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DIRT TRACK Round 4: West Virginia Motor Speedway AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (Above) Dan Stanley and Goo Roeder II traded placings back and forth , with Roeder finishing sixth and Stanley seventh for his best-ever 750cc Grand National finish. (Below) Mike Hacker (67) finished first in the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series main event but was d isqualified after h is motorcycle was protested by another competitor. Hacker's DO meant that Shaun Russell (65Z) earned the $1000 first-place pr ize money. pa sses going into turn thr ee . I knew it was there. I could drop to the bottom and shoo t right undern eath them and drift up and still get a drive to hold it. A seventh is my best 750 finish. Sixth would have been better, but I'll take seventh." "I got off the line decent; I think I was seve n th th e first lap," Carr said of his eig hth-p lace finish .-"Then I went backwards, then cam e back forw ard , Hopefully that will be my worst finish the rest of the year." Bigelow worked his way in to a lOthplace finis h. "We fou nd a good line wit h very little traffic," Bigelow said . " It was a good passing line and it let us come somew hat to th e fron t - better than th e la st two weeks . We're moving up; it' s just taking a little bit of time. I'm looki ng forward to next weekend." Land es bounced around near the bottom of the field before moving up to an 11th-place finish . "It's been a long time since I ran 25 laps on a 750 - last year at Sacra me nto, I gu ess," Land es sa id . "We ra n p re t ty good in th e heat , a nd th en I won m y semi, but I still wasn't happy wit h th e bik e. We mad e a few cha nges, and 25 lap s gave me a lot of lime to ge t my confide nce back a nd start working on the bike." Kopp' s st ron g heat -ra ce result w as temper ed by a start ing-line incident in the main . . HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE NATIONAL Gary Rogers slid his Corbin Racing/ San Jo se H arl e y-Dav id s on-ba ck ed Sp or ts ter into th e lead as 15 bike s hit turn one. (Robert Miller, who had taken a trip to the hospital d ue to his 750 ge toff, a n d Bob Bu ffin gton , w ho had mech anica l problems, fail ed to s tart .) . .. Kevin Varnes' mechanic/ sponsor Chico Bedfro nt end on a Harley. but I just don't have that same confidence: I was. faster 'on the Harley in nar noted.that Kevin .was on the " Pap Schaef, fer Special,' named after a longtime' benefactor . practi ce ; I said I'd just rather ride the 'Honea t onight. I sti ll think 'we can makethe Harley who passed away' a coupl,: 'of years ~go . ' : . " work. I haven't given up on it yet. In fact, I'm Mis'sing from' the night' ; aC ;ion ,;...,,'~ USC Rac'- planning on riding it at Lima next week. I wanted tests were to be held at the West Virginia ing's Dan Butler. -But ler a pparently injured a ' t o ride t he Hond a ton ight ' and ' may be learn ,M o t o r Sp eed w ay on ' S un day as 'the A MA something I could apply toward the H arley." " loo ked at th re e new t ir e bra nds th at hav e ' knee play-rtdinq . The extent of the injury and time he will mlss are still unkn own . . show n interest in mak ing a 'dirt track tire . New' . Tim Eades made his first 750Cc