Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

DIRTTRACK·.· AMA Grand N ational C hampionship Series Round 3: Delaware State Fairgrounds SEMI 1 (8 la ps; 9 riders, top 2 tran sf e r): 1. Steve Beatti e (H -D ); 2. Mike Hacker (H- D); 3. Jason Fletcher (H- D); 4. Brett Landes (Hon); 5. Na te Wa-it (H- D); 6. Eric Bostrom (H-D); 7. Ken Mohler (H- D); 8. Lance Jones (H D); 9. Randy Shank II (H-D). • Ti me: 3 min.• 36.92 sec. SEMI 2 (8 laps; 9 riders, to p 2 tran sfer): 1. Ken Coolbeth (H-D) ; 2. Chance Darling (H-D); 3. Tommy Ha yden IH-D); 4. Mike Varnes IH-D); 5. Ian Segedy (H D); 6. Keith jacobsen (H-D); 7. Rob G<_ (H-D); 8. Cary Rog ers Il-ion): 9. Les Washbon lH-D). T im e: 3 min .. 38.34 St.'C. SEMI 3 (8 lapsr 9 riders, top 2 tran sfer): 1. Dave Caml in (H- D); 2. Bre n t Ar m br uster (H-D); 3. Scott Buchan IH-D); 4. Georgie Price IV (H- D); 5. ).R. Schnabel (H-D); 6. IimMcllvena (H-D); 7. Pa ul 8erg:stmm (Hon); 8. Randy Texter (H -O ); 9. Don Est ep (H- D). T im e: 3 m in .• 39.38 St."C. G RAN D NATIONAL (18 riders; Rained ou L Paid off as q ualified wi th no po in ts awarded): 1. Will Davis (H-D); 2. Scott Parker (H- D); 3. Chris Eva ns (H- D); 4. Kevi n Atherton (H- D); 5. Ceo Roeder U (H-D); 6. Ricky G ra ha m (Hon) ; 7. Dan Butler (H-D); 8. Steve Morehea d (H-Q); 9. Rich King IHon) : 10. Terry Poovey (Hon); 11. Joe Kopp (H-D); 12. Kevin Varnes (Hon); 13. Steve Beattie (H-o); 14. Ken Coolbeth IH-D); 15. Dave Camlin (H-D); 16. Mike Hacker (H-D); 17. Cha nce Darling {Hon ): 18. Bre nt Armbrus ter (H ·D) . • AMA GRAND NA TIONAL CHAM PIONSHIP S ERIES PO INT STANDINCS (Afte r 3 of 24 ro u nds) : 1. Will Davis (42 po ints/1 w; n); 2. Rich King (30); 3. (TIE) Ricky Graham /Kevin Varnes (29); 5. Scott Pa rker (28/1); 6. Joe Kopp (26); 7. Kevin Atherton (25); 8. Bret t Landes (20); 9. Jay Springsteen (6); 10. Grorgie Price IV (4); 1 I. Ken ny Coo lbe th ( 3); 12. Dave Ca mlin (2); 13. IT IE) Ronnie Jones /Terry Poov ey (11) ; 15. Steve Morehead (0); 16. Cha rlie O rr (8 ); 17. C h ris Evans (7); ,18. (T IE) Bret Beyer/Mike Varnes (6); 20. Da n Butler (4). 883 NATIONAL (U lops; 17 ride rs): 1. Mike Hacker; 2. Nate Wait; 3. Georgie Price IV; 4. Jess Roed er; 5. J.R. Schnabel; 6. Jason Fle tcher; 7. Rob Miller; 8. Shaun By Dave Hoen ig Photos by Flat Trak Fotos HARRINGTON, DE, MAY4 he AMA Gra nd Na tiona l Championship Se ries s to rmed o nto the Delawar e State Fairgrounds as the young 1996 season began in earnest, but sadly for everyone involved the Rolling Thunder Show was also accom panied by lightni ng and heavy rains just as th e National staged on the starting line. . Besieged by a week-long series of rainstorms, the racing su rface of the limestone half-mile rema in ed in relativel y good condition. However, the preferred ou tside line d eveloped a deep cushion th a t requ ir ed d raggi n g betw een each race. Despite loca l weather forecasts, th e an noying early afternoon sp rinkles were replaced by clearing skies with sunshin e as p ractice started right on time. While no one was pleased by the turn of eve n ts, Tota l Control Racing' s Will Davis was able to claim the lion' s share of the $35,000 purse. "We cha nged a few things fo r the Nationa l, and I think w e w ere really read y," Davi s sa id . "1 gu ess now we'll never kn o w . Someone ca me by a little w hile ago and said we would be coming back to morrow (Sun d ay) and starting over from scratch. 