Events
(Left) Jimmy
Miller (709) grabs
the lead on hi s
way to the win in
th e 125cc
Amateur c lass at
Hunt Mot o Park in
New York.
(Right) Guts y
Andy Fortner flies
to the overall fast
time at th e
Cayuga Hillc lim b
in Indiana.
Miller grinds it out at
Hunt Moto Park
By Michael Harasm isz
Photo by Lyle Morgan
HUNT,NY
,jULY4
Yamaha-mo unted jimmy Miller took the overall
win in the ) 25 Ama teur class an d backed that up
with a second place in the highly competitive If>24 combint.. class, as 370 rid ers turned ' out to
ed
compete on the natura l-terr a in track at round
two of the New York State Cha llenge Series, with
the top five riders in each class taking home extra
prizes provided by the series sponsors.
For the third time this year, the Hu nt water
cre w wa s put o n sta nd by as a thunderstorm
passed through the area on Saturday night , the
heavy rains leavin g the track in excellent condi tion for the next day 's racing.
In 125cc Ama teur-class a ction, Mi ller
grabbed the holcshots in both motos and went
.on to wi n both motos and the ove ra ll. Finishing
second overall was Matt Morga n, with 2-3 mot o
SCOTes after suffering bad starts and a spill on a
downhill sweepe r. Third ove rall wa s Jesse Milley , w ith strong 5-2 mot o sco res .
When the 16-24·dass motos were done for
the day, it was Scott Ghid iu taking the win and
the overa ll with a co nvincing 1-1 m oto ta lly.
Miller turned good starts and steady riding into
a 2-2 mot o sco re for seco nd overall. Finishi ng
third overa ll for the day w ith a strong 3-4 score
was Honda -mou nted Jon Steinbroner.
A s pecia l Vin tage Ex hi bition race was
brou ght to th e li ne. The rid er s we re g ive n a
parade lap to ge t used to the older machin es,
an d the n they lined up for the start.
Maico-rnounted Michael Harasmisz grabbed
the ea rly lead, with Yamaha riders Paul Co rdne r, Ben Atk in son a nd David Ca rma n close
behin d . As the Yamaha riders ba ttled over second place, Harasrn isz had clea r sailing up fron t
and opened up a large lead by the comp letion of
the fir st lap. Gard ne r took control of secon d
place a nd opened up a lead over Atkinson and
Ca rman, as Dave Williams was dosing in on
them after a bad sta rt. Harasmisz took the win
v·...ith more than a 2()..St.."COnd lead over Gardner,
who was in sec ond. Atkinson fini sh ed third,
with Ca rma n holdi ng off R.\1-mo unted Williams
for fourth .
Results
P/W SliAFT: I. bd Butlt-r (Yam); 2. Joshua l...oudr.s (Yam);
3. Brandon Wa ld a u (Ya m); 4. Nath.m Couse (Yam); 5. Ju liano
40
Plaza (Yam) .
r /w C HA IN : 1. Ma lt G u ilfoil (Cob); 2. Ryan Neid rauer
(Cob); 3. Do ug Waif (Cob); , Damon G auger (Cob); 5. Myles
Ca radori (KlM).
60: 1 Si ev e Sliwi nski (K.Jw) ; 2. Franlr. Bums (Kaw) ; 3. Ma tt
Ain t ( K"rM); 4. Colin u nna n (J(,l W); 5. Ma tt G u ilfoi l (KTM).
MIN t JR: I. Man Eastman (Kaw); 2. Brand on Mrir (S uz); 3.
John Voung (Kaw); 4. SIl'VeS liwinf> (Kaw); 5. Man Ain t (Yam) .
ki
MINI SR: 1. [ason Doy le (Yam ); 2. Ryan McKen yon (Suz); 3.
Andrew Sehlordin (Hu n); 4. jeremiah Ranc k (Yam); 5. Nic k Faro
(H o n).
MIN I COM B: 1. M att Eas tm a n (Kaw) ; 2. ·A nd n ' w Sche rdi n
(H o n); 3. Ja so n Doyle (Ya m) ; 4. N"ick Fa ro CHon); 5. Jl'n- m iah
Ran clr.(Ya m).
seHBY: 1. Br.l ndon Ku h n (Ya ml ; 2. D.lni el PhiJIip!i (Yam) ; 3.
Do n Ta ylo r (Yam); 4. Aa ro n Shl"Phl'rd (5uz); 5. Ke\"in Ha ll (Vam) .
