Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

said the 32-year-old Jones. 'Tm out here for the fans and to give them a good time in addition to haVing fun for myself." A crash in practice on Saturday over the big Dunlop Catapult double saw Jones picking himself off the ground with a jammed thumb. ''I'm still going to give it my best shot," said Jones at the start of the evening on Saturday. "What have I got to lose?" The injured Jones, however, still brought the crowd packing the coliseum to its feet on Saturday in the Jump-Off contest. A heated race in the SBS Dash For Cash saw Jones and Palmer connect in the final turn of the four-lap race. As a result, Jones took a soil sample and Palmer took the win, not to mention the cash. Jones came back in the 250cc main to lead the first 16 laps before Palmer took advantage of an open door to take the lead. Fellow Kawasaki rider Jones still settled for second. FRIDAY Willoh's strong performance in his 12Scc heat race appeared to set the pace for the weekend as he led the field from start to finish. Repeating his performance in the 12Scc main event, he had the fans cheering at his triple-jump feat, launching off the first rocker and landing smoothly three jumps later. "The whoops were the only place to pass on this track," said Willoh, "but I knew I would gain time over the triple, so I just kept doing it." Joining Willoh on the podium was his Till Racing/Thor/Honda/Pro Circuit/Part Unlimited-backed teammate Jeromy Buehl. "We did this in Jacksonville on Saturday night in the 2S0cc, only that time I won and Jeff finished econd," offered Buehl. '1 was right behind Jeff the first 11 laps, until I got caught up with lappers. He was awesome. I didri't want to ride over my head and lose my spot on the podium, so I just concentrated on staying up and keeping my position." Kawasaki-mounted Greg Rand stayed in' third the entire 16. "About four laps from the end," said Rand, "I got caught up with a lapped rider, but I'm happy to still make the podium.'" Jones owned the 2S0cc main event, grabbing the holeshot and making music through the whoops each lap. "I just wanted to pull ahead and just concen tra te on wha t was in fran t of me," said Jones from atop the podium. "I missed the first five events and just wanted everyone to know that I could ~till win." Palmer suffered a bad start, finishing th.e first lap in sixth place. He wasted little time making his way through the pack, however, and midway through the third lap he was already threatening Antunez for the third spot. Palmer and Antunez launched off the big double side by side. When the duo landed, Palmer pushed Antunez into a hay bale to take over third. In the next lap, Palmer repeated his performance, making a pass on Rand to take over second. Antw,ez crashed hard four laps later and saw stars before getting back into tl,e race a la p down. In the meantime, Willoh passed Antunez and raced strong into third place for the remainder of the race. At the checkers, it was Jones taking the top podium spot, followed by Palmer an.d Willoh. SATURDAY Willoh was a man on a mission during Saturday'S 12Scc main. Again he I?;rabbed the holeshot and held the point for the entire 16-lap race. Teammate Buehl ga ted second and held his po ition until lap 11, when Cliff Palmer stepped up to the plate and took the runner-up spot. Palmer gated seventh off the start and definitely had his work cut out for him. "I didn't get the start I wanted, and 1 knew that Jeff (Willoh) was one of the fastest riders out there," offered Palmer at the end of the race. "I knew that if [ could catch up with him, I could run with him." Palmer began to weave his way through the pack toward the leaders, taking over third by the midway point. It was two laps before he could get by Buehl, using the whoops as a weapon for second place. By that time, Willoh had already opened up a comfortable lead, and Palmer had to settle for second. "I can't thank Sully with Pro Circuit enough," said Willoh. "He's been here all week with Jeromy and I, helping us set our bikes up, so I owe this win to him and Pro Circuit." (Right) Jeromy Buehl may not have posted the stellar results