Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

line Plessinger's KTM 250MXC ran ou t of fue l, forcing th e two-time Nationa l Ha re Scrambles Cha mpion to panhan-. d Ie for so me gas from passing riders. He was fo rtun ate th a t o ne r ider stop ped a nd d onated enough fue l to get the . champ to the checke re d fla g b efore the third-place due l bet w een teamma tes Ha tch and Hawkins could reach him . H atch won th e ba ttle fo r the final spo t on the p od iu m a nd h e ld o n to th ird wi th jus t a couple of seco nds to s pa re. Ha wk in s' long and imp ressive come ba ck from d ead -last netted him fourth-place points with an ou t-of-sync Andrews, admittedly unwilling to take chances in th e fast, dust y condi tio ns, finish ing another tw o minu tes back in . fifth. Cooper was righ t behind him, followe d by No rton and Conn er . For mer O pen A class cha m p ion Shawn Brell pu t in his best Pro rid e ever for nin th o verall. Sco tt Phe lp s, the r eign in g N ETRA cham pion, rounded ou t the top 10. ' Eleventh overall Terry Cunningham was also the Vet A winner ahead of fellow top 20 finishers Tim Shephard and Jeff Russell . Jim Jarrett was 13th overall as well as the 200cc A class winner. Craig Jones was the winner of the 15rider 250cc A class and 15th overall. North Carolina's own Steven Arthur topped the Open A class on a KTM 300. Pennsylvania's Barry Hawk Jr. was the top Four-S troke A rider. Geo rgia's Te rr y Mealer was the Senior A (40+) victor, while cross co untry reg ular Harry Greenlee was the Super Senior (50+) lea der. ~ (Right) For the first time in about a year, Summers stands alone at the top of the series point standings. Here, he is being Interviewed by race announcer John Ayers. (Below) Daryl Conner (11) holeshots the start of the 250cc A class. Conner would later drop out, while Craig Jones went on to win. Hickory National Hickory, North Carolina Resu lts: March 26, 1995 (Round 2 of 12) the pac k. Upo n reaching Conner' s roost Cooper t ried an alternate line arou nd him an d had the misfortune of finding himse lf tan gled in an old w ire fenc e. The former 125cc National MX Champion los t va luable tim e try ing to free hi s Suzuki RMX250 from th e u nseen trap. "I d idn't have a too l pack on and I didn't have anything to cut the wi re with," admitted Cooper after the race . "I spent th e rest of the day trying to make up tim e, but I was ju st to o far back to catch back up. I giv e it 100 percent every time I'm on a motorcycle and I'm happy with my ride today." Cooper completed the first lap outside the top 20 overall, but in the end the hard-charging Oklahoma flyer came within inches of taking fifth place away from Andrews. Summers was 47 seconds behind Plessinger and in seventh place when he completed the first lap. In between the two we re Yamaha pilots Blackwell and Andrews, Honda of Troy's Tom Carson, Pennsylvania's Conner, and Hatch. One lap later Summers had suc cessfully moved into second place and trimmed the KTM-mounted leader's advantage to less than 20 seconds. "I could just feel that it was going to be Scott's day," said Plessinger of his ri va l Summers. " Even tho ugh he was bac k there it littl e ways I kn ew he was coming. " Summers took the lead on the third lap but Plessinger kept u p the pressu re. The pair bega n a spectacular duel that woul d la s t fo r t he ne xt 90 m in u te s, spri nting from one backmar ker to the next in an effo rt to shake one another . The fra ntic pace pu lled Plessinger and Summers well ahead of the pack and turned the race for the overall into a fast game of on e on one. "I fell on the first lap but I was able to get caught back up to the leaders," said Hatch. "I had those two in sigh t and I thought that the pa ce was se t. Obviously they upshifted and nobody told me!" Hatch never got Summers and Plessinger back in si g h t and instead focused on holding Hawkins off for third place. The climax of the race took place halfway through the last lap when Summers and Plessinger came upon a la te lapped rider. Plessinger took the high line on an off-camber hill while Summers stayed low. When their paths met, Summers had the advantage of a better line and they made contact. Plessinger bounced