Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

EVENTS'.: ~..' .: . . . .. '1 I Edited.by SCott Rousseau Schultz now leads Myers, his only threat for the Winston Championship, by about 1662 points, meaning that if hecan just advance to the semifinals at t h e season ' s remain ing fiv e stops, Brainerd, Indianapolis, Reading, Topeka, and Pomona, Myers would have to win four and finish second at the other to overtake him for the 1994 Championship. eN Results PIS , Dave Schultz (Suz) 8.17 /1 63 .45 del. John Smith (Suz) 8.22 / 167.81. NHRA WINSTON PRO STOCK POINTS STANDINGS (after 3 of 11 rounds): 1. David Schultz (6834 ); 2. John Myers (5172); 3. John Smith (3960); 4. Jim Bernard (3554)j 5. Russ Nyberg (33 18); 6. Micha el Phillips (3106) ; 7. Hector Arana (2996); 8. Ron Ayers (2294 ); 9. Nigel Patrick (2084); 10. Gary To nglet (zo.w) . Venegas victorious I atVallejo By Gen Moore VALLEJO, CA,JULY30 ha rlie Venegas opene d up a ne w era by taking both the Handicap and Scratch main events in front of packed grandstands on openin g nigh t of the new Saturday Night Thunder -pro moted speedwa y track at the Solano County Fairgrounds . Vene gas wa s cer ta inly th e crow d fav orite, as he wa s rai sed in Vallejo. Coming th ro ug h the junior progr am , Venegas, who fin ished third in the 1993 U'.S. Na tion al Ch ampion ship, got his start as an exp ert in nor thern Cali fornia before mov ing to sou the rn Cali fornia. Venegas is the cu rrent World Ic e Cham pion, a title he has held for two years. The Handicap main event got off to a roaring s ta r t as Vance Felicio and Harlan Bast Jr . ted the field in to the first turn. But, in the second turn, Felicio went down and Tom Hedden got caught in the aftermath, causing a restart. Bast Jr. got the lead alone on the restart, but Jim Sisemore and Venegas were quickly closing the gap. Fans witnessed a fantastic show as Venegas and Sisemore raced wheel to wheel for several laps as they ba ttled for second . Bast Jr. continued to lead and was able to hold off h is challengers until the very last corner when he hit a hole . He was ab le to keep control and stay upright, but, in the process, Venegas found the opening he had been wa iting for and took full ad vantage of the situation. As a result, he was able to cross the line first for the win. Bast Jr. maintained his position and finished in second place ahead of a charging Sisemore. Venegas came off the pole in the Scratch main event to lead the entire race from start to finish. Sisemore was putting on the pressure until the second turn when his engine gave up. From then on, the riders looked like a freight train as they circled the track for the remaining laps with Venegas leading Bart Bast and Darrell Busby to the checkered flag for his second main event win of the night. _ "Racing down south is getting to be like a job," Venegas said. "Here I can be with my family and friends, eat dinner at home, and drive a very short distance eN to the races. This is just pure fun." C NHRA Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals Schultz is king of "The Mountain" (Top)Dave Schultz (far lane) defeated John Smith (near lane) to win the Moper Parts Mile High Nationals at Bandlmere Speedway. (Above) Jim Sisemore (left) tried to use the outside line to pass leader Charlie Venegas (right) Inthe Inaugural Scratch main at Vallejo Speedway. Venegas cruised to victory after Sisemore's Weslake motor failed. By Todd Veney DENVER, CO, JULY 22-24 Ust for something different, Dave Schultz didn't qualify first, or even second, at the NHRA Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals. He toyed w ith other Pro Stock Bike contenders during qualifying, then in eliminations took several large steps toward what will be his third NHRA Winston Pro Stock Championship in the last four years. For Schultz, who rode over his foot on a qua1ifying run, his final-round victory over John Smith at Bandimere Speedway, on the eastern fringe of the Rocky Mountains, was less lopsided than usual but just as effective. John Myers, the only other to have won the Mile-High Nationals (1992), the only one to have beaten Schultz anywhere in more than a year - and Schultz's usual final-round opponent, met him in the semifinals and not the finals this time because of Schultz's unexpectedly low qualifying position of third . Myers, seeded number two with a 8.177/164.53, just one-thousandth-of-a-second behind pole-qualifier Smith, was stacked on the same side of the ladder as Schultz and NHRA's other top-four rider this year, James Bernard. You don't win more than 95 percent of your rounds over a period of more J than a year - as Schultz has since his drag racing record seven-race win streak began at this event one year ago without a little luck, and Schultz got some in the first round against 16th and last qualifier Paul Zahalan. He advanced over Zahalan's 8.88/147.66 with just an 8.33/161.92 when his Sunoco Suzuki momentarily popped out of second gear. Had it happened in a later round, against a faster, more experienced opponent, it would have meant defeat even at Denver, but everything is rolling Schultz's way now . After that reprieve, he went about the. business of advancing through the mid dle rounds - without lane choice