Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·' Ricky Fiscel (53) and John Fike (1) bumped in the firsltum during the 600cc Pro-class final at the Rapid City, South Dakota VDTRA National. Flsceltook the win while Fike was fi1lh. H a yd e n , C he n ey, Vo ll me r a nd Dusty Fau lds were front-run ners in the 250cc Pro-Am final, which ra n in place of a ll of th e canceled amateur fi nals d ue to an 11 p.m . tim e lim itati on . Whil e Hayd en easily won, a battle for seco nd w en t Fau ld s' w ay; Che ne y, Vo ll m er, Tysor and Jacob La timer filled the top six, Ha yd en wa s o nce aga in o u t fro nt, t h is ti m e in t he 600cc P ro-Am m a in event. Jus t as he did in his 250cc performance, the H ar t Raci ng / 2nd Ch ance Au to Sa les /EBC-ba chd Hayden p u t nearly a half-lap lea d o n th e co mpetitio n . Closest to Hayden w a s Ea des, while McG r ane, Richa rd Marrs, Kir k [enn em an and Tysor were fairly close in the third through sixth spots. Lync h sat o n the pole position for the shortened 600cc Expert final, but it was ~ Fisher who pu t the Har t Racing / Ceiori e Brothers-bac ked Rotax out front, ahead of Ma rtin and Hacker. Lync h, thou gh , qu ic k ly d is p la ce d H a cker to ch ase down Ma rfi n, w ho bo th closed in on Fisher. Fish er, however, he ld up under the in credible p ressu re fro m the Natio nal numb ers 19 (Lynch) and 74 (Mar tin) to n a b t he w i n a nd the acco m pa nyi ng paycheck. Lynch go t th e best of Martin for second, while Ma r tin took thir d . Kop p, who cha rged th rough traffic to fo urth an d had m ounted a cha rge to narrow the ga p on the leading trio, finished fo u rth , a h ea d of S ta n ley and Hacker , while Steve Joh n son , Jo h n McC le lland , Boone a n d Ho fme is te r filled the top 10. "I could hear them behi nd me," said Fisher of th e close finish between himself, Lynch and Mart in. I cou ld've gone faster, b u t I stood a chance of making a mistake." Lynch, [ennernan and Stump battled for pos ition s in the 750cc Expert ma in eve nt, which featu red as close a-finis h as in th e 600cc Expe rt cla ss, but it was Stu m p on th e Performa nce H -D /Bob Stu mp / K&N XR750 w ho barely ed ged [erm ernan and Lync h for a w in . Well behind the trio was a fourth-place battle bet ween Lonnie Kop p and Steve liberty. Kopp go t the nod. Ama teur action, scored by heat-race finishes, saw Roger Hayden picking up a wi n in the Open class, w hile Suzu ki rider Nick Seller s won the 80 and 125cc even ts. Fello w Was hi n g to n ia n Ku r t Haw k ca me from be h ind to win the 250cc class . ,:- Black Hills Speedway Rapid City, South Dakota Res ults : August 7, 1997 150 EX: 1. Scott Stump (H·D) ; 2. Dale [ennema n (HD); 3. Pact Lynch (H· D); 4. Lonn ie Kopp (H -D); 5. Stev e Liht·rty (H-O). 600 EX: 1. Rn Fisher (W·R); 2. Paul Lync h (Rtx); 3. Billy Ma rt in (lUx) ; 4. Joe Ko p p (Rtx) ; 5. Den Stanley (R tx ). bOO PRO-AM: I. N icky Hayden (Rtx); 2. Tim Eades (Rtx ): 3. Tho ma s McGran e (KTM ); 4. Rich a rd M ar rs (Rtx); 5. Kirk j enneman (Rtx). 250 PR O -AM : 1. N icky Hayden (R t x) ; 2. Dusty Faul d s (Hon); 3. [erad Che ney (Hon ); 4. Jam ie Vollmer (Yam) . O PEN A: I. Roge r Ha yd e n (RIl ); 2. c.j . Bev in g (B on); 3. Kt>Vin M ('ITPII (R tx). 250 A: 1. Ku rt I law k (lIon); 2. C} . Bt·vin g (Kaw) ; 3. Jot' Uhler (Yam) ; 4. Darrin Lipp (Yam ); 5. Bria n Schilt (Yam). 125 A: 1. Nick Sellers (Suz); 2. Chris Feis t"(Yam); 3. Darr in Lip p (Suz); 4. Sca n Ligh t (H on ): S. Jo1kc Bat h (Yam). 80 A: I. N ick Sellers (Suz); 2. Jake Bath (Yam ); 3. Da nietle Be v tng (K.1W); 4. Na te Neet he r (Ya m ); 5 . Cameron Mean s (Ka w ). 60 A: 1. Ca meron Mea ns (K.lw); 2. Jacob Keier leber (Ho n): 3. L.N . Wa~ent'r (~w); 4. Nick Marti n (Ka w ). 50: 1. L w aggeoer (Cob) ; 2. Kt'l\t Brigs!>' (KTM ); 3. D-J. Brill k (KTM); 4. Mdrk Keie rl.