Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.'DIRT.TRACK>".". . .' ..AMA Grand .NatiQnat ChainpiO/1$hip ~ries . Round 21: Eldora Speedway ar er an son t e an s (Left) Daah for cash: Scott Parker (1) and Chris Carr (4) drag-raced off the final corner to decide the win In the Rossburg Ha" Mile at Eldora Speedway. Parker beat Carr by two lengths to secure his eighth victory of the year. (Above) Why Is this man smiling? Because he just walked off with $12,000 In first-place money. The $42,000 purse st Eldora was the richest In the sport's history. . By Scott Rousseau Photos by Flat Trak Fotos and Bert Shepard ROSSBURG, OH, SEPT. 16 peed, speed and more speed. Money, money and more money. Ask any dirt track racer to name two things that he is in constant search of, and those are the answers that you're likely to receive. And for those who came to challenge their courage and skill on the imposing high banks of Eldora Speedway during the inaugural running of the Rossburg Half Mile, both items were in ample supply. Fiftyone men showed up to do battle at Eldora for round 20 of the AMA Grand National Championship series, but when all was said and done, it was the mO.n, five-time champion Scott Parker, who possessed both the speed and the money. "This is great. It's like winning the lottery every week," Parker said. "They need Steve Morehead to promote more races. This one race put him in the same category as the Springfield Mile." Parker had the speed all night, going undefeated in his scratch heat and regular heat and then leading all 25 laps of the Grand National main event aboard his Bill Werner-tuned factory HarleyDavidson XR750. The 33-year-old from Swartz Creek, Michigan, essentially utilized two great starts and pulled off two .breakaways during the crash-interrupted main event before holding off a desperate last-lap charge by Harley-Davidson teammate Chris Carr to win by a single bike length at the finish line. Parker collected his 68th career Grand . National victory, his eighth of the year, ·and took home the lion's share of the $42,000 purse, the largest in the history S 10 of the sport. Parker now also has a chokehold on the series points lead, heading second-placed rider Rich King by 67 points, 251-184. "It's never been like that before," Parker said. For his part, Carr gave it his all in an attempt to rob Parker of the big paycheck. After clawing back from a fifthplace start on a half mile which was merciless to those who could not get off the line, the 1992 champ displayed his trademark tenacity and flogged his Kenny Tolbert-prepared machine into third place by lap 11 before whittling away at the distance between himself and second-placed Will Davis. Carr caught a bit of a break when the race was red-flagged after Geo Roeder II tangled with the hay bales in turns one and two on lap 19, and he took full advantage of it by zapping Davis on the first lap of the restart and pulling into Parker's shadow on the final circuit. The 29year-old Californian then dove under Parker in turn three and the two riders emerged side by side off the final bend before Parker found the drive to hold off his factory rival. With his pass for second place, Carr did, however, gain another five points on Davis to remain in third place with 168. "We tried, man," Carr said. "I just needed a better start so that I could run up front early. I needed to be closer to him. But I also want to say that this race was very much a class act. We've got to thank Steve Morehead and the people at Eldora who brought us here tonight. I definitely think we converted a few car fans." Drive was certainly something that the third-placed Davis had but could not seem to find while aboard his Road Rider & Rogers/Team Saddlemen Honda RS750 in the main event. Though he, too, possessed more than enough speed, the likable North CaroliniaJ;l's true Achilles heel was his inabili ty to get through turns one and two cleanly. Davis got off the line right with Parker but began to give up ground in the very first turn. With each passing lap, Davis would seem to pick up a little on the .champ in three and four and lose a lot in one and two. Even so, second place appeared to be all but sewn up until the Roeder stoppage. On the restart, Davis gambled and dropped low into tum one in an effort to slide up in front of Parker, but the attempt failed, and Davis soon found himself out of position to deal with the advancing Carr. Still, third place was a welcome reward for the privateer who has struggled of late but appears to be clicking again. "It was awesome," Davis said. lilt was the biggest purse, the biggest crowd and the fastest track - leave it to Steve Morehead. We got here and we were struggling. We were going fast and then we were going slow. But all in all we had a great time. My motorcycle ran great all night." In keeping with his character, threetime Grand National Champion Jay' Springsteen was indifferent to the new facility, expressing neither love nor hate for it, but his consistent fourth-place finish was anything but indifferent. Although Parker, Carr and Davis finished in the top-three slots, the Bartels' Harley-Davidson/ American Riderbacked Springer won the toughest race on the race track, running wit~ Morehead, King, TCR's Kevin Atherton, Spectro-Moroney's H-D's Mike Hacker and Deeley Harley-Davidson's Steve Beattie for most of the 25-lap main event before pulling clear in the late going to cross the line several lengths behind Davis. The finish keeps Spring- steen well inside the top 10 in the points race as he currently sits in seventh place with 130. "We just put it on cruise," Springsteen said. "On the first start, Kevin Atherton got next to me and scared the hell out of me. I thought he was going to go right through the hay bales. Then Beattie hit the bales, and I thought he was gonna go right in front of me. But the last six laps was a sprint, so I put my head down and went for it. This 'race was great. It took a rider to put this thing together." F&S Harley-Davidson's Morehead, the racer-turned-promoter on whom all the riders heaped praise, turned back into a racer long enough to capture the ·fifth spot. The Findlay Flyer_ started second and then drifted back only to get caught up in the Springsteen/Beattie/ King et al battle and losing traction after his rear tire lugs came apart. But the 40year-old veteran of the circuit held on to bring his Gary Stolzenburg-tuned XR750 ahead of King for both a fifthplace finish and a huge moral victory. Morehead the racer was disappointed with the way the night went. "Look at that rear tire," Morehead said, pointing to blistered tread on the back of his machine. "I siped the tire instead of grooving it, and I cut it too deep. That's why it chunked. It's my own fault." But Morehea.d the promoter couldn't have been more pleased. "This race started at 8:00 and the main event went off at 9:30," Morehead said. "That's the way it should be. The Dayton Motorcycle Club and the Miami Valley Hog Chapter really helped us put on a good show. F&S.Harley-Davidson and Benson Ford really went 01.!t on limb for us, and they've already told us that they want to be back here next year. Did you see all the (sponsor) banners? This is what it takes to make this deal (dirt track) go. We used our expertise and made it happen." HEATS Although the 28-degree banks of Eldora Speedway possessed the ability to strike fear into the hearts of all the riders, the Grand National contestants took to the place like a duck to water. Several Jines were available on the tacky, pool-table smooth surface with most riders opting for just two. Some

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