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·CR'OSS CROUNTRY Final round: Ironman GNCC AMA Grand National CrO$S Country Series ess e oes I (Left) Scott Plessinger takes the checkered fleg as well as the GNCC aeries championship at the final round In Indiana. (Below) SCott Summerawas lelldlng by 30 seconds over P....inger before colliding with a course marshal. Heflnlshed second and took second In the series. By Davey Coombs Photos by Ken FaughtIDirt Rider Magazine CRAWFORDSVILLE, lN, OCT. 29 he 1995 AMA Grand National Cross Country Series ended in a fitting tie between KTM's Scott Plessinger and Honda's Scott Summers, but only one could be called champion. And after winning the final round of the series in Indiana, the man who will be king is Plessinger. The defending series champion bettered Summers by just 26 seconds in the appropriately named Ironman G CC to match him in points, but claimed the overall championship on the basis of his five total wins to Summers' four. "I think that we're the best two out there, so beating him means beating the best," said Plessinger, rating himself and Summers. "I think we're. just about even. It's just a case of whoever has a good day and whoever has a bad day. This wouldn't have happened without my friends and family who are behind me and all the fans who backed me up. It was such a big confidence boost to have a lot of people here cheering me on today. I just 1hope I can get another title next week for them." The two Scotts will more than likely also be deciding the 1995 AMA National Hare Scrambles between themselves next week in Washington. :'1 hope I didn't disappoint the people that support me," said Summers, who took the loss in stride but could not completely mask his disappointment. "I didn't lose this race because I didn't try. Scott rode really well and I got beat. This game is really complicated and a lot of things can happen. Some days you can do no wrong but other days you can do no right. You just have to keep on working really hard to win. You never T It) 0\ 0\ ~ It') ~ I-< Q) "S Q) ~ z 24 know what's going to happen, which is the thing that makes this sport so exciting." Finishing third overall in the series to Plessinger and Summers was Team Yamaha's Fred Andrews, who failed to finish the final round after coming into the race with a remote mathematical chance to win the title. Rounding out the top five in the final standings were Yamaha riders Duane Conner and Tom Norton. Conner clinched fourth in the series by virtue of his season-best third-overall finish at the finale in Indiana. On the last day of the series Conner rose from sixth to fourth in the final tally, surpassing the point totals of Norton and Suzuki's Guy Cooper, who was absent from the finale. The rest of the top five overall on Sunday were Norton and Doug Blackwell. The Ironman event was making its debut on the Grand National Cross Country Series schedule and was attended by more than 230 riders. The event was named after G CC legend Bob "Ironman" Sloan, who passed away last summer. The rugged track measured just seven miles in length and, after just a few laps, turned into a tough, rutted trail. Saturday-afternoon rain showers left the ground moist for Sunday's series finale and traction was questionable throughout the afternoon. At the end of the first lap Summers held the lead with 22 seconds to spare on Norton, who was once again competing aboard a YZ250 rather than the 125 he started the series on. Plessinger was shadowing Norton from third with Blackwell, Andrews, Conner and 250cc A-class title-clincher Frank Keegan giving chase. Plessinger made a pit stop and had the rebound damping on his KTM adjusted when he found the handling not to his liking. "The bike was really beating me up there at the beginning, but once I made the adjustment it rode really weB," said Plessinger, who does most of his own mechanical work. The track was also undergoing some adjustments 'as the riders dug in. "There was one creek crossing where the hiIJ was like a free-for-all where no one could make it to the top," said Andrews, who dropped out of the race before the halfway mark. "It was sections like those that probably decided it for Plessinger and Summers at the end. Those guys can hear Summers' bike coming and I'm sure that Plessinger was yelling and screaming for those guys to get out of his way, too." An unfortunate incident took place on the fourth lap when Summers collided with a course marshal. Leading the race by more than 30 seconds just before the halfway mark, Summers was about to attempt a short, slick hiJlcJimb when a marshal moved out in front of him and caused Summers to drop his bike. Another rider following close also , tipped over on. Summers and the result was a complete loss of his lead cushion.