·.... r (KTM ). SbJrgis H ilePro-Am allM Hayden takes two By Clay Light SlURGIS, SD,AUG. 8 oger Lee Hayd en showcased what is ye t to co me as th e Ken tuc ky rider won two classes at the Sturgis-based Rally Even ts Inc.-spo nsored half m ile flat track at the Stu rg is Fai rgrounds. Since the event wa s not -an AMA san ctioned eve nt, Hayden, 14, got a rare chance to test his abilities agains t olde r, more experienced riders. T he ou tcome? Ha yd en sco red r unaway wins in th e two Pro-Am classes (250 and 600cc) on the dus ty, d ry-slic k track to join O re gon's Rex Fisher, the 600cc Expert winner, on the pod ium. The compe tition got a view of Hayden in the distance in the 250cc Pro-Am class, as Hayd en, riding in place of h is ol d er bro th er N ic ky , di spla ced Jared Che ney o n th e fir st of the 10 la ps of co m pe li tio o , lea vi n g th e fie ld we ll behi nd' to ea r n h is first win, a he ad of Co lor a do' s Ma rk Eri ckson a nd Iowa ' s Cheney. Fisher led Bill Hofmeister, Mark Larive, Eric Rickman and Jim Forington on R an o pening-lap 600cc Exper t pa ra d e, showing everyone on ha nd th e irnpo r.tance of a good sta rt. Fish er's fine sta r t sh ow er ed th e competition wi th South Dakota silt as the O regonian, w ho had won the night prior a t Ra p id City , showed that he wa sn't just a TT rider. Hofmeist er was to be Fis he r' s clo ses t competition, nett ing second place. Third wen t the way of local Lariv e, while Lee Johnson d ispl a ced Rickman for fou rth. Rickm a n su m m ed u p th e track conditions. " I' rn ju st happy to finish," Rickman said. "1 could n' t see anything out there, from all of the dust." Hayden p u lled a d isappea ri ng ac t, ju st as Fis he r had d o ne earlie r in the Expert main, by jumping ou t front and then using the d ust as a scree n to kee p th e 600cc Pro-Am co m peti tio n we ll behi nd h im . As Hay den increased his lead w it h e ve ry lap, Che ney and Ji m Monag en b a ttled fo r second, a s po t which Che ney held at the finish . Se vera l im p ressi ve Amat e ur -cl ass p erfo rma n ces w e r e al so s howcased, such as c.J. Bev ing's wins in th e O pe n and 250cc m ain even ts . His s is te r , Da nielle, despite not wi nni ng, had the crowd o n her side as she took a th ird place finish in the 80cc main after initi ally leading. Willie Bro ten won the 80cc final, ahead of Jake Bath and Beving. H ond a - m o un ted Sea n Lig h t dispelled No rth wes t rider Broten by winni n g th e eig h t-ri d er 125cc fin al a fter s pen d ing s ix laps s ide by s ide with Chris Feis t in the heat race . Feist also challen ged Lig ht's eve ry move in th e main even t, but tha t onl y las ted six of th e eig h t laps, a s th e W yomin g rid er seized his CR tryin g to ree l him in . Light sc o re d th e win, a head of Bro ten a nd fu ~ 0 Sturgis Fairgrounds Sturgis , South Dakota R esu ~s:August8 , 1997 EX: 1. Rex Fishe r (W-R); 2. Bill Hofm eister (Roc); 3. Mark Lariv e (Rtx); 4. Lee Joh nso n (Rtx); 5. Eric Rickma n (Roc). PRO-A M 6 00 : 1. Rugt' r H a yden ( Rh ); 2. [ared Cht'nt>y(AT'K); ~ , Jim MOTli\ge Tl (Rh) P R O · AM 250; 1. Ro ger H a y d en ( R tx ); 2 . Ma r k Erickson (Kaw) ; 3. Jared Cheney (Hon) . O PEN PRO TIV: 1. Mark Gibson (Tri ); 2. Ga ry Hite (H -U); 3. Jim Forington (Yam ). • bOO P RO Y IN T: 1. Ti m Sears (H o n) ; 2 . Jim Forington (Yam ); 3. John McClella nd (Yam). O PEN A: I. C .). Bering (Hon); 2. Kev in Merrell (Rtx); 3. Charics Bcvi ng (Ho n). . 250 A: I. c.J Bevin g (Ka w ): 2. Will ie Brote n (K.lw ); 3. Sean Light (H on). . 125 A: 1. Sean Light (Hon): 2. Willie Broten (Kaw); 3. Jake Bath (Yam ). 80 A: 1. Will ie Broten (Su z)j 2. Jake Bath (Yam); 3. Danlelle Beving (Kaw). 