Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

"::AMA 6OOcc NationaIChampior1shipSerieS , Round 1: Municipal Stadium ;'O TTRACK",:"'" <,: IR : Who else but Carr? By Donn Maeda Photos by Kinney Jones DA¥rONABEACH, FL, MARCH 11 ea m Harley-Davidson's sixtime AMA 600cc National Champion Chris Carr may not ha ve been using h is wellearned number-one plate, but after the sp unky Californian turned in a resounding win at the Municipal Stadium series opener, there was little doubt as to who was the num ber-one rider of the evening . After running do wn early leader Will Davis, Carr raced awa y w ith a lead that stret ched to a full straightaway's length by the finish. " It took me a little while to get around Wi1l - he was rid ing pretty ' defens ively," said Carr, who carried the number four on the front of his Kenny Tolbert-tuned XR600. "Once I got past him, I could run th e lines that I want- T ed." Davis kept his A&R Racing Rotax on the groove fo r second, while Ha rleyDavidson of Sacram ento' s Aaron Hill rode an impressive race aboard a borrowed machine to finish a close third. Riders weren't allowed to take to the track for their practice sessions until 5:45 p.m., one hour and 45 minutes behind schedule. "Jim France (president of Daytona International Speedway) doesn't want anyone on the track until the sun goes down," exp lained AMA Referee Bruce Bober. "They watered the trac k heavily, and in keeping the racers off the track until the sun goes down, they are hoping to keep the track from grooving up." Though the track didn't dry up and (Above) Six-time 600cc National Champion Chris Carr romped away with an easy win . (Below) Will Davis (21) led the early stages of the race, but was no l1)atch for Carr. p retty bogus. You get more momentum from the back row , so 1 was able to slip past tha t guy on row one." Once into first, Carr waved goodbye and ran away with a seven-second lead . Miller foug h t tooth-an d-n ail to hold on to secon d, bu t th ere w as no denying Can adia n Na tional Cha m p ion Steve Beattie. He star ted in the midd le of the pack and was arguably the fastest rider on the track, weaving through the field wi th ease. Beattie was second at the finish, ea rning a direct ticket to the main. " Revvin' Kevin" Varnes was the man to beat in heat two. Veteran Steve Morehead pressured Va rnes in the ea rly stages, but a big scare in tu m three left More head up in the loose stuff and out of contenti on . " 1 almost hit the back of Varnes in to three," said Mo reh ead. "I hit th e brakes so hard tha t I sta lled it. Then I almost' high-sided and flew off the groove." Moreh ead d id his best to reg rou p, bu t after rejoining the race he slipped up a few m ore ti mes an d nea rl y parted company wit h his machine. "1 just lost my he ad ," said Morehea d. "1 was trying too hard and riding over my head ." Varnes ra ced home the winner aboa rd his Penn State Cycles-backed machine, while King scooted in to second. Poovey spa nked the fie ld in heat three, easily out-dista ncing Oden & Hewitt's Duane Veeder. Hill ada p ted qu ickl y to th e Lora l Lake Racing Rotax th at he borrowed from Ronnie Jones' team , and grabbed his usual holeshot in th e fourth hea t race . H ill set a bli s terin g p ace a nd pulled away wit h a lead that extended to a full s t rai g h ta w a y' s le ng th. Moroney' s Harley-Davi dson ride r Jason form th e dry, b lue groove that has become expected at the facility, a slippery, wet groove kep t the racers in the same basic single-file racing line. As the evening wore on, moisture began to rise from the track and the slippery surface kept the riders on their toes. TIME TRIALS Th e 600cc N at ional Championshi p Ser ies drew 113 entries, b ut only 60 would compete in th e evening's program. Carr topped th e charts in the tim ed qualifyin g session, circling th e course in 18.973 second s. Carr would be the only rider of the evening to br eak the 18-second bracket, and many people in the pits felt that his hot lap was an omen of what was to come in the main. Garvis Honda's Rich King was secondfastest, stopping the clocks in 19.118 seconds, while USC Racing's Terry Poovey, Hill and Davis rounded ou t the fastest five. HEATS Six IO-lap hea t races provided some .fast and furious race action , as only the top two finishers would transfer directly to the ma in. Riders wh o d idn't make the - first cut competed in one of four eightlap semis from .which only the wi nn er advanced. The rest would join the 5674 spectators on hand in the stands. Heat one saw the entire field - w ith the exception of Robb ie Miller - jum p the gun and take a spot on the penalty . line. Carr wasted little time, however, and blasted into the lead from the third row . "I've never seen nine out of 10 riders ge t penalized," said Carr. "T hat was Carr rides inp-=-.: : .ro--=-=-te~st-----,-----,__, D efendin g 600cc National Champion Chris Carr elected to compete at the series opener with his new number four Grand National Championship Series plate, rather than his familia r 600cc number-one plate. Why? It's not because his tuner Kenny Tolbert was too lazy to change it. "I' m rid in g in protest because ofthe way the AMA has handled the 600cc Na tional Championship Series, and the 600cc class in general," said Carr, who has won eve ry 600cc National Championship since the series' incep tion in 1988. "It seems as if the AMA is trying to phase out the 600cc class. I've worked my butt off to win each of my six titles, but the 600cc class is getting treated worse and worse. "This week in Daytona, for example - at one race at Barberville, they ran the 750s and 883s befo re the 600 class because .there was.a threat of rain. They just put it at ' the ass-end .of the program and: it ended up getting rained out. There were more 600 class riders than in the 750 and 883 classes combined, "The AMA is pushing the 883 series, claiming that it's a better grass-roots level of dirt track racing. Hell, almost every dirt tracker across the Nation owns at least one 600cc bike. What are they thinking? " "I won 't carry my number-one 600cc plate until the class gets thetreabnent that it deserves."

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