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(Left) Had SCott Plessinger finished second or better, he would have won his second title In as many weeks. Instead, he finished third. (Below) Rodney Smith played the role of the spolkir. He finished second, helping Summers win the HS title. (Bottom) Jason Dahners was a front-runner for much of the race until crashing. start area," said Smith. "So 1 started following the wrong part of the trade" Following in Smith's tracks was Summers. . "I realized we were going the wrong way and turned around before Smith did," said Summers. "But 1 could still see those guys (the leaders) ahead of me." Dahners found himself leading the way ahead of Plessinger, Summers and Smith. "First to fourth, just like that," said Smith. "That kind of messed me up." Shortly thereafter, Summers saw his chance and moved around Plessinger then Dahners. "Once 1 got by Dahners, that was it," said Summers. "I kept the lead for the rest of the race, but 1 never really had more than about two minutes on Smith, whose problems continued. "On the second lap, my front-brake perch came lose," said Smith. 'Tm not sure, but 1 think 1 hit it on something and slid down to the bend in the handlebars. Then it got looser and looser and had no front brake. 1 eventually had to pull off and my mechanic, Mark Hyde, helped me fix it. Overall, it cost· me about three minutes." At this point, Summers was still cruising out in front, followed at a distance by Plessinger and Dahners. Smith re-entered the race in fourth. "I figured at that point I had nothing to lose," said Smith. "I finally caught up to Dahners and was a little surprised to find Plessinger right in front of him. Basically, I needed him (Plessinger) to . finish ahead of Summers to help me out (in the series). 1 passed him and motioned to him, 'Cmon, let's get him (Summers): But 1 just pulled away from him. I gained on Summers, but with the high speeds I just didn't have the time to catch Summers." "He (Smith) tried to get me going, but he just puUed away from me," admitted Plessinger. "I just wasn't riding good today." Meanwhile, Summers was wondering just what was going on behind him, knowing that his destiny was being decided. "1 kind of had an idea," said Summers. "Fred (Bramblett, Summer's tuner) was giving me pit boards, so 1 knew Smith was ahead of Plessinger, but I didn't know by how much. 1was a little tense:' Smith's drive towards Summers was hampered whe·n he tangled with a lapped rider in the grass track section. "He had a fiat tire and just when 1 was coming up on him, he swapped l80-degrees right in front of me," said Smith. "I T-boned him and flipped right over him. The worst part about it was that I gave this guy a ride to the race. It really wasn't his fault." Smith had built up a good-size cushion over Plessinger and the crash did not cost him any positions. When the checkered flag came out, Summers crossed the finish line in first and held his breath to see who would finish next - Smi th or Plessinger. The championship would be decided short- Iy. He didn't have to wait for long. A little more than two minutes later, Smith crossed the finish line in second place, which clinched the title for Summers. About seven minutes later, Plessinger took the checkers in third. "It (winning the championship) is a huge relief," said Summers. "It's unbelievable how hard we worked for this. 1 would've hated this winter had 1 not won either championships." "I really don't like being the spoiler," said Smith, "and 1 really feel bad for Plessinger. B_ut 1 still had a long shot. That's racing, 1 guess:' "I'm still happy," said PIes inger. "I rode good all year. I guess my biggest mistake was not riding the Oregon round (in May). r don't know, going out west, I just don't do as good:' Finishing fourth overall was Scott McLaughlin, who was making his debut on a factory-supported Yamaha WR250. The ISDE u.s. Junior World team rider rode near the front of the pack all day. Dahners failed to score any points on the day after crashing on the pavement and sliding a long wayan his back. Plessinger heard the whole thing. "I was ahead of him (Dahners) on the pavements and all of a sudden I heard the sound of metal scrapping," said Plessinger. "1 looked back and saw him sliding on the ground. He slid a long ways. 1 think he grabbed a little too much front brake." Dahners walked away from the crash. Finishing fifth overall was David Rhodes, who, along with McLaughlin, competed at this year's International Six Day Enduro in Poland. Honda rider Bob Kopp finished sixth, while local motocrosser Lance Smail landed seventh. Rounding out the top 10 overall were Steve Leivan, Leigh Leitellier and Bob Flagler, the top-finishing 12Scc riders. The next 125cc rider to cross the finish line was Brian Zlock in 18th place. f~ Seattle International Raceway Seattle, Washington Results: November 5, 1995 (Round 9 of 9) O/A: 1. Scott Summers (Hon); 2. Rodney Smith (Suz); 3. Scott Plessinger (KTM); 4. Scott McLaughlin (Yam); 5. David Rhodes (Kaw); 6. Bob Kopp (Han); 7. Lance Smail (KTM); 8. Steve Leivan (Yam); 9. Leigh Leite.Uier (KTM); 10. Bob Ragler (Suz); 11. Dan Moore (KTM); 12. Gary FeirTenes (Kaw); 13. Peter Russell (KTM); 14. Jason Norton (Yam); 15. Burt Petersen (Kaw); ]6. Shane Cuthbertson (Yam); 17. Lonny Kopp (Kaw); LB. Brian Z10ck (Han); L9. Harry Rempel (Kaw); 20. Rob Lewis (Hon); 21. Paul Petrin (Kaw); 22. Monte Perepelkin (Hon); 23. Matt Howell (KTM); 24.. Travis Ross (Hon); 25. Rod Tapia (Suz); 25. Bob Bechtel (Kaw~ AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HARE SCRAMBLES SERIES FINAL POINT STANDINCS (After 9 of 9 rounas): 1. Scott Summers (221/3 wins); 2. Scott Plessinger (IB9/3); 3. Rodney Smith (185/3); 4. Jason Dahners (101); 5. Steve Leivan (88); 6. Eric Mashbir (87); 7. Leigh (78~ B. StEve Hatch (66/1 won); 9. Duane Conner (66); 10. Brian Keegan (43).