Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

up position, leaving Carr and Davis to return in a sem i. . "It's n o t pool- table smoo th li ke Pomona usually is, " said Mor ehead, who lists KK MC Supply, Shep he rd C h e m ica l Company, F&:S Ha rleyDavid son, John Dragoo, Motion Pro, Bell, Answer, Air Pro, Wilson Dr ive Axle, Dirt Track Number Plates, Zoom and Storz as sponsors. "I was road racing it in the com ers, but when I started ski dding it - that's when I started to go goo d. We'll m a ke some chassis changes for the main ." "I'm kinda glad that I'll have to be in the se mi, " said an optimis tic Carr. "That wa y, I'll get an other look at the tr ack before the main. And start ing on row two at a mile isn't as terrible as it is on a half mile." Minutes later, Carr's d isposition changed from one of optimism, to one of panic. "I was telling Kenny (Tolbert, Carr's tuner ) th at th e bike star ted to feel a little wei rd towards the end of the heat," said Carr. "Then we looked a t it, and noticed that the fra me was broken at the swingarm pivot." Tolbert finished wel ding the frame with time to spare before the sta rt of 'the semis. Scott Stump led the way in the fourth and final heat race , but Rodney Farris and Kevin Atherton gobbled hi m up in a hurry . Atherton traded draft-passes with Farris for a few laps , but after that, went to work and pulled out a commanding lead. At the finis h, Atherton enjoyed a 30-bike-Iength lead over Farris aboard his Total Control Racing/Ben Ford, Jr ./Cumming' s Ha rley - Da v i d s o n / Ara i /S u pe rtr a p p/ MSR/E BC Bra kes /Wh ite Power/ Pro Pla tes / Tsubaki/Silkolenesponsored Harley . Stum p was a distant third . "The track is pretty good, but ti re wear is going to be a concern," said Atherton. "We should be right in there come the main event." Atherton's heat would be the fastes t of the night. SEMIS Thr ee eight- Ia p semis tha t ea ch offered three final transfer pos ition s wo ul d de termine who wo uld compete in the 25-lap Nation al, and the actio n was surprisingly limited. Sp r in gst een and Un do Ra cin g ' s Bre tt La n des b attled fo r th e lea d throughou t the first semi, bu t Ronnie Jo n es sto le th e ir th under with on ly tw o lap s to go an d nabb ed th e wi n aboard his Loral 'Lake Racing Ho nda. Springsteen was a close second, while Landes was third . Hale took control early in semi two , but co u ld do little to fend off the charges of Rookie of th e Year candida te Kenn y Coolbeth . The rookie rode like a seasoned vetera n as he ra ced away wit h the win aboard his Gardner Racin g Ha rley, edging out Hale and Team WFO's Joe Kopp , Best known as a speedy Castle Rock 11 regu lar, Kopp was excited to qualify for his first-ever 750cc National. The third and final heat looked to be ' all Carr's, but Erion Racing 's Larry Pegram put on a tremendous charge in the clos ing laps that saw him sneak up an d steal the win. Carr was a close second , while a heated ba ttle rage d over the th ird and final tran sfer positi on. Matt Wait, Kevin Varnes an d Billy Her n don argued over th e p os itio n, a n d in th e end it was Wait an d his Mod est o Harley-David son-spon sor ed mach ine taking the spot. 883 NATIONAL A sparse turnout of Harl ey-Da vid- son 883 National entries sawall 17 entrants compete in the 15-lap National. Jess Roeder and James Hart topped the two heat race s that served only as start pos ition contests. At the start of the race, Roeder led the wa y aboard his Boswell 's Harley, wit h Ha rt, Matt Wait and Dog Beattie in tow. Roeder controlled the first four laps, but things fell apart for the son of the legendary George Roed er Sr . on lap five. Exiting tum two, Roeder lost co n t rol of his street bike and was thrown to the g round. The red flag halted the race, and minus the un injured Roeder, the field lined up for a single-file restart. Hart led the ne xt th ree laps before Joe Wins ton III - like Roeder - parted wa ys with his 883 in turn tw o , During the d elay that followed, three- time Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen could be heard shouting to officials through his helmet, "Let's call this damn thing! There's a slick spot in tum two that's really gonna hu rt someo ne." Desp it e Sp ringsteen 's objections, the race was again restarted, this time fo r good . This ti me, Bea ttie ca me to life and moto re d to th e front of the pac k aboard hi s GP Racing/Kl o tz / Dunlop/Motion Pro /Parents / Axo/IM Leathers/Shoei/ Action Accesso riessponsored, John Parker-tuned 883 . Beattie, th e brother of m u l ti- ti m e Canadian Na tional Champion Steve Beattie, swapped the lead with Hart throughout the rem aining laps before performing the final draft-pass on the last lap. Th e 17- year-old enjoyed a three-bikelength lead at the checkered flag over Ha rt , w hile series poi nt leader Scott Stu mp fin ished a distant third. "Th is is awesome," said and excited Beattie. "I got it all figu red out in the last three laps . I ran as hard as I could the last lap and it all worked out." With two rounds remaining, Stump ha s realistically wrapped up the 883 Na tional Championship, as he enjoys an in su rm o u n tab le lead o ver H art. Stump boasts 147, while Hart has 99. Jason Flet cher si ts secon d w ith 125, but after suffering serious injuries at the Oklahoma City Half Mil e, will miss the rema ind er of the series. NATIONAL Poovey led the way at the sta rt of the National, but the red flag came ou t as the racers began la p tw o. Pegram had Q'l"ashed in the slick sp ot in tum two, and after a few quick repairs, wa s able to ma ke the complete restart. Poovey again led the cha rge into tu rn one on the resta rt, with Mo rehead, Parker, Farris and Hale on his (Top) Terry Poovey (18) led Steve Morehead (42), Kevin Atherton (23), Scott Parker (2) and the rest at the start of the National. A dlslocatad shoulder dropped Poovey-from contention. (Above) Steve Morehead (42) fi nished an eventual second, while a heartbroken Chris carr (4) was forced to pull off with loose carburetor manifolds. tail. Carr suffered a miserable start, and completed the first lap in about 12th. Poo vey slipped in the sketchy section of tum two, and Morehead wasn't very happy with his style. " H e was really push ing it ," said Mor ehead. "He slid both wheels into me in turn two, so d own the back straight I squeezed his arm and po inted my finge r at him. It mu st have psy- -::t' ched him out, because I d idn't see him 0\ after that." 0\ ...... Act u ally, Poovey suddenly found hi mself struggling with an injury of old . " I hit a slick spot in tum two and th e jerking p op ped my left shoulder o ut o f socket," said Poovey. "I was su rprised, becau se it hasn't popped out in ab out four yea rs . It wen t back in, but then it kep t coming back out· on the straightaway even!" Poovey stayed near the front of the

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