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:ยท D TTR C . " . IR A K .A G MA randN ational Championship.Series ' Round20: Sacramento Mile By Donn Maeda Photos by Mitch Friedman SACRAMENTO, CA, OCT. 1 hat a differ ence a da y makes. Entering the Sacram ento Mile, th ings look ed bleak for fou r-time Grand Na tional Champion Scott Parker . With a 14-point deficit to seri es point leader Ch r is Carr - and only three ra ces rem ain in g - Parker 's chances of ea rnin g an u n p r eced e n ted fifth Grand Na ti on al Champ ionshi p looked slim. Even if Parke r were to win all three races, Carr could settle for a variety of secon ds and thirds, and still roll on to his second Gran d N a tional Champ ions hip. "Wh en I left Michigan, some of my friends were saying, ' Hey, Scotty, do you still even have a chance?' And I wou ld repl y , 'Hell, you just go tta push, push, push; and never give up," sai d Parker. And "push" is exactly what he did. When the green light flashed, Parker put on his race face and stormed to his eighth Sacramento Mile win at the Cal Expo State Fairgrounds aboard his Bill Werner-tuned facto ry Harley-Davidson XR750. So Parker did h is part, b ut w hat about Carr? After su ffer ing a miserable s ta rt, the crowd favorite raced throu gh the field and quickly joined the battle for the lead. Thi ngs looked good as Carr, a seven- time Sacramento Mile winner, lo o ked to have fo u n d th e ho t lin e around the track. But things fell apart for th e Californian, li te rally, on the 15th lap . As he raced do wn the front straight, Carr threw his arm in the air, and shortly thereafte r, began to slow dram a tically. "The bike started to cut out, and I wan ted th e other guys to be aware that I was having troubles," said a d isappo inted, y et surprisingly upbeat Carr. "I looked down, and the carburetor manifolds had come off. I put them back on with my hand and held them in place with my leg, but every time I hit a bump the y would come off again. I tried to sa ve as many p oints as I could, but there was just no way. " Ca rr coasted off the track on the 19th lap, scoring only a single point, while Parker raced to a soli d 20 with hi s wi n. N o w , w i t h two round s rem aining - the Pomona Half Mile and the firs t-ever Del Ma r Mile - Parke r ho lds a slim five-point lead over Carr , ~ 271-266. 0\ Finishing second at the Ch ris Aga~ ja nian Presents-pro moted event was none o ther tha n the ever-consistent Steve Mor ehead, the 39-year-old veteran delighted to finish on the podium. "Man, this is the first time I've been on th e b o x at Sacramento ' in over 10 year s," sai d Morehead. "I was second her e in 1978 - that was the last time I had a good race here." After a race-long battle with Kevin Atherton, Da ve y Camlin finish ed a we ll-deserved third. The lika ble rider looked fast all night lon g, and only a poor start in the 25-lap Na tion al kept him from finishing any higher. "I really love the miles," said Camlin, wh o scored his first -ever National win earlier in the season at this year's DuQuoin Mile. "I go good on the long tracks , a n d Skip Eaken buil d s the fast est bikes. I was th ere a t th e end, but the b ike started vi bra ti ng wi th about three laps to go. I figured it was better to se ttle for th ird, than to tr y harder and blow up." HEATS Cam lin serve d noti ce in the firs t 10la p h e at ra ce , as he ou ts tar ted holeshot-artist Aaron Hill and zip ped o ut to a commandin g le a d on the opening lap. Camlin pulled aw ay wi th each passing lap aboard his Wiebler's Ha rie y - Da vidson / Br e n n y' s Cycle /Bell/Indian MC Supp ly /Bill's Custom Finish/Ma x Le athers/Je ff Quick Construction /Dad / HOG / Pro Sport/Motion Pro/M a x Oil / Fas s Gass /Hog Wash/Tsubaki-spon sored, Skip Eak en-tuned Harley-Da vid son, finally taking the checkered flag with a full straightawa y's ad vantage over Hill. Bartels' Harley-D avidson teammates Mike Hale and Jay Springsteen finis hed a distant third and fourth, but would ha ve to try again in a semi. " I was skidding through the corners and it was working pretty good ," said Camlin. "That won't work in the main thou gh - the tires can' t take it. I think we 'll probably cruise for the first 10 la ps, then hammer down towards the end. At leas t that's what I hope the othe r guys are think ing." Dave y Dur elle nabbed the holeshot in the seco nd heat, but ve teran Terry Poovey d idn't wait long to smoke into the lead. Poove y looked like he was 10 years younger as he performed a masterful di splay of mile-track racing and went on to score the win with a 30bikel en gth lead aboard hi s G ill co/ USC Ra cing/Sakaida & So n Truckin g / Be ll/ Tsu b a ki/ H a p Jo nes-s p on sored Honda RS750. " The track is pr etty good, bu t ma ybe a litt le inconsisten t in places," Team Harley-Davidson's Scott Parker raced to the win at the fall running of the Sacramento Mile. said Poo vey, who sp en d s his weekdays working as service manager of DFW Honda . "I feel pretty good tonight, I think I can put together 25 strong laps." The third heat race was jam-packed with talent, as Carr, Parker, Morehead and Will Da vis sa t on the front row. Only two of the "big g u ns" would transfer d ir ectly, a nd an exciting 10 laps was sure to unfold . Carr jumped into the lead with Davis a nd Morehead hot on his heels. Parker, meanwhile, was caught sleeping and began the r ace in seventh. Davis and Carr trad ed the lead numerous times, but time and time aga in it wa s Carr who led the way across the start/ finish line . Parker joined in on the fun on lap five, and a spectacular four-man drafting battle ensued. When the checkered flag flew , it was Morehead who came out on top. Parker nabbed the runner-