or a raceday baseline - against the second and fourth ranked riders on the NHRA circuit all year, Star Racing teammates Myers and Bernard while Smith, riding John Noard's Minneapolis-based Torco/ Anoka Ramsey Speed Center Suzuki, met little resistance on the other side of the ladder. In the final, Smith left .002-of-a-second ahead of Schultz in the last round, and, with an 8.22/167.81, was quicker than Schultz had been all day until that point. The finalists split the Bandimere Speedway track records, Smith with an unbelievable 167.81-mph speed, Schultz' with his winning 8.170 e.t. Results HDCP: 1. Charlie Venegas Qaw); 2. Har lan Bast Jr. (Jaw); 3. JimSisemore (Wes); 4. Bart Bast (Jaw); 5. Tom Hedden (Jaw ). SCRATCH: 1. Cha rlie Venegas craw ); 2. Bart Bast (J aw); 3. Darrell B usbyewes); 4. JimSisemore ewes). 0-2: 1. Larry Hesseman; 2. Bill Newby. 0-3, I. Gregg Howell 2. John Gregg . ; JR: I. Travis MacDonald. Mouralwhips 'emat .Cycleland Supercross By Rex Harris OiICO CA, JULY 22. , Lowell Moural parked his usual 12Scc rid e for a 2SO and proceeded to w in the 250cc featu re at Cycleland's Summer High Point Series. At the sta rt it was Moural out front, qu ickly followed by Scott Davis. Ryuichi Yamada, j.R. Mason, and Ch ris Verboon. As the pack exited the whoops and headed for the first big double, Davis got sideways, lost traction, and Yamada do ubled past to take over second. Yamad a then se t off a fter MouraI. Dav is, meanwhile, had begun to gather stea m and quickly clo sed on Yamada, dicing sid e-b y-si de for a lap or so before Yamada overs hot a berm and let Davis, Mason and Verboom by. At the halfway mark it wa s still Moural out front and entertaining the capacity crowd with his w ild 7D-foot clickers . while Dav is wa s rid in g smoothly and in second. Further back, Ma son wa s comin g under a lot of pressure from Verboom and Yamada. Yamada repassed both Verb oom and Mason in spectacular fashion by trip ling over a side-by- side Mason and Verboom. Verboom finally got around Mason, but was so me di stance back fro m Yamada now . At the checkers it was Moural wi th the win fo llo wed b y Dav is, Ya ma d a, Verbo om a n d Mason round ing out the top five. In 60cc action, it was Robert Har old grabb ing the holestiot wi th Eric Nyc, Brandon Triplett, Dan ial Fowler, and Brent Trip lett in tow . Ha rold and Nye qu ickly dis tanced themse lves from the rest of the field and bega n a race of their own . As the pa ir ap proached a big d ou ble. Harold took the low inside line while Nye went high on the berm . Nye had the momentum he needed an d d oubled past Har old . Lap af ter lap these two trad ed the lead bac k and forth w it h Nye finally gaining the upper hand . Nye esta blished a sligh t lead over Ha rold when the y began to encounter lapped traffic. Nye came upon a slower rider a t the face of a jump, had to change lines in midair, and cased the landing hard. This rni cue was all Harold needed as he leaped past for . the lead . Ny e quickly recovered. but time ran out before he could run down Harold again. At the fin ish it w as Har o ld first. followed by Nye, Fowler and Brandon Tripl ett ahead of his brother Brent. Results P/W: 1. Kyl e Ce ecbeec (Vam) ; 2. Bobby Bames (Yam) ; 3. Ada m Kow alcz yk (Vam) ; 4. Darren Nye (Yam); S. Jacob Eis~ ll!'r . (Vam) . 60: 1. Robe rt Haro ld (Kaw ): 2. Eric Nye (Kaw); 3. Oanial j Fowler (Kaw); 4. Brandon Trip lett (Kaw );5. Brent Triplett (Hon) . oJ 80: 1. Jarred Fillhl!'r (Suz ); 2. Aaron Bums (Vam ); 3. Danil!'I " Blair (Suz) ; 4. Evan uughridge (Yam); 5. J.J. Cummings (Suz) . 125: 1. Dylan Blackwell (Hon); 2. Richard Morgan (Suzl: 3. 1 Kurt FaVTr(Hon); 4. Clen Willianu (Suz ); S. Stu Perry (Hon) . I 250: 1. Lowell Moural (Hon) ; 2. Scott Davis (Kaw): 3. Ryum Yamad a (Suz ); 4. Ch ris Verboom (Hon) ; S. J.R. Mason (Hon) . Bast, Sisemore awesome at· Auburn Speedway By Gen Moore AUBURN, CA, jULY22 Bart Bast and jim Sisem ore. who have been competitors since their days as Juniors, scored wins ' i at Auburn Speedway in Gold Country Fai r-0 grounds in Auburn. Bast captured gold in the Handicap main , while Sisemore took his victory in yet another Scratch main . " Bast, starting from the 50 yard line, passed the entire field to win the Handicap main event. By the end of the third lap, he had passed three of the riders and was in third place behind Mark Squadrito and Steve Martynse. Bast found traction on the outside which is quite unusual for him, as his customary line is riding strictly on the pole. The track was quite wet, giving Bast the opportunity to do all of his passing on the outside. As the white flag was waved it looked as if Squadrito might hold off Bast to win the event, b ut in the back straight, Bast powered past Squadrito to take the lead and finally the checkered flag. At the finish it was Bast in first, Squadrito in second, and Robert Curry in third, as Martynse had fallen in the comer on the last lap. "The track was really great tonight," said Bast. "J was able to find traction on the outside which really helped me win the race." In the Scratch main , Brent Werner, a former junior National speedway champion, was into the comer fITSt with jim Sisemore right behind'

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