Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

• • .FLAT TRACK. Motorcycle A sphalt RacingSeriesIFlorida FI~t Track Series. Round 1/3:Volusia County'Speedway on Camlin. "I got a good start, but got all out of sha pe in turn two," ex p lained Camlin . It took me a cou ple of laps to reg roup, and by th en th ey were gon e. They were faster anyway." Davis held a small lead over Mor ehead with CamIin running alone in third. Behind them , however, a major five-rider battle was being waged over fourth, with Brett Landes, Bostrom, Hacker, Beat tie and Geo Roed er all making their bid for th e spot. In the end Hacker p revailed , leading Bea tt ie, Landes, Roede r an d Bostr om at the finish line. Despite flying to the main-event win, all was not as smooth as it had seeme d for Davis. A telltale puff of smo ke wa s rolling off his rear tire lap after lap as he dived hard into the comers. " I wanted to get out front quick and not be too hard on my tires: I kn ew I was star ting to slide aroun d, but I didn't realize how far gone the tire was," said Davis as he looked at By Dave Hoen ig Photos by Flat Trak Fotos BA RBERVILLE, FL, MAR3 efend ing Motorcycle Asphalt Racing Series and Flori da Flat Track Series Champion Will Davis started off 1996 in the sa me fas h ion as h e ended 1995 - with victory. Davis domina ted the points-paying ? 50cc class on h is Be n Ford /TCR / Kolen da To ol & Die /Cummings H-D/ Mother Fletcher'ss p o nso re d Ha rley-Davi dson XR750 . Early leader Steve Mo rehead and Dave Cam lin were unable to match the blistering pa ce of the number-one plate hold er and finishe d second and third, resp ectively. In other MARS classes, a su perf ast Camlin h ad come ou t on top of Davis and vetera n racer Moreh ead in the hardfou ght 600cc main on his Corbin Seats spons ore d Rotax. And in the HarleyDa vid son 883 class, Spectre -Moroney's Sportster p ilot Mike Hacker show ed he too w as serious ab ou t h is MARS titl e defense by steali ng the win from Donnie Krusinski on the last lap. Rains w as hed out rounds one and tw o of th e Flo rid a H a rl ey-Da vid son Dealers Associa tion / Drag Specialties / Wiseco /Dirt Shirt-spo nsored Florida Flat Track Series at Savannah, Geo rgia, and SI. Augusti ne , Florida. As a res ult, the first-ever Ba rb e rvill e d ou b leh ea d e r became the opening rounds of the Daytona Bike Week series. The schedule ca lle d for th e MARS opener on the Vol usia County Sp eedway's asphalt half mile to be followed by a dirt half mile on the adjacent dirt oval . But the second portion of the p rogram also fell victim to the foul weather. During practice severe ruts developed 'in the soft tra ck . "Rig ht now th e track's n ot safe," sa id racer / p romoter Steve Morehead of the half mil e dirt oval. "We' re going to gra de it ana try to wheel pack, but I don't want any body to come down her e and get hurt becau se of a bad track." Despite the gradin g an d wheel packin g, af te r a test by Morehead and Joe Kopp on thei r 750s, and Rog er Durkee and Garth Bastain on their 600s, the track was d eem ed unsafe. The near-capacity crowd and large field of racers wou ld have to wait one more d ay. The day portion of racing consisting of th e th ree MARS cla sses h ad a b ig D (Above) Despite nabb ing the early lead, Steve Morehead (42) would finis h second behind defend ing MARS se ries champ ion Will Davis (1). (Right) Dave Camlin rode to victory In the 600cc main event, standing up to serious pressure from second-placed Will Davis. (Below right) Harley-Davidson 883 number-one plale holder MikeHacker had to walt until the last lap to make the racewinning pass on Donnie Krusinski (12c). tu rn out of spectators and riders. "I think this is the bigg est crowd w e' ve ever h ad," said promoter Ken Lilly. "I know it's the most racers eve r." Mor eh ead w as quick off the line to gra b the