Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

u bRichardson .rd ·ISUZ U didn't run into th e wall; it w as goo d, gentleman racing. Then King snuck by u s, and I got to wat ching them . I sa w th ey weren't any fas ter than me, and I got to watching them, missed my ma rk going in to a turn a nd sli p ped off the groo ve . The motorcycl e wa s p erfect. The y just ou traced me ." USC Racing /Lan ca st er Harl e y Davidson /Dodg e Br other s' Br yan Bige low co n tin ues to improve on his b est fIn ishes ever, a nd h e s lipped by pole sitter Joe Kopp to captu re fifth on the last lap. " It ' s getting bett e r every w eek," Bigelow said. "I was ab le to get by Joe Kopp on the last lap, when he slipped a little hig h. A fifth - that's pretty good . I think it's because Johnn y (Goad) and I a re working so good as a team. He rea llyhas the bikes dialed in , and we're really clicking right now. I think as long as we keep d oing what we' re doing, we'll go to the front." r- Joe Kop p's sixt h-p lace finish was also the best this year for the Ha rley-Davidson of Missouri /Da v e Burks Motorsports-backed racer , b ut it was bittersweet, comi ng after he had set fast heat tim e and earned the pole positio n . :"It felt really good to se t fast time I've only done that once befor e - but [ m~de a couple of w rong picks for the main," Kop p said. "I think Morehead probably picked a better starting spot. After he picked it, I saw this broken-u p dirt, and I think he was ab le to hook up on it . I didn't rea lly make many mi stak es, but I think 1 spun the tire off turn four and that let Chris get a better drive to get by going in to turn on e. For eight or nine laps, Bigelow kept showing me a w heel. Then, the last lap , I went into tum three a little too hot. I got too high right in the middle; I thou ght I had it sav ed . 1 ran it into the comer and then got right b ack down on m y lin e, but h e ha d a w heel right there. I thou ght, 'O h, no not now .' I wanted a top-five; sixth is the best finish we've had on this bike." And what of the "Dominator" ? Eight-time Gra nd National Champion Scott Parker proved himself to be almo st human a s he s tr u g g le d th rough h is p oorest fini sh of th e yea r. Parker also failed to ga in a direct transfer from his heat and was forced into a semi, w here h e fini sh ed se co n d to Mik e H a ck er. Th e H arle y -Da v id s on M ot or Co ./ AGV / HOG-sp onsored Parker was the last qu alifier for the Nation al., "We got b eat," Pa rke r said . "I jus t didn't go as fast as they were. We go t a littl e out of kilter a nd had to go to the semi. That ge ts yo u behind. But I did ge t a holeshot. I tried up high for a cou ple of la p s, and I gained gro u nd th e first lap, and I thought I could gain the second lap , but I lo st in st ead . Th e nex t thing you know, the race is over. Finally, I just dropped to the bottom and ran around there. I wa s getting around pretty good, but it wa s too late." . Defending Harley-Da vidson Sports te r Performance Se ries C ha m p io n Dave y Camlin worked hi s Saddlem en / 1-S00- FA ST- H O G / Mo ron e y ' s Harley-Davidson aro und current points lead er Jess Roeder to tak e th eir 12-lap National. Billy Martin pressured Roeder for the last few lap s but cou ld n' t ge t by. HEATS Fast qualifier Rose Ra cin g /Sch aeffer' s Harley-Dav id son's Kev in Varnes led the firs t 10-la p heat into tu rn one, but Dan Stanley quickly set Varnes ba ck to second. Not giving up easily, Varnes s tayed glued to t he Gardner Racing /Walters Brothers Harley-Da vidson-backed Stanley. At abou t th e halfway p o int of the race, th e lea d e r s we re join ed by Big elow, w ho had been off th e pace ea rly . O n the sixth-lap, Varnes made a move on Sta nley as they ca me out of turn tw o . It left just enough room for Bigelow to wedge hi mself in to second. Varnes slipped back a litt le as Bigelow tried to w rest t he lead from Stanley, who was to o s trong a nd held on for another heat wi n. Shaun Russell was a lonely fourth, well ahead of Bret Beyer, Paul Lynch and Mike Varn es. Heat two saw King lead Davis in to tu rn one , ahead of Billy Martin . Davis had moved to the fro nt by the end of the fi rs t la p. King w as pushin g Da v is as Carr held d own third over Dan Butler, who shoved his USC Racing / Lan caster Harley-Dav id son /Dodge Broth ers mount in to the last direct transfer. King took co mmand aft er Da vis sli p ped the groove in turn tw o. Davis hung with Kin g for a cou p le of laps before th e Honda pilot pulled away. Butle r eventuall y pulled aw ay from Carr and clos d on Davis , but he cou ld not ad vance. Carr wa s a d ist ant fou rth over Paul Morgan and Martin. Th e t hird h e a t h ad Da ve Burks Motorsports /Harley-Da vid son of Missouri's Ken Coolbeth on the pole, bu t it was his teammat e, Joe Kopp, w ho led th e pack into th e firs t turn . Kopp led Geo Roeder II, Ronnie Jone s and Co olbeth around the fir st lap. In turn tw o, Jone s alm ost had his Harl ey jump out from under him, and Coolbeth quickly took advantage. By now, Kopp was on cru ise contro l. w h ile KK Supp ly /M ike & Ed die Adkins /Winchest er H-D 's Roed er had his hands full holding back Coolbe th. Jones returned to the mix but came u p just short of a direct tran sfer. The last heat was a real wa r, as Steve Mor ehead led Jay Springs teen and Terry Poove yInt o turn o ne . Ste ve Beat tie cha r g ed into tu rn o ne, o nly to h it Poovey' s rear w heel a nd slip high off the groove . La p one