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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127775
(Right) Jay Springsteen (1) slingshot past Yvon DuHamel (17) for the win as the fourrider lead pack came off t he banking to complete round two. Don Emd e (25) and Gary Nixon (9) also went by DuHamel, dro pp ing hi m to fou rt h at the line. (Below ri ght) Yvon DuHamel (17) was able to recover fr om bo th th e di sappointment of roun d two and his own mistake In round three to rec ord a win. Reg Pri dmore (163) fi nish ed third. Du Hamel iinally got an impress ive drive and assu med the lead as the field poured out of the chicane and onto the east banking during th e run to the checkered flag , and for a second it looked as th ou gh he wo uld be able to win it all bv himself. But a tactical error relegated him to also -ra n status as he dropped to the apron and inadvertently set his sights on the original start/ finish stripe that falls some 75 yar ds before the "ne w" finish line. Du Ham el led to the old one, bu t was fourth at the official line as Springsteen, Erod e and Nixon slid by up on the banking. " H e was o u t th e r e by hi mself, b uc kin' h is o w n w ind," Sp ri n gsteen said. "I got a good draft off Nixon, and wh en he (DuHam el) dr opped down on the apron, I staye d high . They say I got by him. I d idn't know what happened." DuH amel wa s ad mitted ly disap pointed, bu t kept his chin up in hope of a victory in the final round on Friday, March 8. "I raced here for 35 years and the finish line was always the same, and it will p robabl y take me ano the r 35 to figu re ou t wher e th e new one is," DuHam el cra cke d, th en ad de d , "No, now tha t I know where the new one is, you should bet two or three d ollars on me to w in the next one if you have it." Dayt ona Int erna ti onal Speedway Dayt ona Beach, Florida Results: March 5, 1996 (Roun d 2 of 3) O /A: 1. Jay Spring s teen ; 2. Don Emde; 3. Gary Nixon; 4. Yvon DuHamel; 5. Reg Prid mo re; 6. Wa lt Fu lton; 7. Roger Reima!" ; 8. Mark Brels ford; 9. Edd ie M ulder; 10. Chris Draayer". R ound3 Daytona Interna : tional Speedway The or ~evenge Duttarnel By Scott Rousseau Photo by Henny Ray Abrams DAYTONA BEAG!, FL, MAR.8 fter suffering th e heartbreak of watching Jay Sprin gsteen, Don Emd e and Gary Nixon blow past him to claim the top three sp ots in round two, Yvon DuHamel redeemed himself from a near-costly mistake and then went on to win the final round of the BMW Battle of the Legends Series at Daytona International Speedway. The former Da yt ona 200 con tend er was forced to work his way back from a m iscue which saw him blow th rough the chicane early in th e five-l ap finale . DuHamel somehow managed to catch th e lead draft, and in a near carbon copy of the failed maneuver that cost him victory in round two, dropped to th e apron after draftin g Pridmore and Springsteen to win the race at the "old" finish line, which was reins tated for this round: " I thought that I threw it a w ay," DuHamel said. "I downshifted too earl y and made the rear end chatter . I thought th at we had come to the last lap and that I w asn 't going to make it. But when I A realized that it wasn't th e last la p, I pushed hard again." Unlike the previous two rounds, a dirt tracker other than Edd ie Mulder got the holeshot as round one winner Mar k Brelsford took th e ear ly lead. But the . former Grand Na tio n al Champ ion seemed to fad e quickl y an d lose th e draft, which took him out of the running. "When I got back there, I wasn 't real concerned, because Eddie w as back there," Brelsford said . "We just lost the draft, which is so important here. In my day there were maybe one or two draft passes. But I did beat Mulder off the line. I want to mention that because nobody beat Mulder off the line in the old Ascot days. He was the king of the start." Prid m ore, Nixon and Walt Fu lt on were contende rs once ag ain. Pridmore took control as th e field hit the infield on lap three and held it out onto th e back straight and across the finish line to compl ete lap three before being draftpassed by Springsteen'. "These flat-trackers are better at that tha n the road racers I th ink," Pridmore said . "I think mainl y because they get so much practice at it." After his mi sta ke, DuHamel fina lly ran down the leaders and was lu rking close behind as they took the white flag. DuH ame l waited it out through the infield as well before dropping the hammer and making his move on the back straightaway. He held the point through the Chicane and onto the banking before being passed by Sp ringsteen and Prid more. But DuHam el kep t his cool and got an excellent dri ve, hurtling past both as they entered the tri-oval, "I caught his draft go ing d own th e back straight, bu t then he wobbl ed back and forth," Springsteen said. "I couldn' t do anything wit h him after that." " I wa sn 't taking any chances," DuHamel said. "I knew that he was up th ere, so I dropped d o wn lo w and waved back and forth to break his draft so he wouldn't pass me." DuHamel wa s successfu l thi s time , and claimed the final Legends victory of Camel Mot orcycl e Week followed by Springsteen, Pridmore and Nixon. Ironically, the two number nine s - Nixon and Springsteen - wound up tied on points, but Springsteen's victory in round two gave him the nod for the series championship. . 0' Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida Results: March 8, 1996 (Round 3 of 3) 0 / A: 1. Yvon DuHamel; 2. Jay Springsteen; 3. Reg Pridmore; 4. Gary Nixon; 5. Don Emde ; 6. Walt Fulton: 7. Roger Reim an; 8. Mark Brelsford: 9. Eddie Mulder.