Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ARENACROSS AMAlPJ1 NAnONAL ARENACROSS SERIES By Dave Deringer Photos by Kinney Jones DESMOINES, IA,NOV.I4-16 oing in to the first two rounds of the AMA /I')1 Nation al Arenacross Series, the onl y thing that wa s certain was uncertainty. Several team and rider changes had m ost in a tte nd a nc e wond eri ng what would happen wh en wheels were final ly turned in an ger to start the 1997-1998 season. Last yea r's cha m pio n, Buddy Antunez. w as now on a Suzuki; runnerup Cliff Palmer was aboa rd a Kawasaki, along wi th Chad Ped erson and Grayson Goodman; and [eromy Bue hl would be ripping it up on a Honda . Tha t mu ch we knew. Somew hat su r p r is i ngly, it was Kawasaki of Ca rrollton th at p roved to (j\ be the dn minating team , as 21-year-old ...... Brad Woo lsey scored the first two mai nC""l event wins of his three-yea r arenacross .... career. H is firs t victory came in the QJ 250cc class on Friday night and he fol..0 low ed that up with a 125cc-elass win on Satu rday. Woolsey's teamma tes Palm er QJ and Good man als o scored wins, with U QJ Palm er winning Frida y's 125cc main ev ent and Goodman scoring the victory in Saturday'S 250cc main. The arena in Des Moin es is a lit tle A 8 ~ b\ E o 8 Rounds 1&2: Memorial Center larger than most, providing a sl ightly longer track, along wit h a different track di rect ion . C hilly tem p era tu res an d a li g ht s nnwfa ll outside didn't det ract from rider or spectator turnout, and Saturday's event was sold out. FRIDAY Good ma n g rabbed the fi rst m a in even t holes hot of the yea r in the 125cc fina l, with Todd Del-loop, Palmer and Jimmy Gaddis in tow. DeH oop m ade the pass into the lead on hi> Yamaha of Tro y-sponsored machine in th e wi d e first turn on the fourth lap, an d Palme r qu ick ly followed into secood. Back in the 10th position on the sixth la p was Pro Circui t-sponsored Nic k Wey . Wey was mo vin g up qu ickly, however, as Palmer an d Gad d is were a ll over DeHoop and hounding him for the lead. Palmer mad e the pass and looked very comforta ble on his untes ted stock KX. Meanwhile, Bueh l and Antunez Iangled at the halfway point while ba ttling for the fifth positi on in a tight right-hander. On the 10th la p, Wey was up to fourth beh ind Goodma n a nd loo king stro ng, finally making a pass on Goodman on the 11th of 16 laps to take over third. And he wasn't fin ished - he set ou t after Ga dd is, who was some th ree seconds ahea d . With o ne lap to go, Palm er w as ou t front. Caddis was riding s trung in second and Wey wa s holding d o w n th e third s po t. Antunez, meanwh ile, ha d Texan Brad Woolsey (10) won the 250« moved around Pederson for fourth posi- Buddy Antun ez (1) at the start of the 2SOCcma in Friday. ti on on the fi nal la p after his earlier mishap. Palmer won the fi rst main of the yea r, with Gaddis and Wey rou ndi ng out the podium. "I' d lik e 10 th ank Ray Burgess for pu ttin g this Kawasaki -of-Carrollt on deal toge the r," sa id a n ex ha us ted Palmer. "T hese Kawasakis a re st ock a nd are wo rking g reat." Wey was a bit shocked at getti ng so near the front. "I was wor king my way up through the pack an d was really surprised I was that far up: ' explai ned Wey. "I go t a terri b le s ta r t and rod e s m art - I' m real stoked to be up here in third." It was Ga d d is w ho co llected the 1900-PRQ-RACE mon ey for his ho lesho t in the 250cc main o n his Nielse n Kawa sa ki, but his lead was short-lived as he came up sho rt on the triple, knocking the wind ou t of him self on the first lap a n d dropping o u t of th e ra ce . Kawasaki of Carrollton / Thor / Pro Circu it-s po nso red Woolsey took over the lead , wit h Xtrerne /Kame's-backed Mike Ka tin a nd Factory Co nncctio rr/Si nisa- main Friday night and the 125cc main on Salurday night. Here, Woolsey lea ds Heath Voss (46) , Travis Hodges (41) and Ill's Heath Voss moving into second and third, respectively. On ce a gain , Palme r had a n o the r d ecent start and was fou rth. Katin was closing in on Woo lsey on the fourth lap, but a slig ht bo bble caus ed hi m to lose ground a lap later . Voss sa w the bobble and mo ved in o n Katin, w ith the two bumpin g in the co rner bef ore th e big double. . On the sixth lap, Katin mad e a bigger error allo w ing Voss to take over second place. Palmer also jumped on the o pportunity, moving to third . Ped er son and Antu nez we re also closing th e gap on Voss as th ey held d own the fifth- and six th-place spots. Palm er, meanwhile , w as no w all over Voss on the eig hth lap and Voss crumbl ed und er th e pres sure , allo wi ng Palmer to la ke over second. Karin , who wa s still rid ing well , moved into thi rd as a result of Voss' mishap, but had Pederson and Antunez right behind, waiting for a m istake. It ~asn' t go ing to ha pp en, I

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