Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

tried to yan k th e th rottle cables out of the ir housings, sendi ng his machin e into a two-wheel drift with the front end just skimming the su rface of th e track. He d re w u p a lo ngsi de Kin g , as di d Sp ringer, but King beat them both by less than half a whee l. " I d on ' t kn ow w ha t to say ," Kin g sa id . "We bro ke so man y things thi s w eek end - little st u ff, big stuff. Eve ry time w e turned aro und so me thing was breaking or leakin g. We cha nge d it all. Both bikes were working good all weekend. It w as just a matt er of keep ing stuff fro m lea kin g out of them . Righ t now I fee l so co m forta ble o n th ese Ha rleys. We've jus t been clicki ng. We're just a little more comfortable every wee k." Then, after a sig h: "Ma n, I'm su re glad I go t this load off of my shou lde rs. I' ve.go t one (a m ile). I kn ow that I can win one now." HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE NATIONAL Wit h the threa t of rain on ce agai n h a n gin g ove r a ro und o f the AMA Gra nd Na tional Dirt Track Series , AMA officia ls e lec te d to drop th e Ha r ley Da vid son Sportster Performance Series a n d Su perTra pp SuperT racke r p r o grams to the back bu rn er in the interest of ge tt ing a com p le te G ra nd Na tional sched u le in befor e the moisture came. As things tu rned out, it never did . Defend in g se r ies c hampio n Jes s Roed er grab bed the holeshot whe n the 17-ride r Harley-David son Spo rts ter Performa nce Series mai n even t lu mbered off the starting line to start the first of its 12 laps, bu t it wasn ' t long before he was joined by Roger Lee Ha yd en, Billy Martin a nd Sha u n Russ ell . Cu rren t se rie s points leader Willie McCoy, Tim Ead es and Gary Roger s also moved toward the lead pack, and an out- and-ou t wa r commenced. Roeder was in command at the stripe on laps three th rou gh five before Russe ll got a good run u p the front straight to run si de by side wi th the Las Vegas H arl e y- Da v idson / Roe d e r H arl e yDavidson / AAR-backed Roed er at the halfway flags . In the meantime, Rogers was qui etly picking his way th ro ugh the eight-rider lead draft. Roed er and Russell aga in ran side by side across the line on lap nine, but then Russell go t the upper hand on the next lap. By the w hite- flag lap, it was a rea sonab le cer ta in ty that one of th e tw o woul d be the race winner, eve n thou gh the rest of the lead pack was still wi thi n striking d istan ce. Ru sse ll felt as though he tim ed h is move for th e win perfectly w hen they exited the last tu m , but Roed er held on for the wi n, with Russell finish ing seco nd a n d Ro g e rs an o u t-o f- n o whe re third . Afterwa rd , there was controversy, as Russell acc used Roed er of mak in g contac t w hen he tried to pa ss Roed er for the win. "Comi ng d own fo r th e checke red flag, I p ulled out, and he weaved and ra n rig h t into me," Ru ssell sa id . "But these g uys (the AMA) say th at th ey can't d o any thing abou t it becau se they don ' t have it on tap e. It just sucks . You know the AMA, that's just their typical bullshit." Roed er, who was a passen ger on the victory lap wh ile his dad, Geo Roed er , too k to the contro ls, was un fazed on the pod ium, and his comme nts on "the inciden t" wit h Russell eve n illicited a lou d chee r fro m the crowd . "It felt really goo d to ge t