60: 1. Ca mero n Means (Kaw ). VI NT 250: 1. Jim Fonngton (Yam); 2. Mark Erickso n (Yam ); 3. Roy Haines (Bu l). V DTRA Vin g ta eClassics XN ational . Ca h mpionship Dirt T rackSeries: Round 9 Fiscel strikes Black Hills gold By Clay Light Ph ot o by Bria n Sc h ilt SlURGIS, SD, AUG. 7 lack Hill s Speedway was th e site of the ninth round of the Vintage Dirt T rac k Racer s Associ a tio n's Na tiooai Cham pions hip series, whi ch had Iow a's Rickey Fiscel pickin g u p a wi n in the 600 cc Pr o cl a ss a boa r d a Ya ma ha . Cana di a n Ro yal Adderson B joined Fiscel in the wi nner's circle after a n O pen T w in Pro m a in -e vent w i n aboard his XR750 Ha rley- Davidson. Eighty-five riders (50 Expe rts and 35 Am ate urs) competed in nine classes for VDTRA National poi nts, and also for a $2500 purse, which drew riders from 14 states and several Canadian provinces. Fiscel, who cam e into the event with a 16-poin t lead in the 600 cc Pro class a head of r iv a l and defendin g cl ass cha mpion John Pike, left aft er paddi ng that poin ts lead with a win in the 600cc Pro main ahead of Canad a's Paul Germain, while Pike, who tangled wit h Fiscel co m ing out of tur n one, fin is hed fifth. Adde rson, ano ther of t he m an y Ca na dia ns on ha nd , led fro m start to finish in the evening's prem ier race, the O p e n Twin Pr ocla ss, bea tin g AMA Exper t Bill Hofm eister, Class Cha mpi on Fiscel, an d cu rre n t class points lead er Ma rk Gibson, who left the Blac k Hill s Speedway w ith a scan t five-p oint lea d headi ng in to th e Sturgis Round . Gibson's goa l is to dethrone Fiscel, despite being winless in th e class thu s far in the series, in which Fiscel has four victori es. "The series just keeps ge tting bett er each year," sa id VDTRA founder Johnny Isaacs, who in 1988 impleme nted the p rog ra m , w h ich s ta rted o u t a s a 13rid er / one-class race (as com pa red to its cu rre nt IO-elass average ). The night's program was ded icated to AMA Expert Andy Tresser, w ho su ccumbed to injuries after a practice crash at the Gra nd National th e night before, with a moment of silence. Oklaho ma n Isaacs' BSA encountered problems during the staging of the 600cc Pro final, ruining his shot at nar rowing h is p oi n ts d efici t. Rega rd less, Fisce l g r a bb ed the le ad in th e m a in even t ahead of Fike, setting up what most figu red to be the evening's premier battle on the half mile oval. However: the two bumped coming out of turn one. Wh ile Fisce l escape d w i t h th e lea d , Fike d ropped back to fifth . Pa u l Ge r ma in , w ho m ounte d a cba rge thr ou gh tra ffic, clawe d his wa y into contention, closing to wi thin stri kiog di s tance of Fiscel after pic king off several riders. Fiscel, who led from star t to finish, barely ed ged Ge rmain a t the finish to nab the win , while Snyder took third in front of Colorado's Jim Porington and Fike.. Hofmeister and Adderso n put a pair o f XR750s o ut fro nt of the O pe n Pro Tw ins fi nal, ru n nin g a head of Fiscel, Gibso n and Fike, wh o started off poorly b u t quickly d isp laced sever a l riders co mi ng ou t o f tu rn two. Fike ha d hi s h and s fu ll w it h Ger mai n a n d Sk i p Wert z, but did ge t a di stant view of the top four - Adderson, No fmeister, Fiscel a nd G ibs on - who ra n in a close-knit pack. Despite the loo ming ad vance s of Hofmeister, Adderson held on to win . Fiscel, Gibson, Fike, Germa in, Wertz, Pa t Schieffer, Foring ton and Anderson filled the top 10. The eve ning's final Professional race was th e Ma ster (Over 50) ma in event. Triumph-m ounted Wertz made short w o rk of the shor tened main eve nt by putti ng toget her a sta rt- to- finish lead, which wou ld earn the Michigan rid er a win ahea d of Fike to extend the narr ow poin ts lead he had o ver Fik e co mi ng into the race, 122 to Fikc's 117. Thi rd w ent Sn yd er ' s w a y, w hile Iowa's Jerry Cheney, William Burr and Arizona's Ga ry Pettis ~ who was aboard the smallest machine in the field, a 360cc Bu llaco Astro - r ound ed o u t the top seven in the class . c;,\,

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