Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

At the halfway point of the 20-lap race, Antunez was being pressured by Buehl and Stephenson and fell a bit off the pace, but he was still in third . Jones was on a mission and had just passed Goodman for four th. It took five more laps to eat away at the fro nt-runners lead , but Buehl made his move on Antunez through the rock ers wit h several laps to go. Jones passed Stephenso n for the third position soon thereafter and was gunning for second. On the final lap, the Honda-mounted Buehl was taking it easy, so me w ha t fatigued from the rough and tacky track, bu t he ma naged to stay ahead of last years champio n for his third win of the season. Antunez crossed comfortably in second , wi th Jo nes rounding out the podium. . " I rode good and got a great start," Bue hl sa id . " I was able to follow Buddy and relax for a while, and I waited for him to make a mistake." (Right) Todd DeHoop (7) scored his first win in Saturday's 250cc main event. (Below) On Friday night. Jeromy Buehl rode to victory In the 250Cc final. SATURDAY For the first time in a long time, title con tende r Palme r would have to wa tch the 125cc fina l from the sidelines, as a stri ng .of bad luck 'plagu ed the Kawasa ki rid er throughou t the day. Ped erson had the fastest trigger finger of th e bu nch , as he led th e 125cc fina l early. Bu eh l a nd An tu nez were onc e agai n a t the head of the pa ck bu t behind Pederson, At th e beginning of the four th la p, Pederson was extend ing his lead over Bu ehl , Kawa saki of Ca rro ll to n ' s Grayson Good man, Su z uki o f Ga st oni a ' s Jim Chester, a n d Jo nes, w hile Antunez was back in sixth after stalling his bike in a comer. Jones hammered by Chester and Goodman into third one lap la ter a s Antun e z was bus y pla y in g catch-u p. By lap eight, Ped ers on had a five-second lead over Buehl. Jones and Antunez were running in the next two spots, try ing to catch th e lead ers and ha ving a battle of their own. Antunez made a calculated move to get by Jones four laps later and was now s itt ing pretty ba ck in th ird . With two lap s rem ainin g, Antunez mad e one more pass, and that was on Buehl throu gh the rockers into the second spot. Pede rso n took his second 125cc w in in as man y night s with a commandi ng lead , as A n tu nez a nd Buehl crossed nex t. Jones held on to fou rth, ahea d of Ste p he nson, wh o wor ked h is way throu gh the pack after a first-tu m crash. Eighteen-year-old Tom Hofmas ter ha d his best rid e o f the season, finish in g sixth . '1 seem real comfortable on the 125," winner Pederson exp lained. "I' ve had some tr ouble on the 250 but I hope to tum that around." . "Second p lace is good, considering that mistake," Antunez calml y said of his ride. "I got up after that and rod e as hard as I could." Jones grab bed th e s tart of the 250cc fi na l and too k off. Beh ind h im were DeHoop, Ste p he nson a nd Good ma n. Antunez sta rted midpack but wa s mo ving up quickly. Four lap s lat er, Jones had a siza ble lead , with DeHoop and Stephenson run n in g seco nd and th ird . Antunez had passed Good man for fourth. The duo of Pederso n and Palmer was next to strike, as they.moved by Good man on lap eight. Stephenso n was starting to tire at the halfway point and bega n fadi ng back . Antunez was now up to third bu t w as being slig h tly pressured by Ped erson and Palmer, wh o h ad jus t p a ss ed Step henson into fourth and fifth. Carsten (Suz): 12. Cliffo rd. Ado pta nte (SUl.) 13. Todd ; DeHoop (Ya m) ; 14. Jimm y Wibon (SUL); 15. Adam M artin (H en). 250 PRO : 1. Tod d De l-loop (Y.lm); 2. ~1ike Ju nes (Ka w); 3. Budd y Antunez (Stu:); 4. Cliff Pal mer (Ka w ); 5. Cha d Pederso n (Ka w); 6. Denny Seephenson (Hen): 7. Grayson Goodman (Ka w ): 8. Tom Hotmaster (Suz); 9. }cro my Buehl IHo n): 10. Barry Carsten (Suz) ; 11. Brad Wool sey (Ka w): 12. Jimm y Wilson (Su z); 13. Clifford Ad cptante (Suz); 14 . Ph ilip Da vi s ( KTM); 15. Jim Chester (Suz). DFC: 1. Mike Jones. JUMP-otF: 1. G ifford Adoptante. AMA J PJl NATIONAL AR EN A C RO S S S ERIES POI N T STANDtNGS (A ft e t 16 o f 28 rou n d . ): 1. Bud dy Antune z (512 / 8 win s ); 2. Chad Ped erson (482/7); 3. Giff Palm er (453/ 4); 4. Den ny Step henson (412); 5. Jeromy Buehl (406 /3); b. Grayson Goodman (372/1); 7. Jim Ches ler (351/1); 8. mEl Mike JoneslJosh Dem u th (279); 10. Bra d Woolse y (273 /2); 11. Tod d DeHoop (217/1); 12. Tom Ho fmaster (147); 13. T ravis Hodges (146); 14. Jimmy Wilson (144); 15. Clifford Ado pta nte (120); l b. Barry Carsten nOS); 17. Charley Bogard (92); 18. Ty WalLlce (83); 19. Heath Voss (79) ; 20. Ni< Wey (51). Upcoming Rounds: Rounds 19 & 20 - Milwaukee, WI, February 1315 Rounds 21 & 22 - Denver, CO, February 20-22 .Brie"/ As the race wo und d own, Jones' lead had di minish ed , as DeH oop was pullin g within striki ng d istance. With five laps to go, DeHoop ma de his move thr ough the rockers and in to the lead . Antu nez was a lso closing in on Jones but on ly had a few laps remaining . DeHoop gai ned some dista nce during the final laps and took his first wi n of the season, ahead of Jones, who held his ground on the ad vancing Antunez. Palmer made a pass on Ped erson near the end of the race for the fourth posi tion. "I jus t rode strong and rode from the heart," said a smiling DeHoop. "I took a two -week break a nd eve ryone kept telling me that I've got the talent, so ride fro m the heart ." Crowd fa v orit e Jones said, "I'm seven for eight on th e pod ium, so I'm pumped a bou t th at ; I w ish I cou ld've won , but Tod d rod egreat ," Niagara Falls Convention Center Niagara Falls, New York Resu lts: January 30-31 , 1998 (Rounds 15 & 16 of 28) S. Oiff Palm" (!

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