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··m~T~C~5eries.. Round 10: Black Hills Speedway By Scott Rousseau Photos by Aat Trak Fotos RAPID CITY, 5D, AUG. 7 otal Control Racing's Kevin Atherton must have gotten tired of offering excuses, whether valid or invalid, as to why he had failed to score a victory yet in 1996. Armed with all-new equipment and even more financial support from team owner Benson Ford Jr., the former factory Harley-Davidson rider had turned in some solid finishes so far, but it was new teammate Will Davis who had been stealing most 'of the headlines by continually running at the front of the pack for most of the season. But at the Rapid City Half Mile, Atherton finally said no more. The 25-year-old Michigander commanded plenty of attention from the 6500-plus spectators who attended the midweek Grand National event that was part of the 56th annual Black Hills Motorcycle RaJIy and Races in and around Sturgis, South Dakota, as he found the zone and blasted through the pack from 10th place to claim only his fourth career Grand National win. Atherton was forced to start from the second row, but a positive mental attitude and the right amount of horsepower from his Tom Cummings-built and twingled short-rod Harley-Davidson XR750 allowed Atherton to push thrould1 the pack, pass race leader Steve Morehead on lap 16 and then calmly handle la traffic on the smooth but slick Black Hills SPeedway half mile to earn the victory. Prior to the main event, Atherton ,made the prediction that his second-row position on the grid might prove to be an advantage. "See, what did I tell you?" Atherton said. "I gave'em a head start and followed 'em around to check out their lines. Then 1 ran'em down. 1 had a lot of confidence, and my motorcycle was excellent. Anyone could have won on it. A lot of credit goes to T.e. and Davey (Watts), and the whole team.." The F&S Harley-Davidson-mounted Morehead was the final victim of Atherton's tirade, but the "Findlay Flyer" still outflew all the rest of the competitors to land the second spot in the feature. After struggling early in the evening, the 40-year-old Ohioan continued to improve with each lap of the track, and his experience definitely came into play . as he was the first rider to head above the groove in the main event and find that it hap. ample traction to propel him to the front after a fifth-place start. Morehead successfuUy fought off R&R/Team Saddlemen's RiCh King and TCR's Will Davis before drifting just a little too high in three and four and surrendering to the prowling Atherton. Afterward Morehead appeared to be less enthused with his perfQrmance than with the visit he got at his truck after the races. "Kenny Roberts just stopped by here (see Briefly...)," Morehead said. '1 was mOre excited to see him than 1 was to finish second. The motorcycle was workin' better than the rider. 1 just got my rear wheel up into the fuzz and lost it. It was my own faul t." Mr. Consistency himself, King, powered his Honda RS750 to another top-five finish in the main event. The 31-year-old Iowan was in contention for the win as he passed four riders right at the start in the main event to come from 10th to sixth on the opening lap and ran as high as second in the early to middle stages of the main before being displaced by Atherton. King also ran the high line as soon as possible and made it work to his advantage as he stayed clear of Davis to grab the last spot on the victory stand. "I'm happy," King said. "I thought we were going to pull one off for a minute. I came from a long way back to get up there. The groove was pretty clean, but we kept pushing higher and higher until we got into the fuzz and I lost the line:' King still had enough to hold off Davis, who was back in action after little more than a week off from the broken leg and subsequent battering that he endured at the Oklahoma City Half Mile. Yet the North Carolinan showed true grit as he gamely fought his way to the front off the start and then hung around near the front of the pack for the full 25 laps before cruising to the checkered flag fourth. Davis was exhausted after the race as he was not only dealing with his injuries but also with a viral infection that has left him in a weakened state since just after Oklahoma City. Kevin Varnes (89) shot out to the early lead at the start of the Rapid City Half Mile. Will Davis (21) and SCott Parker (1) give chase, followed by Jay Springsteen (9) and Steve Morehead (42). "My leg don't hurt, but this virus is kickin' my butt," Davis said. "1 get a fever and flu-like symptoms (from it). 1 also break into a sweat, and I've got no energy at all. But I ain't makin' no excuses. Kevin rode his butt off. He desen.ed it. 1 could not go any}aste,." Pole-sitter Kevin Varnes wound up fifth after leading the first six laps (}f the National. The 21-year-old Pennsylvanian appeared to be styling aboard his Johnny Goad-tuned USC Racing Honda, but it proved to be a facade as Varnes quickly fell back through the pack after staying on the low line too long, then jumping up high and joining the other rim riders after it was already too late to reclaim his spot at the head of the pack. "I actually went up top early," Varnes said. "But I thought 1 was spinning too much. Then Morehead passed me, and 1 started goin' up with those guys and started slipping back. Then I got it ~gured out. Oh well, one of these days... Finishing an uncharacteristic sixth place was Team Harley-Davidson's Scott Parker, who turned in a characteristically hard-riding performance that met with a result normally reserved for his visits to the Daytona Short Track Parker charged too hard and overrode