Huffma n, w ho lives in the Californi a
d es er t, had no suc h problem s, a nd in
the second mot o he again gra bbed th e
holesho t ahe a d of Carmichae l and led
the en tire d istance.
" I thi nk thi s was th e hottest ra ce I
ever rode in my life:' Hu ffm an s a id
afterward . "I would not have wanted to
go another lap, but 1 jus t pushed my
body a little bit further tha n th e rest o f
the guys, and 1 think tha t's w ha t did it
for me. I was pretty well prepared for
the heat and I just tried to ride smarter
and smoother than everyone else."
Carmichael rode second the entire
w a y , threaten in g Huffman through
much of the ea rly race, but then easing
off toward the end and settling for a
w ell-earned runner-up ride.
"I was going afte r Dam on as hard as
• I could, but 1 really didn't want to overheat ," sai d Carmichael. " 1 know that
cons istenc y is w hat's going to win this
championship, so finishing second both
times on a day like this isn 't too bad."
Windham started right ahead of 10th
but put his ankle injury out of mind and
cli mbed through the pa ck for third by
th e e n d of th e m oto, fini shin g just
a head of visiting 250cc GP rider Mike
Brown, who suffered a breakdown in
the first mcto. Pichon wa s fifth ahead of
Mike Craig, while SpiitFire /Pro Circu it /Kawasaki' s Ca sey Johnson, Pin g ree a nd privateer Ron Tichenor followed.
" Ma n, I ju st wo re o ut." Windham
sa id . "I' ve had troubles with the ruts
every time that I've ever been her e. I
think that affected me today, and so did
th e weather. I' ve been las tin g through
every o ther N ati onal, but today I just
d id n' t ha ve as much as I wanted:'
"This w a s th e hottes t race of my
entire life," Pich on said later. " It was so
hot that I got tired, but so did everyone
else. It was just a day wh ere you must
ride to finish , if you ca n. Ever since I
retu rn ed from my broken femur, 1 have
been trying to rid e more co ns iste ntly
and to build my result s in stead of
crashing and being hurt all the time.
Today, it would be eas y to ge t hurt if
you were not riding smart."
0
Kenworthy's MX Park
Troy, Ohio
Results: July 27, 1997 (Round 9 0113)
250 MOTO 1: 1. Jrff Em ig ( Ka w) ; 2. j erem y
McGr ath (Suz); 3. G ~g Albc:rtyn ISuz ); 4. Ezra LU!lK
(Yam) ; 5. Larry W ard (Han ); o. John lJo w d (Yam); 7.
Mi ke Kie drowski (Ho n): 8. Ryan Hugh es (Kilw) ; 9.
Jimmy Bult on (Ya m); 10. Buddy An tunez (Han) ; 11.
Phil Lawrence (Yam); 12. Jim Neese (Suz ); 13. An tho ny
Pororobba Jr. (Su z); 14. Rya n Huffman (Kaw); 15. Mike
Kati n (Yam); 16. Charles Du na way (Kaw ); 17. Matt
Shue (Su z ); 18 . Takeshi Koike d a ( Ya m ); 19 . Ja so n
Thomas (Kaw ); 20. Tony Amilradio (Ya m); 21. Bria n
Sto ne (Kciw); 22. Rya n T"' ' C ki (SUI.); 23. Ke lly Smith
'TIO:.
(H o n); 24. Brook Flu kl· r (H u n ); 25 . Rr" d J..ro mi nsk i
(Ka w ); 26. JO!'I h Uol Swt"i11 (Su:d ; 27. JaMln McCo rm ick
(yam); 28. Tod d D€oHoop (Yam); 29. Jake llam (Hon);
30. Mike laRocco (Suz); 31. Kevin Cri ne (Suz); 32.
And re Pe ne (Suz); 33. Damon Brad,haw ( Han) ; 34.
Ma rk Morri:I (Suz); 35. Jason Fn."I\...-tt:e Ok
(Yam ); 10. Budd y An~z n lonl; 11. Damon Bra&.haw
(Han) ; IZ. Ja , on McCormick (Ya m l: 13. Jim Neeo e
tSuz>; 14. Junmv Button (Yam) ; 15. Mike Kcibn (Yam );
l b. Ryan Ter lecki (Suz.); 17. Ryan Huffmln (K.1w); 18.
