Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

win of the se ries a few laps later followed by W illoh, Palme r, Pederson an d Swink. "I'm ge tting int o bett er shape an d we a re working thi ngs o ut," sa id the Car rollton Kawasaki /Pro Circuit /Tucker Rocky-backed Rand. "My arms pumped up a littl e, but I was pu mped to be out fron t, too. We d idn 't really have the right tires for this terrain but somehow it all worked ou t." . Pr ima l Impul s e Su zuki /B ill 's Pipes /Su ns tar-sponsored Pede rso n nailed a p erfect ho les ho t in th e 2SOcc fina l fo llowed by Will oh, Step he nson and Antunez. Palme r and Illinois' Tom Hofmaster tang led bars and bo th w ent down in th e firs t turn. Pal mer lat er restarted half a lap d own in last. "I ha d a good start-but someone came in too hot and took us out ," Palmer said 'of the incident. "The n I had to wait for everyone to get going until I could go." Ped erso n used his s ta rt to quick ly s pace hi ms elf fro m the p a ck , whil e Willoh, Step henson, An tu nez and Buehl we re left to fight over second . Ant unez m oto red in to th ird p a s t Ste p henson on la p three. Then Buehl made his way by the current cha m p on la p five as something was now w ro ng wi th Antunez's 250. "W e broke a ci rcli p in the water . impeller and it jam med som e gea rs," Longacre said. Willoh closed in on the lead er Pederso n tow ard the la ter sta ges of th e race , as -P ederso n w as d ealing with lappers . After eventua lly passing the lapped rid.ers, Ped erson just picked up his pace on th e hard -ch arging Willo h and crossed the line for his third win of th e series. Willoh would cross the finish in second, while Buehl took third in front of A n tu nez, w ho m anaged to hold on to fourth . Excell No lee n / Thor-su pported Jason Thomas finis hed fifth , and Palmer salvage a sixt h. "Those lappers we ren't really coo pera ting w it h tha t blue flag and they jus t stayed in th at fas t lan e," Pederson sai d of the race. "It got close there for a bit, but I knew I had to get go ing ." "I' ll jus t se ttle for second again, but th at is consistency and tha t' s what I'm here for," said Willoh of his second runner-up finish of the nig ht. "I'rn happy with th ird but bu mmed about that 12Scc finis h," Bueh l said after the race . "It' s a lot easier when yo u ge t that hol esho t though, I'll tell you tha t." "Th e bik e was ru nni ng funny, and I ju st ro de around at half-pa ce, I d idn' t wa n t a ny th ing s tu pi d to happen ," An tunez sa id . "I ca n ' t b eli ev e I g o t fourth. Tho se guys must not have been trying too hard." SATURDAY Willo h, Antunez, Buehl and Pederson w ere at the head of the pack in the 12Scc featu re as th e previou s ni ght' s winner Rand was left on the groun d in the first tum . Pederso n m ad e the first mo ve as he bl ock-p assed Bue hl in th e wi de, sand y first -turn sweeper on the second lap in to third : Palmer, who started midpa ck, was up to fifth by lap three and gun ning for th e leaders . Antu nez made his way by Willoh for the lead a lap later, then Palmer used the sa me move as Pederson - in th e same place - on Buehl for fourth. "I had the drive on the inside and one of us had to back off," Palmer said . Willoh came up quite short on the big double around the halfway po int of the race and lost two positions. " I m iss ed a gea r, so I ju m ped tha t thin g in firs t and it just wa sn't eno ug h," Willoh said . As a result, Ped erson mo ved into second and Palmer dived into third. Antunez cruised ou t fro nt for several more lap s, loo