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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128104
Gene R ome r o 's E -mool a.com Wes t C o a s t Flat Track Series Round 2 : Bak ersf ield Speedway STORY A N D PH OT OS BY F RED W IND UM BAKERSFIELD, CA, APR. 21 ayward , Ca lifo rn ia's Robert Cun nington had a night'to rem em ber a t th e se c o n d "r o urid o f Ge ne Rom ero' s E -M oo la.c om West Coast F lat Track Series. Cun ni ngton took h om e al l of the gol d , win ning h i s heat, D ash for Cash and the main in th e O pen Vintage class on Bak ers fie ld Speedw ay ' s th ird-mile b anked oval. Paso Robles, Ca lifornia's Josh Ritc hie took the top spo t in the Suzuk i Novic e 250 class aft er a close fi n i s h w i t h Fr a n k L an e and C h r i s Canepa. Bu t t he event was m arred by the death of D a n Hart, 25, of Sal inas, Ca lifornia, who died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash, during one of the semifinals in the Open Pro cl ass. Witnesses sa id Hart, who had wo n the o pening ro u nd of the series a t H a n f o r d Speedw ay just three w e e ks e arlier , wa s battling with Washington rider J .P. S im onsen fo r th e lead in the fi rst semi when he lost the back of the bi k e in turn three and slid to a stop . He was clipped by one rider, and then hit by an other. With three riders down, the race was red flagged while the track was cleared. Pa ram ed ic s attem pte d to stabilize Ha rt before transporting him t o Bak - H 58 MAY 1 6, 2001 • c u e I e ersfi eld Memorial Hospital. Hart was prono unced dead on arrival. When the news of Hart's passin g rea ched the pits , the Open Pro class rid ers el ec ted not to rac e, bu t rathe r to pu t on a l Ovla p ex hi bitio n in Ha rt's m em ory a n d d o na te th e O pe n Pro purse to th e Hart fam ily . "When we got the news , we all got together and none of us wanted to ride : defending seri es cha mpion Ron n ie Brow n sa id , " b ut bec au se there . we re fans in the stands tha t came to see a show , and out of respec t for Gene [Ro mero], we d ecided to ru n a shortened exhib ition race ." The exhi bition riders agreed to let Brown lea d the field, swapping posit ions behind the reigning champ . At the conclusion of the race, the entire field traveled the track in reverse , a "Polish Victory Lap" in honor of Hart. Bob Graves led the Vintage class B Main from wire to wire, with the racing behind him furious as Jerry Kennedy ra n with Ri ck Brewer and . Wayne W arringto n to de cid e second. Ken nedy began to lea ve third beh ind , with David Harness passing Warringto n fo r fo urth. Kennedy managed to pull in behind Gra ves, but cou ldn 't quite get the big Triumph turned and on the gas as quickly as Graves on the Ya ma ha 5 0 0 . G ra v e s held off Kenned y for t he win , wh ile M ike n e VII' sa Kibby came through th e pack , dropp ing Brew er and Harn es s to fourth and fifth, while Bill Flett got by Warringto n for sixth . Cunn ingto n , w ho had shown the rest of the field the q uick way arou nd th e t rack whil e wi n ni ng the Oreg on Casca de D ash for Cash, spe d to the front of the Vintage A Main, with Rod Spencer, Steve Hall, Jimmy Sanchez, Keith B rad fo r d and Mike Go nza les chasing . Cun nington and Sp en c er began to' pull away from the fie ld, with Spencer making the l o w line work o n his Triump h twi n . Sanchez stuffed up the inside of Ha ll fo r third , and the finish was pretty much decid- ed at that point. R id~rs seem ed a bi t c aut ious on the track - whether it was from the track c onditions or the news in th e p its , it was n' t clear. At the fi nish, Spenc er made a run on Cu nnington , but came up short . Cunnington came awa y with his second stra ight victory in th e Harley Dav id son Dealers Vintage Cl ass , w ith Sp enc er seco nd b y a wh eel. San c h ez and Ha ll came up behind for third and fo urth, followed by K eith B r ad f o r d , Mike Gonzales, Gary Ritchie, J eff S. John son , Joe Steffen and Bob Cobb. "I tried something different there at the end , and it almost cost me . I started thinking , when I should have just ridden : said Cunningto n . Spe nc er said, "I don 't know, a few more la ps and I might have got him. I had that last corner down p r et t y good. We'll see how it goes at Ha nford [hal f m il e)." B rad Sp en c er Jr. led the Suzu k i 250cc Novice main off the start, fol lo wed by Josh Ritchie , Frank Lane , Chris Canepa a nd Dennis Voli. Rit ch ie took o v e r the lead from Spencer , and Spencer then fell going into o ne while try ing to take th e lead back . Lane and Can ep a had their own p rog ram , both try ing to take secon d spot after Spenc er dro ppe d o ut. Den nis Voll , who was ridi ng the ex- Cy cl e News p roject Yamaha , dropped off th e pace, letting Scott Watkins , Ernie Lyl es and D av id Brown pas t h im to ra c e for f ou r t h. Lane and Canepa were now on Ritchie's back fender in a three-wa y battle for the lead, while Brown passed Lyl es for fi fth. On the wh ite -flag lap, the leaders c ame up on a p ai r of l ap ped riders , a n d co mi ng o ff o f turn four , there were five rid ers all co ming across the li ne at t h e sam e t ime . Rit ch ie w as cre dite d with th e win, wit h F r an k Lane second and Chris Canepa third. Watki ns held fourth , followed b y L y l es , Vo ll , Woody Ca r l so n , T ob y Leneuve and Daniel Brown . T he fi nis h was so close that Lan e was given the flag for the victory lap, but before the trophy presentation , the fi nis h order was confirmed and Ritchie wa s named as the winner. CN