Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

just one of those things. You'd get a good run, you'd get a bad run, and he would do the same thing. We just came up a little bit short. Hey, we've got aLI year." Even though Atherton led every lap, there was no lack of action during the main. Virtually every position behind him changed more than once. Most riders who lost touch with the leaders were unable to keep track of their own pOSition. Corbin Racing's Rich King had to be told that he had earned third place. King's RS750 was the only Honda in the main. "I was just out there," King said. "I ran into a couple of guys early. Everyone was just bouncing all over in the ruts. I just went down to the bottom and started pole-putting. I was as close as I could get to the bottom, trying to stay under the ruts. I knew I was passing a lot of guys, but I knew I was a long way back. I never .reaIized I was third." . Atherton's Total Control Racing teammate Will Davis had an up-and-down race and ended up with a fourth-place finish. . "I've got to get my arms in shape or something," Davis said. "I was about fifth or sixth, then worked my way to second. Parker got by, and I settled into third. My arms were like rubber bands. Coming off the corners, I was struggling. My wrist wouldn't turn. I could hardly tum the throttle. I found a pretty smooth line and thought, 'Man if I just stay right here, I'll be all right: All of a sudden I kept missing it. Then it came to me: They'd dug ditches through my smooth line." Charging home an impressive fifth was Geo Roeder, making his first National on the Mike and Eddie Adkins Racing Harley-Davidson. "I knew I was up there somewhere, but I didn't know how far," Roeder said. "The traffic was really something. Don't they use the blue flag anymore? I didn't know if that was a rule change or if they just didn't do it. I hung on to King for a little bit and got by Evans and caught Davis at the end. We were getting around pretty good, but I had to ride my backup bike after our number-one's ignition went out. Then we had to spend the night tweaking on this one to make it handle like the broken one. I was about a half second faster with the other one." The 600cc Support race went to Steve Morehead on his Taylor White/Mike Wheeler / F&S Harley-Davidson-backed Rotax. HEATS Fast qualifier Chris Evans led the first heat into turn one ahead of Dan Bu tier, but at the end of lap one it was Atherton taking command over the semiretired Georgie Price. By lap three, the American H-D/Shoei-backed Evans had taken second, with Bartels' Harley-Davidson's· Jay Springsteen moving Price out of a direct transfer to the National. Atherton looked to be at home up in the hay bales, but he thought the National would be another story. "The top is going to go away after eight to 10 laps," Atherton said. "It's going to be very physical. You just need to be the first into the tum. I think it'll be all said and done by the 10th lap. If you have to go to the bottom, it's rough. If you stay on the gas, it's not too bad:' Team 1-800-FASTHOG/Moroney's Harley-Davidson rider Davey Camtin followed Atherton's formula perfectly and ran away with the second heat. "It's the best way to beat the dust, but it sure is rough up on top," Camlin (Right) Scott Parker (1) battled with Will Davis (21) briefly during the early stages of the race before attempting to run down Atherton. Parker finished second, while Davis wound up fourth. (Below) Rich King admittedly lost track of his position on the track, but when the dust settled, the Iowan laid claim to third place aboard the only Honda in the main event. Harley-Davidson home third for the last direct transfer. SEMIS said. "Me and rough tracks, usually it's not very good:' Finishing well behind Camlin was the returning Kevin Varnes, who was riding his first aliona! since breaking IDS leg at the Eldora Half Mile last September. Varnes, who still retains the backing of USC Racing and Johnny Goad, has made the switch from Goad's Hondas to the Harley-Davidsons of Lancaster H-D's Randy Texter. "I feel real good," Varnes said. "I've been riding some local races, and I rode the Harley last week at Norwalk, Ohio. I really like it:' The battle over the last transfer spot went right down to the wire between Pat Buchanan and Geo Roeder. After swapping the position back and forth, Roeder finally came out on top. The third heat came to the Une loaded with