Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

'DIRT TRACK' . AMA Grand National Cham By Scott Rousseau Photos by Bert Shepard and Flat Trak Fotos SPRINGFIELD, lL, AUG. 31-SEl'T. 1 or Corbin Racing's Davey Camlin, the sting of missing out on a threepeat at the 1996 Du QUoin Mile two weeks ago was still very much present as he rolled up to the starting line at the Illinois State Fairgrounds for the first of two days' worth of action-packed AMA Grand National competition at the Springfield Mile. ow that Springfield's over, ask him if he cares. Maybe he does a little, but the 26year-old Rock Island, Illinois-based mile star more than atoned for the loss of his Du Quoin title by becoming a two-time Springfield Mile winner in just one weekend after piloting his Skip Eakentuned Harley-Davidson XR750 to two narrow victories in two unbelievably close Grand Nationals on Saturday and Sunday. In doing so, Camlin doubled his career Grand National victory total to four and became the only rider other than Ricky Graham to win back-to-back mile Nationals at the same race track on the same weekend. Camlin also became the sixth different winner in the series this season. And this was the Springfield Mile, the most prestigious event at the premier facility on the Grand National schedule, which ensured that aU of the heavy hitters - most of them currently involved in an all-out war for the points lead in what is turning out to be a virtual see- F 10 Series. Rounds 16 and 17: Illinois State Fairgrounds saw battle for the top spot in the standings each week - were putting their best feet forward in an effort to pick up valuable championship points. Yet it was Camlin, currently 10th in the series but long known on the circuit as one of the more talented riders on the mile, who held them all off. The fiercely compe.titive youngster came from behind to squeak ahead of R&R/Team Saddlemen's Rich King, Total Control Racing's Kevin Atherton and surprise studs in Harley-Davidson of Sacramento's Joe Kopp and Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson rookie J.R. Schnabel to earn the win on Saturday before returning on Sunday to best Atherton and Team Harley-Davidson's Scott Parker in a photo finish. Parker's factory-teammate-for-a-day Jay Springsteen was fourth - just one bike length behind the lead trio after leading for most of the race - with F&S Harley-Davidson's Steve Morehead rebounding from an ignition failure in Saturday'S feature to finish fifth. For Camlin, the twin victories were every bit as emotional as his first win at Du Quoin in 1994. "Awesome, huh?" Carnlin said after claiming the win on Sunday. "We knew coming in here that we were the only ones who had a chance at doubling. But wins against this group of guys is so hard to come by, you know? You struggle and fight, and then you don't even make a main event. That stuff gets to me mentally, and I stew about it all week long. Then you get on the top of the box, and there is no other feeling like that in the world. I knew we had at least as good a chance as anybody, see.ing how we did it yesterday." But while Carnlin was counting the accolades of his two race victories, it was Atherton who had almost as much reason to smile, as the 25-year-old Mount Morris, Michigan, rider was the only other man to make it onto the box twice during the weekend, and that made him the winner in the upper echelon of the points race. Atherton improved a third placing on Saturday with a close runner-up finish just ahead of Parker on Sunday - a feat made all the more am.azing given the fact that the two former factory teammates crashed simultaneously into the tum-one hay ba]es on the ]7th lap after running through oil that was left on the groove by Schnabel during the previous lap. Atherton somehow gathered up the pieces, and his TCR crew, along with the he]p of several other teams, wrenched, replaced and straightened his damaged motorcycle in time for the young charger to come from near last place to second in just seven laps - a victory in itself. "Sure, we improved by one (place), but not the one," Atherton said after the Grand National on Sunday. "I'm disappointed - but not upset, because of the crash. I'm upset that we crashed, but to come hom where we did...it was tough. I knew this was going to be a war. Hey, r think the fans were impressed." Atherton's results for the weekend also allowed him to double-draft TCR teammate Will Davis and King to move into second in the points picture, 14 points adrift of Parker, 228-2]4. Davis, who finished 10th on Saturday and improved to seventh on Sunday, is one point behind Atherton with 2]3 while King's fine second-place run on Saturday was all but nullified by engine breakage on his Honda RS750 during Sunday's race, which put him 17th and dropped him from second to fourth in the title race. King certainly exhibited the greatest contrast in moods hom one day to the next. "My bike was just glued to the race track," a jubilant King said after collecting second on Saturday. "We weren't really down on horsepower, but we weren't as strong as a couple of the Harleys. We had so much more comer speed than they did, but we had to stay in line· coming off the comers because the wall was right there, and we couldn't really carry it." Happiness on Saturday was overshadowed by a potentially expensive early exit from the main event on Sunday. "We think something broke in the lower end," the much more reserved Iowan said after watching his championship hopes take a tum for the worse. Parker and mechanic Bill Werner also had reason to smile after the weekend was over, because for a team that had appeared to struggle of late and arguably had the most to lose over the two days in terms of the championship outlook, the dynamic duo left with a stronger lead than they arrived with, despite Parker's 7-3 placinj1;s over the

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