1 said, 'No way! That ain't going to ha ppen. Once we've run over 60 percent of the race it's history: 1 d idn' t ga in all Y p o ints tonig ht, bu t 1 didn't lose an y either:' Reward ed wi th second- place mone y was six-time and defending AMA Grand Natio na l Ch ampion Scott Parke r. "We were ready to race, it's too bad," said the Ha rl e y-Da v id s on factory -spon so red Michigander, who w as loo ki ng for his 72nd Gra n d Na tion al win a n d a n im proveme nt o n his cu rren t fifth -pl ace position in the 1996 point stand ings . "1sure wis h we could ha ve gotten this in tonight, but I d on 't want to have to spe nd ano ther nigh t in Delaware to do it:' sa id TCR-backed third-heat winner Kevin Atherton. The only serious incid ent of the nig ht came on la p fo u r of th e thi rd heat as Steel-Masters rid er Don Estep fell head first in turn three. Lance Jones was forced to lay d own his bike to miss the motionless Es te p, who was repo rted ly s till 7 unconscious w hen he was transported to Christiana Hospital. Este p remained in the Intensive Care Unit on Monday, May 6, bu t he was listed in satisfactory condition and was expected to be re leased within 48 hours. 883 NATIONAL Seventeen riders blasted into turn one of the 12-lap AMA 8S3 Na tional, led by Spectre-Moroney's' Harley-Davidson's Nate "Gato r" Wait. Georgie Price and defending 883 Ch ampion Mike Hacker were right behind . Wait an d Price held their positions at the end of lap one, but Ha ck e r s li p ped to si xth be h ind Rob Miller, Jess Roed er and J.R. Schnabel. However , Hacker wa s on the move, takin g third o n lap tw o and sweeping past Price into second on lap three. Hacker then began the process of reeling in his Spectre- Moroney's team mate. At the halfway poin t, Hacker was all over Wail. "1 wat ched his lines and had to figur e a wa y a ro u nd, bu t 1 d on' t ev en know where 1 actually passed him:' the tired Hacker said . "No w 1 have to go ou t and do it again in the GNC semi: ' After Hacker go t by, he was ab le to slig h tl y p u ll away. Wa il held a large ad vantage over Price. "Our bikes (his an d Hacker's) are the same, so 1 guess I'll just have to try hard er next time:' Wait said. Price had his ha nds full holdin g off th e Wimer's /Mike's H-D /Roeder H-Dbacked Roeder and John Parker Racin( s Schnabel. "I' m really im pressed with th e way this bike runs," Price sai d of his DPC Racing Spo rtster. "It's very strong. We're going to be in there the rest of the year: ' Jaso n Fle tch er pushed his SpectreMoroney' s bike past Howell's H-D's Rob Mill er on th e las t la p for sixth . Sha u n Russel was the first of the fleet of Bartels' H-D riders as he held off Lancast er H-D's Rand y Texter for,eight h. Corbin Racing's . Lonni e Pauley rounded out the top 1O l ~ Delaware State Fairgrounds Harrington, Delaware Results: May5, 1996 (Round 3 of 24) HEAT 1 UO laps; 9 ri de rs, top 3 tra nsfrr): 1. Will Davis G-f-D ); 2. Ceo Roeder II (H -D ); 3. Rich King (He n): 4. Mike Hacker (H-D ); 5. Tomm y Hayden (H-D); 6. j.R. Schnabel IH- D); 7. Nate Wait (H- D); 8. Les Washbon IHD); 9. )Un McDve na IH-D). T ime: 4 min .•25.35 sec. (Above) Reigning champion Mike Hacker (1) pulled off the AMA 883 National mainevent win at the Delaware State Fairgrounds. (Right) Wait (67z) led the main event just past the halfway point and went on to finish second. REAT 2 (10 lap s; 10 ri ders, top 3 transfer): 1. Scott Par ker ( H~ D) ; 2. Ricky Graha m (Hen): 3. Terry Poovey (Han); 4. Ken Coolbeth (H-D); 5. Jason F letcher (H-D); 6. Brent Annbrustcr (H·D ); 7. Cha nce Darling (Hen): 8. Eric Bostrom (H-D); 9. Ran dy Tex ter IH-D) ; 10. Randy Sha nk II IH-D). T ime: 4 min., 29.15 sec. HEAT 3 (10 laps; 10 riders, top 3 tr ansfer): 1. Kevin At herto n (H -D); 2. Steve Mo re hea d (H·D); 3. Ke vin Varnes Hon ); 4. Scott Bucha n (H-D); 5. Mike Varnes (HD); 6. Ken Mohler (H-D); 7. Pa ul Bergstro m (Hen): 8. Cary Rogers (Hon) ; 9. Lance Jones (}-I-D); 10. 