four riders who had the potential to win the main at the end of the night. King sat on the pole with F&S Harley-Davidson's Morehead, Davis and returning USC Racing rider Ricky Graham alongside. Only three would advance. King led the horde into turn one, with Morehead, Graham and Davis in tight formation, but as the pack thundered into turn three, disaster struck as Graham and Morehead collided and Graham hit the dirt: "Ricky just did what he always does," Morehead said. "As we were going into three, he turned right, then banked hard to the left. But I was already there, and we hit:' . Graham was transported to the local ho pital to be checked out. Preliminary X-rays were reportedly negative. Morehead led the res tart into turn one, but Davis and King relegated him to third as they entered the back straight. Davis and Morehead went right to the top, while King took his Honda to the bottom. At that point in the night the top appeared to be much faster, and Davis and Morehead left King an uncontested third. Davis finally succumbed to Morehead's charge, and the "Findlay Flyer" took the lead for good with a spectacular pass on the outside of turn two. Davis stayed close in second, while King tried different lines, holding down a distant third. "1 had to eat a lot of dirt to make that pass," Morehead said. "We can't get the bike to tum like I would like. I've really got to wrestle it around:' It's common knowledge that former Canadian National Champion Steve Beattie likes to push the cushion, and he was doing just that in the last heat. Beattie slid his Deeley Harley-Davidson XR750 into the lead over 1-800FASTHOG / Moroney's Harley-Davidson's'Mike Hacker, Joe Kopp and Parker, who quickly worked into second and methodically dosed on Beattie. Parker worked his line around the center of the track as Beattie appeared to tire. "I thought I had him, bu't my arms felt different," Beattie said. "I really had some arm pump. J need to relax my arms a little, bu t if you relax too much you miss your entry point. I'll just have ·to pace myself better in the National:' Kopp brought his Sacramento Only two riders from each of the three semis would continue on to the National. Fat Boy Racing's Recil Hart got the jump in the first semi, but Gardner Racing / Walters Brothers HarleyDavidson's Dan Butler exploded by to lead after lap two, and Butler e,!sily went on to the win. Hart held a solid second' until the last lap, when he lost his ticket to the National as J.R. Schnabel swept by both Kenny Coolbeth and Hart corning out of turn four to put his Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson/Torque Center / Saddlemen-backed Harley into the main. Pat Buchanan took the point in semi two, but Hacker worked his way into the lead and pulled to an easy win. Buchanan was then under pressure from Rose Racing's Willie McCoy, who put in a strong ride to send Buchanan and Paul Morgan·to their vans. Dan Stanley led the last semi around for the first lap, but he was quickly shuffled out of the picture. Mike Vames put his White's Harley-Davidson into the lead and Price muscled his Pop Sweeten Racing Harley into second. By the halfway point, Price had forged into the lead and Varnes was in the Sights of S&B Racing/Suburban Motors HarleyDavidson-sponsored Bret Beyer. Corning out of turn four on the last lap, Beyer dropped Mike Varnes from the National. Stanley and Scott Stump battled over fourth-place money, with Stanley corning out on top. 600cc SUPPORT The 600cc Support heat wins went to Richard Winsett Jr., Steve Morehead and Jason Sentell. Morehead rocketed off the line at 'the start of the main and instantly went to the hay bales. Morehead opened a lead over Corbin Racing's Lonnie Pauley. It appeared as though Morehead had everything well in hand when Pauley slowly started to close. "I lost my left footpeg on lap two, and it's brutal to try and race this kind of thing and hold your foot up along the straights," Morehead said. "He made a couple of mistakes and I think his leg was getting tired, but I couldn't capitalize," Pauley said. Jason Sentell was running a solid third, but he was also being reeled in. Both John Nickens III and Bret Beyer caught Sentell, but couldn't get by:: GRAND NATIONAL Fast qualifier Atherton used his choice of starting spots to grab the fourth slot from the inside. Camlin moved to Atherton's left, with More-

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