him (da d ) out ther e, and it was a grea t race - I rode my heart ou t," Roed er said . "As far as all that othe r s tuff goes, I don 't air my dirty laun d ry in publi c, so if Shaun has got any thing to say, we'll ta ke ca re of that in priva te." on S unday after easily making' the Hall 'o f Fame Race on Sat urd ay . " W e 've been trying some different gas . and it doe sn't see m to be working goo d," Kopp said. " The bike wou ld run fo r two laps and then just slow . down, That was enough to dott. " . Joe Ko p p c laim ed t he SuperTrap p SuperTra c k er race, k eepin g t he Su zuki sweep ali ve i n t he class. SUPERTRAPP SUPERTRACKER SERIES Cha nges ca me w it h th e Sp ring field ro und of. the Supe rTrap p Su perTrac ker Series in the form of new rul es to help out the Harl ey-Davidso n cam p as th ey continued in their endeavo r to ma ke the Spo rts ter-based pus hrod V-tw in comp et it iv e agai ns t th e over head -ca m Suzukis. The AMA ope ne d u p the displacem ent of the Ha rleys to 1250cc, and while it certainly help ed , it d id not sto p anot her Suz uki fro m win ning. Joe Kopp rode hi s De n n is T ow n tuned , Dave Burks Mo torspor ts /Dick's Suz u ki to a d ominat in g fou rth win of the seaso n via an eq ua lly d omina n t pe rfo r ma nce a t Sp ri ng fie ld . Kopp never failed to lead a lap, as he rocketed a rou nd the m ile withou t a h it ch , easily d istancing hims elf from the res t of the 14-rider field , includ ing the second - and third -p laced Suzukis of Steve More head and J.R. Schna bel. Mo re head just bea t Schna bel to the lin e for second place. Fou r th pl ace went to Mike Hacker , w ho 'w as a boa rd a 1200cc mo tor and rep orted a not ew or th y impro vem ent in the per formance of the bike. Ha cker said th a t he now beli eves that wi th a lit tle more tuning, the Harley package wi ll be eN a viable one. Mike Hacker was also vict imized by the Scott Parker mishap. although · the' talented young Virginia'n managed to gather .it up and finish sixth. 'Man. I .got pushed all. th e w ay out to the hay bales. " Hack er said. "I thought thatl was going tohave to lay it down: but I' m.st i,l happy . I had a . . fas\ horse today. I know I could have bee n right up there with them . I 'mBrya;' Bigelow hnished just one spot out 'of his usual top 10, but the ·really happy about how fast my motorcycl~ is. " yo unq M ichigan rider felt that he 'co uld have do ne better with litt le help from his foie nds. Bigelow wa s mired in the second pack. which wa s about Steve ' Beattie was as tough as anybody on the mile during the week- . end . and ultimate ly tied his career-best Gran d National finish the re. wi th half a straig htaway behind the leaders late in the race . " Me and N icky · (Hayden) and Will ie (McCoy) and Chris Evans had a good dice going on an eighth . ." 1 bui lt this bik~ my self this week . and It stayed toget her, " . back there.." Bigelow said. " I wanted everyone to stay.in line becaus e the Beattie.said. "It was n't the fastest one, but we were there. I just screwed leaders were,getti.ng away. put we wound up rac lnq awa y back th ere. ou t up . I've nev er be en up front at the start o f .a mile before. I wa s runn ing . o f the top . 10. I'm still happy . 