Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

EVENTS Russell Baln was the winner In the Vet A cless at round 14 of the NETRA Hare Scrambles Series, held near Boyntonvllle, New York. Lucero perfect at Costa Mesa Speedway By Elaine Jones COSTA MESA, CA. SEPT. 13 METRA Hare Scrambles Series, Round 14 Norton scores a knockout By Cheri Allx BOYNTONVtLLE, NY, SEPT. 15 he Stateline Hare Scrambles featured an extremely hilly course, but Tom Norton had no problems with the hills as he took top honors at round 14 of the NETRA Hare Scrambles Series. Midtown Kawasaki's Randy McCann grabbed the holeshot, followed by Scott Phelps, P.J. Peculis, Todd Levesque and Josh McLevy. McCann held the lead for only a few minutes after blowing the turn after the first jump. Phelps immediately grabbed the lead with Pub Racing's Levesque and Manchester Honda's McLevy moving in behind. SCR/Yamaha/BelRay's Norton, who was at the back of the pack off the line, moved up into fourth place then cu t inside on a berm taking over third ahead of McLevy. It took the riders only 151/2 minutes to complete the first lap wLth Phelps coming around in the lead. Back only 15 seconds was second-place Levesque, and right behind him was Norton in third followed by McLevy. Back another 10 seconds in fifth was Peculis. The top four riders held their positions for three laps with not more than five seconds between first and fourth for the entire time. Peculis kept it wide open in fifth place, never more than 10 seconds from the leaders. By the fourth lap, everyone was itching to get away from the pack. Many mistakes were made and positions soon started to change. "I just was riding along waiting for someone to get impatient and make a mistake," Norton said. "It was only a matter of time." T Phelps was the first to try and pull away, crashing not halfway into the lap. He was able to recover quickly without losing position. McLevy passed Norton and Levesque as soon as he got the chance, moving into second place. Only 100 yards later McLevy got crossed up and slid out. Norton and Levesque grabbed different lines to avoid the crash, coming out of the brush side by side and drag racing to the first turn. Norton outdragged Levesque, moving into second. Phelps was still out in front, taking some good lines and keeping a few seconds ahead. At the second mud hole, he took the usual fast line around but got slowed by a lapper, allowing Norton, who took another line, to take the lead. Levesque followed Norton around the mud hole but he didn't make it through as easily. Both Levesque and Phelps carne back onto the track at the same time, slamming into each other. Levesque was the first to get back up using Phelps' bike for balance as he kicked his bike over and took off. Phelps was now back in third only seconds ahead of McLevy. By the end of the fourth lap, orton had put over 20 seconds on Levesque, allowing him to pit and head out before Levesque even came out of the woods. Phelps, McLevy and Peculis all came around at the same time with McLevy getting out of the pits first and moving into third place followed by Peculis. On the fifth lap, Norton wanted as much distance from the rest as possible. He managed to increase his lead to 30 seconds by the end of the lap after putting in the fastest lap time of the day, under 15 minutes. Levesque was still holding onto second place, but McLevy was right on his back wheel with Peculis and Phelps not 100 seconds behind. McLevy and Levesque continued to dice it out for the sixth lap with McLevy finally winning out at the' end of the lap. Phelps continued having his off-trail excursions, crashing into some trees and moving back into fifth place down 20 seconds from fourth place, which was now held by Peculis. orton held the lead for the entire sixth lap but lost some time after endoing several times. The battle for the lead was still on with one minute separating the top five riders. After two hours of some of the most competitive racing this year, it was Norton taking the checkered flag with seven seconds on second-place McLevy. Levesque finished third, down only another