saw Sco tt Pa rker rid e in to fourth, ah ead of J.R. Schnabel and Beatti e. Morehead, Springsteen and Poovey _were tight, as Parker tried a high line in tum thr ee. Par ker 's first at temp t failed , but by lap four he had gained third, and Beattie w as a ll over Poovey , tr ying to make a charge to the front. Despit e a ll th e a ction behind him, Moreh ead main tained th e lead till the end . Even RC Trucking /B artels' HarleyDavid son-backed Springstee n held second a ll the w ay . Sp ringer look ed ba ck on ce. "I looked back and saw the number 126," Sp rings teen s ai d . " It w as like, 'Wh o's tha t guy?' But it w as Scotty and Beattie - tha t' s ho w close they were to me." Beattie had his Stylemaster Custom Mot or cycl es-b acked Harley in the a llimportan t third sp ot on lap nine, but Parker made one last ou tsid e cha rge going in to tu rn th ree. Parker fell jus t short as he held off Poovey, w ho had rejoin ed the lead group. . SEMIS Pau l Morgan III pu t h is Co zia hr Harley-Davidson /Buck/Jono's-backed Harley ou t fron t rig h t fro m th e start. Jaime Aguilar, Ronnie Jones and Brett Landes followed in to th e fir s t tu rn. It did n 't take Jo nes lo ng to pu t h is TCR /Loral Lake mount into second and the last transfer. Landes rode home third , with Poovey and Paul Lynch well off the pace. Davey Camlin led th e second semi into tum one, but Chris Carr wasted no time moving to the head of the procession . The Sadd lemen /l -S00-FASTHOG /Mor oney 's H arle y-David son backed Ca mlin settled into second over J.R. Sch nabel, who held a solid third. Johnny Murphree eventually moved up to fou rth ove r Bret Beyer, Bren t Armbruster and Dale [enneman. Th e last se mi saw Ca rnlin's Saddlem en / 1-S00 -FA ST H O G / Moron ey ' s Harley-Davidson teammate, Mike Hacker, up front, but Ha cker had none other th an the seri es' w inningest rider righ t behind him all the way. Parker tried to ta ke th e lead severa l times, bu t to no avail. At abou t the halfway poin t, Parker slip ped badly comin g ou t of turn two, and Sha un Russell closed drama tically. In danger of not qualifying for the main for the firs t time this yea r, Parker se ttled in to secon d , lea v in g Ru s sell a close ' thi rd . Mike Varnes led Billy Martin and Paul Ber gstr om hom e in fourth. GRAND NATIONAL Joe Kopp led the l S-rider field out to select their all-im portant sta rting p ositio ns . The fron t row was ma de up of King, Morehea d, Kopp, Stan ley, Springsteen an d Roed er. Row two held Davis (who opted for the ou tside of ro w tw o with his sixth pick ), Coolbe th, Butler, Big el o w , Bea tt ie a n d Varn es . Ca rr, Ha cke r, M org an, Jo nes, Ca m li n and Parker filled out the third row. Park er at first looked to start on the fourth row, in order to be on th e groove, but it was ruled that he co u ld n' t d o th at. Parker (Above left) Morehead (42) and Davis (21) battled for the lead for much of the race , allowing King and Carr to creep up and pass both of them. Davis wound up third and Morehead fourth. (Above. left to right) Carr , King and Davi~ take a champagne shower to escape the sweltering Oklahoma heat . w as to s ta r t fr om th e b ottom of row thr ee. Morehead rea d th e ligh t perfectly and led King, Stanley and Davis into the first tum. Davi s joined Morehead at the front over King , Kopp and Sta nley . Parker was try ing to use the cushion to climb to the front. . "My pl an w as to go to the to p the first co u p le of laps anyway," Parke r sa id. "I was able to move up, bu t then th at wen t awa y , a nd I s lipped b a ck again." Pa rker got as hi gh as ni nth before slipp ing to 15th and then coming back for a 12th-place finish. Morehead and Davis exchanged the lead several times as King watched from right behind them. "The bi ke w as running good all nig ht ," King said, "but it was weari ng out tires, so 1 di d n't want to wear ou t the tire the first part of the race. 1 figured their tires were go ing to get hot w hen they started b attling ba ck a nd fort h." "If I could have go t by Steve on that first lap and come off there in first place, I could have used wh at moisture ther e wa s in the track before it dried ou t," Davis said . "I got into a dogfight with him, and after abo ut five laps my mo isture wore out. " After King wa s fina lly abl e to make his move, he p u lled to a co m fortab le lead. Th e r id er who was making th e most progress now was Carr. "Early on , I was battling wi th Kopp,and for abou t five laps I jus t could n' t get around him," Carr said . "Finally, I go t a good ru n up off four and was able to ge t up underneath him; then I cou ld chase those guys d own up front. On e by on e they w ere m akin g m istakes, a n d I would pick up a position . I was able to run d own Rich. He knew I was th ere, and he d id the smart thing: He slowed down . Instead of trying to go fast , he kept it on the bottom of the groo ve. It's a tou gh track to pas s on. I gave it my best sho t." Davis enjoyed the race from his seat. "It w as fun ," he sai d . "Tha t's abo u t the funn est third place I've ever had." Despite h is so lid six th, Kopp la ter had seco nd thou gh ts abou t some of the choices he'd mad e for the main event. "I w ould h a ve p icked a d ifferent whee l setu p, now that 1 think about it," Kopp said . "I was debating on a skinny w heel or a wide wheel. A lot of guys went with the skinny, bu t it was w orking so good, and I had fast time . I was 25

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