Grand Natio~: 'designs from M axXis;:Contineni al and Dunlop . .. .were to be te sted. . Several bike 'change's and additio ns came up alappearance on th e J oh nny & Sarah . Goad . ' ,. .. . " , . during the night of racinq, One of the success· ' . Honda. Eades was very competitive before finWill Davis' excellent ride was wort h $43 30 . · ful. one s was for Brent Armbruster: " I ishing up his night' s wo rk with a sevent h in his and 23 valuable championship points, He is now , . want to thank Joe and W ayneHoupt at Subur-·· heat and a fift h in his semi . ,in t hird place: still 35 point s beh ind 'Scott Dan Motors Harley -Davidson for lending me a,' Parker, However. he did, climb towithtn six' bike whi le I,finish my own, " 'said Armbrust er Notas fortunate was Rob Miller, ' maki~g his . points of se~ond . placed Rich K ing . .before qualifying for the National. where he fin- ,' first ride of the year on Dave Clark's Harley. ished 18t h.· ' . . Miller' s night ended in tum one of the first lap of . Dan Stanley is one of the few who have qual; heat four. Miller was transport ed to the hospital ified for every Grand National this year. ", t got ' Brett ,Landes also made a change work. He • . with a concussion and a fractured jaw; .. I us back into the top 10 in points;'we're in eighth ' . moved from his Harley to 'the team's backup ' now ." Stanley said. " I'm really happy with our Honda and ended up 'l1th in the Nat ional. "I' m In t he mes s fo llowing' t he Harl ey -D avi ds o n ' consi stency. W e·ve··made. everyNational this . ' happy with the .night," Landes said., "1 guess I Sportster Perf orman c e ma in, ' Mike Hacker year. W e're getting the new bikes dialed in, and . just .can't figure out the Harley; I guess I'm just may appeal his disqualification. He lost not o nly ' I'm a million miles' ahead ofwhere .I was last the $ 1000 winner: s purse but also the 'series . a Honda guy , I have so much confidence in the points lead. year at this tim.e ." . front end on a Honda. I,don't mind pushing the n"" 28 . "Chris Evans go t sideways coming off the line and hit my wh eel," Kopp said. Th e cra s h left Kopp in la st p lace, wi th a lot of traffic to fight. After catching Morehead, Kopp's cha rge stalled. "More hea d and I really went back and fort h. I'd stu ff it under him in one comer and he'd chop it off on the othe r end," Kopp said . "I just wanted him to give me that high line on ce. I was turning in early and shoo ting up off the corner, ho ping to ge t a drive . It kind of screwed up my exit, but I was trying to get in fro n t of him enough to where I cou ld block him. I moved up abou t six sp o ts, I th ink - better th a n nothin g, I guess. I wa n ted more than that; we were really running good toni gh t." St eve Mo reh ead is s t ill tryin g to make his new bikes to his liking. . "We haven 't go t the sing le shock or th e tw in gl e figured ou t ye t an d it' s a struggle," Morehead sa id . "It' s really frustrat in g . We haven 't been right a ll . year." Morehead finish ed 14th . After winning his heat race, Beattie's 15th-p lace finish was a bitter pill. "I just missed the setu p for the main," Beattie said. "I though t the track wo u ld h old a li tt le bit o f its moisture. I jus t missed it completely, on the rea r