Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

MOTOCROSS AMA 125/25Occ NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MOTOCROSS SERIES Rounds 515: Budds Creek Motocross Park (Left) Casey Johnson made It a 1-2 ProClrcultlSpl"FlreJKawasakl sweep In the 125cc class. (Above) Doug Henry's roller-coaster seeson took another tum for the worse when he broke bOth arms after nosediving Into the face of a double lump. 16 about five laps, and then I came through the mechanic's area, looked over at my pit board and saw 'Emig' written there," Lusk said. "That was my mistake. It got in my head and I started fading a little bit, but once he went by me, I got a little more comfortable and got going again." Emig appeared ready to pull away, but he never did. In fact, both Lusk and Dowd pic,ked up the pace, swapping positions back and forth and moving right back up on the leader's Kawasaki. Throughout their battle, Yamaha teammates Lusk and Dowd rode fair and square. . "There's never a problem riding close with John (Dowd), because we're teammates and friends, and we respect each other," Lusk said. "I really think he was going a little faster than me and Emig there at one point. He got me and he was going after Jeff, but then they hit together and it was just Jeff in front." "I was riding good, but I just couldn't stay on my bike today," said Dowd, whose second-moto ride was his best of the year. "I fell in both matos, but at least I had the pace." "John (Dowd) closed in again, bu t Jeff (Emig) and I were just riding a little smoother," Lusk said of the conclusion. "He got right back up on us, along with those other guys (McGrath and Hughes), but Jeff and I still had it going ourselves." "You could have thrown a blanket over all five of us," McGrath said of the second-race freight train for spots one through five. "Emig made a couple of. stuff passes there early to get the lead, but he never really pulled away. It must have been a pretty cool race to watch." Emig had not landed off the finish-· . line jump before Lusk took air ahead of Dowd, McGrath and Hughes. LaRocco, Ward and Chaparral Yamaha teammates Jimmy Button and Phil Lawrence were next, followed by Bradshaw. "Yogi (Lusk) and the rest of the guys must have been on a pretty good charge," Emig said later. "I was riding smooth, and then they just wicked it up. They were all going fast." "I was fifth, and I was five bike lengths behind Jeff," joked a fifth-placebut-still-pleased Hughes. '1 was right with those guys in both matos, but it was just really hard to pass for anyone. Maybe if I had gotten a little more aggressive, I might've done it, but I didn't want to ride like that. Since I got fifth, maybe I should have." 125cc NATIONAL When the first 125cc rnato left the starting gate, the Kawasaki of Johnson was at the front of the pack, followed by Huffman, Pro Circuit ISpli tFirel Kawasaki's David Pingree, Noleen Racing USA's Jeff Willoh, Carmichael, Windham, Craig and Primal Impulse Honda rider Robbie Reynard. Sheak was in about 10th off the start, but quickly started making moves toward the front. Windham and Carmichael did likewise and, "within five laps, the favored pair had moved up into the first three positions, setting up the outdoor race that fans had been waiting for since the second moto at Gainesville. And then disaster struck the unlucky Windham again. Windham sat in the middle of the fast, uphill sweeper right before the scoring tables, with his arm raised high to signal traffic after his Yamaha snapped its chain. Once Carmichael went by, Johnson, Huffman, Sheak and the rest rode past the helpless rider. "Aftee all of the bad luck I've been having, the first thing that went through my head was, 'There's no way this just happened - there's no way it happened again,'" Windham said. "I tried not to make a fool out of myself out there in frpnt of everybody, but there must have been some smoke flying out of my ears. You know, it's not my fault, or Yamaha's, or my mechanic Alley's - it's just bad luck, period." One lap later, it was Sheak's turn to be dismissed when his Honda CR125 appeared to seize just 50 feet up the track from where Windham's race had ended. At that point, the race was basically over. "I was running second when Kevin (Windham) threw his chain," Carmichael said. "He was riding good, but he's having some real bad luck. I kind of feel sorry for him, because I know he's working real hard. After that, I just rode my own race. Casey (Johnson) and Damon (Huffman) were battling it out and hammering at one another, so it was hard for me to pull it out on them." Huffman chased Johnson throughout the moto, but could never get a wheel up on him. They crossed the finish line just a few bike lengths behind the cruising Carmichael. Ferry ted Craig a short time later, followed by a fast Ron Tichenor. "When you're running up front, you can run that pace the whole mota," Johnson said. 'Tve been working really hard these past few weeks; but I pumped up. a little bit when I was leading early, maybe because that was the first time I ever rode up front. At the end I feel really good, like I c'an run with those guys." "That was the best National mota I'v'e had in a while," Huffman said. "This is the first time I've really felt 100 percent. I actually hit Casey (Johnson) at one point in the back section, but at that point, I thought that I would rather set-· tle for third and worry about the next race than to risk. a crash and finish eighth or 10th." . Before the start of the second moto, Sheak and Huffman were granted the 35th and 36th picks on the gate, respectively, according to their first-mota finishes. Sheak chose the last gate on the far inside, leaving Huffman with an equally unattractive outside pick. Neither rider were in the top 10 when Carmichael grabbed the holeshot and flat-out smoked everyone for the first three laps. Carmich;tel's lightning-fast start saw him cutting laps six seconds faster than the rest of the pack for an 18second lead after just three laps. At that point, the kid hit cruise control and maintained his advantage all the way to the checkered flag. 'J just got a good holeshot, had a clear track, and motored away," Carmichael said of the second mota. "That shows you how important a .holeshot can be. Everyone else had to deal with traffic or dust or whatever. I just had the perfect situation." The Kawasakis of Huffman and Johnson were second and third off the start, with Ferry, Craig, Tichenor, and HoT's Stephane Roncada in tow. Craig seemed more on the gas than the rest of the pack, and he moved up to second after a few laps. Meanwhile, Sheak started poorly, had an early spill, and could only muster 14th-place points on what was, for him, a very forgettable day.' As the race wound down, Huffman closed the gap Craig had opened, and started looking for a place to pass the Honda pilot. Be found the right route in the air when he jumped past "Sting Ray" on the centerfield Big Gulp doubles and rode off with the runner-up finish. "This track is real good for tight battles because its so fast, and there's, like, one really good line around the whole thing," Huffman said. "I had to work on • Craig every single lap, and then my 10< just pulled him up the uphill jump. I'm real happy with the way I rode today. Second is great on a day when Ricky

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