Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

DIRT TRACK way AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (Above left) Missed the magic: Kev in Atherton is stili searching for the 12 "I couldn't rid e consisten t enough," King said. " I go t a bad start. I'd ru n four good laps, then screw up, d rop back, ru n four good laps an d screw up again. I just couldn't, put it aU together. The bike was running perfect, and I was getting around good, but (l got) a bad start and (was) not consis tent enough." With jus t three laps remaining, Gra ham took over third. " It see med like when I caught up to Joe Kopp and Rich, right there is where I s to p ped making g oo d time," Graham said. "You've got so many gu ys running fast now that itS really hard to come from behind. It was very, very close With Rich. That was grea t. He was perfect , and I was perfect. After I got by Rich, I started using differen t lines. He looked hack. If he went to mv school, I'd tell him never (to) worrv abo';t something that you have no contIT;J over, whi ch is the other rider. When I saw his head moving. I knew he was thinking abou t what I wa s doing instead of w hat he was doing." . "I got in down low in two and caugh t a wet spot," King said. "It kind of stood me up and he got a wheel under me. We ran almost a lap sid e by side like that. He had the low line, so ev en tually he wo n out. There wa sn 't mu ch I could do with . him ." Atherton slip ped to eighth on the last lap. "Towa rd the end , I moved just off the groove, and that was working, " Atherton said . "It wasn 't that mu ch fast er, but J passed a cou ple o f guys. That last lap, I go t real close to Davey, so I had to bail out, and that 's when Hacker got by." Finishing right with Springs teen was Dale [ennernan , "I got a good sta rt, but it jus t wasn't bitin g good eno ug h, and it was ska ting a ro unda lot," Jenneman said . "We cou ld n't get a good d rive off the comers. We d id real good in the heat, but the way the moisture comes up at this race track, . we iust lost the setup for the main ." Former Hagerstown winner Kevin Varn es saw his good start foiled by Butler's problems an d wound up 12th. " I go t a good s ta rt a nd wa s going around everybod y on the outs id e," Kevin Varnes said. 'Then Butler got tagged , and I was on the outside of him . I had to go way high . By the time I go t it ga thered back up, the leaders were gone. My left footpeg spun around and was pointed down, so I didn't have it for the whole race. I couldn't really get hack on the seat to hook up. The n the rear tire we nt flat on the 20th lap ." As the race drew to a close, Davi s tried to be very precise. combination that propelled him to within just a few points of the series championship last season, The talented youngster was a disappointing eighth at Hagerstown, 8 race that he easily won last year. (Above. left to right) The top three: thiro-placed Graham , winner Davis and runner-up Parker. (Left) Davey C8mlin got his fifth win of the year in the AMA 88J Harley-Davidson series after coming from behind to take top honors at Hagerstown. "Wh en I calmed d own, the slower I wa s, the fas ter I went," Davis said. "It's always that wa y here, but it fee ls better to rid e over you r he ad . You kno w , ska te in and g rab a handful, but yo u d on't go a ny w he re. It 's better to sh u t th e gas uff, roll Into the corn er, ro ll the gas on real ea sy. I finall y calmed d own, a nd I think the opposite happen ed to him . I think he tried to catch me, and I thin k th e harder he tri ed , he s ta r te d messing up. " "I pu shed it up to the last three laps, " Parker sa id. "Then I sa id, 'I d on 't think so: Fou r points aren't going to kill me. A . ~' big zero would." Hagerstown Speedway Hagerstown, Maryland Results: August 23, 1997 (Round 16 of 23) HEAT 1 nOlo1p 5; 11 ride ~. to p 3 transr~rl: 1. Will Davis Ui -UJ ; 2. Dale Jenncman Sr . (H -D) ; 3. Kevin AtN.Tton (H- D): 4. l.R. Schl'l.lbd (H -DI; 5. Bn.it L.lnJ cs (H0); b. Ken Coolb..oth Jr. (H-D): 7. Lonnie Paull'" (H- D); 8. Ian ~gl.'d y (H- O): 9. R.1ndy Texter 4H·D); '10. Rand y Sh.lnklI (H·D) ; 11. Ja!'oOll Sentrll (H·O). .517'it."C. Tim l"::.