Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

GDIRTTRACK e The Springfield Mile begins with Chris Carr (1)getting the jump on Davey Du reUe (58),Ricky Grah am (3), Scott Parker (2),Mike Hale (32)and Steve Morehead (42)and the resL Graham wins, w u at Springfield raps ptitle SPRINGFIELD, II.,SEPT.5 he Walt Disney Studios sho uld be contacting priva teer Hon d a rid er Ricky Grah am any day now. After all, h is fairy -tale comeback is finally comple te. The last 10 years ha ve been full of u ps a nd downs for th e 33-year-old Californian. In 1984, Gra ha m cap tu red seco nd G ra nd Na tional h is Championship as a sala ried mem ber of Tea m Ho nda (he won his first title as a privateer in 1982), bu t in the years since had lost his factory ride and fallen from th e s po tligh t. Not only ha d G ra h a m dropped out of the top 10, he wa s written off by many of his p eers. Personal woes and an on goin g battle w ith alcohol saw him reach an all-time low in 1991, but in '92 a new attitude and a rededication to the sport saw him begin what can only b e d escribed as on e of d irt track racing's most amazing com ebacks. Sob er, Graham finished the '9 2 series third overall and vow ed to try even harder in '93. Sure enough, he returned to the sport's pinnacle and trounced his competitors a t 10 of th is year's firs t 17 races. Entering the Labor Day weekend Springfield Mile Graham enjoyed a sizable series point lead over defending Grand National Champion Chris Carr of Team Harley-Davidson . Nicknamed "Mr. Springfield" for his prowess at the Illinois State Fairgrounds m ile ova l, G r aham could clinch th e cham pionshi p at the Illinois Motorcycle Dealers' G rou p- prom ote d even t, but needed to earn the win an d hope that tit le-rival Carr fini shed no h igh er than fourth. And just like the res t of Graham's comeback, the race unra veled as if it were following a well-w ritten script. T 10 In a nail-bitin g, bar-banging battle to the finish, Graham did indeed earn the wi n, an d w ith th e help of runner-up Steve More head and third-placed Scott Parker, ga ine d the nine points that he needed on fourth-p laced Carr to clinch th e cha mpionship with three rounds rem a in in g in the 21-round series. G ra ham en joys a 60-point lead over Carr, 304-244. "Unbe lievable," sa id Graham. "Th is cha m pions hi p me ans so much mo re to me than the other two because of wha t I' ve had to go throu gh to get here. I alwa ys knew that I had it in me to be champion again , I jus t had to cha nge my attitude. I hope that I can be an ins piration to others who may be dea ling with some sort of ad d iction . Anything is possible if you put your heart and so ul into . it. Attitude is everything." Graham's n inth w in a t the facility was a h istoric one. Not only did he move back into a tie with Parke r for the most Springfield w ins, he se t a new record for the most wins in a single season as well. Graham has s tood atop the winner's box 11 times this year, and few doubt that he will ad d to that number in the remaining three races, "Now tha t the pressur e is off, Ricky will probably go even faster," said Carr, who was gracio us in defea t. "I really admire Ricky for w h at he's done, n ot only on the track, bu t with his life as well. I jus t can 't believe that it's over this soon . There's no longer a pot of gold for me at the end of the rainbow. Now I' ll just be racing for paychecks, an d th at sucks." Graham also broke the recor d previously held by the legen d ary Dick Mann for the longest period of time bet ween championships. Man n wo n titles in 1963 and 1971, eigh t years a par t, but Graham's record n in e-year span will likely remai n u nc hallenged for so m e time. For hi s 36th ca reer National w in, Graham earned $6000 of the $38,000 purse. Sad ly, w ith the first-year absence of th e R.J. Re yno ld s Tobacco Co. $100,000 series point fun d , Graham will receive no bonus at the series' end. Nor will he rece ive a bonus from Amer ican Honda, as the marque wi thdre w its support from the spo rt in 1987. Graham d id, h o w e ver, a d d to hi s payday by topping Parker and Ca rr in the $10,000 Camel Ch allenge and earn ing the winner's $5000 share aboard his Johnny Goad-tuned Honda RS750. An d he d idn't stop there. Graham al s o w on the Harl ey-Davidson 883 Nationa l, clinching that series champions hip as well . Thanks to the misfortune of champ ionship rivals Jay Springsteen and Ja s on Fletcher, G raham walked away with the $1000 winner's paycheck and secu re d the title with one round rema in ing. Fletcher crashed unhurt in the firs t tum, while Springsteen pulled off wi th a blown motor just before the halfway poin t. Rookies Kenny Coolbeth and Ben Bostrom chased Graham home. A capa ci ty cro w d of 12,000-plus spectators waited patiently throughout the day, as m ultiple crash es dela yed the race program well in to the evening. Time trials Rodney Farris wa s the first rid er to kiss the g roove, as he cr ashed hard in practice wh ile trying to avoid a slower rider. Farris su ffere d a large cut on his left knee, b ut his bike d id n' t fare as well and .he was force d to race h is ba ck-up mach ine. Kevi n Atherto n was the next to fall, a nd h e did so on hi s time -tria l lap. Atherton caught a rut on the exit of turn four a n d h ighs id ed vio le ntly . Th e Mich igan resid ent was taken to the hospital and treated for a minor concussion and a br oken thumb. Of the 64 ride rs who took time trial laps. it was Park er who rounded the historic oval the fas test. Par ker s topped the clocks at 35.911 sec ond s a t an average speed of 100.247 mph, but wa s well off his 1992 record of 32.264/105.067. " 1 co ul d h ave g o ne even fa ster, " Parker said. "Bu t I figured that it was good enough to qu alify for the Camel Challenge so I kept it. The track isn't as nice as it ha s been in the past, but I think it will come around with time." Carr, Donahue Harley-Davidson's Davey Durelle, Graham, A&R Racing 's Will Davis and Morehead rounded out the fast est six w ho would compete in the Camel Challenge. He ats The first of four la-lap heat races that each offered two d irect transfer positions saw fast qualifier Parker nab the ho leshot w ith Larry Pegram and Springsteen in tow. Parker split early on and looked to be on his way to a runaway win , but Pegram and Sp ringsteen go t in li n e and reeled the four-time champ in during the clo s ing laps . . Pegram got pa st Parker momentarily, but at the finish it wa s Parker who performed the final draft pass. Pegram held

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