1b--24 CO M B: I, &tIlt G hidi u (Yam); 2. Jim my Millt"!" (Yam); 3.
John Stl'i nb ro lll' r (Hon); 4. Rich Yelll' (Suz); 5. Gt.'Off lng er..oll (So2) .
125 BEG: 1. Chad McCa rtv (Ydm); 2. Nick D' AmblTh ia (K.,W);
3. JeffWh.l!ey (Suz ); 4. William 'Mil ler (Yam) ; 5. Cody Pomt.l}' (Suz ).
'
125 NO V: 1. Danil'! Ph illip" (Yam) ; 2. Bobby Butler Omisz (Kaw); 3.
Bria n Broadwell (Suz); 4. Pa u l Cerdner (Yam) ; 5. Ocn·lr. Opfl'1'btoclr.
(Kaw).
SR C: 1. Jim Traxler (Hon); 2. Matt Turcott e ( K"rM); 3. Cary
Loomis UOdwin (Cob ); 4. D,lkot,l Hu ll (KnoB;
n
5. Cudi Norton (JaM).
I~ / W MOD (4-1S). 1. Jdeg he r l.::l o un t,line (Cob); 2. D illon
F
G kn dt' n n ing (Co b ); 3. Bla ke Savage (KT M}; 4, Q Uilde H.l yn ie
(ATK ); 5. Da kota HullIKTM ).
60 STK (6-8): 1. Ronn ie Good win (Ka w ); 2. Brodil' Hu m p hril'S
(KTM); 3. I.lt'gh(!r I...1 Foun tain c (Kaw ); 4. To ny Ca pu to (J("W); 5.
Dillon G ll'nd e nn ing (Ka w).
60 STK (9- 11): I. Brandon Keala Jl\dlda (laM); 2. Andra Ca m·
dl'n (Kaw); 3. D illo n &posilo (Ka w ); 5. J.l c gh t'r Lol Fo un ta in t'
(Kaw ).
hO MOD (6-11): 1. Bra ndo n Kea la m jlk ia (KTM ); 2. And ra
Ca mden (K.1w); 3. Dillo n Esposito (Kaw); 5. Cory Cordero (K.1 l.
w
HOBEG: 1. lNvin Sullivan (Ka w); 2. Step h<1n Cilmdl"Jl (!<.aw)
;
3. Ben C10Jy O<.1w).
80 JR (7· 111: I. An thony Hart ( Ka w) ; 2. Joshu a laFoun ta int'
(Yam); 3. Tr acon Kirlr.(Yam ); 4. Ronnie Goodwin (Ho n); 5. Bran ·
dlm KH ~ma kia (Ya m).
Rafferty raises the rafters at
New York speedway opener
By Tim Mat hewson
OWEGO,NY,JUr-iE 19
Ca m Raffert y, 15, pro ved that he cou ld run wit h
the big dogs when he pu lled a last-lap upset win
. ove r multi-time Ea st C oa st a n d New York
Cha m p ion Warren Deim at N ew Champi on
Speedway's 1999 season opener .
As the field wa s set for the first Handicap
main event of th e season , Howi e Oakden wa s
lined up on the 20-ya rd line. Mike Robinso n Sr.
came out of retirement a nd stuffed into an old
set of Josh Larsen Kevlars to fill an opening in
the pro gra m on the,3D. Deim, Bruce Nelson, and
Tommy Sep h ton were all a t the back -yard age
marker.
As t he ta pes w ent up , Rafferty quickl y
assumed the lead . Oakden and Robinson headed
for the sm oo th lin e o n the dirt: As th e backyardage riders hit the first tum, things got a bit
cro wd ed a nd Sephton tumbled to th e ground.
By turn three, Deim was weavin g h is [awa
through openings only he could find , and by the
sta rt of lap two he was knocking on Raffert y's
back door . The pressure of having Deim 's front
ti re rubbing again st his leg seemed to get the
best o f the yo u ngster, as he hooked up out of
turn four and whee lied down the front straigh t,
drifting wide and allowing Deim to pass underneath. At the end of lap three, Raffe rty on ce
again hooked up out of turn four and wheelied,
coming down in a tank-slapper, but the youngster was able to regain his composure and hold
the Nelson at bay.
