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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127798
DIRT TRACK AMA Grand National Championship Series Round 13: Indiana State Fairgrounds By Scott Rousseau Photos by Bert Shepard and Flat Trak Fotos \0 0\ 0\ ~ 00' N ..... rJ:J ;:j 0.0 ~ 14 INDIANAPOLIS, lN, AUG. 17 orne times it pays to be fast, sometimes it pays to be lucky. A lot of the time it pays to be Scott Parker. After not visiting the winner's rostrum since finishing second at the Oklahoma Gty Half Mile four races ago, the six-time AMA Grand ational Champion and Harley-Davidson factory rider found at his disposal a combination of both speed and luck before the 6800 fans who came to watch their Grand National heroes do battle in the first mile of the year on the Indiana State Fairgrounds during the Indiana State Fair as he not only returned to the box, but ascended to the highest tier after claiming career win number 74. Parker had the speed and the luck to put away his early-race rivals, F&S Harley-Davidson's Steve Morehead and R&R Team Saddlemen's Rich King, and then the luck and the speed to keep former factory teammate and protege Kevin Atherton at bay on the final lap for the win after Atherton admittedly blew his own chances for victory by "smoking" the tire on the final comer and losing his drive. "First mile, first win," Parker said with a grin. "Man, that finish line seemed like it was two miles away. I kept waiting for Kevin to come by, but I made it. The closer you get to the finish line, the more you tuck in." A somewhat disappointed Atherton brought his Tom Cummings and Dave Watts-prepared Total Control Racing Harley-Davidson home second right on Parker's tail after starting fourth and then making his way by King and Morehead before trading the lead with Parker for several tours of the narrow-grooved track from lap nine to the finish. Atherton appeared to be just a shade faster than Parker down the front straight and in just the right position to grab his second win of the year. Parker led the penultimate lap, with Atherton electing not to pass but to follow the champion through the final two corners in the hope of drafting by at the flag. But when Atherton didn't come around, Parker ran his Bill Werner-built XR750 into turn three all the harder and put two lengths on him. Atherton tried to reciprocate by cranking on the the throttle, but he lost more ground when his rear tire spun, leaving him with too much ground to make up despite a valiant effort. "I had him beat," Atherton said. "Man, I had him beat - or at least that's what I thought. They always say that the race isn't over till it's over. That's why he's number one. He might have screwed up on laps 21, 22 and 23, but there was no way that he was going to screw up on that last lap." Just behind the two front-runners came Atherton's TCR teammate Will Davis, still-broken leg and all, to land third place 'after getting a fifth-place start and then "cutting a deal" with Corbin Racing mile master Dave Camlin to propel both riders to the front late in the race. Davis got clear of Camlin and actually had the speed to run with Atherton and Parker - though the South Carolinian never did manage to lead a lap - before fading back at the finish and settling for the final spot on the winner's rostrum. "C'mon man, we were in there," Davis joked. "Those guys got tired, I guess. I had a shot to run with them, but I just didn't have enough at the end,