Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

HEATS After grooming in a beautiful race track, the racers and the IMDA track crew were dismayed when the skies opened up at 12:33 p.m. and washed out the racing surface, which had appeared to be every bit as wide, smooth and fast as last year's surface, judging by the times that were being turned in practice. The bad weather caused a four-hour delay in the program, forcing AMA referee Bruce Bober to extensively modify the day's agenda to accommodat~ a Grand National final with the available daylight. It was decided to forego the scratch heats a'nd semis and directly qualify five riders each from the four main events to make for a 20-man final. When the track was considered safe, the 750cc riders were given one 15minute practice session to run a groove into the re-groomed surface. When the session was over, most riders gave the' track the thumbs up, and the racing commenced. Parker and Poovey highlighted the first heat race as the pair got away from Camlin at the start and freight-trained around the groove to produce the fastest la-lap heat race of the day at a shade more than six minutes from start to finish. Though Poovey dogged Parker from start to finish on his twingled, Kenny Tolbert and Garry Baehlor-tuned Harley-Davidson, the venerable Texan could not find a way around Parker before the checkered flag. "1 just followed him," Poovey said. "I didn't really have anything for him out there. I did all I could." "I saw him there, but I didn't think (Right) Atherton went on to score the victory, his second of the year. (Below) The hard-luck man of the DuQuoin Mile was Wlil Davis. Davis had suspension troubles and finished 18th to score only a single point, dropping him to third In the championship point standings. that he'd catch me," Parker said. "Then, all of a sudden, there he was." CamJin came home third ahead of a three-way battle that included Frontier Harley-Davidson/H-D Central's Dale Jenneman, Spectra/Moroney's HarleyDavidson rider Mike Hacker and Team Undo's Brett Landes. The three riders battled for the two remaining spots, knowing that there were no second chances today, and it was Landes who was left out in the cold as Hacker and Jenneman forged ahead of the Hondamounted Californian at the line. Davis ran away from Springsteen in heat two as both riders advanced. The three-time Grand ational champion took one shot at the South Carolinian in turn three in the early going before yielding and running second ahead of Team Corbin Honda rider and increasingly more routine Grand National finalist Chance Darling, whose thirdplace finish put him back on the pace of making finals after a disappointing night at Indianapolis Saturday. "I'm more disappointed when I don't make the mains now than 1 am happy when I do get in," Darling said. TLC Racing's Ian Segedy and Pennsylvania rider Ken Yoder Jr., who qualified for his first Grand National mile aboard his Randy Shank-owned HarleyDavidson, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. .Heat three was the most actionpacked of the four 10-lappers as it was highlighted by a five-rider scrap for the win that included fellow Washingtonians Kopp and Schmulbach Racing's Dan Stanley as well as ESAB/WWP Pro Rac- ing's Rookie of the Year contender Tommy Hayden, King and Gardner Racing/Walters Bros. Harley-Davidson's Dan Butler. Stanley and Kopp battled it out up front during the early laps before Stan-' ley slipped back and Hayden stepped it up to challenge Kopp. The young Kentuckian hung tough for the rest of the race, just coming up short to Kopp at the finish. "That was my first heat win on a mile," Kopp said. "I've been missing second gear a lot lately, and 1 had to keep catching guys. I must have been 15th when I started." "I'm feeling more comfortable out there," Hayden said. "I'm still real sore after last night, but it didn't seem to bother me on the race track. I'll probably stiffen up again tonight." Butler also was in the hunt and wound up third at the line ahead of Ki~g and Stanley. Morehead had the measure of Atherton in the fin'll heat race. Atherton looked to be the stronger of the two riders all the way around, leading laps four through nine, but the "Findlay Flyer" was playing it cagey, watching and learning the youngster's lines. Morehead then used Atherton's lines against him to set the Michigander up down the front straight and draft by for the win. "Kevin, when he was leading, was just towing me along," Morehead said. "He was fast, and he was trying some stuff. I picked up on them and was there at the end to draft him at the line." ''It went good," Atherton said. "It went good. The track changed quite a

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