that teammate Jeff Willoh did, but the Honda pilot still turned in great rides. Buehl finished second in Friday's 125cc main and fourth in the 250Cc main. On Saturday, Buehl returned to post fourth in 125cc action and 11th on the 250. (Below) Buddy Antunez's best finish was a third In Saturday's 125cc premier race. The defending champion's uncharacteristically poor finishes in Fort Worth allowed Jeff Willoh to gain a lot of ground on Antunez's second-place points tally. Points leader . Cliff,Palmer also capitalized on Antunez's finishes, opening up a greater lead. Once out front, Palmer began to quickly distance himself from Jones. '1 couldn't hang on for the whole 20 laps," said Jones froD:! the podium. "I couldn't keep up with Cliff, so I just hung on to finish second." Willoh rounded out the podium in tIlird, adding more valuable points to his standings as the series heads to ew York for the next round. _ Will Rogers Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas Results: January 1-2, 1999 (Rounds 11 and 12 of 34) Antunez made a final showing in the last two laps, passing Buehl to grab the final podi um posi tion. '1 crashed in both raCes last night," commented Antunez. '1 hit tile ground pretty hard, and you can't win a race on the ground. I went to the chiropractor this afternoon and had him make a couple of adjustments to my neck. I made a cou pIe of mistakes out there, but I had a pretty good race." In spite of his get-off in practice earlier that afternoon, and a crash in the 12Scc main, Jones appeared to be the strongest contender in the 2S0cc main event. Willoh took the holeshot and led into the whoops, but both Jones and Palmer blasted by him through the whoops. Jones was magriificent out front, but Palmer was at hi rear wheel through every turn. Jones would extend a bike length or two in the whoops; Palmer would make up for it in the brief straightaway. For 16 laps, the two KX pilot went head to head, leaving the other 13 competitors in the dust. "Mike (Jone ) was going good," aid Palmer. "l didn't realize how fast we were going until we started passing the other guys." • When Palmer closed in on Jones in the whoops on lap 17, a lapped rider got in Jones' way, which was all Palmer needed to make the pass. "I saw Mike go wide into the turn to the big double," said Palmer. "He went wide, looked at me, and [ just cut inside and passed him. [ really think that if his 'thumb hadn't been injured, he would have won." Friday 125 PRO (15 rid....,16 laps), \. jeff Willoh (Hon); 2. Jeromy Buehl (Hon); 3. Greg Rand (Kaw); 4. Mike jones {Kawl; 5. Charley Bogard (Suz); 6. K.. th Johnson (Yam); 7. Cliff Palmer (Kaw); 8. Buddy AntuneL (5uz); 9. Denny Stephenson (Hon); 10. Ty Wallace (Yam); 11. Brad Woolsey (Kaw); 12. Jim Chester (Suz); 13. Grayson Goodman (Hon); 14. Tom Hoffmaster (Suz); 15. Oamien Plotts (KTM). 250 PRO (15 riders, 20 laps): 1.Mike JOlles (Kaw); 2, Cliff Palmer (Kaw); 3. Jeff Willoh (Hon); 4. Jeromy Buehl (Hon); 5. Crayson Goodman (Hon); 6. Denny Stephenson (Hon); 7. Keith Johnson (Yam); 8. Ty Wallace (Yam); 9. Brad Woolsey (Kaw); 10~Jim Chester (Suz); 11. Greg Rand (j(.;'lW); 12. Tom Hoffmaster (Suz); 13. Damien Plotts (KTM); 14. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 15. Travis Riley (Kaw). DFC: 1. Mike Jones (Kaw); 2. Buddy Antunez (Suz)' 3. Cliff Palmer (Kaw); 4. Greg Rand (Kaw). ' JUMP.QFF: 1. Mike Jones (Kaw). Saturday 125 PRO (IS riders, 16 laps): 1. Jeff Willoh (Hon); 2Cliff Palmer (Kaw); 3. Buddy Antunez (5uz); 4. Jeromy Buehl (Hon); 5. Ty Wallace (Yam); 6. Greg Rand {Kawl: 7. DennY'Stephenson (Hon); 8. Charley Bog3rd ( uz); 9. Mike Jones (Kaw); 10. Grayson Goodman (Hon); 11. Darnien Plotts (KTM); 12. Tom Hoffmaster (Suz)-; 13. Brad Woolsey (Kaw); 14. Jim Chester (5uz); IS. Keith Johnson (Yam). 250 PRO 115 riden, 20 I.ps): I. Cliff Palmer (Kaw); 2. Mike jones (Kaw); 3. jefl Wil10h (Hon); 4. Buddy Antunez (Suz); S. Ty Wallace (Yam); 6. Tom Hoffmaster (Suz); 7. Keith Johnson (Yam); 8. Denny Stephenson (Hon); 9. Jim Chester (Suz); 10. Brad Woolsey (Kaw); 11. Jeromy Buehl (Hon); 12. Jimmy Wilson (Yam); 13. Grayson Goodman

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