became more coherent, but he doesn't remember a thing. He's okay now, but he'll stay in the hospital until Frida y (luly 16)." Czechoslo vakian Ja n Hrehor improved on last year's third place fin ish by holding on for second, a her oic effo rt con sidering the condition of his s ti ll healing right h a nd . Th e Team Yam aha /Sport Cycle-sponsored rider smashed his hand in a local race a few weeks prior to the National. "The hand is not getting any better," said Hrehor. " It has no power in it. 1am going to see a specialist later this week." Third overall was local rider Jeff Lauth, who got 10 spray the crowd with champagne from the rostrum a fter a National for the first time in his career. Three-time National Hare Scrambles Champion ScottSummers, wh o was in second place in the series points standings going into the race, didn't compe te. H e is still recovering from a broken wri st suffered earlier in season. The race, which started and finished at Beaver Valley Raceway, featu red a 7.5 mile long cou rse tha t was laid out by track owner Tom Meyers, and it was pra ised by most of the riders . As usual, the course wound in and out of the hills surrounding the facility's MX track so that the riders were visible to the spectators four times on each 20 minute lap. Wh ile th e cou rse received u nanimous pra ise, the same could not be said about the weather. High humidity combined with temperatures that reached 100 degrees during the race made for brutal conditions and several riders in addition to Smith were overcome by the heal Before the rac e even started, the origina l plan to run 10 laps was changed so that the top rid ers would only have to do eight laps. Fourteen riders finished on the lead lap . Wh en the first wave o f AA riders blasted off and into the woods for the first time, it was Team Husqvama rider Duane Conner nailing the holeshot. Right on his rear fender was Plessinger and Suzuki's Smith. Hrehor suffered a poor start and was midpack going into the woods. Before the race, Conner said tha t he was going to go for it right from the start, heat or no heal "This is my home track and I feel comfortable here. I'm going 10 set as fast a pace as soon as I can and hope that I can put some d istance on those guys," Conner said. "They're really fas t and I can 't let them get away from me." In teres tingly, Conner was the only top rid er planning to "go for it" right from the sta rt. All of the other fron t runners said that they would lay back at the start and wait until the closing stages of the race to make their cha rge. Conner's p lan pretty mu ch went sour, as Plessinger, Smith and he se t a bli stering pace and were neve r m ore than a few seconds apart. On the second lap Smith managed to pass both Conner and Plessinger, but you could still throw a blanket over all three riders. On the third lap, Plessin ger passed both Conner and Smith as the battle for the lead continued. Meanwhile, Hrehor moved up from his mediocre start and was now in fourth position but still about 20 seconds back from the leaders. He was followed by Robert Patterson, who would remain in fifth place until the last lap. The riders sto rmed out of the woods at the completion of lap four with Smith back in the lea d, Plessinger in second, and Conner a distant third. The lop two riders both got the signal from their pi t crews 10 Slop for gas and they sli d into their adjacent p its less tha n two seconds apar t. Plessinger's crew d id a slightly quicker job and he was ou t one second ahead of Smith. At th e halfway po int, Plessinger was leading the way, Smith second, Conner third, and Hrehor fourth, approximately 30 seconds back. Patterson was still fifth about three minutes back and was followed by Chris Caplinger. Halfway th r o u g h the next la p , Caplinger was rescued by a fellow rider who spotted him next to the trail jumping up and down next to his bike. Caplinger's pit crew had dumped a load of premix all over his crotch during his gas stop - not the best thing to do on a 100 degree day! Caplinger was out of water but Jim Menhome stopped and donated the water from his canteen 10 the cause. "I'm getting married in September and I have to take care of this stuff," sa id a much-relieved Caplinger, as he dumped water down his pants! While Plessinger and Smith continued their own private dice out front, Hrehor caught and passed Conner who was starting to fade. In fact, much of the field was starting 10 fade in the intense heat, and as more and more r iders dropped out, the remaining racers had very few backmarkers 10 contend with. On the last lap the heat began taking its loll on even the most conditioned AA riders. While dicing for the lead with Smith, Plessinger hi t a stump hard and was over ha lf a min ute behind before he could regain his composure. It appeared as t ho ug h the race belonged to Smith, but with only a few

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