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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127681
:MOTOCROSS . .MX Firlals ponea C·Ity ".. NMA Graild National Champiooshi ------=---- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - Team Green's Kevin Windham won seven of eight motos at Ponca City, earning Grand National till es In all fou r Pro classes. ered flag," Will oh explained . "I was suprised I had such a big lead." Willoh won the moto with a six-second lead, topping Windham, Paul Cu rrie and Robbie Clauss. Clauss pulled his second holeshot of the day and led for a half a lap before Willoh and Windham blew by. Windham seemed to be in a hurry to se t the record straigh t, sho t past Will oh and quickly pulled away for the moto and overall win. Willoh rod e the remainder of the race in seco nd, but was we ll off the pace of the leader. Pau l Currie got the best of Clauss for th ird, a fter performing a textbook block pass late in the race. 'Wind h a m went o n to win all th e remaining Pro m o tos a nd racked u p Na tional Cha mpionsh ips in the 250cc Stock an d Modified, an d 125cc Stock and Mod ified Pro classes . Ca li fo rn ia n Cliff Coo k got th e holesh ot in the first 12Secstock Inte rmed iate m oto , but was immediately d ro p ped to second by New Mexico's Isaiah Johnson, who led briefly befo re mechanical problems stopped his charge. Team Green rider And y Bowyer was on the gas and soon took control of the lead spot after passing former Texas mini bike ace, Caleb Leath. Ripp ing through the field was Ryan Clark, who appeared to be the fastest on the track. "1 saw him coming up," Bowyer said. "He had good lines from his Schoolboy race." By Tony Alessi PONCA CITY, OK, AUG.4-6 rn what ma y be one of his last amate ur appearances, Kawasaki Team Green's Kevin Windham went out a Winner by posting an awesome seven-out-o feight-mote sweep en ro u te to tn e rand National ti tles in th e 125cc and 250cc Stock and Modified Pro classes at the 19th annual NMA Ponca City Grand National Championships. Working hard to fill W indham ' s shoes may be 17-year-old Andy Bowyer, who finished in the top three in all four 125 and 250cc Stock and Modified Intermediate cla sses, a n d took home the Grand Na tional title in the 125cc Stock Intermediate class. The race facility resembles a hillside scene from "Little House on the Prairie," with one big change - a huge motocross track in the middle of it. Grassy knolls studded with overhanging trees make the Ponca City facility one of America's most beautiful motocross facilites. "This race started here in 1978, then we had only 500 riders," said NMA Presiden t Ron Henricksen. "Our best year w as 1983; when w e had ove r 2000 entries. It's dropped off since then , but now we are back on the upswing again." Mother nature was kind to the over 1000 entrants on hand, and the wea ther was fair throughout the week. The four-day e vent fe a t ured on e whole day of practice, with tech inspection and the rider's meetin g on the pr eceding afternoon. The riders were treated to a free bar beque, courtesy of Coca-Cola, which served a variety of food, including pork ribs, potato salad and baked beans. In the first 250cc Pro s to ck race, Windham got a rare taste of w ha t it's . like to get passed and beaten by a rookie pro. The rider doing the d eed wa s a newcomer to.the pro ranks, Californian Jeff Willoh. "He's not us ed to ge tti ng passed ," said Willoh. "I don 't think he knew what to do after that. " Willoh led early, after passing New Mexico's Robbie Clauss in the first 250cc Stock Pro moto, but Windham turned a tabletop follow ed by a single jump into an 80-foot triple jump a nd flew over Willoh to take the lead . Willoh resp onded by performing an equally impressive pass on Windham. "I cut under him before the big double and cleared it from the inside," Willoh said. The move took Windham 's line away and forced him to singl e jump. Willoh, not one to be outjumped, also began to clear the Windham tripl e. Th en the unth inkabl e happen ed : Willoh began to put time on Windham and pulled away for the eventual win . "The power valves were stu ck wide o pen," Windham said after the race. "The bike was bogging everywhere so I played it safe in second". "I d idn't look back until the check- At the ha lfway poi nt, Clark was up to third, an d Leath never had a chance as Clark mot ored by and in to second. Clark th en p icked u p the pace a nd reeled in Bowyer. He passed him on the final lap . "1 got a wheel on him," said Clark. "I kind of slid over and crow ded his line. He wasn't able to do the double jump and hit the face of the second jum p." With Bowyer's m om en tu m go ne, Clark kept th e gas on an d flew to the bottom of the jump, then soared across the finish line for the moto win. " I just scr ewed up," said Bow yer. "Tha t will not happen again ." Leath ro u n ded the top three, followed by Patri ck McMullen and Johnny Williams. Bowyer led the first lap of the second moto, bu t Ari zo na 's Patrick McMullen moved to second and began to pressure Bowyer for first. "1 started ge tting nerv ous," Bowyer said . "He was revving his bike real loud and stu ff:' Bowyer kept it pinned for the next three laps before McMullen slipped by. . "1 lo oked back a n d saw it was " McMullen, but 1 knew he finish ed . fourth in the first moto," said Bowyer. " McMullen took over the lead, but seemed to slow th e pace. "Pat slacked off after he got the lead and slowed my charge," said Bowyer. Once aga in , s las hi n g h is way through the pack was Clark, who was