Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

slippery. Despite the mixed opinions of the riders, promoter and former Grand National Champion Mike Kidd opted to rip up the track and start fro m scra tch b efor e the s tar t of th e he a t. ra ces . Am on g the most an ger ed was Park er, and he and Kidd nearl y came to blows over the whole ordeal. "It's a #$ %&" joke," said Parker. "What the hell is practi ce for? To get your bike set up , right? Now he's tearing the track a part and blowing all of our practice out the door." "I just want to prov ide a better show for the fans," said Kidd . " If we left the tra ck like it was, the race will be a poleputter on a na rrow gro o ve. We can mak e it better , a nd the riders will be ab le to use the whole track." Bef ore the tra ck w as re work ed, Te xa s Harley-Dav i d s on/Workman Harley-Davidson-backed Larry Pegram made a happy return to the top of the timed qualifying list with a 21.577-second lap. Carr turned in an identical time, but since Pegram took his lap first, he was credited with fast time and Carr with second. " I finally feel like I'm back u p to speed," sai d Pegr am , who sat ou t the first half of th e series with mu lt ip le injuries. "Now we 'll jus t have to see if I'm in sha pe." Ronn ie Jones was third -fastest with a 21.593, while Mike Hale, Billy Herndon and Davis rou nded out the fastest six in close orde r. Heats Before the start of the fo ur to-lap heatraces tha t each offered two direct transfer positions, the riders were given a short pra ctice session on the reworked course. One rid er crashe d a nd many struggled with their improperly set-up bikes, but Davis looked dazzling. Fast-qualifier Pegram grabbe d the holesho t in the first heat and was challenged early on by Harley-Davidson of Sacramento's Aaron Hill . Parker sta rted poorly and completed lap one in fifth , but by lap four had closed on the Pegram/Hill battle. Parker worked past Hill on the fifth lap and set his sights on Pegra m, but would come up a few inches short in the end. Pegram led Parker across the line and into the mai n, while Hill and the rest headed for a semi. Heat two was de layed for a few minutes while starter Rick Faraci tinkered with a malfunctioning starting light Carr took control when the race got underway and waved goodbye to his competitors. At the Checkered flag, Carr enjoyed a full straigh taway lead over runner-up Kevin Atherton . Rodney Farris ran strong in the early laps, bu t dropped off the pace with a flat front tire. Nevertheless, Farris held on to finish third. Carr wished his fath er, Jerry Ca rr, a happy 50th birthday after his win. Jones would ·be the only rid er to lead Davis all night, and d id so in the fi rst tw o lap s of he at ra ce th ree. Da v is passed Jones on lap three and went on to nab the win with only inches to spare over the early leader. Steve Morehead made things interesting by running a close third, but dropped out of the race on lap seven. "I have a new motor and I think it was starting to tie up," said Morehead. The popular Ohioan would sit out the rest of the evening. Texans Hale and Billy Herndon jumped into the top two positions at the start of the final heat race, while Graham was mired midpack. Graham worked through the field quickly, though, and gained control of the lead by la p seven. Hale and Herndon did their best to retaliate, but in the end it was Graham over Herndon and Hale. "Oh yeah, I forgot that those two Four-time Grand National Champion Scott Parker (2) faded to fourth behind third-place finisher Ricky Graham (3). Kevin Atherton (23) diced with Rodney Farris (92) throughout the race. Atherton pulled away for a solid fifth. Farris held on to sixth. guys are from Texas," sa id Graham. "No wonder they were trying so hard." Semis Riders who d idn 't finish first or second in their heat race had another chance to qualify via one of three eightlap semis that each offered three transfer positions. Tommy Colson led Farris, Steve Beattie and Fletcher at the start of the first semi, but Farris took over in tum two and ran away with the win. Colson appeared to struggle with a slick spot that formed in between turns one and two, and dropped to fourth behind Fletcher and Beattie. Farris, Fletcher and Beattie would compete in the main, whil e Colson and the rest would spend the rest of the evening on the sidelines. Hill grabbed his usual holeshot in semi two and led Team Undo's Brett Landes, George Roeder II and Ben Bostrom at the start of semi two . Landes applied considerable pressure to Hill and the two riders pulled well away from Roeder and the rest. Landes slipped in turn two on lap five and allowed Hill to get away, but held on to finish a secure third ahead of Roeder. Hill, Landes and Roeder headed for the National. Jim Sumner and Hale provided the action in the early laps of the third and final semi, but Sumner's night came to an end with a blown motor on lap six. Hale cruised to an easy win, well ahead of the battle for the remaining two transfer positions. Terry Poovey, Willie McCoy and Michael Varnes scrapped over second, and in the end it was Poovey and McCoy making it a Texan sweep of the remaining transfer positions. 883 National Only 13 riders signed up to do battle in the Harley-Davidson 883 National, and the field was narrowed to 12 when Hale parked his "street bike" after practice with a souring lower end. Fletcher and Springsteen were the winners of their respective heats, and all 12 riders would start the IS-lap National. 15

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