king to have his first win o f the se r ies, as Pederson was slowly cl osin g in. With fo ur laps rem ain in g, An tu nez cased the tripl e that he had been do ing flaw lessly all night long . Pede rson s a w the m istake and pounced on the opportunity and, in the ne x t corner, took the lead away from Antunez as Antunez drifted to the wall exces sively wide. Pederson held his grou nd all the w ay to the fini sh for hi s fourth win of th e series as Antun ez recovere d to fi nis h second ahead of Palmer. Teamma tes Buehl and Willoh d rag-raced down th e fin al straight for p osition, and Willoh took fourth by a wheel. "I got by him (Antunez) before h e could pu ll himself back together, oth erwise he w ould have won tha t one ," Pederson said of the pa ss. "I was able to capitalize on that mistake, 'bu t before that I wasn't ab le to gain much ground on him anywhere." "It was ju st a men tal mistake o n my part ," Antunez said of the bob ble. "I had been do ing it fro m the insi de all night, and I d id n't compensate for the rut that time." Grabbi ng the start of the 250cc final from the ou ts id e g a te was Broml ey Suzuki / A ra i/ Sc o tt-s p o ns o red Barry Carsten . Antunez, Pa lm er, Stephenson and Pederso n chased . Palm er m o ved b y Antunez on th e first lap, then he outjumped Carsten on la p tw o . Antun e z go t b y Ca rs te n through the rockers on lap three, as did Stephenson over the triple. Palm er had pull ed a gap o v e r Antunez by la p se ve n and w as o ne of th e few riders to jump th e larg e q uad jump. Series front-runner WiIIoh started poorly and wa s w or king through traffic and w as u p to ninth. Palmer w as on hi s wa y to his fourth win of th e series, as Antu nez rod e in second several laps lat er. Stephenson was ho ld in g th ir d but looked to be tiring with severa l la ps remaining . As Carsten wa s fad in g fro m his good start, Peders on, Buehl and Banzai Suzuki/Xtrem e's Hofmast er all took ad van: tage, moving into fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. "I'm not used to being out fro nt but I had fun," Ca rsten said. "I pumped up a little an d just rod e the best I could. " Will oh and Wallace then tangled late in th e race while d icing for eigh th arid both lost many positions. As the checke rs flew, it w as Pa lmer with a d e ci siv e win ove r A ntu n ez . (Above) Greg Rand picked up his first win of the season with a victory on open ing night . (Above right) Defending champ Buddy Antunez suffered mech an ical problems Friday night but ca me back and posted top finis hes Saturday night. (Right) Jeff Willoh rode well all weekend and picked up a win in Saturday night's Dash For Cas h. Stephens on fou ght for all he had the last few laps, as Buehl and Pederson nipped a t his fender , but he held on to round out the podi um . . " I did my job in t ha t one, " said Palmer of the near-perfect rid e. " I rid e the 2SOcc we ll and feel that if I get out to a top-five start th at I can w in it. I sa w Buddy the w hole time - he was keeping me honest, but I gave it 100 percen t the entire time ." Stephenson wa s hap py fin is hing third. "This' is for my dad , he 's behind me all the time. I'm like a light sw itch someti mes on a nd so m e tim es off. I' ll take third thou gh; these are so me of the best rid ers in the world . People d o n't realize it, but these Arena cross gu ys kick ass." I~ Henry L. Reaves Arena Pe rry, Georgia Resu lts: November 27-28, 1998 (Rounds 7 and 8 of 34) Fri day 125 PRO (15 rid ers, 16 laps): 1. Greg Ran d (Kaw): 2. Jeff Willoh (H a n); 3. Cli ff Palmer (Kaw ): 4 . C had Ped erso n (Suz) : 5 . Brian Swink (H a n ); 6 . Matt Shue (Suz); 7. Ty Wa llace (Yam ); 8. Bud dy An tu nez (Suz) ; 9. Tom Ho fmaster (Su z ): 10. Brad Wo ol sey (Ka w ): 11. Den ny Ste p he nso n (Ho n): 12. Jim C he s le r (Su z); 13. Jaso n Th omas (Ya m); 14. Ier c mv Bueh l (Hon): 15. Scott Graves (Yam) . . 