Brian Sto ne (lUw) ; 19. And re Pene (Suz ); 20. Jason
~ (Ka,w ); 21. M.1rk Morris (Suz); 22. KeUy Smith
(Hon); 23. Talt>!;hl Koikeda (Yam); 201. Ton y Amaradio
(Ya m ); 25. Jowph Ochlhof ( Ka w) ; 2b. Brad Hagseth
(Yolm); 27. Jt!ffnoy V~ lz",,,, (Ka w ); 28 . Sr.td Jenlminski
(Kaw); 2'J, Juo;hUd Swt>dl (StIl.); )O . J"LI' IMvio;{Hon}; 31.
Bmo k. Flukt"'T (H u n); 32. K.. vin eri n.. (..l:Juz); 33 . Bridn
S w in k. (I(.,JIw); 34_ Cholrl" DUnAwa y (Ka w ); 35 . Ph il
LaWTfflO" (Yam ); 36. Anthony Pcxorobba Jr . (Suz); 37.
Ryan Valadt" ()(aw); 38. Todd DcHoop (Yam); 39. Mdtt
Shu t" (Suz) ; 40. Ja ~n Frenette (Kawl.
2SO OIA: 1. JeH Emig (Ka w ); 2. Larry Ward (Ho n);
3. Jere my McC rllth (Su z ); 4. Cn.-g Alberty n (S uz); 5.
Ryan Hughes (Kaw); 6. 'ohn Dowd (Ya m ); 7. Ezra lusk
(Yam); 8. Mike Kit>drowskl (Han) ; 9. Buddy Antunez
(Hon); 10. Jimmy Button (Yam); 11. Jim Neese (Suz); 12.
Mike laRocco (Suz) ; 13. Mike Kahn (Yam ); 14. Ryan
Hu ffman (!(aw); 15. Odmon Br-"d ~h " w (Ho n); 16. Phil
Utwrenct' (V" m) ; 17 . J"o;un McC urm id. (Ya m) ; 18 .
(Above) Jeremy McGrath (2) took second In the IIrst 250cc moto butllzzled
back to s ixt h In t he second moto. He stili grabbed second overall.
(Right) Honda 's Steve Lamson eventually pulled out 01the lirstl25cc moto
after suffering a hard get--off ear lier in the day during practice.
Anthony Poco robba Jr. (Su z); 19. Ryan Ter lecki (Su z);
20. Charle5 Dunaway (Kaw); 21. Matt Shue (Sm); 22.
Br ia n Sto ne IKcw): 23. Jason Thoma s (Ka w) ; 24 .
Takeshi Koikeda (Yam); 25. Andrt' Pene (Suz) ; 26. Tony
Ama radio (Yam).
AMA 250cc NATIONAL C H A M P I ON S H I P MX
SERIES POINT STANDINGS (A ftn 9 of 13 rounds):
1. Jeff EmiFl 097/ 4 wim;); 2. John Dowd (336/2 wins);
..k
3. Jt'n"IJTy McCrath (309.; 4. Ezrd Lw (269 / 1 win ); 5.
Larry Ward (250); 6 . Mikt' LARuccu (245); 7. RYdn
Hugho.'-o (240); 8. Jimmy Button (201); 9. Gn>g Albtortyn
(l1H1l ....-in ): 10. Damon Bradshaw (182 ); 11. Phil
Lawrence (133); 12 Mike Kiedrowski n33); 13. Buddy
Antunez ( 05) ; 14. Doug Henry (10 2); 15. Tony
A ma radlO (S3) ; lb . Jason McCormick (8 1); 17. To ny
P ocorobba Jr . (67); 18. Ryan Huffman (65); 19_ Jim
N~ (58); 20. Brian Swink (SO).
125 MOTO 1: 1. Damon Huffman ()(a w l; 2. Rich
Carmichael (Kaw); 3 . Scott Sh eak (Ha n) ; 4 . David
Pingree (Ka w ); 5 . Brian Deega n (Su z ); 6 . M iclr..ael
Pichon (S uz); 7. Ron T ichen or (Su .d ; 8 . N athan
Ramoory (5u7J ; 9 . Tony 1.oru"'-'oO (suz); 10. Timmy Ferry
(Suz); 11. Stephant" Roncada (lion); 12. Ca!'lt")" Johnson
( Ka w ); 13. Casey Ly tle (H on); 14. Jeff Willoh (Va m);
15. Kevin wind ha m (Vam) ; lb. 8rock Sc:l1Ards ( Ka w );
17. Bany Carsten (Suz); IS. Mlch ..c l Bra nd e!l (Y..m) ;
19. Ryan Cla rk (S uz); 20. Do ug [)ctu.an (Suz); 21. Jos h
Demut h (Suz); 22 . Rya n Duff (Hon ); 23 . Tho mas
Harron (Suz) ; 24. Erick V:.II€"jo (lY w); 25. Ca leb Leath
(Yam); 26. Steve Andrich (Suz); 27. David Kratz (Suz);