1made the main and I made the Hall of Fame seve nth. and I just fell off the lead pack. There was no catc hing them afte r race. All in all, it wa s pre tty good ." ·that. I probably had enough ste am .to run up front if I. could have gotten there. " . T erry Poovey su ffere d mechanical problem s on his Honda that put him out whi le he was running with the Bigelow pack on' lap 22. - M y bike blew . ·Brett L andes was spo tted c ruisi ng through the pits on Springfie ld up ." the Texan said . ' " It was n' t running right from th e qe t -qo." Wh en weekend.'but the Ca lifornian was mere ly a spectator, as the left shoulder asked wh en he was goin'g to 'start' riding Hadeys 'again. Poovey replied : that he injured at Du Qu oin was aggravated by his fall at the Sedalia Half " Ne ver ." . Mil e last week. " It 's pret ty sore." Lsnd es said. " I was feeling pretty good when lrode Peoria , but then I crashed last week . Now I'm not going to Wh at' s wor se than finishi ng tast aft~ r racing the Springfield Mile? How ride here, and I'm go ing ' to miss Dallas. I don 't eve n know about the rest about hnishing last afte r not racing 't he Springfield Mi le. Geo Roede r II of the seaso n. It' s hard to sit out at.this place. though . ' was helpless to do anything when the engine on his machine quit pumping After wowi ng dirt track. fans with his second-place perf orm ance at the oil while he was wa iting fo r the start .of the race. " W e got it pumping oil again: but we didn't ge t it done within the tw o -minute lime limit. and they Peoria Tl' , Toby Jorge nsen go t his first chance to ride a 750 at Spring· field.c ompetlIl g fo r much of the weekendon one of J ohnny Go ad 's Sadwouldn't let us go back out." Roeder said. " Today was my birt hday. M an. I hate birthdays." . . dle men Racing XRs afte r his orig inally scheduled M iller family ent ry had . probl ems. Jorgensen said that he was able to get pretty co mfortable.on One of the famo us dirt track Scott brothers. H ank Scott was one of the machine, despit e not ever havinq ridden a Harley before. 'I sat on one this year' s induct ees to the Dirt TrackHall of Fame. and he made sure he in the pit s. " Jorgen sen said o f his 750 experie nce . " ButIt 'was pretty had a good spot to wa tc h the fini sh to the G rand National. Afterward , . good. Billy Wi ebler and J oh nny .Goad are h elping me out a lot. They told Sco tt commented on the we ekend. "It has been enjoyable to come here me to watch out for. the shifti ng. but I got goo d ' starts right off the bat. and see people that I haven't see n here since 1987 : Sco tt said. " I've Hopefully , I'll be up fro nt." J orgensen failed to 'make the main on either seen a bunch of familiar faces . They' ve go tte n older and I' ve gotten older, day, but said that he felt that he learned a lo t that he could use the next . People change, and I've changed. That was one great race to day'. It' s too time he gets a similar c ha~ce . baa the Stan ley kid dropped out. -The track is the same way I remember it. . . . . · and the biKes are better . " J ohnny Goa d w as " Rid e s R U s - over th e Springfi eld w e ekend : Be sides regula r team member Kevin V arn es. M ik e ' Varnes . Rand y Ronnie Jone s was a bit miffed about i he fact that Scott I"arker suf· Texter and Toby Jorgensen we re all aboard Team Saddle men XRs. " I him, forcing the Oklahoman 'to lose just gave " em a chance , " Goad said. " I remember how it was when I was fered an engine failure right in front the lead draft, but he managed to keep a smile on his face. " I' m go ing to . riding . Randy