Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

. .. . . ' 'We' re all rig ht, w e're all rig ht.' Th en we go ou t in the main even t and we're 12th. That's racin ' . You just go on and forge t about it." ROUND 9 ELDORA HALF MILE Parker is rocked and then doubled over by the coml,itllltion of a Davis/King/Carr 1-2-3 , while he finishes last after a flat tire kills his charge in the Wlllling stages of the race. The points stoing is huge, and Parker 1I0W finds himself leading by a mere seven marks. It wOllld seem that the champ is about to fall into the ropes. "We still don' t know how th at (flat tire) happened. That was a big stab . A ll th ree of thos e guys fini shed on th e podi um . I was ahead of C h ris or ne xt to Chris (on the track), and I figured I had • th e advan tage on him and that [ was goi ng to finish third or fou rth at worst. Then I ge t a big zero, and that 41-point lead is poof! go ne. It rea lly wasn't that big a deal, e ve n with Peoria coming, because [ knew that there wa s only one guy that I had to beat th ere. It wa s jus t time to' go graba co u pl e of beers and forget about it. My lead kept dwindling down, but I kn ew that it wo u ld all come down to the last five races." ROUND 10 50TH ANNIVERSARY PEORIA TT Thollgh he loses the round, Parker gains a moral victory with a solid second-place finish to Carr, who picks up where he left off by dominating the joint. But Parker isn't about to let Carr have all the glory. As his factory HarlCl) 600 ventilates the crankcasejust past the finish line on the last lap, Parker slides sideways f rom tile fillish line to the firs t turn, tosses the dead machine all the ground and eng ages in a w ild [lash -ond -dash striptease act, driving the Peoria's rabid "hill people" into a frenzy. "Ch ris ju st roll s a round there, but we're go n na bea t him , thou gh . I'm confident. I know w her e we' re bea ting him and where he's bea ting us . I was close r to him th is year tha n ever, and I think we' re goi ng to ha ve hi m co ve red nex t year. When I said that if I was gonna w in it, then I would have already... that was jus t the d ay of the race . Today, I'm looking forward to beating him th ere. But that (st rippi ng) was ju s t funny . Chris jus t w ins , and I take and blow it up down th e fro nt s traightaway, a nd I'm thin king , 'Wha t the hell am I going to do? Walk away with my head down?' I thought, 'Lets just fire these people up.' First it was my helmet, and then my glo ves and ... They were hol lerin' and screarnin' . I could have gone all the w ay to my scivvies, but you got ta stop somewhere. I think that maybe w e stole a little thunder - a t least in turn on e a nd MO." ROUND 11 RAPID CITY HALF MILE The handumting for this round was all the toal! even befor the start of the night's race ing, as Parker bends III' his Bill Wernertuned XR ill practice whell the rear end washes out between tu rns three alld [our. Wemer makes the necessary repairs, mid it's business as us ual ulltil the main event, where Parker runs a disappointing eighth wlJile earr captures his second win ill a row, with King and Davis also making the podium. Parker's lead is cut to four points. 6 "We kn ew w he re we we re a fter tha t (mai n). We knew we were go ing to have s tro ng races at some pl aces and .not as stro ng at o ther places. The crash d id fi't hav e any effect on me a t all - just go t in a little low and busted the rear w heel loose and tha t w as it." ROUND 12 ROUTE 66 HALF MILE It gets no better, as everybody struggles to get a handle on the beautiful new half mile, which is located jllst south of Chicago. 111 the end, Parker runs as fast as the rest of 'em, but he is mired in 11t h place when the checkered flag falls. To add further insult and injury, King, Davis and Carr are atop the podium again , alld Parker's points lead is a memory. King now leads Carr, 185-176, with Parker slipping to thirdat 174. The champ clearly appears to be against the ropes. . " It was a beautiful faci lity, bu t it cou ld be better . I th in k tha t th ey w er e worrie d abo u t th e rain issue, and th ey didn' t put d own th e water th at th ey need ed . It' s s till go nna be slip pery, bu t it could be a real bi tch in' race tra ck.1 see some g reat potential for that race tra ck. Th at' s ju st ano ther d ea l w he re I wa s going as fast as any bo dy out ther e th at day. The thing is, there was 11 people as fast as I was. To beat them , yo u go tta be tw o - o r three-tenth s q ui ck er , a n d I could n' t d o that ." ROUN D13 EAST MOLINE HALF MILE The competition walks right into a Parker bola pUllch at the gritty Quad City Downs. The series is back on the kind of ground that Parker likes best, and it shows, as he hammers the field, leading all 25 laps and taking his place back atop the points standings. But Davis provides a bit of a surprise with a solid second-place finish that leaves him 1I0t King or Carr - ill second place in the title race. Parker gets his second win. "Tha t race w a s a bi g plu s for u s, becau se w e had been struggling at a few of these ra ces, and evervbod v had sta rt_ ed say ing, 'We got him: w e go t him.' To come ba ck after we struggled at Oklaho m a C ity , th e fla t tir e a t Eldora and d oing sh itty a t Route 66... We hadn' t won in four races.so that wa s a posi tive not e for us. People could say w ha tever they wa nted to say , bu t we were s till rollin ' ." ROUND 14 HAGERSTOWN HALF MILE It' s as if everyone stops to take a breath. Parker gets kicked in the shins by a scrappy youngster named Nickt) Hayden. who battles with the champ for several laps before taking the fourth spot. Davis scores the win, with Kevin Varnes stepping. " I' to score his best