Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Above) Jeromy Buehl held off reigning series champion Buddy Antunez en route to the 250cc win on Friday - his second of the year. Buehl seems to have rega ined the consistency that appeared los t one season ago. (Right) Chad Pederson stepped up with a commanding win in the 125cc main event on Saturday night. The Iowan is a mere 21 points out of first place with little more than half the se ries left to be run. (Below) Still the one: Buddy "Budman" Antunez sna tched an important win in Saturday's 250cc final to remain firmly atop the leaderboard in the series stand ings . With seven se ries wins to his cred it, it appears as though he is serious abo ut retaining the number-one plate. passed Good man through th e rhythm section . Antunez atta cked Goodma n also , making an inside pass in the final tu rn on the first lap to move into fourth. Antunez was now on the rear fender of Jones, looking to move into third on the thi rd lap. Jones did not want any of that, and carefully se lected his lines, somewhat slowing both Antune z and himself. T h is allowed Pederson and Adoptante to pull away from the pack, a nd also helped Buehl close in somew hat. Series fro nt-ru nner Palmer crashed in the whoo ps aro und la p six, and it took a toll on the Kawasaki rider, as he wo uld no lon ger be a facto r in the race for the w in. As t he halfway flags ca me o u t, Nielsen Kaw a sa ki' s Ped erson had a n eight-second lead over Ado ptante. Jones a nd Antunez were still go ing at it ano ther thr ee seconds back, w hile Buehl and Woolsey we re ridi ng in fifth and sixth. Smooth and smart ridi ng by th e top six rid er s took place over the next seven laps, m ak in g th e ra ce so mew ha t uneventful. On the final la p, An tu nez knew he had to make his move by Jones for third, and he mad e a gutsy move tha t almost cost him. An tu nez's foo tpeg gr abbed a hay-bale cove r on the ·edge of the track; a nd soo n t hereafter the cover w a s sucked u p in to the rear w heel. Luckily, he ha d only one tu rn to go , bu t it was enoug h for Jones to come across safely in third, behin d Adoptante and Pederson. "Sometimes it's really easy; usually it 's reall y hard ," Pederson sai d of hi s co m ma n ding win. "1 had some good lines and everything worked my way." "1 go t th e holeshot a nd pushed as har d as I cou ld, " an exci ted Ado ptante sa id . "Chad snuck u nd erneath me early; th en I rod e my own race." Th is marked on ly the se co n d tim e Ado p tante made the pod ium during his arenacross caree r, altho ugh he has wo n man y ju mp-o ff contests. In the 250cc fina l, Good ma n pulled t h e trig g e r going in to th e fi rst turn ahead of Jones, Ped erson and Antunez. Th e order stayed the sa me for six laps a nd then Ped er son ma d e his m ove to the inside of Jon es. As th e y ca me ou t of t he ro ck ers, Jon es dived to the inside of the comer th e same spot as Ped er son, and Pederson's fro n t w heel kn ocked Jones' bi ke into neutral, causi ng the two to tip over. Thi s allowed Antu nez to move in to sec- A MA /P Jl NA TIONAL A RENA C ROSS SE RIES POI NT STAND IN G S (Afte r 12 of 28 ro u n ds) ; 1. Bu d d y An t u nez (380 /7 wins) ; 2. C ha d Pe derson (359 /4); 3. C li ff Pa lmer (355 / 4); 4 . Jero my Buehl (313 /2); 5 . Den n y Ste phenson (3 12); 6. G rayso n Goodman (283 /1) ; 7. Josh Oe muth (279 /3); S. Jim Chester (258); 9. Brad Wo o lsey (205 / 2); 10. Todd Del-loop (63); 11. Travi s Hodges (146); 12. Mike Jones (140/1); 13. Tom Hofma ster (101); 14. C harley Bogard (92); 15. Heath Vos s (79); 16. Jimmy Wilson (75); 17. Cl ifford Adoptante (64); 18. m E> Ty w alla ce / T Wey ic (51); 20. Tom Welch (42). Upcoming Rounds: Rounds 13 & 14 . New Haven. Connecticut, January 23-25 Rouna s 15 & 16 - Niagara Falls, New York. Jan uary 30 • February 1 Briefly._ _ ·•• .. . 