owns half the st uff an",;vay, 'and he decided he want ed to ~_~~ .Th e~ _~~~h~ oo t~~ · s~ as have to walk down there and talk to Bill (W.erner). " J.ones jo ked. " Yo u fast ' as he thinks he is is to get on one of these. W hen 'you're 17 years ·know. back In 1990 and '9 1. w heneve r I was racing for the champ ionship. them things would never blow ,up. N ow this time it blows up right in front old. and you 're 'standing around and think you can 'ride one of these... It' s 'o f me and robs 6 f me o f a chance io win when I didn't have to beat him to like I gave him a million dollars . If he never gets a ride again. he c'an say he rode one one time . .. . .. . .get·it. Those dirty ·dogs. Oh well. I made the National. " . a of Illi nois State Fairgrounds Springfield, illinois Results: September 5, 1999 (Rou nd 15 of 19) H EAT 1 (t o la ps; 11 riders, top th ree ~ra ns fe d: 1. Wi ll Davis (H· D); 2. C hris C u r (H· D); 3. Terry Poovey (Hon): 4. Scott Pa rk er (H - D); 5. Paul Mo rgan III (H-D); 6. Pa ul Lyn ch ( H -D ); 7. Bret Beyer ( H · D ); 8. T oby jorge nse n 0-.1 -0> ; 9 . Pau l Berg strom ( H -D) ; 10. Lames M ctlvcna (H- D); 11. Victor MeAn .\lly (H· D ). Time: 5 ru ins.• 58.t07 ~,'cs . H EAT 2 la p s. 11 ri ders, to p three tr an sfer j: 1. ; Rich King (H-D); 2. Steve Bea tt ie (H- D); 3. Gt.·O Roede II r (H -D); 4. Dan Stanley 0 1-0); 5. Willi e M<.C y (H· D); 6. o Kev in Varnes (H-D ); 7 . Sha ..... n Cl a r k ( H · D); g. Bill y Martin (1--1-0); 9. J ~ '" Roe d er ( H- D); 10. Ga ry Rogers (HD); It. Brent Arm brus ter (H- D). Time: 6 mins., 3.630 sees. HEAT 3 (]O la p s; 11 riders top th ree transfer): 1. N ic ky Ha yden ( H- D); 2. C hris Evans ( H · D) ; 3 . Ja y Springste 0 1·0); 4. JOt:' Ko p p (H· D); 5. J.R. Schnabel en (H- D); 6. Dale [enn eman (H- D); 7. Jim Sumner (t~ -D) ; 8. Lenni e Paule y (H en ): 9. Ken Yoder Jr. (H-D); 10. Ra nd y Sha n k II (H -D) ; t t . joc y Brock (H· D). T im e; 6 m ins .• 2.143 St.'CS . H EAT 4 (10 laps; 11 ri ders, top th ree tr a nsfe r): 1. Steve Morehead (H -D); 2. Shau n RusSt.'1I (H -D) ; 3. Bryan Bigelo w (H- D); 4. M ike Hacker (H -D); 5. Ronnie [on es Il-l-D ): 6. De von Pritcha rd (H-D>; 7. Brian Sh irley Jr. ( H- no 0): 8. John S. Nickens Ill (H· D); 9. Kyle Long (H·D): 10. jaime Agu ilar (H- D); 11. Ke vin O lligl"S (H-D). T ime: 6 m ins., 4.611 sees . SEMI 1 (8 la p s; 11 riders. to p tw o tra ns fer): 1. Sco tt Pa rk er (t'I-D); 2. Willi e McCo y (H-D); 3. j .R. Sch na be l (I'i -D ); 4. Bret Beye r ( H -D ); 5. Bill y Martin ( H -D ); 6. Lo n n ie Pau le y (H o n) : 7. Iames Mcl lven a (H· D ); 8. De von Prit chard (H- D); 9. Ky le Lon g (H- D); to . j oe y Brock (H· D); 11. Brent Armbruster (H· D). T ime : .. mins., 40.473 Sl.."CS. S EM I 2 (8 la p s; 11 ri de rs, top two tr an sf e r): 1. Paul Morgan III (I~ -D); 2. Ronnie Jones ( H- D); 3. Joe Kopp (H- D); 4. Kevin Varnes (H-D ); 5. Toby jo rge nse n (H -O ); 6. Jim Su m ne r (H -D); 7. Jo h n S. Nic kens III (I~ - D); 8. Ra ndy Sha nk II (H· D); 9 . Vic to r McAn.lll y ( H- D ); 10. ss Ke vin Oll lgcs (H-D); 11. je Roeder (H- O). T ime: 4 mins., 49.988 sees. SEM I J (8 laps; 10 rid ers, top t wo tr ansfer): 1. M ike Ha cker (H -D>; 2. Dan Stanley (H ·O) ; 3. D.11 le n ne ma n 1' ( H-D); 4. Pau l Ly nc h (H·O) ; 5. Sha w n Clark (H·D); b . Paul Bergstrom (H· D); 7. Ken Ynd .. r Jr. (H-D) ; 8. Brian Shi r le y Jr . (H -D); 9 . jaime A guil.u (H - O); 10 . G a ry Rogers ( H·D) . Ti me: 4 ruin s., 50.151 sees. C RAND N AT IONAL (25 laps; 18 ri d er s ); 1. Rich King (H- D); 2. C hris Ca rr (H · D ); 3. J.' y Springsteen (H0); 4. Will Da vis ( H-D); 5 . Ste w Mo re head (H -D ); 6. Mike He ck er (H -D ); 7 . Ro nnie Jone s 8. StCVl' Bea ttie (H ·D) ; 9. W illie McCo y (H-D); 10. Nicky Hayden (I 'I-O ); 11. Brya n Bigelow (H · D); 12. P.m l Mo rge n 111 (H D) ; 13. Shau n RusSt.' (H-D); 14. Chris Eva ns (H- O); 15. 