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Round 2: Cal Expo State Fairgrounds By Donn Maeda Photos by Greg Newgard SACRAMENTO, CA, APRIL 30 r Scott Parker, the pas t year has been long and dry. After posting his record-setting 52nd National wi n a t la st y ea r's spring San Jose Mile, many expected the four-time champ to win and win again en route to the record-setting fifth Grand National Championship that he so desires. But ins tead of the thrill of victory, the rest of Parker's 1993 season was filled with the agony of defeat. While Honda privateer Ricky Graham raced away with h is third champ ionship, Parker seemed to silently slip from the spotlight as he struggled with crashes, mechanical gremlins, and all- . around bad luck. Though he was in the hunt for the win on several occasions, Parker failed to win another race and ended the series third overall. Was it a slump, or had Parker lost his edge? The debate raged on in the pits, with cynics claiming that Parker's prime had passed. But loyal Scotty Parker fans knew better. Armed with raw determination and a new, svelte appearance, a rejuvenated Parker overcame a poor start at the raindelayed Sacramento Mile and raced horne the winner in a thrilling 25-lap contest that saw five different men lead the race. "Man, it 's been a long, long time," said an elated Parker after scoring an extremely popular win. "After I crossed the finish line I didn't know what to do wave my arms, do a wheelie, whatever! I hadn't won in so long that I forgot what I was supposed to do!" Chasing Parker horne was none other than his factory Harley-Davidson teammate, Chris Carr. With six wins out of the last eight races at the Cal Expo State Fairgrounds, Carr was the heavy favorite entering the event, but knew that he couldn't count Parker out. In the end, Carr carn e up a foot-and-a-half short after leading the majority of the closing laps. "I was biding my time and conserving my tire, but I knew that Scotty would be up there," said Carr. "When he carne by near the end of the race I knew it was time to drop the hammer, but I got a bad drive out of tum four and just couldn't catch his draft. " A solid third place went to another rejuvenated rider, the ever-excitable Rodney Farris. Farris ran with the leaders throughout the race aboard his Edd ie Adkins-tuned Harley and appeared to be in the hunt for the win, but a flat tire prevented the veteran from making a successful last-lap ~ charge."[ felt great out there - awe0\ some," said the likable rider. "It felt like 0\ the motor was slowing down a little .... during the last two laps, but it turns out that my tire was going flat. No matter we still held on to third and I'm happy. I think this is the start of a good year for me and Eddie." In winning, Parker scored 20 valuable points which vaulted him into third in the series point standings, despite his $ pointless showing at the series-opening Daytona Short Track. With two rounds down and 20 to go, Daytona winner Carr leads the way with 36 po ints, 11 more than veteran Terry Poovey, who has 25. But what about defendin g Grand National Champion Rick y Graham? Unfortunately, the Team Undo rider was unable to compete, and he wasn't even on hand to watch the sh ow . Throughout the w inter , Gra ham has struggled with nagging ankle injuries that he has suffered over the years. At the completion of the '93 seaso n, Gra ham elected to have "clean up" surgery on his battered ankles, but the surgery d id more harm th an good. A sta p h infection put the th:ree-time cham p out, and Graham spent the majority of the off-season in pain. "Ricky called me thi s mo rni ng and said that his ankle was as big as h is head," sa id Graham's tuner, Johnny Goad. "Things were fine at the beginning of the week, but I guess they just flared up. He didn't say what caused them to flare up, but he did say that he'd been on his back for the past three da ys." Still, the 12,892 spectators on hand at the Orris Agajanian Presents-promoted, Valvoline/Krager Auto Parts-sponsored event were treated to their fair share of excitement. A lead pack of eight riders ran in close formation throughout the race, and the usual Parker/Carr twoman Sacramento Mile runaway never developed. Together, Parker and Carr have won the last 12 Sacramento Miles, often in 1-2 formation. HEATS A. new qualifying procedure was incorporated at Sacramento that saw time trials eliminated and replaced by scratch heats. "The object is to provide a bette r race track," explained referee Bruce Bober. "During time trials, all of the racers ride the good line and form a na rr ow groove. We're betting that the scra tch heats will form a wider racing lin e." With only 41 entries on hand, the . scra tch heats served not as eliminators, but as a way to det ermine the heat race line ups. Poovey, Steve Morehead, Carr, Farri s, Jas on Fletcher and Mike Hale topped the six four-lap scratch heats, with Hale's being the fastest. Many racers disliked the new proced ure, amongst them scratch heat winner Morehead. "1 don ' t think it's a good idea. Sure, it will work on the miles, but get us on a slippery half mile, and a lot of g uys a re gonna get screwed. Four laps isn't enough time to allow a fast guy to overcome a bad start. TIme trials are a more fair way to do things." According to timekeeper Gil Dosmagen, the scratch heats yielded the same results that time trials would have, with the fastest riders pre vailing and earning the be st heat race sta r ti ng positions. "With the exception of Orris Ca!T' all of the winning riders were fast from the get-go," said Dosmagen. "All of the scratch winners started and ended hot, except for Carr - who started slow and then got fast. The fastest riders are still the same as they would have been with time trials." Parker bobbled off the line in the opening lo-lap heat race, allowing Bartels' Harley-Davidson rider Mike Hale and Total Control Racing's Kevin Atherton to lead the way and make a break from the pack. No worries for Parker, however, as he recovered quickly and easily zipped into the lead and on to a convincing win. Atherton held on to sec- Eventual runner-up Chris carr (4) led . winner Scott Parker (2), Rodney Farris (92) , and Steve Morehead (42) In the early stages of the race. ond and made the first cut, while Hale and the rest would try again in a semi USC Racing's Poovey jumped out to an early lead in the second heat, but was soon joined by Loral Lake Racingbacked Ronnie Jones. Together, the Honda-mounted pair pulled well clear of the pack as they traded repeated draft passes down both straightaways. In the end, it was Jones who prevailed, but Poovey was just a hair behind. "This is the best bike that I've been on in years," said an enthused Jones. "1'd say that it might even be the best I' ve had in my whole career. It feels great to be com pe titi ve on the miles again." Heat three saw an exciting battle between Morehead, Moroney's Harley rider Jason Fletcher, the legendary Jay Springsteen, Harley-Davidson of Sacramento's Aaron Hill, and local hero Ted Taylor, aboard his Hall's Harley. Morehead and Fletcher led the majority of the laps, and it was Morehead who was ahead when Taylor crashed unhurt in tum four, bringing out the red flag on lap nine. "I backed off for Springer, but whoever was behind me didn't back off for me," said Taylor. "Someone took my bars out from under me." The race was called and Morehead and Fletcher were declared the top-two finishers. Farris and Carr left the rest of the heat-four riders behind as they traded repeated draft passes for the lead. Carr seemed stronger on the back straight;