28. Cnos Schnell (YoiIm); 29. Pedro Conzalez ()(aw); 30.
Chad Sa nnt.'T (Suz ); 31. Sbacn Peroho (Ho n); 32. Mik.e
Craig ( Hen): 33 . Ma r l. Bu rk holrt (H o n ); 34 . Mil e
Bro wn vt" l.InL.....m (linn); 36. Pau l C urrie
(Kaw); 37 . Bri an Roth (SU7.); 38 . Ro b bie Rey nard
{Hon): 39 . T om C tcwers (S uz); 40. Ro bbie Skaggs
(Han ).
125 M OTO 2: I. Damo n Huffman (K.1w); 2. Ricky
Ca r m ic h ael (Ka w ); 3 . xcvt n W indh.1m (Ya m ); 4.
Mich.l!.'1 Brown (Ya m); 5. Micka€"! Pichon (Suz) ; 6. Mike
Cri1lig (Ho n); 7. UfIe}' John!llOn ()(aw); 8. David Pingree
(Ka w) ; 9. Ron Tichen or (Suz ); 10. Brian JAoc n (Suz) ;
K.1
n . Seepb ene Roncadd (Hon ): 12. N " tlloln R.imst.·y (Suz) ;
13. Tim Fl;"rry (5 111.); 14. P"ul C ur t ie (Kd W); 15. Ton y
Loru ss o (S uz); 16 . Casey Lytle (lion ); 17. Ped ro
Gonzalez (Ka w) : 18. [ o sh De m u th (Su:d ; 19. Barry
Carsten (Suz) ; 20. Michael Bra ndes (Yam); 21. Sha un
Perolio t Hon): 22. Ryan DuU (Han); 23. Scott Shea k
(Han) ; 24. Tho mas Barro n (Suz); 25. Ro bbi e Sk.aggs
(Han) ; 26 . C ha d S3 nncr (Suz); 27 . Robbie Rey n.trd
(Han); 28. Brock. ~lI o1 rd s (Kaw); 29 . St€"vc A nd r ich
(Suz); 30. Mark Bu rk h.lrt (Hon); 31. Erick Vall!.'jo(Kaw);
32. enos Sch n€"11 (Yam); 33. Jeff WlUoh (Yam); 34. uleb
Leath (Yam); 35. Ryan Cla rk (5uz); 3b. Brian Roth (SW);
3i. DouFl ~haan (Suz); 38. o..vid Kratz (Suz) ; 39. Stevt"
LaJrnlOn (Ho n); 40. Tom Oowen (St u ).
125 O IA : 1. Ddmun Huffm"n (Kd W); 2 . Ri cky
Carmich.,JIel OCaw); 3. Micl.lt"t Pichon (Suz ); 4. David
Pingree ( Ka w ); S. Brian D~egan (S uz); 6 . Kevin
Windham (Ya m) ; 7 . Ron Tichen or (Su z) ; 8 :Cuey
John9Oll. (K.lw ); 9. Nathan Ramsc:y dro Go n za le z
lt
(l«J.w ); 22. Mich.d Br.. nJn . In.the . Damon Bradsh aw and Kawasaki ' s J eff
Em ig shared the 2S0cc prize . The prize is
250cc class. the bes t of the privat ee rs w as
Thor/ Primal Impuls e/B in's Pipe s' Buddy
$250. handed out by 1-900-PRO-RACEfor the "
Antunez. who scored ninth overall wi th his
10-10 tally J,m's MC Sale.twinters· Marketing/Ba!lzeelHammerheod-bac ked .Jim Neese
· quickest 'starter in each of the fOur National
motos.
grabbed the other two hundred bills with hla
Team Honda 's Steve Lamson' hed .a forget:
tab le visi t to Kenworth y' s, A major crash in
p rac t ic e le ft t he two -tim e 12'5cc N ati on al
C hamp ion w ith the' medics Ior much of the.
morning ., Even .wi th 8 ' fat lip and . a thro bbing '
heed . Lamson we nt to the starti ng gate for the
first m~to to at leas t try , Ahera mldpack start
. Lamson start ed .to feel ill. " I was riding and I
was having
hard ,time foc using' on the track '
or anything: the defending rac e 'Winner said..
