Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1994 Grand National Championship Series o .'. o Steve Morehead • #42 • Age: 38 •Ohio Hometown: Findlay, o r the past tw o yea rs, three-time Grand Nation a l Champ ion Ja y Springsteen has proved us wrong by sneaking into the top 10. A kid at heart, Springsteen reports that he continues to race "because it's still fun." With 40 National wins under his belt, Springsteen no doubt possesses the ability to win, but it is perhaps his better sense of jud g m en t tha t will keep Springer from hanging it out for his 41st win. Springsteen will be a regular sight in the top 10 at the "big bike" nationals, but don't expect him to be a high-flyer at the IT races, nor at the short track. We're predicting that Springsteen will finish the series ninth overall. Why ? Because he's the Springer. F ...... teve Morehead returned to '; " .: the front of the pack in '93 after a lackluster '92 sea- .- .... son , and we'd like nothing better . . , .. than to see the "Findlay Flyer" better his fourth-place '93 showing. With 13 half mile Na tionals scheduled, Morehead stan ds an excellent chance of winn ing, especially since he will be competing aboard his same ultra-fast Skip Eaken-tuned personal Harleys. :: : } Though he is one of the most experienced riders on the tour, age will be Morehead's handicap. With retirement looming in the future, Morehead has no reason to risk his future for the sak e of a higher season point total. S .... . ~. .: ~ .' ;:: . "'. :'" .. . .; ~ . .' : .., . - ,.' .' : . .:' ' ,' ~ . .' ....... F . .: .. : .. ::. ' . . . ' .' -.' ~ ... as t year, we predicted that Sacramento HarleyDavidson's Aaron H ill would break into the top 10 aboa rd his Mon te Heathtuned XR750. Hill came close, but was awa rded no cigar for his 11th-place finish. Hill did, however, end the season on a high note by topping t he last-ever $10,000 Camel Challenge at the Pomona Half Mile season finale. With the added confi dence gained from that win as well as from a second-place finish at the Castle Rock IT -'. Hill will continue to holeshot numerous races, bu t this year •..:....':'.:' will stay near the front, ... . .:." : . ,....'., :.-:, /': .:'~~(:'\:': :\::.=i:::<::;>:~i(f2:··'Y : :': ::> : ?;: ~':/ : ..":':,..,.:::-.:::':;:/ :\os>·;',.(:.= .::.\':>~" ::: :" : ::: . [j ~ ...... . -, .... .. " ;. ., . ,. .. ..' . : : :. Wild Card - Ronnie Jones' #16' Age: 33 Hometown: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma L ::: '. , .', .':i' ,' :"' Aaron Hill' #17' Age: 26' Hometown: Stockton, California " .":: ~ . ·.·. or the first time in his career as an Expert-elass racer, ;":.. :','. Da vey Camlin will compete aboard machines owned . . . " and tuned by someone other than his father, Don. Camlin w ill con test the '94 series aboard Skip Eaken's HarleyDavid sons - machines that are known to be quite pot ent - an d man y feel that this could be the year that Camlin really begins to shin e. In the past, freak mecha nical failures ha ve taken the steam "-' ou t of Camlin's effort, but armed wi th Eaken 's steeds, Camlin ',-: : could be the dark horse that gets in the middle and ruins our top 10 predictions . ..... . .•.. :... " .... Wild Card - Davey Camlin • #27 • Age: 24 • Hometown: Rock Island, Illinois .... .... ", . . , ,:,' .: : ::.:- . " . Jay Springsteen • #9 Age: 37 Hometown: Lapeer, Michigan The ex erts rate the ex erts I .. .' . here is no real reason that we didn't pick Ronnie Jones to finish higher. Jones has the skill, experience, and machinery needed to finish inside the series' top 10, but we feel that he may lack the drive. After spending last season jumping from machine to machine and struggling to adapt, Jones will spend the entire season aboard the Loral Lake Honda RS750. Jones has already announced that this will be his las t yea r of Grand National competition, and that he plans to pursue a career in auto racing in the future. T .'..' ;" .' ' . ." .~ ; ':. : ' ~" ' ~.: : ::.. : -. :.:: . '::" Wild Card - Steve Beattie • #26• Age: 21 Hometown: Ontario, Canada ' . . .. . .." , ' .. -.:. ' .: : . wo-time Canadian National Champion Steve Beattie has shown steady improvement in recent years, and ended last year's Grand National Championship Series 14th ". :.' overall. Beattie's best finishes came on the half mile tracks, ..... and with the predominantly half-mile schedule in '94, we feel ..... ... that he may be a factor to contend with aboard his Deeley Harley-Davidson backed machines. T .... : . • • ' L ' ' • • • :... • : ' :.': .:.' : ,. . ••. :~~-. : : : " '.:.... ::.. • •.•.. .• • ' : : ; •• : : . : . • ' : M. · ~ .. •: '. , . . " . ::.": .;,' . ' . '.' .' : : "; ' . n many cases, it takes a true ins ider to know what's really going on. We thought we'd ask a few of the sports "big names" to lend us their opinions. Includ- ed amongst the people polled w ere former Grand National Champions Gary Ni xon, Gen e Romero and Mike Kidd, as well as semi-retired racer Da ve y Durelle. Though Durelle will contest a few round s of the '94 series, the diminu tive rider was happy to take part in our survey. Rounding out the list ~as Da ve Despa in , host of ESPN' s popular MotoWorld show and G rand N ationa l Dirt Tra ck shows. Jo kin gl y, we informed the "celebrity con tributors" that they would soo n learn what it feel s like to arrive at Daytona Cycle Week with one new bes t friend, and nine new enemies. Davey Durelle 1. Ricky Graham 2. Chris Carr 3. Scott Park er 4. Will Davis 5. Larry Pegram 6. Rodney Farris 7. Ronnie Jones 8. Steve Morehead 9. Davey Camlin 10. Kevin Atherton Wild card - Aaron Hill .Mike Kidd 1. Chris Carr 2. Ricky Graham 3. Scott Par ker 4. Kevin Atherton 5. Larry Pegram 6. Rodney Farris 7. Rusty Rogers 8. Steve Morehead 9. Will Davis 10. Jay Springsteen Wild card - Davey CamIin Gary Nixon 1. Scott Parker 2. Chris Carr 3. Rodney Farris 4. Ricky Gra ham 5. Larry Pegram 6. Kevin Atherton 7. Steve Morehead 8. Will Davis 9. Jay Springsteen 10. Jason Fletcher Wild card - Kenny Coolbeth Gene Romero 1. Chris Carr (tie) 1. Ricky Gra ham (tie) 3. Scott Parker 4. Steve Morehead 5. Rodney Farris 6. Mike Hale 7. Kevin Atherton 8. Jay Springsteen 9. Dave Durelle 10. Ronni e Jones Wild card - Larry Pegram Dave Despain 1. Scott Parker 2. Chris Carr 3. Ricky Graham 4. Larry Pegra m 5. Kevin Atherton 6. Rodney Farris 7. Will Davis 8. Steve Morehead 9. George Roeder 10. Ronnie Jones Wild card - Steve Beattie m

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