off the big XR600, clipped a tree and went down. "Believe it or not, Scott and I ex cha n g ed g lances be fore w e h it ," exp lained Summers after the race . "We both kn ew we were goi ng to hit but neither of us were going to let off. I just had the be tt er line and Scott got th e worst of it." Whe n aske d if the accident caused any hard feelin gs, Summer s replied, " N o w ay . Sco tt a n d I h a ve been frie nds and rivals for the past 10 yea rs. We 're both d oi ng ou r jobs out there and so me times things li ke th is happen. I' m su re he will tell you the sa me thi n g - it w as ju s t clean, aggressive racing. " "I had to make the de cision to follow the lapped rider through there or take a different line that wasn't as good ," said Plessinger of the incident. "I followed the guy, he got stuck and I got stuck behind h im. I heard .Scott co m ing and I had to get out from behind the lapper and I went over into Scott's line . We were charging after the ' same po int, hit together and th at wa s it." Summers did get the better of it and showed a lead of some 30 seconds as a d irect result. Plessinger remounted in time to maintain his runner-up finish, but his hopes for the overall were dashed. H is bad luck wa sn't through yet either. One half-mile from the finish O/A : 1. Sco tt Sum mers (Hon); 2. Sco tt Pless inger (KTM:) 3. Stev e Hatch (5u z); 4. Rand y Hawki.ns (Suz ); ; 5. Fred Andrew s (Yam ); 6. Guy Coo pe r (5uz); 7. Tom Norton (Yam); 8. D uane Conn er (Yam); 9. Sha wn Brell (KTM); 10. Scott Phe lps (Yam ); II. Terry Cunni ngh am (Yam) ; 12. Tim Sh ephard (Yam ); 13. Jimmy Jarrett (Ya m ); 14. Rob ert Bennett (Ka w ); 15 . C rai g Jo n es (Ka w); 16. Tom Ca rson (H on ); 17. Jeff Russe ll (Ya m ); 18. Frank Keegan (Yam); 19. Daryl Kuenzer (Yam ); 20. John Bennett (Yam) . . P RO O /A : Summ er s; 1. P les s inger; 2. Hatc h ; 3. Ha wkins; 4. Andrews; 5. Cooper. O P EN A: 1. Stev en Arthur (KTM) ; 2. Mi chael Ma to szkia (KTM); 3. Richa rd Bryan (KTM); 4. Scott Fon taine (KTM ); 5. Russell Cherry (Hbg). 250 A: 1. Craig Jon es (Kaw); 2. Fr a n k Keegan (Ya m) ; 3. Da rryl Kue n zer (Ya m ); 4. Ashley Brewe r (Han); 5. Bria n Hess (Kaw ). 200 A: 1. Jim Jarrett (Yam); 2. John Benne tt (Yam); 3. Jason H ain es (K,'lw); 4. Jeff Lauth (Ka w); 5. Todd Levesque (Yam) . 4-STRK A : 1. Barry Hawk (Su z ); 2. Do n Bohn (KTM); 3. Ral ph Thorn (Han); 4. Mark Ma rt in (Han); 5. Ma rk Burd ick (Kaw). V ET A : 1. Te r ry Cu nningham (Yam); 2. T im Shepha rd (Ya m ); 3. Jeff Russell (Ya m); 4. Jeff Mu r gel (Yam); S. Steven Narel (Kaw). SR A: 1. Te rry Mealer (Yam); 2. Pa ul Mich el s (ATK); 3. Tom Mey e rs (KTM); 4. Robin Miller (Yam) ; 5. Don Zender (Han). S1SR A: 1. Ha rry Greenlee (Yam ); 2. Mike Garrett (Han); 3. Dave Coombs (Yam). OPEN B: 1. David Brown (Han); 2. Jeff Vealey (KTM); 3. John Grimm (yam); 4. Billy Chapnan (Hon~ S. Joseph Lawson (ATK). . 150 B: 1. Chris H ick s (Ka w) ; 2. Mark Phanaish (lCaw ); 3. Joshua Cone {Yam); 4. Darius Latt ea (Yam); S. Do uglas Wa skan (KTM~ zoo B: 1. Bryan M us ca v itch (Ka w ); Z. Je re m y Berwa nger (Ya m) ; 3. Ja so n Rankin (Yam); 4. Jaso n Brid geman (Hon~ S. Jaso n Ring (Suz ). 4-STRK B: 1. Ricky Towery (Han); 2. Tim Ha rmon (H a n); 3 . Rich a rd Lynch (H us); 4. T h oma s Eva n s (Ha n); S. Ricky Joyce (Suz). VET B: 1. Manle y Bra d sh aw (KTM) ; Z. Ge rald C re a ne (Ya m) ; 3. An drew We lls (Ha n ); 4. Will ia m Kelly (Han); S. Steve Cooke (Yam~ SR B: 1. Jimmy Lynch (H u s); 2. Albert Chuppa (Ya m ); 3. Tom Pa rfi tt (Ya m ); 4. John Rader (Yam); S. Eddie Jordan (KTM). 200 C: I . Chad Jarvis (Kaw ); 2. Chad Brown (Kaw ~ 3. Isaa c Acke ls (Kaw ~ 4. Terry Spe ncer (Yam ); S. Phi fer Heamer (KTM). OPEN C: 1. Sha wn Ragers (Ha n ); 2. am Perrell (Yam); 3. Andrew Bealko (Yam); 4. James Vicheck (Yam); S. Keith Garland (Yam ). AMA GRAND NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS (After 2 of 12 rounds): 1. Scott Su mmers (39); 2. Fred Andrews (34); 3. Steve Hatch (32); 4. Guy Cooper (31); S. Randy Hawkins (29); 6. Tom Norton (29~ 7. Scott Phelps (20); 8. Ty Da vis (20); 9. Scott Plessinger (19~ 10. Rodney Smith (17). Upcoming Rounds: Round 3 - Hurrican Mills, TN,April 9 Round4 - Brownsville. PA, April 30

• Cover