Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Round 13: Emerald Downs AMA NA TIONAL HOT SHOE SERIES By Clay Lig ht File ph oto by Flat Trak Fates AUBlJR,'1, WA, SEPT. 25 MA Grand National Champion Scott Parker gave over 8000 race fans their money's worth at the second running of the Seattle Mile on the Emerald Downs Race Track in Auburn. Parker, the nine-time Grand National Champion, jumped ou t in fro nt of the fiel d and was never seriously challenged as he went on to .w in the 750cc Expert main event, one which paid $1420. Parker led fellow GNC regulars Rich King and Steve Beattie onto the podium in the class. "Pull the trigger and go, tha t's what it's all about," Parker said at the completion of the 750cc final. "The track was starting to come apart with each lap, so the game plan was to get out front and stav there." W ashington's Joe Kopp continued his rampage of the Northwest with his win in the 600cc Expert main event. It was his second consecutive victory afte r also winning in Spokane the previous night, furthering his title hopes in the class and taking a 12-point lead over the injured Dan Stanley into the final round at Las Vegas. Kopp took the lead from Lonnie Pa uley on the second lap of th e mai n even t and then remained in that posi t ion to so li dify h is sweep o f the du al Evergree n Sta te Natio na ls, finishin g ahe ad of Or egon ' s Rex Fis her a nd Pau ley in the 12-lap final. Race promoter Chris Agaja nian and h is crew did a n incredi ble job of keep ing th e sandy, cushioned track in raceab le condi tion, ave rting last year's fiasco by consta n tly wh ee l-pa ck in g the s urface. Tru ckloads of clay were added this year as well, in the h op e of sa lvaging a Gra nd National bid in 2000. "The track was at least 50 percent bette r tha n last year," th ree-t ime Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen said after finishing. "But I think that it'll need more work; everybody up here wants to see a killer mile National, but look at me, man. I' m shakin' . I got pelted bad out there. The roost was incredible!" Pa rke r led Kin g an d polesitter Springsteen off the line at the unleashing of the 12-ri d er , 12-la p 750cc fina l, followed by Beattie, Gary Rogers an d Jaime Ag uilar. Up front it looked to be a fou r-way dra ftfest for the lead, but by the seco nd circu it, Parker had used the sa nd blas ting of h is opposition to his advantage , putting consid era ble ground on King, w ho was th e w in n er a t the inaugural eve nt her e last year. King had to back off of the thro ttle to avoid Parker's pel tin g. Beat tie, w ho like Kin g was tryi ng a variety of lines in an attempt to improve upon his positi on , drop ped back from King 's rear wheel roost, leaving him in a hea ted ba ttle with Spri ngsteen. The wily Springsteen s tayed in Beattie's shadow for several laps, bu t he too wo uld back A '" '" '" ~ ~ B u o 34 off the thro ttle, leaving the top five set: Parker, King , Beattie, Sp ringsteen and Rogers, evenly sprea d out. Tha t left only Eli Price and Steve Liber ty to battle behind Aguilar. The top six remai ned the same to the fin ish, with Parker leading the wa y. Kin g , Beattie, Springsteen, Rog ers , Aguila r and Liberty landed th e top seven positions, w hile Mike Inderbitzin, Robert Miller, Joey Duva ll and Ken Yoder rou nded out the field. "I took an awful pelting," King said. "It was hard to follow Scotty , and to run th e li ne th at I wa nted to . Hey, what cou ld I do? " Kopp sat on the pole position for the 12-rid er, 12-lap, 600cc Expe rt fina l, bu t it was Pauley wh o was fastest off the start, headin g the field into turn one. Kopp, wh o initially started off in third, qu ickly wo rked p ast Fis her and ma d e a mad surge. forwa rd to overtake Pau ley sho rtly into the second lap. Fisher, Mayfield and Don Wilson held. down the top five positions. On ce in th e poin t position, Kopp then checked out on the competition, opening up as much as a six bike-length lead over Pauley, w ho tw o la p s la ter wo uld also lose ground to Fisher. "Ma n, I was really having trouble ou t of one and two, " Pauley later said. Fisher, though, couldn't na rrow the gap that Kopp had pu t on him, ba rely hanging on to the second place position it would be his season-best finish - while behind him Pauley, Wilson and Mayfield ran in close proximity. Fisher used his roost to keep Paul ey at a safe distance late in the fina l to finish second to the longgone Kop p, w ho finalized his sweep of the Evergreen State wi th his win . "I pla yed aro und with some different lines," said Kopp of his opening lap bar rage . "Then I picked u p o n o ne th a t worked well an d d idn' t want to waste any time at all get ting ou t fron t." Following Fisher was Pauley, w hile Wil s on , Mayfi eld , Jeff An nen, Lonny Kop p, Ton y Souza, J.P. Simon sen , Eric Rickm an, Troy Rose and Donnie Har t com pleted the field. Mic he lle DiSalvo and Rogers came in to th e Sea tt le round se para ted by a scant tw o-p oi nt margin , in DiSalvo's favor, in the Harley-Davidson Spo rtster Performance cla ss , but-Rogers' comefr om-behind performance netted h is win and the point -lead momentum heading into the Las Vegas fina l. Sea ttle 's Do n Paul led th e 12-lap fina l for Scott Parker made his final race in the Pacific Northwest a good one, as the retiring Grand National Champion handily won the 750cc Expert class of the Seattle Mile at Emerald Downs. three circuits, but Paul's gradual descention opened the door for DiSalvo , Chris Fitzhugh and finall y Rogers to capitalize. DiSalvo clung to second ahead of Fitzhug h, Pa ul , Ha rt, Dick Wall , Joh n Grant and Robert Miller. eN Emerald Downs Auburn , Washington Results: Septem ber 25, 1999 (Round 13 of 14) 7SO EX: 1. Sco tt Pa rke r (H -D ); 2. Rich King (H-D); 3. Steve Beatti e (H- D); 4. Jay Springsteen (H-D); 5. Ca ry Rogers (H-D) ; 6. Jaime Agui lar (H· D); 7. Steve Liberty (J-t·o); 8. Eli Price (H-D); 9. Mike lndcrbitzin (H-D); 10. Robe rt Miller (H . D); 11. Joey Duva ll (Han); 12. Ken Yoder (H-D>. 600 EX: 1. Joe Ko pp (KTM); 2. Rex Fishe r (W·R); 3. Lonn ie Pa ul ey (R tx): 4 0- Don Wils on ( W· R); 5 . Ste ve Mayfield (W· R); 6. Jeff Annen (W-R);. 7. Lonn y Kopp (W·R ); B. Ton y Souza (Rtx); 9. J. r Simo nse n (Rtx); to. Eric Rickman (Rtx); 11. Trov Rose (Rtx) : 12. Donni e Ha rt (Rtx ). . 1 883: 1. Gary Roge rs; 2. Michelle DiSalvo; 3. Chris Fitzhug h; 4. Dona ld Pau l; 5. Donni e Hart ; 6. Dick Wall; 7. Bob Gra nt; 8. Robert Mille r. Upcoming Round: Round 14· Las Vegas. Nevada. October 1 I

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