finish of the season, while Morehead runs third . Parker still has a [our-point advantage " I bea t tw o g uys (King and Carr), and one guy beat me." ROUN D15 SEDALIA HALF MILE Parker battles wi th Carr for fif th before drol,pin,~ o'..st:venth on another of the clav- the slimmest of chances heading into Del Mar. - based car tracks. Daois gets his licks in for sure, as he takes his second win in as many weeks and slugs his way into the series points lead.heading Parker In) two marks. "That's racing. Schnabel is an aggressive rid er , and he wa s jus t riding up top in tha t se mi, and he made a mistake and a lmost w en t on his head . H e sa ve d it, which w as g reat. But even that 'would n' t ha ve been the championship, becau se it ain' t ov er until it' s over. If you w ant to loo k at it like that, yo u coul d look ba ck to o ne yea r where [ won and C h ris bro ke, a nd th en he won a nd I broke. Th ose were, like, 16-p oint sw ings right th ere, e ve ry ro u nd . You jus t ha ve to keep giving them the best that you can." "Wha t basica lly ha ppened thos e two w eeks (Hagers tow n.and Sed alia ) is that we a ll kind o f flip -flopped except for Will, who was ridi ng goo d . But it w as reall y nothing to worry a bou t because, like I said, it all co m es d o wn to th ose la st few races. You h a ve to be in the position to wi n, ROUND 16 ·< SPRINGFIELD MILE While Parker hasa hell of a day on Saturday by winning the $50,000 Hall of Fame Race, nobody's about to take a dive when the points areon the line on SlInday. After a 25lap slllgfest, the rOll nd just gets away from him, as Carr takes tile win, followed by.a chippy Dan Butler and King. Heading into California, the title fight is practically anybody's to win, as King and Davis are lied at 239, with Parker in second with 238 and Carr with 237. ROUND 19 DEL MAR MILE It's time for the big one. The scenario is such that Carr or Parker must win to take the title. 11 all comes down to the four points that separate first and second place, and both riders appear confident and ready. Carr sels 'a heat-race time that is six seconds faster t han Parker's, but the main event is where it counts. Wilen the green flag drops, Parker bolts into the lead and immediately begins to pull away from the rest of the field . Carr is gamely 11l1nging on in second, but it's as if the champ is pumping the.jab by pulling away ; he's setting up fo r the knockout punch. A late-race Dan Butler crash creates a nuisance of time delay, but in the ensuing four-lap dash, Parker scores the knockout blow. First place, 91 wins, his ninth championship and fifth in a row. Scott Parker has again proved to be a'heavyweight among heaVl)lVeights. • . "I was fired 'u p, because I had wa ited "I felt really com for table there . I w ent into that race thi nki ng th at we had th e u pper hand . I though t we had 'e m covered and that it would come d own to me and Chris. And the n whatever happe ned with (Dale Jen neman) oiling the t rack, tha t jus t tigh ten ed e ve ryt h in g back up. I just felt I was in a be tter position to win before tha t red flag tha n after it. They just sw ooped me right at the end ." ROUND 17 SACRAM ENTO MILE Fa ns can always count on Carr and Parker going toe to toe at Socramento, and this ' round does not disappoint. The two chase down early leader Morehead and then battle to the finish, with Parker just slipping past Carr at the line. The series moves to Las Vegas with Parker's 261 leading Carr's 256, King 's 253 and Davis ' 252. Parker is absolutely certain as to who he will befacing at the moment of truth. " A ft e r w inni ng Sp ri ng fie ld, yo u cou ld jus t see Chris go ing , ' Hey, I've go t a shot a t th is.' An d you kno w tha t he knows exac tly w hat it takes. You know that he' s gon napu t his head 'd ow n and le t it ro ll. A nd to ward the end of th e yea r, th at 's w hen it' s time to ge t aggr"ssive." ROUND18 LAS VEGAS HALF MILE - Setting up for the last round, Park comeS er as close to losing the championship as he has all year. He almost fails to tr~ nsfer alit of the semi, but makes it through after f.R. Sc1l1label outrides the race track. Parker rebounds to finish setxn th while Carr follows winner Morehead across the line and takes tile series points lead. Davis finishes 12th and is effec" tivelll' TKO'd. King finishi:s ~fou rlh and has j to be in this po sition all year long. That's all yo u can do - hope to have a chance at th e champio ns hip . I lik e going to Del Mar because [ know tha t I do w ell there , bu t to be hones t with y ou, the racing actually kinda su cks . You mi ght see tw o pa sses all day . It' s fun to rid e, because it's mo re like what I g rew up o n, a nd I'm" positive a bo ut going th ere, but it ain' t my favorite place. "In all hon e sty, I' ve won nin e champ ion ships n o w - and 'd o n ' t ge t m e wrong, I like to win - bu t if I don't win, I can dea l with it. There's peo ple w ho still want to win one Natio nal, one National Champ ionship . Wh en [ g e t o n the motorcycl e, I w ant to win - that's all there is to it. But if I don't, it ain 't the end of th e world . When I used to get rea l close a nd not w in , then it al ways u sed to fire me u p for the next y"ar. Bu t I haven ' t felt like that for a lon g time . I was motivated to ge t that fifth champions hi p in a ro w this yea r, and I' m go nna d o it next vear, but afte r th at... I think that I'm pretty mu ch a don e deal. After that, we' ll really weig h It o u t. If we co u ld wa lk out o n top, 'tha t w ou ld be cool. We're just gonna try to' w in it and roll from the re, a nd I thin k that as long we do o ur job , we'll be ail set." l~ .as

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