three seconds. Peculis and Phelps continued to battle for fourth place until the seventh lap when Phelps was able to pull away from Peculis and take fourth for the day, down only 45 seconds from third place. Peculis finished in fifth, down one and a half minutes from Phelps. The Amateur class saw an equally exciting battle for the Amateur High Point. It came down to the last lap with Valley Motorsport's Kevin Hubbard taking the win by only seconds over Pete Byrne. Byrne took the Amateur 250cc win only five seconds ahead of secondplace John Choquette. Chad Richardson finished third, down another two seconds. The Expert-class High Point went to Jason Cayer, who finished ninth overall on his DRE 250. Expert 12Sec rider Ken Law also broke into the top 10, finishing 10th ov~all and taking the Expert 200cc win. Stateline Hare Scrambles Boyntonvllle, New York Results: Sep18mber 15, 1996 (Round 14 of 17) GRAND CHAMPION, Tom Norton (Yam~ OIA A, Jason C.yer (CRE~ OIA B, Kevin Hubb...d (Yam). OIA C: Ralph Qu.ckenbush (suz~ AA: 1. Josh McLevy (Hon); 2. Todd Levesque (Yam); 3. Scott Phelps (y.m); 4. P.J. Peculis (y.m); 5. Dave GUM (KTM~ A 250: 1. Rory Eastman (Hon); 2. Harry Grant (Yam); 3. Rick Coxton (CRE); 4. Arthur Menzel (Knw); 5. Kevin Wall (Kaw). A 200: 1. Ken Law (Yam); 2. Paul Blanquart Jr. (Yam); 3. Luke McNeil (Kaw); 4. Shawn Mason (Hon); 5. Justin Spinney (Yam). A VET: 1. Russell Rain (Hon); 2. John McMahon (Hon); 3. Harold Bowen (Kaw); 4. Norm Turnberg (y.m). A OPEN, J. R.ndy Morehouse (KTM); 2. Bill H.elsen (CRE); 3. Roger Billh= (KTM). A 41STRK, 1. Chlllies Burdick (Hon). A SR: 1. Alan Desrosiers (Yam); 2. Steve Formanek (K.w). 200 8: 1. Chris Simpsono (Kaw); 2. Garson Smith (Kaw); 3. Derek Carpenter (Hon); 4. Ronald Daniels (Hon); 5. Robert Santheson (Hon~ B 250: 1. Pete Byrne (Yam); 2. John Choquette (Hon); 3. Chad Richardson (Yam); 4. Kevin Dalaba (Hon); 5. Chris Tooke' (Y.m~ B OPEN: 1. Sean O'Donovan (Han); 2. Douglas W.lter (KTM). B VET, 1. Ray Vanguilder (K.w~ 2. Robert Orlick (Yam~ 3. Gordon Waters (Hon). B SR, 1. Donald Allard; 2.l.arry Piers (Suz). B S/SR: 1. Bruce Wilcox. C 125: 1. Dan Peckham (Kaw); 2. Dale Wagne.r (Kaw); 3. Adam Dorrance (5uz); 4. James Stoddard ~""TM); 5. Mike Bush (Yam~ C 200, 1. Brett Cheneil (Kaw); 2. Andrew Cushing (K.w); 3. Ch...les Geroux (Kaw). C 250: 1. Marshall Gordon (KTM); 2. Randy Ouitt (Hul); 3. Anthony Donahue (5uz); 4. Michael Armstrong (K.w); 5. Mark Simmons (Kaw~ COPEN: 1. Casey Criswolp. (KTM); 2. William Fuchs (Hon); 3. Steve Os'erh..-o (Kaw). C 4/STRK: 1. Robert Dimock (Kaw); 2. Nathan Hubbard (Hon); 3. Greg Shetton (Hon). C VET: 1. Michael Knight (Kaw); 2. Patrick Whitman (Hon); 3. Kenny Bugbee (Yam); 4. James Menard (Yam); 5. James Bain (Suz). C SR: 1. Chris Fahan (Hon); 2. David Kanney (KTM); 3. Bm E.gan (Hon). WMN: 1. Michelle McKinnon (Kaw); 2. Diane Comalli (Kaw); 3. Sally Hul::!er (Kaw); 4. PJm McCann (Kaw). MINI: 1. Nathan Kanney (Yam); 2. Mike Peristere (Yam); 3. Rob Rowe (Kaw); 4. Brian Wozniak (Yam); 5. Robert Langenback (Han). JR: 1. Brian Lawson (Yam); 2. Eric Rougeau (Yam); 3. James Wesolowski (Yam); 4. Jesse Berthiaume (Kaw); 5. Derek Phelps (KTM). Upcoming Rounds: Round 15 - West Greenwich, Rhode Island. September 22 Round 16 - Assonet. Massachusetts. October 13 Steve Lucero earned a perfect score on his way to the Scratch main-event win at Costa Mesa 5peedway. Lucero took one lap to get by Rob "the Gator" Pfetzing and earn the win in the fir t heat. "Rad" Brad Oxley followed Lucero's act by going wire to wire in his first outing. john Aden proved he could run with the best as he aced Bobby "Boogaloo" Schwartz at the wire. Louis Kossuth from Northern California put in a dazzling wire-to-wire ride in the fourth heat. Lucero led off the second round of heats and was in front from start to finish. H was no walk in the park as Kossuth came out smoking and worked the outside line while lucero kept it down low. Oxley rained on Aden's parade by winning the second heat. Schwartz carne back with a vengeance with his win over Jacke Zemke and Paul Colston. Don "Too Tall" Odom made up for his fourth-place