Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127742
.DIRTTRACK : :. ..AIIA Grand NaIIQnat ChampiOn~ Series' . Rou~d 14: Black Hills Speedway (Above) Will DlIVIs (21) got the jump on KevIn V _ (89), Steve BuItIe (26), Joe Kopp (43), SCott PlII'ker (1) and the rnt at the lItlu1 of the 25-Iap NatIonal, (Left) SCott Parbr lIIId to hla 85th Grand NatIonal wln In c:onvtnclnll fIIl1hlon. By Scott ROUSSMU Photos by Flat Track Fotos RAPID CITY, SO, AUG. 9 ou don't have to tell Team Harley-Davidson's Scott . Parker - he knows. The winningest rider in Grand National history knows that sometimes he can be one of the most boring riders to watch on the track. As paradoxical as that may seem, sometimes it's just no fun watching him cut lap after flawless lap, hammering the competition into the ground en route to another National victory. If you don't like seeing Parker win tha t way, then the Rapid City Half Mile was the wrong place for you to be. It was boring. Winning is expected of the five-time Grand National Champion; he's done it 64 times before, and those who ventured to Black Hil1s Speedway to see Parker win number 65 were not disappointed as he "rumbled" (see box) to that milestone in front of 6,500 fans during round ]4 of the AMA Grand National Championship Series, which was held in conjunction with the annual Black Hills Motorcycle Rally. The Swartz Creek, Michigander came off the starting line third in the main event and then dropped back to fourth before clawing his way past Kevin Varnes, Mike Hacker and finally Will Davis and going on to take the win by some three seconds over runner-up Davis. Parker said he's sorry, but that's just the way it had to be. "I agree that it sucks when somebody leads it that way," The Harley-Davidson Inc./Bell/Yeti/HOG/Reed Randle Ford-sponsored Parker said of his runaway victory. "But I got beat here by inches last year after that knock-down, drag-out with Chris Carr...It wasn't a boring race, but it also wasn't no fun getting second either. When that happens, you don't sleep well at night." Parker should have no trouble sleeping nowadays, especialIy in the daylight • y .. that he has put between himse1f and his factory teammate Carr, whose thirdplace finish behind Davis boosted the road racer/dirt tracker to second in the series standings. Parker now leads Carr by 44 points, 175-131. Davis brought his R&R/Team Saddlemen/Torco/ Arai/Fun Products/ Max Leathers/ Axcel Fast Graphicssponsored Honda RS750 home second after leading the first seven laps by running the low line on the smooth, banked, Johnny Landers-promoted half mile. But Davis relinquished the lead afer being passed on the high line by both Parker and Hacker. The North Carolinian then fell back further as he tried but failed to gain any advantage after going up high. He then returned to the low line and was able to reel in and pass Hacker by lap 22 in order to secure the rostrum finish, adding that accolade to his victory in the five-lap, $5,000 Crane Cams Challenge held earlier in the evening. "I got up there (on the box), but he (Parker) got four more points on me," Davis said. "It's hard to gain on him when he finishes in front of you. [ guess that why he's the five-time Grand National Champion. But aU we're looking for each week is a shot at beating him. We had a shot to beat him tonight. We'll take second. We just go to each race and do the best we can." Last week's winner'and defending Rapid City champion Carr was third aboard his Kenny Tolbert-tuned, Harley-Davidson Inc./ Arai/Hap Jones/ White Brothers entry. The "Prince of Peoria" nailed down the final podium position only after coming from the third row and facing some tough battles with the "new breed" on the championship tour, Joe Kopp, Hacker and Kevin Varnes. But Carr was up to the task and had enough for each of them, getting by Kopp, then Varnes, and finally a stubborn Hacker on lap 22. "I had to work hard in the main event, coming from the third row to finish third," Carr said. "Heck, I even moved into second in the points. That's not bad. Of course I'll lose that again