\min ., SQ HEAT 2 I..po;; 11 riok",. lop 3 tr,ln"fn-): 1. St"'\JlI r .nLT (11·0>; 2. Paul M''''"S'ln m (II -D); 3. Mik... V"rnr; 3. Dan Stank" (H> D); 4. Bryan B i~l'low (H-O); 5_ Robt'rt Lewis Jr. (HoD); 7. Sh.."-n Clark (H-D); 8 Bren l Annbrwoter (H-D>; II Bn-I """" ,(H-D); 10. c....."l9o." f'rio!. IV (}-I-O); 11. J"""'"'" ~I.-II nrr» Ti mr:-3 min. , nJm -ec, SEMI 3 (8 lep ; 11 riden , lop 2 lr.nsft"r): 1. Jay Spnng:otlft.'n {HooD>;2 Dan Butk.,..(H ·D); 3. Chance Darltng (H· D t; ... Johnny Murphree (HooD); 5. Ken Coolh"th Jr. (H0>; 6. Paul Lynch (H-D); 7. Paul Bergstrom (H-D); 8. Danny !r 7 of 14 eVt"nb': 1. Dave D mli n (135 /5 WU 2. Jess lS); ROl,'dlT( 1241 3. Mike H.ackcr (94);4. Shaun RUStiCU (m/I); ; 5.J.R. Schnabel (tl6); 6. John ny Murphl"C'\" (l7 /1); 7. Roh..'11 MiIkT (bY); 8. Wink' M cCoy (51); 9. Billy ~L1rtin (50); 10. Paul Bergstro m (39); II. Iascn Fletc he r (39); 12. Jake L.>mke (2); 13.mEl Donn~ Krusinski/Sea n LolL /Srott u Stump (27); Ib. VICtor McAnaDylBn.'t8eyer (26); 18. Paul Morga n ID (25) ; 19. Ch.1nre D.-.rling (22); 20. Brian Kromruy (21) . mE> Upcoming Rounds: Round 17· Springfield, Illinois. August JO Round 18 · Springfield , Ill ino is , August 31 ... o n Sco tt Parker. D avi s ' .TC R tea mm a t e ' Kevin Atherton · is lurki ng 5 1 poin t s out of first a nd 37 behind Parker. Rich King . has dro pped to 69 points off t he pace in four th place despite the fact that he has tw o wins this year . Davey Camlin and Ricky Graham are the top riders in the pOints with ' no wins. Camlin is 109 back. wi th Graham eight behind Cemnn. . tried that lost year. and it dldn'twork out at all. . USC Teammates Ricky Craham and KevIn We're taking one race at a time and enjoyi~g Varnes each fell within a couple of feet of the ourselves. We've finished every place in the same spot between turns one and two world here, second through 15t h._but (we) Varnes In practice and Graham in his heat. - I never had won . I wish It would have been a JUst lost the fro nt end." Varnes said as he put better roce for the fans, but I'm ha ppy there ice on his right hand . "lt was down before I wasn 't any more passing at the top." knew it. The hand is pretty sore now. IfU really be sore tomorrow. ~ Graham related that he is Perhaps clouded by the fact that he is a sevenstill maintaining a positive and patent attitude time winner of the Grand Na ti onal Cham pi. toward breaking tha t first wi n of the year. "lt onship. Scott Parker has a somewhat differseems we're getting te st ed every week. My ent view . ~ W e knew what we had to do only thoughts were. 'The lest time we wan this coming In here: Parker said . ·We had to try race. it was from the third row.' so I just tned and win the thing, and If we didn't. I just wantto thtnk POSltrve. The tra~k wa,s great. We just ed to get points. There was only one guy who have to keep showing patience. I feel like I'm got more points . Obviously it was the wrong right on top of things. but so many little things guy, but tha t doesn 't bother us . Now we 're . are happening that I must not be." going to ou r race tracks . He ' s never won 8 mIle. That 's something tha t' s go t to be in the Veteran S t e v e Morehead ce lebrated his bock of his mind at every one he goes to. until 4200 birthday at the race track aoo came away he wins one _.if he doe s. W e co me · here and With a 12th-place finish the'G ran~ National. struggle ev~ry yea r. so we'~e very happy to get wha t we got. • Davey Camlin has dominated the .883 winner' s circl e this ~ar, ye t he holds a mere 11The GNC points race remains tight at ,the . point lead ov er Je sS" Roeder. Camlin has won top . Will Davis regained the four points he five of the seven races. but Roeder's consislo st at lndian;;lpoli s and is back to 14 points up tency has kept him right in the race. in

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