Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

of the third lap, leaving behind a threerider battle for the last transfer spot that included Winchester H-D /Eddie Adkins Racing's Kenny Coolbeth, White's Harley-Davidson's Mike Varnes and" Harley-Davidson of Dallas rider Willie McCoy. Coolbeth wound up grabbing the spot. "I had to do it," a relieved Coolbeth said. "This should help me a lot mentally. Now we're going to get a good start in the main and go from there." Corbin Racing's Dave Camlin shot by Springsteen at the start of heat three and then led Springsteen, Landes, R&B Racing's Bret Beyer and Varnes early in heat three, but Springsteen caught back up and pressured Carnlin for the entire 10 laps, hoping for a mistake -that never came. "I couldn't get off of four very well," Camlin said. "The bike likes to stay in a rut, but I'm real thankful - this is a half mile, and obviously 1 was cutting some pretty fast laps." "I damn near caught Camlin," Springsteen said. "He was having a hard time off turn four, but 1 was getting through there all right. Everything seems to be going pretty good. We're going to put some half-worn rubber on for the main." Varnes managed to get by both Lande.s and Beyer to grab third. "The start will be everything, period:' Varnes said. Morehead and Parker uncorked a fast one in the final heat of the night, ,cutting 10 smooth laps in four minutes, 48.56 seconds. Morehead beat Parker to the groove and took off. "That's all you can do:' Morehead said. "You can't make any mistakes, and you have to get back on the gas. I'll have the groove at the start of the main like Parker did in the heat. He had me off in the fuzz. The start is the name of the game." Parker fell back a bit, admittedly experimenting with the race track a little before reeling Morehead back in. , "You get second off the line and you're screwed:' Parker said. "I tried some things and then I made up the distance again. You're gonna run wherever you get your holeshot. It's one of them things:' Roeder Harley-Davidson's Geo Roeder also did a little experimenting, attempting to make the outside work before dropping back down on the groove and finishing third. "It sucks:' Roeder said., "It could be a nice cushion out there, but the groove is too dang fast. If you try to go up top, you'll lose too much time." SEMIS Seve~teen-year-old Paul Lynch got into the groove and then flat rode his Lynch Racing / Bea] Peterbilt HarleyDavidson away from Bob Norefleet Racing's Georgie Price IV and runner-up Bret Beyer to earn only his second-ever pass into a Grand National final in the first semi. "In the heat race 1 ran fifth for a while:' the youngster from Maryland said. "I knew 1 had the speed if I could pull a start out of my hat. I got that holeshot and never looked back." Atherton got back on track with a win in the second semi after failing to transfer out of the first heat race of the night. Atherton ran comfortably ahead of a tussle between Suburban Motors HarleyDavidson's l.R. Schnabel and TLC Racing's Ian Segedy. Segedy prevailed when he ran up alongside the youngster, who fell off the groove in turns three and four and was put on the trailer. "You can't pass out here," Atherton said. "You're gonna have to hold your cool until the guys in front of you screw up. There ain't much else you can do, but if there's any way, I'll be passing 'em." Landes got out on the rest of the 'field and scored a clean win in the final semi to advance to the main event. "I was the fastest semi, so at least I'll be starting on the groove:' Landes said. "That's worth a couple spots right there. 1 know some people are going to make mistakes, so I'll just bide my time." Deeley Harley-Davidson's Steve Beattie earned the last transfer spot with a second-place run. The 26-year-old Canadian charger came from the middle of the pack to grind his way past McCoy and Dale lennernan and make the final. Beattie was later reprimanded by AMA officials for his rough riding. "Yeah, they slapped my hand:' Beattie said. "But 1 had a wheel on those guys every time:' (Left) Shoulda, coulda, woulda: Team HarleyDavidson' Scott Parker owned 17 of the first 18 laps, but a rare suspension failure put the champ on the ground hard. Parker remounted and eventually finished eighth. (Above) Jay Sprlngsteen (9) and Brett Landes (41) both posted season-best finishes in Lincoln, running fourth and fifth, respectively, in the main event GRAND NATIONAL Davis cleanly led the rest of the front row off the starting line during the main event, but there was only one problem with that - the green light never flashed. AMA officials determined that everyone on the front row - Davis, King, Butler, Parker, Morehead and Camlin - had moved and banished them all to the penalty line, leaving Kopp, Springsteen, Roeder, Varnes, Darling and Coolbeth a clear track. But it was Parker who got a flyer toward the front, getting a great scratch off the line and then making a daring dive to the outside to drive around most of the competition on what little cushion was available and land in third behind Roeder and Springsteen going down the back