Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

r throughout the 19-1ap ba tt le. Whitley held second p osition until lap 17, when lapped riders congested the track and Jason Krempin .took h is place. Shawn Morgan slipped into third for the fina l two laps, with Whitley dropping back to fourth. Goodman was elated : "This is great! I've been wo rking up to this for a long time and I couldn't be happier! I knew Billy was behind me and I wasn't about to let up, bu t I won and I feel great!" Whitley grabbed the holeshot in the 250 main and rocketed into the whoops. Fro m the firs t tum to th e last, he was unbeatable, an d the real battle was over second place. Dennis Hawthorne, a fivetime Arenacross Champion, retu rned to the arena this yea!; after recovering from two broken ankles, and chased Whitley for the first four laps before Morgan took over secon d . Hawtho rne and Morgan continued to argue over the position until Krempin, re coverin g from a mediocre get-away, moved into second just after the white flag. Kre mpin appeared to have a runner-up finish in the bag, but Hodges had other ideas. He had worked his way up from last place to challenge Krempin in the final turns, and took over second place for good in the rockers. Go od man tu rned in a repeat 12Scc performance on Satu rday nigh t, though Whitley was in the hunt from the get-go. Hodges placed third for another trip to the podium, while Clint Latham followed up his heat-race win with a fourth-place finish in the main. "The crow d is one of the keys to win- • ning in arenacross," said Whitley. "When the fans are screaming and cheering you on, yo u can ' t he lp but p ump up th e adrenaline and go after the win." The 250cc main had almost as many passes near the front as there were spots on the gate. Roy Schellenberger started off w ith th e ho leshot an d led for fo ur laps, with Whitley second ou t of the gate. Hodges soon charged by them both and took over the reins on lap five, holding on tight to the finish. Whitley haunted Schellenberger for seven laps, then moved by him and tried to chase d own H odges . Tinney, who gated fifth, picked off his peers one by one until he was in third behind Whitley. A pair of riders separated the two, but once aroun d them on the last lap, Tinney began to cha llenge Hodges. The crowd was on its feet as the two attacked the final set of rockers sideby-side. The Fast Competition/HOY / Fox/Toyota/Answer-supported Hodges earned the win, with Whitley nosing in just inches ahea d of Tinn ey for second . (N Will Rogers Memorial Stadium Fort Worth, Texas Results: January 7-8 (Round 2 of 9) FRIDAY 125: 1. Gra yson Goodman (Hon); 2. Jason Krempin (Hon); 3. Shawn Morgan (!. I-< co ;:l l=: co ....... 17

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