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/127849
DIRT TRACK AMAG A N R ND ATIONA L CHAMPIONSHIP SER IES By Dave Hoenig Phot os by Flat Tra k Fotos DUQUOIN IL, JULY13 , u ch ha s be en said a bo u t Scott Pa rker' s d emi se in 1997, b ut a t the Du Quoin Sta te Fa irgrounds, the compet ition gave him a n inch and he took the firs t mile race of the season, pr oving that the se ve n- ti me G ra n d Na ti o na l Champion is as on top of hi s ga me a~ ever. Parker rod e a calculated ra ce, running d own Kevin Atherton and snatching victory on the last lap. Parker only h ad hi s Bill Werner-t uned fac to ry Harl ey-David son ou t fron t for four laps of the 25-lap race, but one of those four was the 25th . O ppressive, brutal Midwestern hea t greeted the Gra nd National racers a t DuQuoin. For th e first tim e in severa l yea rs ther e was no th reat of rain , but extre mely high hu mid ity and pi t tem peratures measured in the triple d igits, leaving m ost i n attendance wilted . Des pi te th e co nditions, the Illi nois Mo torcycle Dealers Associalion had the beau tifu l mile in top s ha pe, a nd th e Grand Na tiona l wa s still the h o tt est thing a round. Fast qua lifier Tot al Co ntrol Racin g's Will Davi s led the first lap around, but it was his teamma te Kevin Atherton wh o had the crowd ro arin g as he p ut hi s XR750 u p nea r the hay bales and moved from fifth to first in on e lap. Atherton then pulled to a command - M 16 ing lead as Parke r , Rick y G raha m , Da vi s, Da ve y Camlin a nd Rich Kin g wer e bunched in a battle ove r second. Typ ical of mil e-track action , th e order cha nged constantly aro und the oval. "I loo ked back after I took th e lead, and I not iced I wa s p u tting som e d istan ce on them, so I decided to go for it," A therton said . . Ath erton did gain abou t a tw o-seco nd lead - large b y m ile s ta nda rd s u nti l Graha m and Parke r separa ted th emsel ve s fr om th e pack. By th e halfw ay point, th ey had cau ght Atherton, a n d it would be a three -rider shoo tout to the end. "He (Atherton) just split right off the bat, " Par ker said . '1 was trying to heat my tire up slow instead of just wicking it on. He was up in the cus hion, and tha t will kee p our tire cool, too, bu t I think his lire was waxed out. 1 cou ld see that every lim e he would ge t down on th e groove, he wa s jus t spi nning." Lurki ng in third was USC Racing / Z Ga lleries' Graham, who seemed content to wa tch fro m th ird as he only tested Parke r a couple of times late in the race. U was .just cruising; I was worried I about the tire wear situation," Graham said. "I didn' t ride the race the way I've always done in the pas t. , ormalJy at the five-to-go I wou ld just hit it, and thi s time I just did n't . I stayed behind , wa iting for the last lap. I wa s going to win the race coming out of turn four. I had a pla n, but it just d idn't ha ppen." Points leader Will Davis held on to fou r th a fter su rviving his ow n three- uoitrState Fairgrounds rid er ba ttle wit h Camlin and Rich King. '1 just could n' t kee p the pace, there's no excuses," Da vis sa id . "I thought it w a s goi ng to be m y rac e, bu t Kevi n wen t up th er e in th e pl owed-up dirt, a nd th a t wa s n' t for me. I had a good horse, as good as there was he re, bu t I did n't rid e it the way I needed to. 1 jus t tried to pace m yself, then Camlin and King passed me." Camlin's race came to an end o n lap 20, w he n h is I -BOO-FASTHOG / Moroney's Harl ey -D a vidson le t go going into turn one. "The rods wen t ou t," Camlin sa id. "Rich (Ki ng) said it w as p ukin g o il about the halfway point. It just fina lly tied up. I noticed it was kind of slow a couple of laps before it ha ppened, but I thought maybe I just needed to be a littl e mo re agg ressive. Then it s tar te d making noises and I though t, 'Uh-oh, Ski p's go ing to be pissed: I thought it might be in my head, but it let go, goi ng into tum one." King kept himself in the points race with a solid fifth on his Corbin Raeing / R&R Honda. "We were running good," King said. "I was just waiting and trying to save my tire . I really thought I wa s going to ha ve a ti r e problem . About halfwa y through the race, Davey Camlin started oiling us down. 1 knew he d idn't know it; I was waving at him trying to let him know, but I bel ieve he though t I jus t wanted him to ge t in line to d raft. It's har d to communica te at 140 mph. I used u p all my tear-offs wit h th e oil. I jus t Scon Parker (1) roars off the ins ide of the front row to grab the holeshot over the 18rider field at the first mile race of the year In Ou Quo in , ill inois. Parker went on to score hi s 78th caree r Grand Nationa l wi n and his 44th on mile race tracks. u sed my last one up, go ing do wn the back straight, when his bike let go going into one. After that, my face shield was all blurred and Will was ru nning good. If Cam lin wouldn't have started oiling, I think we would have had a shot at the front." HEATS Steve Morehe ad pus h ed his F&:S Ha rley to the lead of heat one, only to be chased down by a five- rider pack conta in ing G raha m, Ja y Sprin gsteen, Tim Mertens, Mike Hacker and Paul Morgan Ill. On the fourth lap, Graham cha rged into the lead and pulled to a convi ncing win. Second through fif th wa s fa r from ' d ecided as everyone too k a turn at lea ding the p a ck somew he re aro u n d th e track . At th e checke r ed flag, it was H a ck er and the I-B OO-FASTHOG / Moroney's Harley-Davidson in second, with Morehead just nipping Mertens at the line for the last transfer . Dayton a Sh o rt Track winner Terry Poo vey, making only his thi rd appear- ' ance of the season, led the second heat off the line on his Sakaida &: Sons Truck ing-sponsored Harl ey. Ath er ton quickly