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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127734
.D TRACK:'. ' : .... R IRT . ound6: Devil'sBowl Speedway . A AGrand .National Championship Series ' M B y Scott Rousseau Photos by Flat Track Fotos MESQUITE, IX,JUNE 17 il e he was a constan t threat for victory during the entire 1994 AMA Grand National Ch ampionship sea so n, Steve Morehead had to w ait until t he s eries s topped o ff at Lanny Edwards' Devil's Bowl Speedw a y before carding hi s first G ra nd National victory of the year at the Dallas Half Mile. From the re, he wen t on a tear, winning three National events in a row a nd thu s supplementing his season points total enough to 'net third in the final standings. But that was last year, and as the Grand National Championship Series returned to the fabled spri nt car facility off Lawson Road for 1995, the veteran found himself in the same boat of one year ago . Well, don't look now, bu t Morehead appears set to sha ke things up again. That's certainly the impression the "Finday Flyer" gav e as he flogged his KK Motorcycle Su p ply /F&S HarleyDavidson/Shepherd/ Dragoo/Bell/WiIson/Motio n Pro /P ro Pla tes/Sto rz/ Supertrapp /Zoom-su p ported XR750 to a repeat win at the 1995 Dallas Half Mile before 5550 fans . "I' m just tickled to dea th," the 39yea r-old Ohioan sai d after scoring his 21st career Gra nd Na tional victory. "We wo n here last year and we nt on to Lima and won that. So we' ll see if we can't get on a roll like we d id last year:' Ju s t like they we re las t year, track co nditions a t the bank ed , 3 /8-mile Devil' s Bowl oval ran the gamut. From dry and rough in practice to slippery and smooth in the hea t races . But no matter, Morehead seemed to be able to meet the track at eve ry turn, se tting crisp times in practice, winning his heat race, and then running second to Will Davis for just over 16 laps before passing the North Carolinan o ff turn two and running away from the field once the track turned in to a fast , s tick y groove late in the night. Morehead's win made him the fifth differen t winner on the Grand National circui t this year, and he vaulted from sixth to thi rd in the championship points s tandings. Morehead now has 60 points, trailing secondplaced Davis by a single point and series leader Scott Parker, who struggled to an 11th-place finish, by two points. ~ 30 "We're mixin' it up," Morehead said . "I think that says a lot for this se ries. There' s a lot of guys steppin' u p thei r program, a nd when we come to these car tracks, everybody's tough." And save Morehead , none was tougher tha n Willie McCo y. The local rider, who hails from nearby Richardson, Texas, more tha n upheld Texas p ride by finishing second in dramatic fashion . The Harley-Davidson of Dallas /Eagle Security /Tucker Rocky/Jan Milburn / ATK Racing /Shoei /Tsuba ki /EBC /Si lkolene -sponsored McCoy started the Grand National in fifth place then took advantage of mistak es by Rich King and Steve Beattie to move into a solid third place just before the halfway point. But the 25-year-old wasn't finished yet as he steadily gained on Davis, ru nn ing down the R&R-backed Honda rider when the white flag flew, and then powering underneath him in turns three and four to bag the runner-up spot by a bike leng th at the finish line, much to the roar of t he partisan crowd. "It means a lot to me to do this we ll in fron t of my own fa ns, friends and sponsors at my hom e track," sa id a n , exci ted McCoy. "I've always though t that I could do it, and this proves to me tha t I can beat those guys if I prepare for it. Now, I know wha t I've go t to do : ' Though he failed to score his first National win of the yea r at Devil' s Bowl, Davis sure gave it hell trying. The amiable North Carolinan debuted a new sponsor (see Briefly) and put the Road Ride r / Rog e rs / Mo th e r Fletcher's / Arai /RK /SBS /Torco /Fun Productssupported Honda RS750 home third . Davis started out the Grand National main event in the lead, every bit as strong as he did at the Springfield Mile, but late-race prob lem s slo w e d his charge to victory. "At the start of the race it (the motorcycle) was a little soft," Davis said. "I don't know if it got hot or what. There are so many different combinations of things that can go wrong:' None the less, Davis ap peare d to be conten t to make the podiu m. "If we can keep finishing on that box, we'll be ha ppy:' Davis said. "You can't jus t come to these races and d ominate anymore . If we ca n stay consistent... those points ad d up: ' Garvis Honda/Missile En gin eer ing /Motorcycle St uff/Hickman Raeing /Shoei /Sidi-backed Rich King and Deeley Harley -Davidson of Ca nada / Shoei /Tsu ba ki / MSR / R&M / Tu cke r Rocky / Nempco/ EBC/Silkolene-backed Steve Beattie rounded out the top five in the finishing order after both fell victim to mistakes in the main event that cost them dearly. Three-time Grand Na tional Cha mpion Jay Springsteen put in yet another consistent ride aboard his Bartel' s Harley-Davidson-sponsored XR750 for sixth place, and raced to the HarleyDavidson 883 National win as well. But it was also one of "those" nights for the likable veteran, who immediately retired to his box va n after the Gra nd National wit h stomach problems. .