Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ICE RACE 37TH ANNUAL FUNT MC BIG BROTHERS AND BIG SISTERS OF GREATER FUNT ICE RAC~ (Left) Dan Butler salutes the crowd after winning the 250cc Pro main event at the 37th annual Flint Me Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Flint Ice Race at the IMA Arena. (Below) Butler was strong all night aboard his Byron Molloseau-built Honda. He was undefeated through all five of his qualifying heats. By Jody O'Hara Photos by Paul Rozycki 24 FLINT, MI, JAN. 25 t ain't bragging if. you can back it up, and back it up is just what Gardener Racing / Walters Brothers Harley-Davidson rider Dan Butler did when he won the 37th annual Flint MC / Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Greater Flint Indoor Ice Race in front of 4000 fans at the IMA Arena. After finishing third behind Chuck Springsteen and Will· Davis in the Kold Kutter Pro Indoor Ice Race Championship in December, Butler vowed to return to the IMA ice in January and take the victory. "I'm coming back here next month and winning that race," Butler said at the time. It was a promse he fulfilled as Butler proved unbeatable on the night, winning all five of his qualifying heats and leading the 250cc Pro main from start to finish. "I was just trying to get the holeshot and grab the lead all night, and 1 was able to do that," Butler said. "It doesn't hurt to have Byron (Molloseau) building the bikes either." Springsteen, the defending champ and holder of the AMA Indoor Ice nurn- ber-one plate, did everything he could to retain the championship. He won four of five heats and took second behind Butler in his fifth. It was only the second time Springsteen h'\d been beaten in his last 15 qualifying heats on the !MAice. Sprillgsteen, riding for RC Trucking and Great Lakes Motorsports, chased Butler from the start. He tried. to get by on the last turn of the last lap, putting his front. tire hard against Butler's rear tire and accelerating out of the comer... The maneuver only pushed Butler's left leg up and over the front end of Springsteen's bike, making it appear But~er was holding him off through sheer leg power. "I was doing everything 1 could to keep him behind me," Butler said. "Chuckie's been the champ here so long you gotta do everything to keep him off you." Springsteen acknowledged Butler's skill on the ice. "It takes about thre·e years to get good on the ice, and he's been doing it about that long," Springsteen said. "Tonight he showed he's a good ice racer. He must be good, 'cause 1 sure wasn't trying to settle for second best." MolJoseau, known in the Flint area as the "God of ice racing," said he had a little advice for Springsteen. "I'm gonna tell Chuckie next time he wants to win a race, don't push the guy ahead of you over the finish line," Molloseau said. Craig Pickett of Linden, Michigan, a seven-time AMA outdoor ice champion, finished third on the night aboard a Don Schopieray-built Honda. Pickett took 8J first, three seconds and a third in the heat races and started the eight-rider main from the second row. "Donny tuned the bike, and 1 have to give him all the credit," Pickett said. "Everybody was goofin' up in the main, and I just took advantage. 1 would have liked more points, but 1 was happy with my ride." Mark Wyskiel, riding another Molloseau-built Honda, took three firsts and two seconds in the heats to finish with 13 points and the third spot on the front row for the main event. An attempt to pass Springsteen cost Wyskiel a shot at a top-three finish. ."I tried to get inside of Chuckie on the corner'and just stayed on the brake too long and stalled it out," said Wysl?el, who ended up in eighth place. Noticeable by his absence in the main was Total Control Racing's Will Davis, the second-place finisher at December's Kold Kutter race. Davis, on another Molloseau-built Honda, won one heat and had two seconds, a third and a fourth in his others to earn eight points, enough to get in the main. However, video showed Davis had cut inside a corner in his last heat and two points were deducted from his total. Davis couldn't be found for comment after the main. MolJoseau seemed as upset about Davis' problem as he was ecstatic about Butler's victory. "Yeah, 1 felt bad about Will and his bike," Molloseau said. "He might have had a chance to be in the main, even with the corner thing, if his bike had been faster. That bike just plain ain't fast enough. It just don't puff good." MolJoseau said if Davis wants to come back to Flint for the ice races again next year, he'd have a ride for him. "That Will's a good rider and if he wants to come up here I'll build a bike for him," Molloseau said. "It will be a bike with a different engine, though. That engine's going under the bench." The O'Boyle brothers, Eric and Doug, riding for First Klass Glass, both qualified for the main with 12 and 11 points,

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