chute. Morehead had also gotten to the front via a great start but had elected to deal with the traffic on the low road, and he started the main in fourth. Parker meanwhile, had already dispensed with Roeder and Springsteen to blast into the lead and run away. "Everybody went to the bottom," Parker said. "I just went to the top and left the gas on: There was some traction up there." "I saw him do that and 1 thought, 'Should 1 go there?'" Morehead said. "Then 1 thought, 'Nahh: and 1 went to the bottom." Davis also was on the move and was clearly making the most visbile charge thro.ugh the field from his 10th-place starting spot. A frenzied pace was putting the resilient North Carolinian by two and three riders per lap, and he was up to third by lap 10. Davis then slipped under Morehead in turn three for second and attempted to catch the fleeing Parker. . At the start up there, everything had happened so fast:' Davis said. "I was looking around to s~ what was going on, and when 1 turned around, the board was up. I just let the clutch out. It was nobody's fault but my own. That's why I was passin' people out there like that. After that (penalty), I didn't care whether 1hit the hay bales or not:' Parker continued to cruise out front with Davis, Moreh~ad, Springsteen and' Kopp. Atherton had briefly argued with Coolbeth for the sixth spot but had come through and was making his way forward as well. Parker had no trouble at all for the first 17 laps, but on lap 18 his fortunes reversed in drastic fashion as the rear end stepped out at the exit of turn two and Parker slid down off the groove. He lost nine positions, but he did get up and keep going, thus not causing a red flag. "I started looking for oil when 1 saw that:' Morehead said. "Parker doesn't just go down like that." Davis now had the lead with Morehead and Springsteen running alone in second and third while Kopp still ran fourth ahead of Atherton and Coolbeth. Camlin, Varnes and Landes were still dicing it out for the sixth through eighth spots. Then Roeder crashed on lap 22, sliding feet first into the bales and causing a red flag. The AMA backed the race up and set the riders in single-file order for a five-lap sprint to the checkered flag. When the green light flashed, Morehead was the first away with Davis second, Springsteen third and Atherton fourth. Landes got the best jump in the field, coming from ninth to fifth, while Kopp pulled off with a broken motorcycle. Morehead then kept his cool and led the parade back to the finish line ahead of Davis, with Atherton sneaking by Springsteen to grab third. '1'11 tell ya what - last Wednesday we led for 16 or 17 laps and got beat:' Morehead said. "I just want to be like Ricky Rudd. I just want to win at least one every year:' 600cc SUPPORT Lynch Racing / BeaI Peterbilt's Paul Lynch bided his time and then strutted his stuff at the right time to not only survive but to win the crash-marred 600cc Expert support main event. The race had to be restarted several times due to minor spills and one major snarl involving Corbin Racing's Lonnie Pauley, Steve HaIl and Scott Shinn in turn two on lap eight. Lynch was third at the time and had actually held the lead once prior, only to lose it when the race reverted back a lap due to an earlier red flag. But when the racing finally came down to the wire, Lynch, S&B Racing's Bret Beyer and Bartels Harley-Davidson rider Billy Martin were the three riders slugging it out for the top of the rostrum. Lynch took it by sliding under Beyer off turn four, making the pass on the front straight and then holding off l.R. Schnabel to claim the first major professional victory of his career. '1 went to the front once before, and they threw that red flag," Lynch said. "I knew I could run up there then. When I passed Beyer down low, I saw a clear track in front of me. It was the best thing 1'd seen all night. What a killer night. I've been waiting for this one for a while." 883 NATIONAL The AMA 883 National quickly turned into a two-horse race after the initial start as Suburban H-D's Schnabel and Bartels' Harley-Davidson rider Eric Bostrom battled tooth and nail for the victory. As the 12-lap final unfolded, it was clear that each rider had an advantage in different places on the track, with Schnabel able to get a great drive off the fourth turn while Bostrom was faster going into turn one. Schnabel's geographic superiority proved to be the difference as he was able to m4e a last-lap, last-<:orner pass on Bostrom and score the first National win of his young career. "We're gettin' there," the Grand National rookie said. '1 actually felt a lot of draft out there. I knew we were pulling away. It was good, because we ~ kept each other smooth. On the last lap 0\ he bobbled, and when I saw that, I dove .-4 low and won the drag race. If I'd made the'750 main tonight it would have been a perfect night." "He did a good job:' Bostrom said. "Coming out of turn four on the last lap, I tucked the front end and nearly crashed. I lost my drive. I just wish the checkered flag had been on the back straight."

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