250 PRO US rid ers, 20 la p s ): 1. C h a d Pederson (5 u1,:); 2. Jeff Willoh (H on) : 3. [e ro m y Bueh l (Ho n ): 4. Budd y Antunez (Su a): 5. Jaso n Th omas (Ya m); 6. Cliff Pa lme r (Ka w): 7. Denn y Step he nso n (He n ): 8. Ma tt Shut' (Suz ): 9. Greg Ra nd IKa w ): 10. Ty Wa llace (Yarn): t 1. Bri an Swi nk (Ho n): 12. Jim C he ster (Su z): 13. Tom Hofm us ter (Suz): 14. Brad Woolsey (Kaw): 15. Jos h Whitmire (Yam) . DFC: 1. Chad Pederson (Suz); 2. Denny Ste p henso n (l-ion): 3. Jeromy Bue hl (Hen): 4. Jeff Willoh (Hen). JU M P-OFF : 1. To m Ho fma ster (Suz ): 2. Jeff Willo h (Hon): 3. Ma tt Shue (Suz) . . Satur day 125 P RO (15 ri de rs, 16 la p s): 1. C had Pederso n (Suz) ; 2. Buddy Ant u nez (Suz) ; 3. Cliff Palm er (Kaw ): 4. Jeff Will oh (H e n) : 5. j er e m y Buehl (H on ): 6. Denny Ste p he nso n (He m) ; 7. ja son Thoma s (Ya m) ; 8 . Br ad Wo o lsey (Kaw): 9. Matt Shue (SU7.); 10. Jim C he ste r (Su z): 11. Ty Wa llace (Yam) ; 12. G reg Rand (Ka w); 13. Barry Ca rs ten (Su1.); 14. Tom Hofmaster (Suz ): 15. Jo sh Whitmire (Yam ). 250 PRO (15 rid ers , 20 lap s): 1. Cliff Palm er (Ka w): 2. Bud d y An tu nez (5u1. ; 3. Denny Ste p henso n (HIm); 4. ) [e rom y Buehl (Ho nk.S. Cha d Ped er son (Su z): 6. Tom H ofrna st er (Suz): 7. Ja son Thom a s (Ya m) ; 8 . Ba r ry Cars ten (Suz ): 9. Ma tt 5 h ue (5 u z); 10. Brad Woolsey (Kaw): 11. Jim Cheste r (Suz) : 12. Ty Wall ace (Yam ); 13. Jeff Wi lloh (li on ); 14 . Gr eg Ra nd (Kaw) : 15. Jo sh Whit mire (Yam ). DFC: 1. Jeff Willoh IHo n): 2. Buddy Antu nez (5u1. ; ) '3. Denny Step he nso n (Hon): 4. Cliff Palme r (Kaw) . JUMP~O FF: 1. To m Hofrnaster (5uz ); 2. Jeff Willo h (Hon): 3. Matt Sh ue (5u1. . ) AMA /PJ1 NATIONAL AR ENA C R O S S SE R IE S POINT STANDINGS (After 8 of 34 rounds): 1. Cliff Palmer (234 /4 wi ns) ; 2. Buddy Antu ne z (223) ; 3. Jeff Willoh (222 / 1); 4. Chad Pederso n (215 / 4); 5. Ier om v Buehl (200/2); 6. Denny Ste p henso n (94); 7. Greg Rand (171/1 ); 8. Hea th Voss (124 /2); 9. Jim Ches ter (120); 10. To m H ofrnast er (113); 11. Ty W.1J1ace (101) ; 12. Brad Woolsey (91); 13. (TIE) Charley Bogard / Jeff Gibson (89); 15. Barry Ca rsten (75); 16. Jason Thomas (66); 17. Bria n Swi n k (64); 18. Ma tt Shue (44); 19. Mike Jones (43); 20. Robb ie Ho rton (36). Upcoming Rounds: , Rounds 9-10 - Rockford, illinois, December 4-5 Rounds 11-12 - Fort Worth, Texas, January '-2 00 0\ 0\ ,....... '!5 ,...... ,As:a result of the·on.t':"ck alterc~ tlon at the Jacksonville round between'Ch ';rley Boga rd 'and Jason Thoma s . Bogard will sit severalweeks out with a three-race suspension and a $2000 fine..Thomas raced at Perry, as he has been put on a one-year probationary period with theAMA. ..D .Ptanet Honda/ Pro Grip.s Brian Swink was on hand at Perryand raced the fi rst night. but then packed up and headed home on .Saturday, Swink injured his thumb at the opener1n Des Moines (l) and he has been riding in pain ever 'since. .He raced C?ne night in M assachusett s, sat out at Jac kso nville' and t ried aqain thlaweek, but -the pain was too muc h, " I' m going to the doctor on M on- day." Swink said', "I thought it wouldget better. but it isn't..., . . ' . l-< (l) S (l) u c 17

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