tire. I left it alone an d shou ld have put a razorblad e cu t on it or something. In the heat, the su n had ju st gone down enough that I wa s able to ride just off the no tch, and the moisture had come up. For the final, it was dry ther e. Wh en I went ou t an d watc hed the track, I thou ght for su re the moistu re wo uld be there. I should n't be poking aro u nd at the back of the pa ck here. I'll know for the futu re." Mineralwells was a learning exp eri ence for last year's Rookie of the Year, John ny Murphree. . "I go t a ,bad s ta r t and th in gs w en t fr om bad to w ors e," Murphree s a id . "This track was really tr icky. Every lime I tried something different, I'd just lose a little bit of ground . I could n' t gain any grou nd all night; I d on 't think we had the bike set up right. The track chang ed a ll night. It w a s p re tt y s li p p ery, b u t those guys figu red it ou t. I gu ess we'll just get 'em next week." By lap two, Mike Hack er and Shaun Ru ssell had s lipped by and w er e battlin g h ea v il y. Rogers w a s n ot ea s il y shaken and stayed glu ed to the Bartels Ha rl ey o f Ru ssell and th e Moroney' s Harley of Hacker. Th e lead trio pulled awa y , with Ru ssell a nd Hacker excha ngin g the lead severa l tim es. Back in fo u rth, G utteridge Harle y' s Sc ott S t u m p w a s du eling with M o r on ey t eam ma te s Dave C amlin a n d Tim Eades. Camlin slipped off the pac e the last two laps w hile hi s tea m ma te Ha ck er received the check ered flag. Russell was a close second, w ith Rogers third . After a pos tra ce prot est b y Scott Stump, Hackers win w as d isa llowed. Stump protes ted th e ca m co ve rs on Backer' s b ik e because of materi a l rem oval. Russell was declared the winne r ove r Rogers a n d Stump. A fifth pl ac e fi ni sh b y Mill er Electric' s Je ss Roed er kep t him in the points lead . I~ West Virginia Motor Speedway MineralweJls, West Virginia Results: June 20, 1996 (Round 4 of 16) HEAT 1 (10 I~ps; 11 ri ders , top th re e trans fe r): 1. Will Davis (H· D); 2. Kevin Varn es (H4D); 3. Chri s Evans (H·D); 4. Bryan Bigelow (H-D); 5. Pau l Mor gan UI (H· D); 6. Da ve Ca mlin (H -D); 7. Brent Armbruster (H-D); 8. Bre Beyer (H4D); 9. Jim Filice (H-D); 10. Ian Segedy (H· t D); 11. Jason Sent ell (H- D), T ime : 4 min .•20.778 sec. HEAT 2 (10 laps ; 11 rid e rs, top th ree trans fed: 1. Rich King (He n): 2. Joe Ko pp (H- D); 3, Chris Ca rr (H· D); 4. Pa ul Lync h (H·D); 5. G uy Rogers (H- D); 6. Da n . Sta nley (H-D); 7. Tim Eades C Hon) ; 8. John Nickens III (H· 0); 9. Billy Martin (H· D); 10. N ick Daniels (H-D); 11. Ken Coo lbe th Jr. (H· D). Time: 4 mi n" 22.559 sec . HEAT 3 (10 lap s; 11 rid ers, top three tr an sfer): I. Sco tt Par ke r (H-D); 2. Jay Springs tee n (H· D); 3. Gt'O Roeder II (H-D); 4. Mike Hacker ( H-o); 5. J.R. Schnabel (H· D); 6. Bre t Land es (H·D); 7. Willi. McCoy (H-D); 8. t Josh Butler (H-D); 9. Ioev Brock (H4D); 10. Randv Shank 11 (H· D); 11. Marco Morello (H-D)... • Time: 4 min.• 21.489 sec . HEAT 4 (10 lap s; 12 rid e rs, top three tra ns fer) : 1. Stev e Beatt ie (H-D) ; 2. Shaun Russell ( H ~ D); 3. Johnnv Murphree (H-D); 4. Mike Varnes (H ·D ); 5. Jaso n Ad cher (H4D); 6. Dale Ien nema n (H·D) ; 7. Bob Knapp (H-D); 8. Steve Moreh ead (H-D); 9. Steve Gill (11 ·0); 10. Iai me Aguil a r (H4D); 11. Paul Bergstrom (H·D ); 12. Rob Miller (H-D>. Ti me: 4 min.