Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127673
(Opposite page) Will Davis, Steve Morehead and Scott Parker cut loose in the winner's circle. (Right) Brett Landes (41), Kevin Atherton (23), Chris Evans (4T), Will Davis (21), Steve Morehead (42) and Chris Carr (4) start the National. (Below) Carr (4), George Roeder \I (66) and Parker (2) battled in the main . feet as the ever-popular Jay Sp ringsteen out-dueled Sco tt Stump for th e win. 'Sp ringsteen blitzed past Stump out of tum four on the last lap and was greeted with an ovation as he pulled his helmet off at the finish line. "It jus t gives me goose bumps," said Springsteen. "The fans are a lot of w hat keeps me going. I still love to travel and see everyone. We've struggled tonight. I think we've changed everything since the scratch heats, but we 've got it sorted out now. That was a great race; he really got me wi th his spray. I think bot h arms are black and blue." Almost unnoticed, Dan Butler had moved by Greg Sims into the last qualifyi ng spot. Steve Bea ttie, Sims and Pegram battled over fourth, but were jus t short of challenging Butler. Sims ended up fourth. 600 INVITATIONAL Scott Parker in heat three. "They helped the track a lot. You've got to try to stay as consistent as possible," sa id Morehead. As Morehead pulled away, ever yon e's attention was focused on a great battle for second be tween Fa rris and Parker. The battIe , howe ver, w ou ld come to a sudde n halt: On lap six, Farris caught the no w-infamous tum-four ru t. "I hit that rut and it started wo bbling . I thought I could save it, b ut it ripped the handlebars out of my ha nds . I tried to reach back up an d grab it, bu t there was no way," said Farris, of the spill that brought ou t the red flag. Farris ma de the restart from la s t place and quickly moved through the field into a battle with Stump, Greg Sims and Mike Hacker. Sims took third with Farris ho t on his heels, earning a front-row start in the semi . Parker was a distant second behind Morehead. "We've got some changes to make before the National," said Parker. "I haven't felt comfortable all day. You just can't really gas it when you're not comfortable." Team Undo's Bret t Landes led heat four into tum one, only to have Aa ron Hill blast by on the first lap . Chris Evans rocketed h is I.M: Leather s/ Am soil / N .R.e.-sponsored Harley into second and applied instant pressure to Hill for the lead. Hill held on until lap seven, when the Canadian took over. Hill still had his hands full, with Land es making a run to take the last direct transfer, and making it work on lap nin e. To pour salt in H ill's wou nd s, roo kie Kenny Coolbeth Jr. took third away on the last lap . An infr equen t comp e ti to r in the AMA's GNC series, heat -winner Evans explained, "There's no need in me going to the miles, and I hate groove tracks. You make one mistake on a groove and its all over, but here you just gas it up and go on. I've done well here, but something always happens; maybe this year. Now, I'm in." SEMIS As is normally the case, the three semis that would fill the last nine positions produced some of the best racing of the night. Hill came right back in semi one and got his customary holeshot. It was Farris who was on a miss ion, though, powering his Eddie Adkins/Winchester H-D- sponsored Harley around Hill on lap four . Hill dropped into a battle for seco nd w it h Scott Buchan and Georg ie Price. Buchan took over second on lap five when the three rid ers were joined by Dale Jenneman Sr. The four rid ers pu t on a great r ace, and at va r ious points around the track they we re runnin g three- and four -riders wid e. Buchan came ou t on top , making him the second Canadian in the field. "This is the first National I've raced since Daytona. 1 was obligated to a couple of races back home, so I'm real ha ppy to be in," said Buchan. Price also got by Hill and nabbed the last transfer. The second semi was outstanding. A couple of the young lions - Jason Fletcher and Coolbeth - roared to the front. As the Connecticut pair diced, another youngster crept into the picture. Kevin Varnes was hovering in third, just waiting for a mistake to be made. With three laps left, veteran Terry Poovey arrived on the scene . But in the end, it was the ve teran who was left as the odd man out. Gardner/Walter's Brothers Racingsponsored Coolbeth took the win over Fletcher and Varnes. The last semi had the crowd on their Bret Beyer pushed his Suburban Mo tors H-D/Joe & Wayne Houpt/ H orsep ower by Stan-sponsored Rotax a rou nd ea r ly lead er Paul Morga n to walk off with the 600cc invi tational. Morgan took the le ad from John Parker, but could not hold Beyer off. "When Bret came by I tried to stay with him, but it's just so rough th at I don't know how those guys can run 25 laps in the National. I' m tired after 12," said Morgan. "I' ve always done well here on my 600. I wish I could get my 750 to hook up like this," said Beyer. NATI ONAL After one last trip around the track with the water truck, the Nati onal was call ed to the lin e. With so many lin es working, the cho ices for sta rting positions were just as varied. Davis took the third slot from the inside wi th the first pick. Evans settled on the number-four spot. Carr was on the inside, flanked by Morehead, Davis, Evans, Atherton and Landes. Parker was relegated to the second row and chose the outside . Springsteen, Coolbeth, Roed er, Fletcher and Farris were to Parker's left. The third row (from the inside) was made up of Stump, Buchan, Varnes, Butler and Price. When s tar te r Steve Faraci's light flashed green, it was Morehead who led the parade into tum one. Davis, Carr, Parker and Evans were in a tight bunch close behind. Carr moved into second, with Evans moving up for a lap before drifting back . Davis was back in second by lap four, and with that he quickly began to reel in Morehead. Carr settled into third as Roeder and 11 .