Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

with Zemke second and Linn and Sisemore failing to finish. The Coach House-sponsored third event saw' 1990-91 U.S. National Champion Mike Faria blast out of the second slot to run off and hide from the field. Ed Castro from the pole was the closest to him and picked up second. Shawn McConnell and Rob Pfetzing were a distant third and fourth. Faria had done what he said he would do - make a good first corner. Becker Family Racing sponsored heat four, which had Bart Bast in gate one, John Aden in two and Jesse Finch in four while the fans also got their first look at reigning ehamp Hancock as he loaded into three. Red flags flew early on when Aden and Finch tangled. All were allowed to restart and this time Bast was out first with Hancock trying to work the outside in second. He found out quickly it didn't work as Aden, in only his second U.s. Nationa'l, got underneath and grabbed the spot away. ''I'm going to give it hell and see what happens," Aden said. ROUND 2 Kingson Mold & Machine's heat five placed Finch on the pole with Lucero in two and Hicks and Pfetzing in three and four, respectively. It was Lucero who cut the best gate and hit the corner in first. Pfetzing was second, but one lap later Hicks and Finch both got by. It a ppeared as though Pfetzing got sprayed with mud and couldn't see. Warren and Evie Russell picked up tlie tab for heat six. Aden drew the pole with Castro and Schwartz in two and three. Linn again replaced Odom and was in four. The "gate master" Schwartz went wire to wire in this one with Castro again notching a secondplace finish. Linn got the third while Aden spun out in the first turn and had to settle for fourth despite running hard . in an attempt to pick up a point. Tom and Marilyn Cirello posted th.e $100 purse for event seven. Faria blasted out of gate one, and Bast, out of two, was right behind him. Kossuth came from the fourth slot and was working the outside, and on the third lap he motored by Bast to take over second. Oxley came out of gate three and was fourth. Hancock came out of four and added the excitement to Orange County Harley-Davidson's heat eight as he smoked the field for the win. Northrup came from the number-two slot and was second with McConnell third. After two rounds, two riders shared the lead; Schwartz and Faria had two wins to their credit while Lucero was one point back. ROUND 3 Raz Video's event nine matched up Linn in gate one, Hancock in two, Lucero in three and Faria in the fourth spot, and it provided the first major turning point of the evening. On the first. start, Hancock was too hot into one and slid out. Although he did not interfere with anyone, he was deemed the cause and was out. Hancock tried to plead his case, but the referee stood firm with his call. On the restart, Lucero broke out on top with Linn second and Faria running third. To stay in the hunt Faria had to finish at least second. On the white-flag lap, both he and Zemke got around Linn, and Faria had the finish he needed to stay on the lead pace. A&D Cleanup Masters' event 10 was equally as pivotal. McConnell was on the pole with Hicks, Bast and Schwartz in two, three and four, in that order. (Right) Defending U.S. National Champion and current World numberthree Greg Hancock (right) performed admirably, collecting 10 points to finish In a tie for fourth place. (Left) It all came down to this runoff. Faria (background) spun out, handing the championship to Lucero (foreground). Both Hicks and McConnell went out strong and tough, and Bast threw in. his two cents. Schwartz was out, holding him to zero points. The result of this race would turn out to be devastating for Schwartz. . The Del Mar Mile was the sponsor of event 10, and Sisemore had the pole for it. Pfetzing was in two with Kossuth and Aden in three and four. Kossuth, from the outside, made his motor hum and went from start to finish on top. "It's just another night," Kossuth said. ''I've been doing this too long." , Aden made up for his shutout of the previous round by finishing second with Pfetzing rounding out the field in third. . Finch drew the pole in Quality Nissan's event 12. Northrup was in two with Castro in three and Oxley in four. Oxley broke out on top but almost lost it out of two when the bike stood up. He held on to·it and put some distance on Castro. Northrup held the show spot. "The shiny parts have worn off," said OxLey, who was making his 17th appearance in a U.S. National. "I want to win the money, and I'm looking for the bonus. Four things will happen tonight. Someone will touch the tape, someone will self destruct and crash, someone will have no luck and someone will win." . That prophecy was coming true. Faria and Lucero were tied for the lead with eight points while Schwartz, Oxley and Kossuth were tied for second with six. ROUND 4 Cirello Racing put the added paycheck on event 13. Oxley had drawn the pole with McConnell in two and Aden and Lucero in three and four. This was a must-win race for Lu.cero, and he was up to it, outgating the field and going wire to wire for the win. Aden again rose to the occasion, holding Oxley at bay for the second spot. Westminster Harley-Davidson's heat 14 brought Schwartz and Faria together in a heads-up confrontation. Schwartz drew one with Faria in four. FinCh and Sisemore were in two and three. Faria and Schwartz hit turn one almost together, but' Faria chose the Line that Schwartz uses so well and forced the former World Best Pairs Champion to go down low. All Schwartz could do was follow Faria home. Finch picked up third. Hancock proved what champions are made of in Borge Development's event 15. Hancock was on the pole with Kossuth, Castro and Hicks in two, three and four. It. only took three tries to get this race off. Try one had Castro and Kossuth down in one. After some finger pointing, they lined up again, and this time it was Hicks and Kossuth who had a real estate dispute. The third time was not the charm as Castro played tag with the wall out of turn two, and this time the ref deemed him the cause. Castro was replaced by Zemke. When things finally got going it was Hancock who showed the way, and all Kossuth, Zemke and Hicks could do was follow. Dan Nay sponsored event 17 with Pfetzing on the pole. Linn lined up in two with Northrup and Bast in three . and four. Pfetzing finally got things wor~ing his way and cut a good gate to post his first win of the night. Linn had his best finish of the night with second and Bast, who experimented with a 22inch rear tire, in third. Round four was in the books, and Lucero and Faria were going to take it to the last round. Kossuth and Schwartz were also going to take the battle for the final podium position down to the wire as Oxley had dropped one point back. 'ROUNDS Event 17, sponsored by Kingson Mold & Machine, had' Lucero back on the pole for what he hoped would be his final ride of the night. Next to him was Sisemore with Bast and Castro in three and four. Lucero broke on top and went clean for a wire-to-wire victory. Event 18, sponsored by Warren and Evie Russell, put Pfetzing on the pole with Schwartz in two and Oxley and Hancock in three and four. Hancock, out of four, knows how to use a track and blocked the whole field as they hit the first comer. Pfetzing got off second and tried to use Hancock's line. It got him in trouble as Schwartz was able to go down low and get underneath Pfetzing. Oxley also got by on the white-flag .lap and finished his night with a third. Kossuth had the pole for Coors! event 19. McConnell drew two with Finch and Linn in three and four. Kossuth put it all together and went wire to wire for the second time of the night while McConnell, who had battled the track all night long, came up with a good ride and got second. Finch was third. . It was now in the hands of Faria in the final event of the night, sponsored by Cirello racing. If he w

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