•24.251 sec. SEM I 1 (8 lap s; 11 riders, top two transfer): 1. Bryan Bige low (H4D); 2. Bre nt Ar m br u s te r (f -l- D): 3. Ken Coolbe t h Jr . (H4D); 4. J.R. Sc h na bel (H· D); 5 . Da le Iennema n (H-D); 6. Gary Rogers (H-D); 7. Joh n Nick ens 11I 0-1-0); 8, Ian Segedy (H· D); 9. Jos h Butler (H- D); 10. Marco Morello (H-D); 11. Steve Gill (H-D)' Tim e: 3 min.•32.303 sec. SEMI 2 (8 laps; 11 riders. top two transfer): 1. Dan Stanley (H-D); 2. Steve More hea d (H-D); 3. Mike Hacker (H4D); 4. Pau l Morgan III (H-D); 5. Jaso n Fletcher (H·D ); 6. Bret Beyer Hi -D); 7. Willie McCoy (H4D); 8. Randy Shan k II (H-D); 9. Billy Mart in (H-D); 10. Jason Sen tell (H-D); 11. Paul Bergstrom (H-D). Ti me: 3 min.• 30.677 Sl.'C . SEMI 3 (8 laps; 11 riders, top two trans fed: 1. Brett Landes (He n): 2. Paul Lynch (H· D); 3. Dave Ca mlin (H0); 4. Mike Varnes (H-D); 5. Ti m Eade-s (He n): 6. Bob Kna pp (H-D); 7. Jim Filice (H-D); 8. Nick Daniels (l'i-D); 9, Joey Brock (H4D); 10. Jaim e Aguilar (H-D); 11. Rob Miller (H-D). Time: 3 rr u 32. 1 ~ sec. n., G RAN D NATIO NAL (25 lap. ; 18 rid ers) , 1. Will Davis (H-D); 2. Kevin Varne-s (H·O); 3. Scott Pa rke r (H. 0 ); 4. Jay Sprin gsteen (H·D ); 5. Rich King (H· D); 6. Ch ris Eva ns (H-D) ; 7. Dan Stanley (H· D); 8. Chris Ca rr (H· D); 9. Geo Roeder II (H· D); 10. Bryan Bige low (H-D); 11. Brett Land es (H· D); 12. Joe Kopp (H· D); 13. Sh aun Russe ll (H-D ); 14. Steve More he a d (H 40 ); 15 . Steve Beatt ie ( H ~ D) ; 16. Pa ul Lyn ch (H· D); .17. Jo h n ny Murphree (H-O); 18. Bren t Arm bru ster (H· D). T ime : 10 min., 49.048 sec. ' AMA G RAND NATIONAL . CHA MPIONSHIP SERIES POI NT STANDIN GS (Af ter 4 of 19 ro und s): 1. Scott Pa rker (85/3 wins); 2. Rich King (56); 3. Will Davis (SO/ 1); 4. Chris Ca rr (49); 5. Kevi n Va rn es (42); 6. Jay Springste n (39); 7. Ceo Roed er n (33); 8. Da n Stan ley e (32); 9. Steve More head (31); to. Terry Poo vey (28); 11. Brett Landes (24); 12. Joe Kopp (23); 13. Mike Hacker (22); 14. Brya n Bige low (21); 15. Chris Eva ns (20); 16. Dave Ca mli n ( 9); 17. J.R. Schna bel (18); 18. Steve Beattie (1 6); 19 . N icky Ha y d e n (13); 20 . (TI E) Dan Butler / C harlie Orr ( 2). HARLEY·D AVID SON S PO RTS T ER PERfOR· MANCE N AT IO NAL (12 I. p s; 17 ri d e rs) : 1. Sha u n Rus." ,IL 2. Gary Rogers, 3. Scott Stump; 4. Tim Eades; 5. je s Roed er; 6. Billy Ma rtin ; 7. Jaso n Fletcher, 8. Dave s Cam lin ; 9. Brian Kro mrcy : 10. Willie McCoy; 11. Tom McGrane Jr.; 12. Yuhiko Hirao; 13. Michelle Disalvo. 14. Paul Bergstrom. 15. Bob Buffingto n; 16. Rob Miller. Time: 5 min.• 30.243 St.'C. AMA HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERfORMANCE SERIES POINT STANDINGS (Alter 3 of 13 rou nds): 1. Jess Roed er (56/1 win); 2. Tim Eades (43); 3. Dave Ca m lin (37/1); 4. Gary Rogers (36); 5. Mike Hacker (35) ; 6. Sha un Ru"",1\ (34/1); 7, Scott Stu mp (33); 8. Billy Mar t in (28 ); 9. Br ian Kr o m roy (25) ; 10. (T IE) Tom McGran e Jr./Willie McCoy/ jason Fletcher (24 ); 13. Rob Miller (21); 14. John Fa ulkn er 111 (18); 15. Ryan Brown (14) ; 16. m E) Yuhiko Hirao / Ia mes Ha rt (13); 18. Bob Bu ff ing ton (12) ; 19 . AI Eadie (11 ); 20 . (TIE ) Pau l Bergstro m /Michelle Disa lvo (10).