Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

looked b leak for th e Cali fo rnian, as Parker took over the lead and p ut 14 riders between the two championship rivals. Should Carr win the '94 title, his yea r s ho u ld be rem embered by the champ ionship-quality ride he put in at Pomon a. Not known as an ou tstand ing cushion rider, Carr took to the top of the course and blitzed past rid er after rider before finally crossing the fini sh line a so lid third. "That is the hardest I've ever ridden for thi rd in my life," said Carr, who like Dav is and Morehead - had no idea that Parker had DNF'ed. "When I caine a ro u nd after the cool-off lap and they were.signaling me to go to winner's circle I looked up and saw Davis with his a rms in the air. I kne w that Moreh ead was rig ht a hea d of me and I tho ught, 'No way: I could n' t believe what ha d ha ppened:' So, w ith on ly one rou nd rem aining, Carr again sits in the d river 's seat. At 279-272, seven points separate Ca rr and Parker. Shou ld Parker win the series finale, Carr can afford to sit back and finish a safe second, and still win the championship. Shoul d he finish thi rd, however, the series will end in a points tie and Parker will be awarded the title by virtue of more round wins. "Hey, that' s racing," said Parker. "I just have to go to Del Mar to win and to win only. Hopefully, someone will get in between us, and I'll win the tie breaker. It could have been worse, he could be eight points ahead. It is what it is: ' (Abo ve) After sta rting dead·last, Chris Carr (4) raged past Chris Evans (4T) and Davey Durelle (58) en route to a remarkable thl rdplace finish. (Left) Rodney Farris . (92) ran fo urth until Chris carr (4) stormed by on the cushio n. Farr is held on for fifth. (Below) Aaron Hili was the last ri der to fall victim to Carr's charge. Hili fin ished fourth. HEATS D us ty co n ditions greete d the 40 Grand National competitors in practice, and man y agreed that the track was the worst the y had seen a t the facili ty . Though the co urse was esp eci all y rough, only one cas ualty was suffered throughout the eve nt. Grand National Champion Ricky Graham h ad his re turn to ra ci n g cut s hort w hen he caught h is foot in a h ole in the first pr actice session, severely spraining his ankle and putting a p remature end to his night. Aside from Graham, the re was on ly one crash-induced delay in the program, a nd the track yielded some of the best racing in weeks. Mu ltiple lines could be taken through all four corners, and a deep cushion lined the outsides of the odd-shaped half mile oval track. M&M Racing's Scott Stump controlled the first 10-lap heat race, spanking th e fie ld aboard h is Mike Morrtuned H ond a RS750 . Cl ad in bright- yell ow leath ers, Stump w as imp ressive as he easily pulled out to a half straightaway lead over runner-up Davey Durelle. Those in the know were eq ually imp ressed by the performance turned in by Durelle, as the d iminutive Minnesotan suffered seve re injuries in a crash at the 1992 fall Pomona Half Mile that forced him into sem i-retirement. Kev in Varn es , Brett Landes a n d Moreh ead followed Durelle across th e finis h line, but wou ld have to qualify via a semi final later in the evenin g. Parker served not ice that he would be the man to beat by soun dly trouncing his opposition in the second heat. After grabbing the ho leshot, Parker methodi cally stretched his lead lap after lap un til he was over a straigh taway ahead of the res t of the pack. Behind Parker , a war of sorts was wa ged over the ru n ner -u p positio n . Sacramento Harley-Davidson's Aaron H ill and Tot al Control Racing's Kevin Atherton scrapped over the last transfer position throughout the race . Though Atherton pulled off several impressive passes up 'in the cushion, it was Hill w ho greeted the black and white in secon d. The A th e rt o n High Line Sh ow wo uld play aga in in a semi . Southeast Harley's Chance Darling zipped int o the lead at the start of heat three, but there would be no holding back Davis and his Dennis Town-p repared H on da . Davis ripped into the lea d on the first la p a nd was neve r challenge d as he raced to the win. Carr moved in to secon d early in the ra ce, but was challenged by Loral Lake Racing 's Ronnie Jones in the closing stages. The former cha mp had a scary moment on lap six when he caught his foot in a hole be tween turns one and two and was nearly ripped off his Kenny Tolbert-tuned Harley, but he regained his composure quickly and ma intained second. The fourth and final heat wa s a preview of things to come in the HarleyDavidson 883 National. Erion Racing's Larry Pegram rifled off the line with a tremendous holeshot, but a bobble in turn two saw him slip into the depths of the field . Taking over the lead was th e ever-pop ula r Jay Springst een, th e th re e-tim e cha m p showi ng th e form that has carried him to 40 Na tional .w ins . Winch ester Harl e y-Da v id s on ri de r Rodn ey Farris wa s h ot on Sp r inger'S tail, but tr y as he mi g ht, there wou ld be no beatin g the legend. Farris took con trol of the lead on several occasions with low-li ne passes in th ree and fou r, but the cus hio n-rid ing Springsteen ou tfox ed him wit h a lin echange on the final lap. Sp ri ngs teen edged Farris by onl y inches at the flag, while Springsteen's Bart el s' Ha rl ey tea mmate Mike Hale and roo kie Kenn y Coolbeth followed at a distan ce. SEMIS WFO Racing's Joe Kopp kept his string of impressive late-season performances by running away with the win in the first eight-lap semi. Atherton was a distant second, follow ed closely by Landes. Form er Can adi an National Champion Chris Evans scored a commanding wi n aboard hi s 1M Leathers /Shoe ibacked Honda in the second heat race, leading Penn State Cycles' Kevin Varnes and Brenn y's Cycles rid er Davey Camlin home with a comfort able lead. All three would race in the Na tional. Morehead a p pea red to ha ve h is setup problems solved as he pulled out a commandin g lead in the final se mi, but Jones quickly ree led h im in and raced off wit h the win. Hale finished a

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