Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ARENACROSS . AMAlPJ1NATIONAL ARENACROSSSER IES and had the Pederson /Palme r battle in sig ht. Ant u nez followed Buehl through the pac k and was ho lding down sixth. But the battle royal was the one up front. Jones and Stephenso n were rag ing at t he halfway m a r k . A t o ne poi nt, Stephenson made a grea t d rive in the whoo ps and passed Jon es, bu t it was n't eno ugh. Jon es ha d th e ins ide lin e and muscled him ou t for the lead over the fin ish d ouble. At the sa me time, Buehl rod e around both Palmer and Pederson, taking control of third pla ce. Th e crowd was on its feet as Jon es and S teph ens on d iced fo r th e lea d . Fi na lly, Jon e s burn ed a corn er an d Step he nson block ed h im , ge tting th e be tt er drive in the rhy th m sec tio n to take the lead . An tunez mo ved up one mo re spot past Palmer for fifth place, while Pederso n fough t off Antunez to hold down fourth . Buehl was now wit hin s triking too wide, he'd find himself back two positions. La p 11 found the top seven riders side bv side heading to the left-hand er before the whoops. Wh ile H o d g e s an d Jones go t throu gh o kay, DeH oop go t par ked , wh ich caused a cha in reaction on d own th e lin e: Goodman wen t to the outsi de of Del-loop, w hile Ste p henso n , w ho was p a s s ed tw o tu rns before by Good ma n, sho t to the insid e; Stephenson ca me und er Good ma n, w hich left Good m a n n o p lace to p u t his left foot; Goodman fell , a llowing Buehl , An tunez and Palmer to get by him. Back up front , Jon e s (Above) Mike Jones rode to victory in Satu rday's 125cc main even t. (Left) Jeromy Buehl pocketed so me cash after winning Saturday's Dash For Cash. (Below) Chad Pederso n could not must er a win at Denver but stili holds second place in the se ries standings . . distance of the lead er, but the white flag came out. Stephenson had opened up a three-bike-len gth lead, and Buehl had ca ug h t up to Jon es. Bu t tim e w a s in Jon es' fav or and he held on to seco nd . Bueh l took third. Ste p he nso n h ad co m p le te d th e sweep he wa nted so mu ch. "I came close last weekend and reallv wanted a clea n sweep," he said . "This time, the bike and every thi ng wo rked for me." But there was yet ano ther race - the Dash For C as h. Ste p he nson took the holeshot in the four-lap, winner-take-all race, and that's abo u t all he need s. Jones a nd Bu ehl kept h im h on est , but Stephenson pocketed the dough . SATURDAY Af ter a fiv e-we ek absence, Tra vi s Hodges return ed to th e se ries a n d grabbed the holesh ot in the 125cc main. Jo nes tu cked in b eh ind h is fell ow Kawa saki rider, fo llow ed by Palmer, Stephens on and Bue hl. Lap after lap , Hodges kept all chargers a t bay. While Hodges kep t his sights focused on the fron t, there was a war developin g rig ht behi nd him . Stephenson was the first to make a move, going by Palmer for third. Both DeHoo p and Goodman caught fire and started mov.ing through the pack. Th e top eigh t rid ers, however, w ere all bunched together and, if a rid er went go t by a tiri ng Hod ges and headed for th e chec ke rs. DeHoop foll owed Jon es, wi th Stephenson secu ring the final pod iu m spo t. Antunez took fourth an d Buehl fifth . Goodma n, meanwhile, was still fumin g abo u t Stephenson' s p as s on him , and as Stephenson was rolling up to the .p o d iu m afte r th e r a ce, G oodm an kamik azed his b ik e into' Stephenson . Punches were traded befor e they were restrain ed. "It 's tight ra cing , ha rd to pass," Stephen son sai d. "It's w ha t the people come out to see. I apologize, and I wa nt to get back to good racing for the crowd ." Goodman was