Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

··OI.RlTRACK:'·' '.'~ Gi'and ~Ch Round 12: State Fair Speedway just made a couple of wrong decisions on the setup. When they picked it up, we were just a little off." Further behind Davis came perhaps the most consistent non-winner of the season to date, Garvis Honda/Missile Engineering/Motorcycle Stuff/Shoei/Motion Pro/Sidi-backed Rich King, whose fifthplace finish dropped him from his secondplace tie with Davis to trail the R&R rider in the series standings by one point, 114113. King 'rooked fast early in the night, but he and tuner George Garvis were forced to fit a new rear tire for the main event. It cost King dearly as the Iowan moved into second off the line and then slipped as far back as eighth before his rear tread came up to tempera ture. "We've been changing stuff for the main to go faster, and sometimes we go backwards," King said. "But we're right on target to where we wanted to be at the end of the year - to make every main event. We want to win the war, not every battle." HEATS Parker breaks a chain By Scott Rousseau Photos by Flat Track Fotos OKlAHOMA mY, OK, JULY 29 t had to end sooner or later, but it almost didn't. . Although the AMA Grand National Series is arguably the most competitive form of professional motorcycle racing on the planet today, having produced nine different winners in 11 rounds - and five ·different winners in the last five races - dirt track fans had to figure that the time was coming' when the top of the podium would once again be graced by someone who had been there before. Sure enough, as the series reached its halfway point and visited the State Fair Speedway, the winner was none other than the only rider who has repeated in the '95 season to date, as five-time and defending Grand National Champion Scott Parker broke the chain of new winners by piloting his Bill Werner-tuned factory HarleyDavidson XR750 to repeat his Oklahoma City win of a year ago. Mathematicians take note, Parker claimed his fourth win of the season, the 64th win of his career, gave Werner the 100th win of his career as a tuner (see ~idebar), and took a 25-point lead in the series point standings. That Parker has that much of a lead over second-placed Will Davis, 139-114, is ironic for two reasons. First, it belies the parity that the sport is currently enjoying, and second, the fivetime champion is notorious for being some 20-30 points down this early in the season. Unlike Parker's past victories in '95, Oklahoma City was no cakewalk, as the reigning champ had his hands full with yet another young contender looking to post a first-time win on the board, runner-up Mike Hacker. The 19-year-old Virginian went for broke in the Grand National main event, getting a terrific start, taking the lead from Parker on lap three and then riding the same line for the rest of the way in the 25-lap feature. While leading in the middle stages of the race, the Spectro/MoroneY's Harley-Davidson/J&M/KTM/Vanson/ Motion Pro/Works Periormance/Shoeisponsored Hacker built up a seemingly invincible two-second margin on Parker I while the latter battled' it out with factory teammate Chris Carr and USC Racing's Kevin Varnes in the middle stages of the race, but the Harley-Davidson, Inc.!Bell/ HOG/Yeti/Reed Randle Ford/ AFAMsupported Parker came roaring back, displacing the young charger on lap 20 and then barely holding him off at the finish line. By his own admission, Parker was cruising and may have in fact wound up second were it not for Carr. "1 got a good holeshot," Parker said. "Hacker seemed to go quick, but I figured the longer he led, the more ragged he'd get. Then Chris kind of poked me in the butt a little. I saw him and 1 knew that it was time to get it on, because he was going to the front. But the end was easy. I won. 1 crossed the finish line before anybody else. It was awesome to win the 100th for Mr. Werner." Despite admitting some disappointment for being denied the victory, Hacker's second-place finish was his best~ver in Grand National competition, and it marked his first trip to a Grand National victory podium. He could do little to hide his enthusiasm. "This is awesome," Hacker said. "It makes me a little more confident now. A lot of things were going through my mind," Hacker said. "1 just tried to keep a cool head. I ran as hard a race as I could. To tell you the truth, 1 was so preoccupied with the second half of the race that 1 don't even remember the first half. 1 can't wait to tell Pat (Moroney). He's been so good to me. He believed in me and gave me what 1 needed to win when everyone else was saying, 'Mike Hacker, who's that?'" Part-time dirt tracker Carr came home a not-too-distant third on his Kenny Tolberttuned, Harley-Davidson, Inc.! Arai/Hap Jones/ Alpinestars/Motion Pro/White Brothers-backed factory XR. The '92 champion suffered a bad start in the Grand National final and had to work his way through a parade of riders before catching up to Parker on the 10th lap. From there, the duo battled briefly, but Parker had the hotter hand and pulled away from Carr to finish the fight with Hacker. "1 think 1 kind of prodded Scott out there," Carr said. "But 1 gave it all 1 had. I (Top) Scott Parker (1) battled back from a two-second deficit to pass Mike Hacker (67) for the win at the Oklahoma City Ha" Mlle. The win was Parker's 64th career Grand National victory. (Above) Parker (1) Ia8ds Rich King (80) and the rest of the field on the opening lap. King was considered a favorite to win but f8ded to fifth while wrestling with a green tire. really couldn't do anything with him. I gave it my best shot, I just couldn't get it done. Hacker rode a really good race. I had the best seat in the house for that. He made the mistake of ridin' defensive when Scotty pressured him. But 1 can't be too critical of him, he beat my butt." Last week's winner Will Davis brought his Road Rider /Rogers/Team Saddlemen/Max Leathers/Axcel Fast Graphics/ Arai/Torco-backed Honda RS750 horne with a consistent but off-the-pace fourth-place tally. Davis fot,lght with an under-geared motorcycle on the tacky, wide and fast Oklahoma "mini mile." The amiable North Carolinan started the race in third place, but as the pack sorted itself out, he was left behind to rev the guts out of his Dennis Town-tuned machine. He ran alone from the onset of the fifth lap to the checkeredflag. 'Those boys were fast," Davis said. 'We mixed it up with 'em for a while, but we Due to the 103-degree heat and high humidity in Oklahoma City, the AMA elected to drop the scratch heats in favor of preserving both the race track and the riders, who were assigned starting positions based upon their 'position in the points standings. It worked, as the Harold Murrell-prepped racing surface dialed right in during the second practice session and stayed consistent for the rest of the night, drawing high praise from several of the top riders, most of whom were Honda-mounted and felt that the track would be a "Honda track." King was indeed the first winner of the evening, putting his RS750 in front from the start and leading all 10 laps of the first heat race for the direct transfer. "I almost felt too comfortable," King said. '1 wasn't charging. I'll need to pick up the pace for the main event. Other than that, we'll just ke~p doing what we're doing." Behind him, Eaken Racing's Davey Camlin and Bartels' -5ponsored Jay Springsteen battled briefly for the runner-up spot. But Camlin appeared to be dialed in just a little bit better, and he pulled clear of Springer by about the sixth lap. '1 thought 1 was catchin' Rich there a little, but after a few laps, I just settled in," said Springsteen. "I think we were both going about the same after that. But the bike feels good. I'm really looking forward to this main event." Davis may well have studied King's form, because he went went out and did the same. thing in heat two, scoring another wire-to-wire romp aboard his RS750 as well. Bu t after the finish, on the back straight, Davis and his crew got a bit of a scare when his bike let loose with an unholy clatter as he was slowing down. Fortunately for Davis, it would turn out to be a minor malfunction. "The sprocket bolts came out," Davis

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