'The , ·90Q ·PRO·RACE ·h o le s h o t a wa rd.s went to Mike Jones on Friday in the 125cc final. and Jeromy Buehl in the·250cc final. Saturday' 5 winners .were .C liff o r d Adopta nte and Grayson Goodman ' in the 125 and 250cc finals, .respectively. . . ond, Stephenson into third an d Palmer in to fou r th on la p seven . Pederso n quickly picked up his bike, but he was way back in sixth p lace . Jones ha d to start over, as he was now in last. . Antunez rode in second , behind Goodma n, for the next eight laps, wa iting for a mistake. Goodma n was mista ke -fre e . W ith several lap s to go, A ntunez decided to make h is m ov e. An tu nez and Goodman landed side by side off the big do uble and went into the nex t corner together. The following rhyth m section consisted of five jumps. The two both doubled, then tri pled, setting up for the nex t corner. Goodman went inside out to protect the line, but Antunez countered with a picture-per fect ou tside-in pass int o the lea d t h a t h a d th e crowd roaring . Ant u nez turned it on during the last few laps to take a comfortable win. Step henso n mad e a move on Good ma n in the final corne r to grab the seco nd position, while Goodman a nd Palmer ro u nded ou t the top four. "1go t to thinking in the pits after that 125 race that I had bee n on the pod ium fo r seven s t ra ig h t m a in e ve nts," Antu nez sa id, referring to his fourt h in the 125s, "bu t I rebou nded an d felt fast this time ." "1 saw the door open, and I took it," Stephenson said of his last-turn pass for secon d . " I' m ha vin g m y own priva te ba ttle w ith Bue hl in the poi nt s, b u t I usually turn it on in the seco nd half of the season." (-:\ Hampton Coliseum Hampton, Virg inia Results: January 16-17, 1998 (Ro unds 11 & 12 of 28) Friday 125 P RO : 1. Cli ff Palme r (Kaw): 2. Mik e Jo nes (Kawl ; 3. Budd y Antu nez (Suz); 4.Jim Chester (5uz); 5. Jeremy Buehl (Hon); 6. Chad Pede rso n IKaw): 7. Denn y Step henso n (He n ): 8. Jo sh Demuth (5 uz); 9. Brad w oolsey (Kaw); to. Grayson Good ma n (Kawh 11. Tom Ho fm a st e r (5 uz) ; 12. Tv Wall a ce (Ya m) ; 13. Mark Bu rkhart (Hen): 14. Jim Neese (KT M) ; 15. Ma tt Ma xim off IHo n), 250 PRO: 1. Jeromy Bue hl (Hon); 2. Budd y Antunez (Su a): 3. Cli ff Palmer (Ka w) : 4. Grayson Good m a n (K.lw); 5. Cha d Ped erson (Kaw); 6. Brad Woolse y (Ka w); 7. Josh Dem uth (Suz): 8. Jim Cheste r (Suz ): 9. Denny Ste r. he nson (Hon) : 10. Jim Neese (KTM) ; 11. Tom Ho ma st er <5uz); 12. Mik e Jones (Ka w): 13. jimmy Wilson (5uz ); 14. Mark Burkhart (Ha n); 15. Tom Welch (5o z). DFC: 1. Mike Jones. JUMP -oFF: 1. Mike Jones. Satu rday 125 PR O : 1. C h ad Pe de rs o n (Kaw ): 2. Cli ffor d Ad optant e (5uz); 3. Mike Jones (Ka w) : 4 . Bu d d y Antunez (Suz): 5. Ieromy Buehl (He n): 6. Brad w oolscy (Ka w): 7. Jim C hes te r (5u7.); 8. Ty Wallace (Ya rn): 9. Denn y Stephe nso n (Hon) ; 10. Matt Maximoff (Hon ): 11. Gra yso n Good ma n (Ka w): 12. To m Welch ISu z): 13. Jimmy Wilso n (Suz ): 14. Cliff Palmer (Ka w): 15. To m Hofma stcr (Suz) . 250 P RO : 1. Budd y Antune z (S Ul) ; 2. Denn y Stephe nson (Han); 3. Gray son Good ma n (K aw ): 4. Cliff Palmer (Ka w); 5. Chad Pederson (Ka w ): 6. jeremy Buehl (He n): 7. Brad Wool sey (Kaw ): 8. Jim Ches ter (Suz); 9. Yam ); t 1. Jimm y Jim Neese (KTM); 10. Ty Walla ce < Wilso n (Suz): 12. Mik e Jones (Kaw): 13. Tom Welch (Suz); 14. Tom Hofmaster (Suz): 15. Clifford Ado pta nte (Suz). . DFC: 1. Budd y Antu nez. JUMP-oFF: 1. Mike Jones. Thls 'marked the fir time that the series st stopped at Hampton. Virginia . Friday's crowd filled about three -quarte rs of the stands. while Saturday was sold out with stan ding room only-. From the looks of things and how well everything went. look 'for Hampton to be back on the schedule next year. . . It looks like the arenacross season.is over for Charley Bogard. Th Primal Impulse ' e SuZuki rider was a no-show 'at Hampton after breaking his thumb at Fort Worth. With only mediocre results in the series. it' looks like Bogard win switch to the 125cc East Supercross series a s soon a s he is hea lth y . According to Antunez'smechanic, Ed lon· gacre. Antunez will probably be the only Primal-backed rider for the rest of the series. The worst news over the wee kend was that three -time ma in -event winne r Josh Demuth crashed in Saturday' 5 practice: breaking and dis looating his s houlde r. Demuth wenl directly to the hospital to have it putbackin place and was seen cruising the pits later that night. Expect him out of action forabout four to sixWeeks. Speaking of Josh Demuth. he is quickly beco ming the wild man/goof-off of the .series .' On Friday: Demuth was doing a wheelie across the Finish line as h~ was winning his.125cc semi. He got a ~ttle carried away, though. as he started looping out. Instead of letting off. he gunned it -some more, popped the d utch and ditched itdown .the front straight as he tumblednext to it. He . stood up with hands inthe air, and the crowd didthe same.cheering andlaughing. 19

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