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ARENACROSS AMAlPJ1 NATIONAL ARENACROSS SERIES of Troy / Bell/ Answer-sponsored DeHoop after he pulled his helmet off for the all-Yamaha-mounted victory circle. "I felt smooth. .Lapped dders were gettmg out of the way and everythmg worked. Every week we are getting a little better, but you can't get any better than this. I kep"t tellmg myself to stay smooth. This is Arenacross; anythmg can happen." After taking two tumbles, Antunez was running right with the leaders although he was a lap down. Antunez dropped back from Buehl right mto Pederson's lap. "Buddy got in there and kinda' messed me up, but I can see rus pomt," Pederson sajd. "We are just tryjng to do the best we can and get podium finishes." Jones held on to fourth over Cliff Palmer and Denny Stephenson. Stephenson led the 20-lap 250cc mllin mto turn one. As the field packed mto the first turn, Jones and Ty Wallace tangled and elimmated themselves from contention. Palmer held second over Brad Woolsey and Pederson. A short distance back were Antunez and Goodman. Stephenson looked to be m control, but he started to wear down about seven laps mto the race. By Dave Hoenig Photos by Flat Trak Fotos ROCKFORD,~,DEC.~7 he PJl National Arenacross Series by MSR/ Answer came to ~ the MetroCentre of Rockford for the last round of 1996, and four different riders came away with wins. With the halfway mark of the series fast approachmg, the pomts race is heating up. The leader at the rnidseason will receive $10,000 of the $100,000 PJl pomtsfund. For a change, points leader Chad Pederson was not among the wmners. In fact, the Chaparral Yamaha/ Axo/ FMF / Atomk 22-backed Pederson could only muster one podium finish all weekend, a third in Fdday's 125cc mllin. Pederson still came away with a 29point lead over Team Thor/Honda/Primal lmpulse's Buddy Antunez, who did score a win in the 250cc mllin Friday but spent much of the weekend picking himself up off the ground. Cliff Palmer had a couple of solid rounds, scoring a fifth, two thllds and a win in Saturday's 125cc mllin on his F&S Racing' Suzuki. It solidified his hold on third place in the points race. Yamaha of Troy's Todd DeHoop started off brilliantly with a win in the 125cc mllin Friday, but soured the rest of the way, with a ninth being his next-best finish. DeHoop now holds down sixth in the poin ts over fellow first-time winner Grayson Goodman, who fared a little better on his RRP Yamaha, but still only had a single podium finish. Antunez's teammate Dermy Stephenson is Lurking m fourth in the pomts. Stephenson overcame a bout with the 'T (Above) Todd DeHoop (3) blasted to his first win of the year during round nine of the AMAlPJ1 National Arenacross Series in Rockford, Illinois. DeHoop won the 125cc main. (Right) Buddy Antunez fought off both the flu and his competitors to grab the victory in Friday's 250cc main event. flu to gllin two seconds, a third and a sixth. Unique to the sedes is the SBS Brake Dash For Cash races at each round. The top six 250cc qualifiers run for a guaranteed $100 pLus what ever additional funds announcer Robbie FLoyd can solicit from the crowd. Friday it was over $600 and Saturday $790. Palmer won Friday while Stephenson topped Saturday's dash. Also involved is a $5,000 SBS Dash pomts fund that will pay $2,500 to will. Stephenson holds a narrow two-point lead over Pederson in that category. FRIDAY Fast quaJifier Mike Jones proved rus choice of starting from the middle was the right one as he blasted his Kawasaki to the front of the 16-lap 125cc main. DeHoop, Jeromy Buehl and points leader Pederson formed the line right behind. Antunez and Palmer were locked in a battle over fifth. Jones' turn at the lead was halted when he bobbled big time in the horse,shoe. Jones dropped to third behind DeHoop and Buehl as Pederson's mllin title contender, Antunez, challenged Pederson for fourth. The challenge lasted but a lap, however, as Antunez also bit the dust m the horseshoe. The brief test from Antunez got Pederson going, and he took third from Jones on lap six. The top three positions were set with Buehl closing on DeHoop. "I closed on Todd when he made a mistake m the rockers, then I made a mistake there too," Buehl said. "It felt weird out there. At the halfway pomt I was in second and still had him in sight. It's been a long time since I've been on the podium. I just started to ride for second." DeHoop was the picture of concentration as he held a solid lead'into the late stages of the race. "Yamahaaa," exclmrned the Yamaha Antunez was definitely the rider on the gas as he methodically worked his way to the front. He caught Stephenson one lap short of the halfway point and wasted little time takillg control. "Buddy showed me a tire and then went by," Stephenson said. "I've been real sick all day and couldn't keep any food or even water down. Obviously he wasn't gomg to get as tired, so I just said, 'Go for it; I'll just follow.' I'm just real happy to be on the podium." Palmer also closed on Stephenson, but the laps ran out, and he finished in third. "I was tryjng to think where 1 could