ejected fro m the rest of the eve ning's program . Stephe nson grabbed th e point position in the Dash For Cash, but it was short-lived, as he was hed ou t tw o corner s from the start. Jones inherited the lead a nd refused to give it up. Buehl ended up finishing second. A fired -up Stephenson took the 250cc h oles hot in th e final eve n t of t h e eveni ng , foll ow ed by An tu nez, Jones, Bueh l an d Palme r. Wh ile the top rid ers were fig h ting for position s, nobod y wa n te d t o ch a nce making an y bad moves. Ste phens on 's adrenaline rus h was star ting to wa ne, allowi ng Antunez to show his wheel enoug h times to wear on Stephenson . O nce by the lea d e rs, A n tunez set sail t o t h e checkers . Stephenson "followed him in for second, with Jon es fighting off the ad vances of Buehl to secure third . "I was fired up at the start," Stephenso n sai d, "but between the 125 main and the little problem right after the eve nt, I ran aut of gas ." "Den ny 's b een ho t th e la st tw o weeks," Antunez said, "bu t after wat ching him for almo st half the race, I knew I could ge t him if 1 ap plied a littl e presI~ su re." Denver Coliseum Denver, Colorado Results: February 20-21 , 1998 (Rounds 21 8J 22 01 28) Friday 125: 1. Denny Stephenson (Hon): 2. lero my Bueh l (Ho n): 3. Mike Jon es (Kaw): 4. CUff Pa lme r (Kaw): 5. Gra yso n Good man (Kaw) : 6. Tod d Del-loop (Yam); 7. Budd y Antunez (Suz); 8. Travis Hod ges (Kaw): 9. Chad Pederso n (Kaw): 10 . Jim C he ster (Su z ): 11. Tom Hofmastcr (Suz): 12. Jason Partrid ge (Suz): 13. Cliffo rd Adopta nte (Suz): 14. Kris Rour ke (KTM); 15. Brad Woolsey (Kaw). 250: 1. Denny Stephe nso n (Hen) : 2. Mik e Jo nes (Kaw): 3. jeremy Buehl (He n): 4. Chad Pederso n (Kaw), 5. Buddy Antu nez (Suz); 6. aiff Palmer (Kaw): 7. Tra vis H od ges (Ka w ): 8. Grayson Good ma n (Ka w): 9. Tod d DeHoop (Yam); 10. Jim Ches ter (Suz) 11. Tom Hofmaster (Suz); 12 Brad Woolsey (Kaw): 13. Gifford Ado pta nte (Suz); 14. Kris Papworth (Yam); 15. Kris Rourke (KTM). DFC: 1. Denny Stephenson (Hon): 2. Mik.e Jones IKaw): 3. Chad Pederson IKaw): 4. jeremy Buehl (Hen). Saturday 125, I. Mike Jones (Kaw): 2. Todd DeHoop (Yam); 3. Denny Stephenson IHon): 4. Budd y Antunez (Suz); 5. Ieromy Buehl (Hon); 6. Travis Hodges IKaw ): 7. Cliff Palmer IKa w) : 8. Brad Woolse y (Ka w); 9. Grayson Goodma n (Kaw); 10. Jim Chester (Suz); 11. Kris Rour ke (l(TM); 12. Clifton! Adoptaote (Suz); 13. Chad Pederson (Ka w): 14. Jason Partrid ge (Suz) ; 15. Kris Pa pworth (Yam). 250: 1. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 2. Denny Step henson (He n), 3. Mike Jones (Kaw); 4. Jer omy Buehl (Hon); 5. Cliff Palmer (Kaw): 6. Todd Del-loop (Ya m ); 7. Cha d Pe derson (Kaw ): 8. Travis Hod ges {Kaw ): 9. Brad Woolsey (Kaw): 10. Jim Che st er (Suz) : 11. Clifford Adopta nte (Suz ): 12. Jos h Ke llogg (Ya m); 13. Kris Rourke (KTM); 14. Jason Partridge (Suz). DFC: 1. Jeromy Buehl (Hon); 2. Mike Jones (Kaw): 3. Bud d y Antu nez (Suz) ; 4. Brad Wool sey (Ka w ): 5. Travis Hodges (Kaw ). PJ I NATION A L A RENACROSS S ER IES P OINT STAN D INGS (Aflu 22 of 28 roun d s ); 1. Budd y Antu nez (6SQ/ 11 wins ); 2. Chad Ped er son (646/8); 3. Cliff Palmer (614/5); 4. Denny Step henso n (606/ 4); 5. Ieromy Buehl (586/ 3); 6. Grayson Goodman (516/2); 7. Mik e Jones (456 / 4); 8. Jim C hes te r (452/1 ); 9. Todd Del-loop (370/1); 10. Brad Wool sey (363 /2); I I. Iosh Demut h (279 /3) ; 12. Tr a vis Hod ges ( 93); 13. Tom Hofma st e r (19 1); 14. Cl if fo rd Adop ta n te (173); 15 . Jimmy Wilson (167). Upcoming Rounds: Rounds 23 & 24 - Sacramento, California. February 27-28 Rounds 25 & 26 - San Francisco, California, March t3-14

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