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.D Grand National Championship Series . Round 21: Pomona Half Mile IR TTRACK '· • . .AMA After u n kn ow ingly taking over the lead, A&R Racing's Will Davis fended off the repea ted charges of F&S HarleyDavidson's Steve Morehead and gree ted the checkered flag wit h a half straightaway to spare over the veteran. "Man, I had no idea that 1 had won, " said a surprised Davis. "On the cool-off lap, 1 was looking for Scotty, because he usually waits for you on the back straight to congratulate you. I didn't see him, and I thought, 'Man, he must have really spanked us bad! ' Then 1 came out of turn four and saw Craig Rogers standing on the front straight with his arms in the air. I thought, 'Damn, second is pretty good, but he's a little too excited: Then it hit me - Parker must have broke, and 1won!" Runner-up Steve Morehead was just as clueless. "I was giving it all I could to ge t by Will, b u t my air filters got so packed with dirt that my bike started to cut out," said Morehead. "Actually, it's good that I didn't know. If I did, I migh t have started crying out there - this is my third second-place finish at th is darn track! I need a win!" . Fin is hi n g th ird after turnin g in a spectacular come-from-behind ride was none other thanCarr. Enterin g the race, Carr tra iled Parker by five points, and need ed to finish ahead of him in order to kee p his championship hopes alive. At the start of the 25-lap National, Carr gra bbed the holeshot, bu t missed severa l s hifts as he en te red tu rn one and dr opped all the way to last place. Things (Left) Will Davistakes A&R Racing team co-owner Craig Rogers on his surprise victory lap. It was Davis' sixth caree r National win. (Below) SIeve Morehead (42) challenged Will Davis (2t). but eventually settled for a safe second. By Donn Maeda Photos by Mitch Friedman POM ONA, CA, OCT.8. r the second week in a ro w, a stra nge twis t of fate altered the ap parent co u rse of the Grand National Ch ampions hip . Series. This time - at the penultimate round of w ha t can only be described as the most competitive series in years - fourtime Grand National Champion Scott Parker was the victim. Just w hen it looked like the HarleyDavidson factory rider was about to nab his fifth Pomona Ha lf Mile win and further extend his series point lead over teammate Chris Carr, the fickle finger of (j;, fate tickled Parker's Bill Werner-tuned 0\ XR750 and sent him coas ting off the ...... track with a badly blown motor. It was had 0\ only the eighth la p , ...... already put a straighb u t Parkerween taway bet l-< himself and the rest of the field, leaving Q) them to do ba ttle over second. "I was just cruisin', and all of a sudu den it just pop ped ," said Parker. "After that it started to run on one cylinder. Hey, that's life. It wasn' t supposed to happen, bu t it d id." : . "B o 6