finish in the first go-round by winning his second-round heat. He SUCtes fully blocked Shawn ''Mad Dog" McConnell, which is no easy task. The final round had Kossuth out on top and Lucero in the spoiler spot. It took all four laps for Lucero to get underneath and nip him at the wire. McConnell defeated Oxley in the third round, but it was too little, too late. Schwartz made sure of his spot in the main as he topped Aden. Gary Hicks took the front-running spot from Pfetzing and brought home his first win of the night. Lucero had first draw for start position in the main and took the pole. Schwartz and Oxley were'tied in points with 11 and chose the two and three gates, respectively. Aden and Kossuth each had 10 points. Aden drew four and Kossuth five. As Lucero and Schwartz came out of four on the first lap, Lucero came down low and moved Schwartz out of the way to take the lead. Oxley also got through. and the three finished in this order. For Lucero, it was the perfect end to his perfect night. Results SCR:. I. Steve luCMO (GM); 2. Brad Oxley (Wn); 3. Bobby Schwartz (Wes); 4. John Adl!l:n Oaw);S. Louis K066Uth (Wes~ SCR: 1. Cary Hicks (We!!); 2. Don Odom (CON); 3. Andy Northrup Oaw);Shawn McConnell (CON); 5. Rob Pfetting (Wes~ SUP: 1. Randy Skinner Oaw); 2. Charlie Cooley (Wn); 3. Jer-emy O'Neal Oaw);4. jaMm Daniels (We!I). Neese SWeepS Greensboro SX By Jay and Sharon Hauser GREENSBORO, NC. AUG. 30 jim Neese scored a dean sweep of the Pro classes at the final round of Pro-Am Superc:ross, held at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The jim's Motorcyde Sales-backed racer had chosen to sit out the final Pro-AMA Nation.1 at Steel City, Pennsylvania, to make "the most money I can between now and the '97 Superc:ross Series." Team Green's Caleb Leath led early in the 125cc Pro main,. followed by Renegade Honda-mounted Shane Templeton. Jamie Nicholson. Neese quickly made his way to second but it took some work to displace Leath for the point position. Leath was reluctant to let go of eese and followed almost in the lim's Motorcyde Sales-backed rider's shadow throught the main, but could never mount a pass attempt. Templeton held on to third. khoison. an lS-year-old riding a '93 CR in his first race ever, stayed less than five feet away from Templeton the entire 15-lap race and finished fourth. so (4--6): 1. tl.1.adi!lOfl Hambnght (KTM); 2. ~ ~ (KTM); 3. Zack Alvear (KTM); 4. 8rad Haar (KTM); S. Kyle Fitzwatrr (Yam). 50 (1--8): 1. Ryan Fitzwater (Cob); 2.J06h Creen (Yam). 60 (7·9): 1. Sam Fitzwater (Kaw); 2. Dustin Oats (KiIIW); 3. Stephen Reed (Kaw);4.jlllltieCriffin (Kaw~ 60 (10-11): 1. Stephen Martin (Kaw); 2. Jake Furnace (Kaw); 3. David Walls (Kaw). 80 (7.]1): 1. Stephen Martin (Kaw); 2. Dustin (lCaw); 3. David Walls (Kaw). 80 (12·15): 1. Ethan p~ (Yam); 2. MicNef Mitchell (KIw); 3. Brian Whib!side (Hon); 4.. Eddie Cobb (Yam). SIMIN1: l. Jason Laplillnll! (Han); 2. Ma" Whltslde {YoJIm); 3Williml 8e:lton (Yam). 125 A: 1. Jim Neese (Hon): 2. Caleb Leath (Kaw); 3. Shane Templeton (Hon); 4. Jamie NichOOon (Hon); 5. Chad Newton (Suz). 125 8: 1. Man:u.s Hedrick (Suz); 2. Kelly White (Kaw); J. Kyle Richardson (leaw); 4. Scott Tilton (Sut);.5. Olris ClIk."spie (5(12:). 125 C: 1. Derick Hedrick (Suz); 2. Jonathan Tucker (Suz); J. o.ts Michael Johnson (Hon); 5. Michael Mahaffey (Hon). 125 0: 1. James J..ewis (Hon); 2. Tim Cunter (Yam); 3. Charles Watkin, (Kow); 4. Tommy Basden (Suz);.5. Benny Stone (Kaw). 250 A: 1.Jirn Neese (Hon); 2. Calt.'b IAnth (Kaw); 3. Shone Templeton (Hon); 4. William Wilson (Hon);5. Allen Alford (Yam). 250 B: 1. Marcus Hedrick (Suz); 2. Danny Rich (Suz). 2SO C 1. Steven Willird (5oz); 2. Lee Martin (Hon); 3. Bobby Tucker (Hon) 4. Rick Neland (Suz). 2500: 1. cnad 8rown (Kaw~ 2. SteveO\ilmbers (Kaw);3. Steven Rkhter(Kaw); 4. Carl Plumley (Suz); S. Wanm Wilbom {Yam). 2S+ A: 1. Shane Templeton (Han); 2. Oub Wagnor (Hon); 3. Allen Alford (YAM). 25+ 8: 1. Barry Nel90n (Hon); 2. Kevin French (Hon); john Moore(1CoJw). 35+: 1. Barry Nelson (Hon); 2. Benny Stone (Hon); 3. John Landis (Hon).

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