lead in the 600cc main event as the 12-rid ers in the 16-lap ·race dived into tum on e. Camlin and Ch arlie Orr w ere righ t behind Morehea d, wi th Will Davis san dwiched by Steve Beattie and Lonnie Pauley. Mo rehea d an d Camlin , who had set the fastest lap time of the d ay at 18.72 seconds in earlier time trials aboard his 600cc Rot ax, pulled a sma ll lead while Davis quickly wo rked his way th rough traffic. Davis turned the lead duo into a lead trio by the end of lap three. Beattie, Orr, Ch ance Darling and Paul ey were locked in a battle over fourth a sho rt distance back. Davis mana ged to wrest second from Camlin, but the battle was far from over as CamIin retoo k the runner-up spot on lap eight an d then slipped into the lead on lap 10. Camlin's move opened the door for Davis, who shot into second. "I really s tarted sliding around," More head said matter-of-factly. "Davey just got a wheel under me and Will was righ t behind . They were just faster : ' Ca ml in held on for the win despi te heavy pressure from multi-time MARS champion Davis. "The com petition on the asphalt is really tough. You have to get good starts and ma int ain you r concentration," said Cam lin. "Those two pavem ent vete rans are fast." "I found ou t one thing for the 750cc main - I have to go faster," said secondplaced Davis. '1 had to work up from a slow start and just couldn't pull it off." In the 883 Harley-Davidson main, Eric Bost rom got a terrifi c holesh ot over AI Eadie an d Donni e Krusinski. Despite his early advantage, Bostrom was immediately caught by Krusins ki and gave u p the poi n t p osit ion on lap th ree. Meanwhile, Mike H acker took over secon d place on the fourth go-around and pulled right up to leader Krusinski's rear wheel. By midrace, early leader Bostrom had faded from cont ention, his heated pace having taken its toll. "I bu rned up my tire and just couldn't keep up," said Bostrom. Hacker was all over Krusinski an d finally wrested the lead away on the last lap. Ala n Eadie held off Hacker's team mate Nate Wait for third, while fourthp laced Johnny Murfree led Recil H art and Bostr om across the line. Whe n th e p remie r 750cc m ain got un der way, Mor eh ead, Cam lin , Da vis an d Bostrom blasted to the front of the pack, an d while Morehead held the lead during the first lap, the next time aro un d Davis wo uld head the field . The leading pair of Davis and Morehead then opened a little breathing room the giant bubble on the side of his tire. Th e tube was actually sticking ou t the side. l~ Volusia County Speedway Barberville, Florida Results : March 3, 1996 750 MAIN: J. Will Davis (H-D); 2. steve Moreh ead (H -D); 3. Da ve Caml in (H -D); 4. Mike Hacker (H-D); 5. steve Beattie (H-D); 6. Brett Lan des (H on); 7. Ceo Roed er n (H-D) ; 8. Eric Bostrom (H- D); 9. Robert Lewi s (H- D); o 10. Willie McCoy (H-D); n . Paul Lyn (H -D); 12. Dale ch Iermema n (H-D ). . 600 MA IN, 1. Dave Cam lin (Rot); 2. Will Davis (Rot); 3. Steve Moreh ead (Ro t); 4. Stew Beattie (Rot ); 5. Brett Landes (Rot); 6. Chance Da rling (Ro t); 7. Jaso n Sen tell (Ro t) ; 8. Ph il Llbhart (Ro t ); 9. 1.R. Schnabel (Ru t); 10. Cha rlie Orr (Rot) ; 11. Lonn ie Pa u ley (Rot); 12. Greg Sims (Rot) . 883 H .D MAIN : 1. Mik e H ack e r; 2. Do n n ie Kru sinski; 3. Al Eadi e; 4. Nate Wait; S. Joh nn y Mu rp hree; 6. Recil Ha rt; 7. Eric Bostrom; B. Jim Foringtoru 9. Cary Rogers ; 10. Eddie Dixon; 11. Mike Spch; 12. A.J. Hererra. FLO RID A FLAT TRA CK S ERI ES POINT5: I. Wil l Davi s (23/ 1 win);2. Steve Morehead (19); 3. Dave Camlin (16); 4. Mike Ha cker (IS); 5. Steve Beattie (14); 6~ Brett Landes (13); 7. Ceo Roeder II (12); 8. Eric Bostrom (I I ); 9. Robert Lewis (10); 10. Willie McCoy (9). Upcoming MARS Rounds: Round 2 - Myrtle Beach, SC, M ' 8 ay Round 3 - Asheboro, NC, September 6

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