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/127752
.DIRT TRACK: . . AMA Grand NatlQnat Champion.ship series' Final round: Del Mar Fairgrounds Now, after riding in 24 championship races in some 13 states, the teams are heading for home, and Parker, like all the rest, .admitted that he is relieved its over. But for how long? "I'm going to head up to northern - Michigan to go play riding and then home," Parker said. "But after about my ,. third weekend in a, row at home, I'll probably be wanting to go racing." . 883cc MAIN (Left) Mike Hacker locked uptheAMA 883cc National Championship In an anticlimactic showdown. Hacker went on to win the feature in a flagto-flag romp. (Below) Davey Camlin signed autographs after pulling off a cpme-from-Iast, third-place finish in the 11-lap dash to the line after the restart. 1.1) 0\ 0\ rl 1.1)' C'l l-< (Jj .g ..... o U 12 ly, and Kopp came up to challenge Poovey briefly on lap seven before falling back among Morehead and Davis. Morehead then began to drop back into the field as his motor went sour once more. Atherton and Parker continued their battle up front right through to lap 13 when it appeared that Parker put a little extra room between himself and his former factory teammate off tum four. Things would get"much worse for Atherton as he powered up the front straight behind Parker in an effort to catch back up. Just as the young Michi- . 'gan charger rolled it off into turn one, his motorcycle suddenly appeared to slide way wide. Atherton laid it down, striking the hay bales at an extremely high rate of speed in a violent-looking crash that saw one of the hay bales come to rest on top of him. Carr, running in third place, had a ringside seat for the crash. "1 saw a puff of smoke," Carr .said. "If he locked up the motor, with the entranc.es thal.we're using into these corners, then he wouldn't have even had a chance to save it." Atherton was conscious when he was loaded into the ambulance and taken to Scripps Hospital in San Diego where he was determined to have a slight concussion. He was later treated and released. Atherton's team determined that the machine had broken a shock, causing the crash. During the down time, Carr and mechanic Kenny Tolbert took the opportunity to switch to a fresh edge. "1 fe It like 1 was losing time because he was running around the bottom," Carr said. "1 followed him down there for four or five laps." On the restart, Parker jiunped away from the- field and led the remaining 11 laps while Carr followed him around the race track, neither losing ground nor gaining. Camlin, however was surging through the field at a ferocious pace after having lost his position because of the necessary repairs to his chain. The competitive-spirited, Illinois-based ..ider headed for the top and, stayed there until he sUd his way in front of Morehead for third place on lap 18. "I'd found that line earlier, but it was just wearing me out," CamHn said. 'Tm just a little guy. At the time (of the con'troversy) 1 wasn't thinking about the rules. 1 was thinkin', 'Hey, these guys are cheating me.' But rules are rules." With the top three set.to the finish, all that remained to be seen was who would break out in the battle for fourth place. Kopp looked strong in the early part of the dash before dropping back. King and Davis then drafted each other in the remaining two laps with King getting a great drive off the bottom on the final bend to pull away from Davis for fourth. "1 want to tell you about Chris Carr," King said of his closest points rival. "When we had problems with our bike earlier, Chris came up to me and told me that he had been on the phone to the boss, and that 1 could ride his backup bike if I wanted to. Fortunately we got ours going again, but that really says something about I:Un." The titanic clash between AMA 883cc National points leader Mike Hacker and Springsteen never materialized. The two combatants had comi! into the final round just six points apart, and all in attend,mce were looking forward to see them carry on the fight to the finish at Del Mar. But any hope that Springsteen had of pulling off a glorious, come-frombehind ride to the championship were dashed when his transmission packed up while he was leading his heat race. Springsteen coasted to a stop on the back straightaway, and that was all she wrote. The title went to Hacker before he ever made it.on the race track, something that he was not prepared for, and something that didn't sit all that well. But the 19-year-old from Prince George, Virginia, more than made up for it by blitzing both his heat race and the 12-lap main event to claim the crown in style. Hacker led the main , from the get-go and was never seriously challenged as he streaked toward the finish line, becoming the youngest AMA 883cc National Champion in history. "1 still don't know if 1 earned ·any respec't," said Moroney's H-D /Spectro/Dunlop/EBC/Schwinn-sponsored