'" tried to go ,on. but I figured that it just wasn't .
very safe to .qc ,o n like 'that. " Lams on pulled
out of the race and did not ' try to ride the sec~ '
ond mot o . . '
.
.
12·13 showing for 11th over all.
S pea kmg of R~n Tich~nor. the A orid iari·s
.name came up as a hot ca ndidate for the 1998 '
s eason fo r so me o f the gr owing number o f
independen t and semi-fac tory teams Tichenor, '
27 yea rs old. 1$ said to stJ I~ be eligible to co mpe te in the 125cc Regional SX dM SKm.which
w ou ld make h im a hot property for . any such
.team. "I'm really enjoying myself right
and
I'm happy wit h the bike and the way things are '
goin g . GO we'll Just haveto see what turns
out." said Tichenor o f the talk . "lt'abeen.like .
five years "si nce I even ' rode 'a svp ercross ."
Tichenor spent the last four yea rs co mpettnq in . As 't h e troubl ed seaso n s o f Jeremy
McGrath and Steve Lamson continued at Japan unde r the Suzuki factory banner before
returning to' privat eer s ta tus in ,Am erica th is . Kenworthy ' s." ta lk o f t h e M ot ocro s s d e s'
Natfons tea m began s urfaci ng again. 1t was
y ea r w ith the' hel p o f Wynn Kern 's Perfororiginally thought that defending race charnplmance Eng ineering of Orl ando .. H orid a . .I f
ons McG rath ,and La ms'on w ould rejo in Je ff
Tich en ordqes ri de in the 125cc ' s upe;cross
Emig on Team US~ for the September 14 race
cl ass .nex t yea r and p ull s off a win ; he s till
';"ould not be the, oldest ride'r w er to win such · In .N ismes. Belg ium.' NoW the w ord in the pits
forego hisspoi '
a race . Yamaha' s John Dowd w as 'S1 when IS that McGrath had decided to"
he wOn two ' 125cc' East Regionaf supercross
on t he learn in o rder to allow another t op
races thiS yea r.
.
.
. 250 cc rider to go in his place. Kaw asaki ' s
· Ryan Hughes has again vol~t:'lteerect his services. but the. AMA's nrst choice seems to be
A no t her ho t ~ re t ro" p rospect is Gray, Ten .
ne ssee's Mike Brown. who stayed aut of
Yamaha's John Dowd.
for the" 125cc
roJe, Lamson is still planning on going. though
Europe for one more week in order -to prove
Yamaha 's Kevin Windham and Spli tRre/Pro
his U.S. value in the 12Scc dass. BroWn has
Circuit Kawasaki's Rick y Carrnich8e l have .
had 8 tough yeer adapting to. the 250cc g;.a,nd
pnx circUit In 1997 With the Chesterfield Yama-: been mentioned as replacement.s shQuld Lam-·.
so n's string of Injuries co ntinue.
ha team and is hoping to get back .to the
States In '98. After finishing a solid third in the
The newest name to join the ra~ks
fact ory- .
firs t mota at Unad iRa last week on a borrowed
yz 125. he snapped a nng In the second race
backed riders is Nic:k Wey. a 16 -y ear -ol d
and blew a sure podium finish . Brown decided
amateur star from Mich igan. Wey signed a
to come to Kenwo rt hy' s this w ee kend rathe r
deal with Sp litFire /Pro C ir cuiVKawasaki to ·
than head back to EuroPe to Prepare for next eompete in the 1998 AMA 125cc Supercross
weekend's Indonesian G P.·and he again suf- ' 5enes .and 'the 125cc outdoor ' Nabonal s. He
fered a mec hanlcol bfeakdownin one mOto but
will begin ' his Pro -Am career aher the AMA
fjnish~ a ~olld fourth In the next'.' -I'mtrying 10
A mateur N at io nal Fi nals at Loretta ,Lyn n ' s '
Ranch in Hurricane M iIls .- Tennessee. held th e
open some doors baCk up for myself. and pe0first .week of A ugust . His debut will most likeple have sta rted to talk to me ,- BroWn said as
he: washed h is .o w n bike b e f ore t h e ma i n
ly co me In the 125cc ctass at the Binghameve nts . ' ~ I reef like I' m f:tster and stron'ger now . ton , N ew York. ro und of the N ati onal 'MX
Series. .
than f ever .wa S. and m'entally I know what it
a
now
As
of