'Don Estep (H -D) . T im e: No ne d ue to red flag. . HEAT 4 (10 u ps; 10 rid ers. top 3 tnnsferr. 1. Chris Evans (H-D); 2. Dan Butler (H -D); 3. Joe Kopp (H-D); 4. Dave Cam1in (H-D); 5. Steve Beattie (H -D); 6. Ian Segedy IH -D ); 7. Georgie Price IV lH -Dl; 8. Brett Landes (Hon); 9. Keith jecobsen (H-O); 10. Rob Gette (H-Dl. Ti me: 4 m in., 32.41 sec. Brieflv. • • . . ~ Russell; 9. Rand y Texter; 10. Lonnie Pauley ; 11. Johnny Mu rphree ; 12. Billy Mar tin; 13. Rob Oene: 14. Lance Jones; 15. Robert: Buffington; 16. Jo hn Fau lkne r; 17. Scott Stump. Time: 5 m in ., 42.33sec . AMA 883cc Nati onal Dirt Track Series Point Stan dings (Al ter 2 of 15 roun ds): 1. Mike Hacker (39 po ints /l win); 2. Jess Roeder (38/1); 3. Na t. WaH (34); 4. Sha un Russell (25) ; 5. J.R. Sch na bel (23) ; 6. Georgie Price IV (22); 7. Scort St u m p (2 1); 8. Johnny Mu rph re e OS); 9. IT IE) Jason Fletcher/J ay Spri ngsteen (3); 11. (TIE) Rnb MHler/ MaH Wait /Lonnie Pa uley (12); 14. Da le Jennema n (11) ; 15. (TI E ) Jo hn Wi ncewicz / Ra ndy Tex te r (10); 17 . Don Howard (8); 18. BHly Martin (7); 19. Rob Gette (6); 20. mE) Lance Jones /Eric Bostro m (5). Upcoming Rounds: Round4 - Springfield. Illinois. May 26 Round5 - laSalle, Illinois. June 1 .Bartels ' H-O's Eric B':'s t rom rod~ ·the ill · Springsteen's 883. but a 10th-place heat finish · left Bostrom out of the 883 Natiorial.. . Had Sc ott Pa rke r been able to foresee the future he might have ridden his heat a little diF-· Ferently. Being four seconds slower than Will Davis in their heats cost the current Grand National Charn pion $1085. Da~i s pocketed $4210 to Parker's $3125. . ESAB's P hil Wickersham announced that · during the live telecast of the Illinois Motorcy. de DealersAssociation's Springfield Mile ·on ; the Sunday of Memor;al Day weekend. the ESAB Mecha nic of the Mile will be chosen. "The winner of the award will be presentThe second biggest loser in the Donnie Estep · ed a $700 Oxweld welding torch along with a s pil! was TCR's Kevin Atherton , who jacket. cap and -plaque. " Wickersham said. .appeared to be headed to the quickest heat ESAB will also be sponsoring a helmet camera or when it was red-flagged. Because his race · · F the WTBS co.verage of the race. . ' . c rece ived no tlrne .:A therton wa s relegated to: Fourth-place money. .It was ·$2790 less than . More good news For television-viewinq dirt his teammate's winning share. track fans; The IMDA's DuQuoin Mile will .. be televised live on CBS. The race will be on the DuQU State Fairgrounds mile oval on Oin Forty-one riders signed up for the 750cc . class . but the F dwindled to 39 as Paul July 14. . ield .Lynch dropped out with mechanical problems .' and crowd Favorite Jay Springsteen fell HI Along with a $1OOOpaYday. ·deF ending AMA early in the afternoon. This time it was the flu · 883 National Champion MIke Hacker .once rather than the stomach problems that have . again took over the points lead. Hacker leads . plagued the F ormer three-time Grand National .Fellow wl~ner Jess. Roeder by one point. 39Champion inthe past.· . 38.· · oNe··

• Cover