De im continued to p ull awa y , but while
heading for the cushion in tum three on the last
lap, the d irt gave way, sending Deim into a spi n
and then to th e ground . Raffe rt y twi sted the
throttle on his jawa a nd sped by for the win just
as Deirn remounted . Nelson , seeing Deim on the
move again, ra n a wide line in an attempt to
block him , and he won the ens uing race to the
lin e, comi ng home in seco nd a nd releg ating
De1.m to an uncharacteristic third. Oaken, Robin·
son and Sep hto n rounded out the field..
Deim , however , red eemed himse lf du ring
the Scratch main, bea ting the likes of jason Bonsignore, To m Burge and To m Se p hton. Dei m
also won the Dash For Cas h race.
Results
0- 1 HOC P; 1. Ca m Rdffl-Ttv (Jaw ); 2. Bru C't'Ndsol1 IWes ); 3.
Warren Dci m ij.1W); 4. Howi t' O a kd m (jaw); 5. Mik ...Ro bin llOn Sr.
ijolW).
.
0- 1 SC R: 1. Wa rren o..'im (jaw); 2. Jase-In Bon."ign(lre (ja w ); 3.
Tom Burge (Wes ); 4. Tom Sep hwn (Cdn ). .
SU P A HDCP: 1. Jeremy Pal'llOlUi ijaw); 2. Cra ig E..tclll· (jol ); 3.
.
W
Joc G rn'Tl CWes );4.
I-farmolnJr. (ja w); 5. Tim MJ,thl"wson IGdn ).
SUP B HOCP: 1. Jdf Houston ij aw); 2. Chm Stro ng (Ha n); 3.
Mike Robiru;on (Jaw); 4. Ton y McBroy (Jaw ); 5. Jerry Harmon Sr.
(jaw).
'erry
or-c
:
I. w a rren Dci m (ja w ); 2. Kelv in HerraLl (Gd n); 3. JOl"I
Monell (ja w); 4. [erern y Parsons. ij aw) .
Fortner shows intestinal
fortitude at Cayuga HC
By Bud Northrup
CAYUGA, IN,JUNE 26
The Pleasure Riders had recei ved a lot of rain
at their clubgr ound s ncar Cayuga, Indiana, just
before th e Saturday nigh t climb, and it was still
d rizz ling' as start tim e approached . But hill climbers are hardy folks, and th e climb went
o n, with 100 brave riders c hallen g ing the
muddy, 153-foot hill. " Fast Andy" Fortner, who
would ride in a hurricane if a race was on , was
the best in the mud, as he turned in the fas t
time of the night and picked up two class w ins .
Fortner's firs t win came in the 600cc class, in
which he has yet to be beaten in 1999. Riding his
CR5OO, he topped the hill in 5.015 seconds for the
win - far from a record run, but dam good considering the slickn ess of the hill. Hond a-mounted
Mark Goodman Jr. was nea rly as good as Fortner,
as he kept his traction long eno ug h to stop the
clock in a very go od 5.049 seco nds for second
place, as well as second -quickes t ride of the night.
Darrell Tr ent to ppe ou t in 5.320 second s, fold
lowed by Butch Fetters in 5.446 secon ds and Kelly
Brady with a 5.983-Sl."COnd run. No other riders in
the IS-ride r class were ab le to break into the fives.
Fortner's second class win carne in the poputar Stock class, where he popped h is CR250 over
in 5.781 seconds for the win, far ahead of the second- placed rider, Richard Allen , who scram bled
over the top on h is Ho nda in 6.913 seconds.
Mike Pulver took i .169 seconds on his Kawasaki
to sna re third , and Steve Shafer slithe red over in
7.362 seco nds for fou rth . Chris Rivers na viga ted
the slope in 8.632 seconds for fifth. The hill was
•
gettin g worse, not bet ter!
Goodman also had do uble wins, picking up
victories in the 200cc and 250cc classes. Goodman' s 7.326 seconds on his KX125 was good
enough to take the 200cc·dass win , with Chris
Rivers close behi nd on his YZI25 wit h a 7.378second effort . Becka Williams just wouldn't give
up on her KXI25, and worked her wa y over the
top in 9.177 secon ds for th ird .
In 250cc-cL1SS action, Goodman nailed a very
impressive 5.096-~l"\:ond run on his KX250to.take
the class lead and set the fast-time mark to that
poin t. Don Barbe r Jr. was his closest challenger as
he squ irted over the top in a good 5.285 seconds
on his Hon da for seco nd , with Matt Peters topping ou t in 5.578 seconds on his CR250 for third .
Fortner claimed fourth, on his RM250 for fourth ,
and john Elliot claimc'