1I Terry Poovey (Ho n): 16. Dan Stanley Hi-D); 17 . Scott Pa rker (H· D); 18. C.. o ROt.,der II (H- D l. T im e: 14 m ins., 47.491 "iOt-"CS. m-r». AMA G RA ND NATIDNAL DIR T TRACK SERIES POI NT S STAND IN GS (After 15 o f 19 Eve n ts l: 1. Chris Ca rr (260 / 4 wins): 2. Rich Kin g (213 /4); 3. Will Da vis 060/2); 4. Scott Parker ( 56 11) ; 5. Bryan Bigelow (137); 6. ja y Sp ri ngs teen (131/1); 7. Jot. Kopp (130 ); 8. Ce...1 ' Roed er II (129 ); 9. Kevin A t he r to n (107/1) ; 10. N icky Ha yd en (106 /1); 11. Ke vin Va rnes ( 100 ); 12. St e ve Morehead (95); 13: Mik e Ha ck er (84); 14. Ken C oo lbc th Jr. (75) ; 15 , Dan Bu tler (67); 16. Ste ve Beattie (57); Ii . Brett Laude- (55); lB . J.R. Schna be l (54 ); 19, 0 .111 Sta nlev (51); 20. Te rry Poo vey (SO). . HARL EY-DAV IDSON S PD RTSTE R PERFDR, M AN C E MAIN (12 la ps; 17 ri ders): 1. Jess Roed er (HD); 2. Sh a u n R us~'l1 (H - D); 3. Gary Ro g ers (H · D); 4 . Billy Martin (H ·O); 5. Willi e McCo y (H· D); 6. Roger Lee Hovd en (H-D); 7. Ja mes Hart (H- D); 8. Tim Eades (H0);"9. ja son Tye r (H ·D); 10. Jim Sum n.. r (}-I-D); 11. Scott Stump ( H- D); 12. Brian Tho ma s (H- D); 13. Yu hi ko Hi rao (H · D ); 14. Alan E. di l' (H ·D); 15. Robert Mil lt'r (H -D>; 16. , Don nie Stew ard Hi -D ); 17. Pa ul Morgan 111 (H- D). 1 Ti me : 7 mins., ·n .26.. ~'{'S H AR LEY· D AVID S O N SI'D RTSTE R PERFO R· MANCE SER IES POINTS STAND INGS (After 11 of 15 ro u nd s) : I. w illi e M cC o y 0 59 / 3 w in s); 2. Sha u n Russell 0 49 /1 ); 3. Ga ry Rogers 020/2); 4. Billy Ma rtin (114 / 1); 5. Robert M ille r (88); o. J.111lt.'S Ha rt (77) ; 7. Na te Wa it (72); H. Pa ul Bergstrom (71); "J. k s!'o Roed er (62/2); 10. Bria n Kro m ro y (59 ); 11. Ti m Eades (52); 12. Pa u l Mo rgan -111 (5 1) ; 13. (T IE) Sco tt St u mp / M ichell e DiS,l lvl l (49); 15. Yu hi ko Hirao (47); 16. Joe E.ldt..~ (36); 17. A la n Eadie (3 1); 18 . Georg e Ric h t rneyer (26) ; 19. Iason Flet ch er (24); 20. Joe Duva ll (23 ). SU PERTRAPI' SU I'ERTRAC KER SERIES MA IN EVE NT (12 laps; 14 ri ders): 1. Jo~.· Ko pp (Suz): 2. Ste ve Morehead (Suz ); 3 . J.R. Sch n.l bt.'1 (Suz ); 4. Mik e Hackl'r (H·D); 5. Brd BeY"'r (Suz) ; 6. Roy Miller (Suz) ; 7. Jerry Va nder kooi (Suz); 8. M iche lle DiS.llvo (l·t - D) ; 9. Sco tt Dt. ub1t.'r (Y.lm) ; 10. Robert Bu ffin gt o n (Su z); 11. Robt.·rt · Miller (H· D); 12. Lonnie Pau le y (Su z); 13. Brian nlllnl.l~ (H·D); 14. Joey Brock (H· D). TIM E: 7 mins.• 20.217 " l 'CS . SU PERT AP I' SU I'E RT RAC KER SE R IES POI NT S TANDINGS (Afte r 7 of 10 rou nd s) : 1. JO l' Kopp 0 23 / 4 w i ns) ; 2 . S tt.'v e MOH·h t. ad ( 11 0/1); 3. J .R . · Sch na lx·) (103 / 2); 4. M ik... Ha cker (67); 5. Bri.ln Kromro\' • (65); 6. Bn ·tt L. mk"S (64) ; 7. Robert Miller (62); 8. Robert l ; Buffingt on (56); 9. Roy Mill er (SO) 10. J ~y Bnx k (42); 11. G ary Roger.s (3t:l>; 12. Scll tt D,,'ublt>r (36) ; 13. Rich Kin g (26); 14. Michelle Di5

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