Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

in a rut. It must have caught my handlebars, and that's what kept me from getting around Lance. Hey, those guys were hauling ass. ] really like riding with them."· An tunez's win - his fifth in a row netted him the. first of four $1200 paychecks on the weekend. Behind him came Smail, Stephenson, Rand, Jones, Buehl, DeHaan, Nathan Woods, Kris Rourke and Jim Chester. . "] knew] had a pretty comfortable lead," Antunez said, "so] was really careful about going through the lapped riders when Lance started to gain on me." In the 250cc main, Antunez started from the far outside line ahd timed the gate perfectly, getting out ahead of Smail, Stephenson, Pederson, Jones and Buehl in the 20-lap feature as he cut across th'e front of the entire p'ack, charging to the inside for turn one. Antunez built up a solid advantage right off the bat and left the fighting to Stephenson and Smail. Further back, Jones was making up ground on Smail but had an encounter with a lapped rider - a scenario that would wreak similar havoc with all the front-runners on the weekend - and crashed. Jones got rolling again, but he faltered once again to crash in the rutted whoop section, and he backed off the pace. Pederson, making a comeback after an injury-induced layoff, was showcas-. ing his best performance of the evening while running fourth behind Antunez, Stephenson and Smail, but ahead of Illinois' Tom Hofmaster, Rand and Buehl. Antunez, meanwhile, saw·it late-race challenge from Smail, who had finally shaken off Stephenson, but the battle never materialized, as lapped riders slowed him down. Antunez rode to his sixth consecutive win to cap off his sweep of the evening's festivities. Smail was second, with Stephenson, who had a close call late in the final when he crashed in the whoops but got going again, finished third. Pederson was fourth, followed by Hofrnastet, Rand, Buehl, DeHaan, Chester and Rourke. Jones won the spectator-funded Dash For Cash, pocketing $500, and then returned later to top the Jump-Off contest for another $500. SATURDAY The familiar Suzuki of Antunez was back out in front of the field in ·the 12Scc final, this time in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 8000. He led Stephenson, Chester, Buehl, Hofrnaster and Pederson on the first of 16 laps of the slightly altered course. By the third lap, Antunez had checked out, while Stephenson still led Chester. However, Chester's strong ride came to a premature halt when the Suzuki of Gastonia-backed rider clipped a hay bale and lost seven places. This moved 13uehl into the num- . ber-three spot, behind his teammate Stephenson. Hofmaster, Rand, Jones and Smail gave chase, though Smail would later tangle with DeHaan and begin a gradual descent through the pack. Positions at the front remained the same, and Antunez took the win ahead of Stephenson. "Denny and 1 got out front together ear~" Antunez said. "I know he was waiting for me to make a mistake, but 1 didn't. Usually, lapped riders don't work to the leader's advantage, but this time they did." Buehl got the nod for third, a position he fought over with Hofrnaster several times. Rand was next, with Jones, (Right) Despite this fall, Denny Stephenson had a strong weekend In Portland, going 3-32-2. (Below) Mike Jones turned in a couple of good rides, but he continued to rule the Jump-Off contests. (Bottom) Jeromy Buehl had his best finish Saturday night when he took third in the 125cc class. "Man, ] was content wUh second," Antunez said. "I didn't think that 1 even had a chance to run Denny down. 1 got a good jump off the line, then kept in on the whole time, hoping for Denny to make a mistake. Then things just sort of fell into place for me." Though it wasn't one of Jones' best weekends, it wasn't a total loss, as he won the Dash For Cash, worth $890, and the Jump-Off contest, whicll earned him another $500. . CIII Portland Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon Results: March 5-6, 1999 (Rounds 29 & 30 of 34) Fqday 125 PRO: 1. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 2. Lance Smail (KTM); 3. Denny Slepl~enson (Han); 4. Greg Rand (Kaw); S. Mike Jones (Kaw); 6. Jeromy Buehl (Hon);}. Doug DeHaan CKaw); 8. Nathan Woods (Yam); 9. Kris Rourke (Yam); 10. Jim. Chester (Suz); 11. Cory Bauder (Yam); 12. Tom Hofmaster (Suz); 13. Tony Graves (Yam); 14. Paul Conner (Yam); 15. Chad Pederson (Suz). 250 PRO: 1. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 2. Lance Smoil O(TM); 3. Denny Stephenson (Han); 4. Chad Pederson (Suz); 5. Tom Hoqnaster (Suz); 6. Greg Rand (Ka.w); 7. Jeremy Buehl (Hon); 8. Doug DeHaan (Kaw); 9. Jim Chester (Suz); 10. Kris Rourke (Yam): 11. Cory Bauder (Yam); 12. Mike Jones (Kaw); 13. Tony Graves (Yam); 14. Robert Holtgrew (Kaw); 15. Ryan Hagemann (Yam). OFC: 1. Mike Jones (l(aw); 2. Buddy Anhtnez (Suz); 3. Denny Stephenson U-ton);4. Chad Pederson (Suz); 5. Jeromy Buehl (Han); 6. Greg Rand (Kaw). JUMP-OFf, 1. Mike Jones (Kaw). Chester, Pederson, Rourke and DeHaan filling ou t the top 10. "Last night wasn't very good for me, but we're staying right there in points right now," said Buehl, who sits in second in the point standings. ''I'm pretty happy with third." The weekend's final race was the highly anticipated 2S0cc main. Stephenson, again the top qualifier, chose the inside position of row one, but he had Antunez right beside him. Stephenson got the jump in front of Jones and Antunez, with Smail, Hofmaster, Rourke, Chester, DeHaan and Buehl in tow. Antunez's win streak looked to be in jeopardy, as Stephenson had built up a solid lead over Jones and Antunez by the second lap. Jones, hindered by a nagging neck injury, succumbed to the champion's charge in the whoop section, and Antunez then set his sights on leader Stephenson. By this point, Stephenson was enjoying a lead that was as much as the entire whoop section, while what would have been Jones' best performance of the weekend was derailed when he hit a ha y bale and lost several spots. Buehl began a spirited charge.to move up on the third-placed Smail, but Smail held him off. Antunez closed in for the kill with seven laps to go, and with the .leaders approaching the heavy traffic in the whoop section, Antunez narrowed the gap with each circuit, while Stephenson struggled to stay upright as' backmarkers balked him. ·With three laps left, Antunez capitalized on the heavy lapped traffic to take the lead; Stephenson, unfortunately, had his line taken away from him and thus lost the lead and any chance for victory. An tunez was jubilant as he crossed the line for the win, his second consecutive four-race sweep. Stephenson finished the evening with a pair of secondplace finishes, ahead of Smail and a slightly dejected Buehl, who finished fourth, losing more ground to points leader Antunez: Jones rallied to finish fifth, ahead of DeHaan, Pederson, Hofmaster, Qregon's Dustin Lenabu.r:g, and Chester. "I felt really strong out there," Stephenson said. "But I got in a pack of six lappers and couldn't come out of it, but Buddy did. He's just beeR rid'ing flawless all weekend." '.'~ Saturday 125 PRO: 1. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 2. Denny Stephenson (Han); 3. Jeromy Buehl (Han); 4. Tom Hofmaster (Su'z); 5. Greg Rand (Kaw);-6. Mike Jones (Kaw); 7. Jim Chester (Suz); 8. Chad Pederson (Suz); 9. Kris Rourke (Yam); 10. Doug DeHaan (Kaw); ] 1. Lance Smail (KTM); 12. Dustin Miller (Yam); 13. Kenny Bell (Yam); 14. Nathan Woods (Yam); 15. Cory Bauder (Yam). 250 PRO: 1. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 2. Denny Stephenson (Han); 3. Lance Smail (KTM); 4. Jeromy Buehl

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