Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

AMA Eastern Four-Stroke MX National By Barbara Will iams Photos by Lor en Williams BLOUNTVILLE, 1N,OCT. Ii III his is swee t," smiled KTM's Kell y Sm it h. "I mi ssed it last year, so it fee ls rea l good th is lime aro und ." Smith was cro w'I1ed the new king of Eas tern Fou r-S tro kes a t Mu ddy Creek Raceway's Suzuki Top Gun Showdow'I1, the gra nd finale to the six- rou nd AMA Eastern Four-Stroke MX National series. Alt ho ugh Smith 's goal had been to wi n every round, that d idn't happen he dropped one , to Mark Burkhart a t Red Bud . There , Sm ith w as in th e process of checki ng ou t, ahea d o f the p a ck b y a bo u t 15 se cond s, wh en h e came up short on a monster double and the im pact dislod ged his KTM' s carbure tor . Smith made up for that DNF by com ing bac k to win the second mo ta . At Mu ddy Creek, tw o nearl y effortless mot os locked up th e Four-Stro ke championship, and Kelly threw away the key, pocketing $3000 for w inni ng the cha m p ionship and $800 in MegaSeries money. Smit h pulled his trademark ho lesho t an d completely ignored the ea rly slickness of the Muddy Creek track , pulling a way o n th e bi g o ra ng e thumper a s though the loam was bon e-dry . MotoPlanet Yam aha-mounted Robbi e Ho rton came right alon g wi th Smit h's KTM like it was on a leash, and slowly bu t surely Ho rto n reeled Smith in . Then, d isast er struck for Horton as his clutch basket d isinteg ra ted . "He ha d Kelly passed," said Mo toPlanet's Steve Litz, "and Robbie looked really good out in fro nt, but the clu tch ba s ket broke o n the a p p ro a ch to th e spectator tabl etop. Robbie felt it going a n d pu ll ed off the s ide of th e jump. That's as far as he got ." After that , no one really cha llenged Smith, bu t Mud dy Cree k regul ars Kevi n Wal ker, spo nso red by Kingspo rt Ya ma h a , a n d BallZee-b a ck ed Ji m Neese team ed up with Ty Ha dsell an d Husqva rna / RRP's David Kratz to give a preview of the second mot a . At the finish, Sm ith , Walk er , N ee se , Had s ell a n d Kratz were th e top five o f the FourStroke opener. T odd Do w n s of Corp us Chri s ti, Texas, w ho sat third in the Four- Stro ke point s, go t surprised by a still -slip pery spot on th e Muddy Cr eek 'circu it and took a soil sa mple. Downs finished 10th for the mot o but was optimistic about his chan ce in the next mot a. Smit h's second -ro u nd holes hot cas t him in the rol e of the engine in a lon g freight train com pris ed of the rest of the Events Fou r-S tro ke Pr o field : Neese was th e coa l car, in seco nd . Then came Wal ker as the second engine, in a push-me-pullyou scenario. The .trio poured on the coal and pu lled away from th e res t of the field . Try as they might, thou gh , Neese and Walker co uld n't get up enough steam (o r mayb e enough b rain-fad e) to get p ast Sm ith, who ca nnon ba lled to th e wi n and th e cha mpions hip. Neese finished seco nd, which was good for ru nner -up in the Four-Stro ke Eastern Series. Wa lke r 's thi rd fo r the d a y w a sn 't enough to make up for the mechanical problems and ph ysical twea ks that bese t him . Downs had better fortune in the seco n d outing, fi n is hi ng sixth , jus t behind Kratz and Hadsell, to ea rn th e remaining podium spot for the series. (Ab ove) KTM's Kelly Sm ith of Corpus Christi, Texas , had no trou bles at Muddy Creek, putting togeth er tw o perfe ct motos to nail down the AMA Eastern Four-St roke Series championship. (Left) Alan Allord (9) and Jeremiah Kirkland (157) battle lor pos ition. Allord rode to eighth in the second moto. (Below) Kelly Smith (2) was only close to other ri ders on the sta rts . Ji m Neese (3) earned second lor the day and the series. Todd Downs (behi nd Sm it h) could n't buy a start, but he l inished thi rd In the series anyway. Kevin Walker (4) placed third overa ll l or the day, but due to mechan ic al and phys ical woes, he did not mak e the top three. "I'd like to thank KTM for making this championship possible," said the soft-spoken Smith. "The bik es are awesom e a nd getti ng be tte r a ll th e time . And I' d like to thank Mike Weisner, my mecha nic , w ho mad e sure everything was top-n otch . All I've ha d to d o wa s get on and ride. I didn't have to wo rry abo ut, 'Was the bike ready? '" Smith's rid e for next season will be wi th KTM aga in, and will be mu ch the sa me as this year, only better. "I ' Ll b e r idi ng th e 12Scc Eastern Reg io n Su percross, then competing in a ll th e 12Scc Na tional motocross events," Smit h said. "Also, KTM is fielding a 400cc a n d a S20cc bike in b o th motocross and end uro, so d efending the Four-Stro ke title looks good." In response to the obvious qu estion, Smith la ug he d and a d ded, " N o, you won't see me in the woods!" CIII Muddy Creek Raceway Blountville, Tennes see Results: Oct ober 17, 1999 (Rou nd 6 of 6) MO TO 1: 1. Kell y Smith (KTM); 2. Kevin walke r (Yam ); 3. Jim Neese (Yam); 4. Tyson Hadsell (Yam); 5. Da vid Kratz (Hus ): 6. Jimmy Wilson (Yam ); 7. Cha rlie De gner (Ya m); 8. Joseph Pra the r (Ya m); 9. Benjamin Rutledge (Yam); 10. Todd Downs (Yam). MO T O 2: 1. Ke lly Smith (KT M) ; 2. Jim Ne ese (Yam); 3. Kevin Wa lker (Yam) ; 4. David Kratz (Hus); 5. Tyson Ha dse ll (Yam); 6. Todd Downs (Ya m); 7. C ha rlie Da gn e r (Ya m); 8. Ala n Alfo rd II (Ya m); 9. Ben jamin Rutledge (Yam); 10. jose ph Prather (Yam) . OIA, I. Kelly Smit h (KTM); 2. Jim N", se (Yam); 3. e Kevin Walker (Yam); 4. Davi d Krat z (H us): 5. Tyson Ha d sell (Ya m) ; 6. C h a rl ie Dag ne r (Ya m); 7. Todd Downs (Yam); 8. Benjami n Rutledge (Ya m); 9. Jose ph Prather (Yam); 10. Alan Alford II (Yam). AM A EASTERN FOUR·STRO KE M X N ATI ONA L FINA L POI NT ST ANDINGS (After 6 of 6 rounds): 1. Kelly Smi th ( 63 ); 2. Jim Neese (130); 3. Todd Downs (93 ); 4 . Ke v in Wa lke r (67 ); 5 . All en Alford (59 ); 6 . Charlie Degner (56); 7. Robbie Horton (52); 8. David Kratz (49); 9. Clark Stiles (46); 10. Mark Burkhart (30). 43

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