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£/~f~r~ERoNCOATNEYF---PJ_1_N_a_tio_n_al_A_re_n_aC_(l_OS_S_S_e~_ie_s,_R_o_un_d_s_2_5_&_26_'
(Left) Buddy
Antunez all but
put his
competitors'
hopes for the
PJ1 National
Arenacross
Championship
away by winning
three of the four
main events
during rounds
25 and 26 of the
series at the
Cow Palace in
San Francisco.
Antunez now
has a 59-point
lead in the
series standings
with two rounds
left.
(Bottom left)
Cliff Palmer was
the only rider to
halt the Antunez
freight train.
Palmer won the
'125cc main
event on Friday
night.
By Lance Bryson
Photos by Thomas zarraonandia
SAN FRANOSCO, CA, MAR 13-14
ith a full moon... Friday the
13th... lunar eclipse 13th
weekend of the series and
after a three-year hiatus, the PJ1 National Arenacross Series returned to Nortllern California's Bay Area with the series
championship still on the line as the
contenders showed up to do battle at
the Cow Palace.
Carrollton Kawasaki's Cliff Palmer
fought his way through the pack to get
the 125cc win on Friday night, but
defending PJl Arenacross ational
Champion and current points leader
Buddy Antunez guided his Primal
Impulse/Suzuki wire to wire in the
250cc final to inch ever closer to a second straight series title. Antunez
returned on Saturday night to drive
another nail into his competitors' coffins
by sweeping both main-event victories
to gain a 59-point ad vantage over his
nearest rival, Chad PedersOn
FRIDAY
"-
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30
Pederson collected the 1-900-PRORACE Holeshot Award as the 125cc
finalists exited turn one for the 16-lap
main. Jeff Willoh, however had his own
ideas, as he got a better drive into the
rocker section and passed Pederson for
the lead spot. That lasted for three laps
before Pederson had had enough of playing follow-the-Ieader and reclaimed the
front position. While the two played catand-mouse with each other, Palmer and
Stephenson, who had their own seesaw
battle going, patiently bided their time in
third and fourth, waiting for either of the
two front-runners to make a mistake.
That mistake came at the halfway
mark. Palmer first got by Willoh and
then, two laps later, passeq Pederson for
the lead. Stephenson was hooked into
Palmer's draft, but got out of shape over
the triples, dropping back.
While Palmer set sail for the ~eck
ers, Willoh reclaimed second while Pederson secured the third podium spot,
with Antunez and Nathan Ramsey
rounding out the top five.
Antunez was the man to beat in the
250cc final. Grayson Goodman followed, along with Denny Stephenson,
Jimmy Gaddis and Willoh after having
trouble with the rocker section. Ramsey
looked to be the man on the move as he
left the gate in seventh, and by the
eighth lap he was second behind
Antunez. That ride, however, ended
when the SplitFire rider threw it away
in the rocker section. Goodman moved
back into second, with WilJoh third,
Jeromy Buehl fourth and Pederson fifth.
After 10 of 20 laps had been completed, Pederson seemed to get a second
wind and he started to pick off one rider
at a time: first Buehl, then Willoh, then
Goodman.
With four laps remaining, Antunez
had established a good-sized lead, but
Pederson tucked in and up-shifted. Pederson put on a show of both speed and
bike-handling skill in an effort to catch
the Suzuki rider. With one Jap to go,
Pederson made up a four-bike-Iength
deficit to follow Antunez across the
checkers hait a bike length back.
SATURDAY
Willoh had the hot hand as he
grabbed the holeshot in the J 25cc feature, with Mike Jones, Stephenson,
Palmer and Antunez in tow. Willoh led
for the first seven of 16 laps. Then alI
hell broke loose: Willoh went down in
the rockers, and Stephenson tried to set
up an inside move on Jones coming out
of the rockers and went down. In the
meantime, Antunez got into his zone in
the early going and moved into the lead
at the halfway mark. Ramsey fought his
way up from a poor start to follow
Antunez after a four-lap battle with
Jones. With Antunez in control of the
race, followed by Ramsey, the third
podium spot wasn't decided un til
Palmer edged out Jones at the checkers.
Pederson recovered from his disappointing ninth-place finish in the125cc
final to grab the early lead in the 250cc
main event. The Nielsen rider left the
gate in first and never looked back - at
least not until lap 13, when Antunez,
after battling past Willoh and Ramsey in
the early going, got by Pederson for the
lead.
Antunez rode very smoothly tonight,
seemingly not pressured about anything
or anyone. After Antunez got by Pederson, Pederson held his ground despite
advances from Ramsey for the second
------'.
position. While Ramsey had his sights
set on getting by Pederson, it was'
Palmer who again fought off the poorstart blues, locking onto Ramsey. With
four laps to go, Palmer made his move
past Ramsey to follow Antunez and
Pederson to the checkers, while Ramsey
collected fourth and Stephenson fifth.
"This weekend was the first time in
six weeks I was able to. ride without
worrying about the war instead of the
battle," Antunez said later. "When you
start worrying about the title, sometimes
you start playing it too safe instead qf
riding like you are capable of riding.
Tonight, I had so much fun. I rode like r
wanted to ride - without a care."
"If any rider - and I don't care what
rider we are talking about - thinks they
are going to come to this Arenacross
series and kick butt - better think again,"
Ramsey, a regular in the AMA Supercross Series, said, "These guys are hauling and have this game wired. Buddys
a friend, and to be battling against him
and finishing second in the 125s was
very cooL I don't like to lose, but if I had
to get beat, I don't mind it being him." {'N
Cow Palace
San Francisco, California
Results: II/larch 13-14, 1998
(Rounds 25 & 26 of 28)
,
Friday
125 PRO. 1. Cliff Palm.. (Kaw); 2.]effWilioh (Suz)~
3. Chad Pederson (Kaw); 4. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 5~
Nathan Ramsey (Kaw); 6. Mike Jones CKaw); 7. Jimmy
Gaddis (Kaw); 8. Jeromy Buehl (Hon); 9. Brad Woolsey
(Kaw); 10. Grayson Goodman (Kaw); 11. Travis Preston
(Suz); 12. Denny Stephenson (Hon); 13. Clifford
Adoptante (Suz); 14. Jim Chester (Suz); ]5. Dean Matson
(Suz).
250 PRO: 1. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 2. Chad
Pederson (Kaw); 3. Jeff Willoh (Suz); 4. Grayson
Goodman O