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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127690
.D TTRACK..' . . . .. F ro n IR inal u d:DelM Mile ar .A AGrand NationalC M hamplonship.Series By Donn Maeda Photos by Mitch Friedman DEL MAR, CA, ocr. 16 cott Parker and Chris Carr both knew what they had to do. And for both riders their ta sks at hand seemed to be relativel y easy. Parker need ed to win and hop e that at least one rider finished between himself and his championship rival. Carr only ne ed ed to fin ish directly behind Parker. Simple enough, but at the completion of the 25-lap National at the beautiful Del Mar Fairgrounds, only one man had taken care of business. Parker went to work quickl y aboard his Bill Werner-tuned factory HarleyDavidson and moved into the point position within the first two laps . A man on a m ission, he immediately put distance between him self and the pack, leav ing his fate in the harids of the Carr and the rest. Parker's job wa s done, as he would never be challenged for the lead. Carr, mean while, scrambl ed to settle into the all-important second-place position. Though he managed to do so for a brief moment on lap three, it wouldn't last long. Just as the setting sun began to fade from view, so too did Carr's champ ionship hop es. Unable to co rne to terms with the rough conditions of the high-cushioned mile oval , Carr slowly but surely began to fade and eventually finished a distant fifth. After racing across th e fin ish lin e with over a straightaway to spare, Parker looked over his shoulder and waited anxiously. "I was looking and looking, and the n wh o d o I see? " ex cl ai med Pa rker, "C u pcak e!" And w ho better than to confirm Parker's unprecedented fift h Grand National Championship, than h is close friend and Michigan neighbor, Atherton. _ After running a distant fifth throughout most of the National, Parker's former factory Harle y-Davidson teammate absolutely caught fire in the last three laps' and motored all the way into the runner-up position aboard h is Total Control Racing Harley . " I was just kill ing them through turns three and four," said Atherton, who is affectionately known by his peers as Cupcake. "I found a low line late in the race and just hammered it." Falling prey to Atherton's late-race charge were third-placed Rodney Farris and fourth-place finisher Steve Morehead . After battling tooth-and-~ail Team Harley-Davidso n's Scott Parker wrapped up his record-setting fifth Grand Nationa l Championship In style with a runa way win at the Del Mar Mlle. throughout the race, the friendly rivals found themselves caught off guard when Atherton passed them both in one fell swoop in the final two comers. "I was following Rodney into tum three for the last time, and I figured I'd go in high and cut low under him so he wouldn't spray me," said Morehead . "Th en all of a sud denCupcake comes raging past both of us on the bottom." Fifth-placed Carr had the best seat in the house for Atherton's Ragged Edge Show, but had other things on his mind after the race. "I just couldn't come to grips with the track conditions," said a somber