Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127847
t after the races with cuts and deep bruises about his neck, chest and arms - courtesy of his competitors' rooster tails but the injuries failed to dampen his enthusiasm for this season. "We' ve got a good team together: ' Roeder said . "Eddie Ad kin s has made all the difference. The bike was working g reat , but the track just s ta rted to d ry o u t o n the la st few laps, and t he twingles started to pull away fro m me. I wa nted to get on tha t podium, but we just fell a little short. We'll take it." Fifth place we nt to ano ther rid er w ho is begi nni ng to once aga in display consistency both on and off the race track, USC Racin g' s Ricky Graham. The for me r th ree-t im e AMA G rand National Champion actually appeared to struggle early in the main event, starting ninth an d d ro pping to 10th pl ace before th e red flag . But o n the re sta rt , G ra ham seemed to wake up and quickly pulled to sixth pla ce before fi nall y catch ing But ler on lap 18 and then just hold ing the yo ung Mich igan cha rge r off a t the line for the spot. "1 was pr etty mu ch try ing to stay out of that roo st:' Graham said . "I wanted to go hi gher, but I just cou ld n't see. 1 thou ght th at thi s trac k m igh t be better for the Honda, but you know, this feels just like 1992, w here 1 had to rid e, rid e, rid e just to ge t consisten t. Th is feels like 1992 in terms of ge tting bac k into it like that." Butler finished sixth , ahea d of Am erican Harley-David son lnc.'s Chris Evans, Corbin Racing /R&R's Rich King, Deeley Harley- Davidson's Steve Beatti e, and TC R's Ke vin Athe rton. Te am 1-800FAST HOG/ Mo ro ney's Harley-Davidson' s Mik e Ha cke r was 11th, followed by Ba rt el s' Harle y-David son ' s Ja y Springs teen, S&:B Racing' s Bret Beyer , Ca m Hn, a nd ESAB Weld in g' s Do ug Davis . Mechanical failures relegated Suburban Motors H-D's J.R. Schn abel to 16th, Mo rehead to 17 th, and Ma rin e Transport rookie Bryan Bigelow to 18th . Des pite mi ssing the Da yton a Sh ort Track main event and rema ining winless up to Lima, Parker ha s now moved into second place in the se r ies po in ts sta ndings . He trails Davis, 116-98. King sits th ird w ith 96 . Atherto n is fo u r th wi th 71, and Springs teen is still han gi ng on to fifth wit h 68. HEATS Atherton started off the s h o w with a h ol e shot in th e first 10-lap he at race, followed by CamHn, Springsteen, Beattie and th e y oungster Bigelow . The front three quickly pulled away and se t the pa ce, while Beattie and Bigelow sc rap ped back and fourth on their way to the semis . Camlin got unde rneath Ather ton off three and fou r to take the lead on lap four, and then the pair swapped positions for three mo re laps before Caml in got the edge off tu rn tw o and held the lead to the finis h. Atherton an d Springst een followed him into the main. "If I would have had a good performan ce at Par kers burg, I'd say we're getting there: ' Camlin sa id of h is tit le as p i ra tio ns . "We've been strong everywh ere else. I gu ess I'll have those days once in a while. Will and Scotty and Kevin d o n ' t . But we're ge tting b e tter. Skip ha s go t th e bikes working awesome." Mo rehea d ca me ou t nex t and wowed the partisa n cro w d with an awesome exhibition in the fine art of cush ion -riding durin g heat two . T he " Fi ndlay Flyer's" result wa s never in d ou bt as he pulled th e ho les fiot and ran away from a seco nd -place battle a mong Kopp, Evans a nd Ha cker. Morehead hun g it high, wide and handsome for a ll 10 laps to fi n is h half a s tra ig h ta way a head o f Eva ns and Kopp. Hacker dropped off the pace and into the sem is. " I ca n d o the 10 laps, but I d on' t know if I've got 15 more than that in me : ' Morehead said . "We blew a ca m cover gasket, so we have to work on that. I don 't know... The only thing I'm worried about is the botto m. As lon g as 1can run up top, I'll be fine; but if 1have to ru n the bottom, and it's d ry, then the twinglcs will run better." Roed er got the ju mp o n the field in h e at thr ee wit h Doug Davis , Pat Buchanan, Mike Varnes. Will Davis su ffered a rare starting -li ne miscu e and was forced to play catch-up. Will Davi s dropped low in one and two to go bble up Buch anan a nd Varnes on la p two and the n stayed on the mo ve, d ivi ng und er Doug Davis off tum two o n lap three for second . Will Davis kept coming, using th e lo w lin e to good effect, and w hen Roeder bobbled in one and tw o on lap seven, Will Davis dropped underneath to take th e lead and go on for the win. Roed er and Doug Davis ran second and th ird for direct entry to the main. 1 (Oppos lto page ) Scott Parker picked up his first Grand National win of the season and Ihe 77th of his career at the Urna Half Mile. Parker has won the race seven times in 14 years . (Above)The man who would be king: Local favorito Steve Morehead got the holeshel and led the IIrsl 13 laps of the race before his run was halted by mechan ical gremlins. Morehead was ultimately cred ited with 17th. (Below) Aftor a Davoy Camlin cra sh brought out a red flag, Parker (1) led Ihe rest art, followed by Joe Kopp (43), Will Davis (21), Dan Butler (22) and Gee Roeder II (66). 15