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AMA Chevy T r uck s U. S . S u perb ik e S e r ie s Round 7 : N e w Hampshine International Speedwa y John Hopkins (21) and Josh Hayes (131) had a tremendous battle in the FOm'lula Xtreme final, a race that was eventually won by Hopkins. AMA/Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series Round 4: New Hampshire Internatio Speedway nal B Y H E N N Y RAY AB RAM S P H OT O BY BRIA N J. NELS O N LOUDON, NH, JUNE 16 he Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme race was not for the tim id - not with a track this tight, this short, and with this ma ny la pped riders. To win meant b e ing ruthless in traffic, dispatching with slowe r riders , kee ping the lead at all costs . John Hop kins played the ga me pe rfectly . De s p ite the constant har assment of Bruc e Transportation Group 's Josh Hayes for the second half of the ra c e , the Va lvolin e EMGO Suzuki rider kept his c ool and kept his drive , passing la ppe rs where he cou ld and bumping the m ou t of the way when he needed to . He would later apologize , but he T was on a mission , a winn ing mission , a s it would turn out, by a scant .553 of a second. The 18 -yea r-old Californian explained that he started trying to ma ke a gap in traffic tow ard the end , "a nd then on the last lap , I ran into turn t h re e a nd there wa s a ride r; it look ed lik e he was wa y o ut to th e outs ide like he knew we were com ing ," Hopkins s aid . "T h e n , I don 't kn ow, out of nowhere he just d ives in on me . Me a nd him mad e c o n t a c t and I'm sorry to th e g uy , but that's what happens wh en you turn in o n th e le a de r s when the le ad ers ar e com ing by. " T h e contact was in ci de nt a l and there was no a cc id e nt or diminution of dr ive . Hayes kept pu sh ing, ga ining time on the brakes, but still c a m e up short. 'lAMA/MBNA 250cc Grand Prix Series Round 5: New Hampshire International Speedway By H EN N Y R A Y AB RA M S P HO T O BY B RI A N J. N E LSO N LOUDON, NH, JUNE 18 O 14 n a wee kend when most of the riders were compla in ing about JUNE 27, 2001 • c u e I e New Hampsh ire Internationa l Spe ed wa y, Corbin 's Jimm y Filic e wa s one of the few d issente rs . "I love th is place," Filic e sa id after h is fifth 250cc Grand Pr ix w in at Loudon , the first one com ing on th e n e vv so "Once he [Hopkins] got out fron t, it seemed like it just kind of seesawed back a nd forth, " Hayes sai d. "He was getting off the turns really goo d a nd getting a little gap and I was m ak ing it up on th e brakes . Usua lly, going in, my ey es were pretty b ig . I was getting in there a little hotter than I wanted to quite often." It wasn 't un t il after the ra c e that Hopkins made a mistake, crashing on the cool-down lap. "Th e track out there is a little gr easy ," Hopkins said. "I got a little exc ite d . I guess I gave it a litt le too much bra ke, tucked th e front. I gu ess that's my new wa y of st yling for the fans ." Ha yes h ad led laps five through 12 . He too k over when Attack Suzuki's Tom Kipp s lowed with a mis-fire o n the fourth lap , finally dropping out on the s ixth . "We ' re t ry in g to figure out what happened ," Kipp said some time after th e ra ce . "Co m ing off the left -hand co rners it wo uld sp it a nd sputter, not make an y power. It's the first t ime it happened all weekend . I don 't know if it's a heat-related issue." Kipp dropped to second on the fift h lap and was out on the sixth, Hopkins now up to second in front of a line o r riders. The pace wasn 't that fast a nd Ha yes wasn 't los ing Hopkins. "I got a plus zer o on my board, " Hayes said . "I said , 'The re 's a whole line of them waiti ng for me to get out of the way " " F irs t in line wa s Hopkins , who went by Hayes in the turn-six bowl on lap 13 . Traffic wa s alr e ady an iss ue a nd wou ld c o ntinue to be , but Hop k in s used it best, h old ing off Hayes for his se cond win of the ye ar. "J ohn ju st outclassed us today , he rod e a rea lly good race," Hayes said. Graves Motorspo rt s Yamaha 's Damon Buc kmaster had qualified on the pol e with a new lap re cord. From the pole he falt ered , d ropping back to seve nth on th e first lap before clawing his way forward . "I think I saw a couple of th e guys rolling the re, whic h probabl y th e AMA s ho u ld p a y a bit more attentio n to , and I ju st sort of gr a b be d the clutch," Bu c k m a s t e r said. " I did fall ba ck a nd , unfortu nately, due to a couple of guys that thought the racetrack was a parking lot, I just lost touch with the leaders the re." Buckmaster was deep in a cluster of riders , p ick ing them off one by one, landing in third on the 13th lap. He was 5 .5 s econds back at th at po int, losing little more to the end. "We 'll take the cha m pio ns hip lead and continue on from there," Buckmaster said after adding five points to his championship lead . He now leads team mate Aaron Gobert, sixth at Loudon , by 21 po ints, 127 -106 , after four of 10 races. Hopkins is third with 105 . Fourth toda y was Roger Lee Hayden , the Bruce Transportation Group rider ma tch ing his best-ever Formula Xtreme finish . He got away from the pack in the late stages, leaving Erio n Ra cing's J a ke Zemke to hold off Gob ert in t he fig ht fo r sixth . Valvo line EMGO Suzuki 's Grant Lopez was a close seventh, then there was a ga p to Erion 's Mark Miller. CN New Hampshire International Speedway Loudon, New Hampshire Results: June 16, 2001 lRound 4 of 101 LOCKHA RT -PHILLI PS U S A FORM UL A XT RE.ME: 1. John Hopk ins (Suz) ; 2. Josh Hayes (Hon) ; 3 . Damon Buckmaster (Yam) ; 4 . Roger Lee Hayden ( Hon); 5 . Jak e Ze mke ( Hon); 6 . Aaro n Gobert. (Yam): 7. Grant Lopez (Suz); 8. Mark Miller ( Hon ) ; 9 . Rich Alex a nder ( Suz); 10 . D esmo nd Conboy (Suz); 11. Richard Neenan Jr . (S uz); 12. Chris Voelker (Hon ); 13. Owen Richey (SUI ); 14. Michael Niksa (Suz); 15 . Thomas Fournier (Due); 16. Dale Dandrea (Suz); 17. Richard Maron (Yam) ; 18. Ja me s Bonner (Yam) ; 19 . Tom Kipp (Suz) ; 20. Thomas Montano (Due). Time : 29 mln s.• 16 .846 sees. Distance: 24 laps, 38.4 miles. Average speed: 78 .733 mph. Margin or victory: 0 .553 sees. LOCKHART-PHI LLIPS US A FORMULA XTREME C'SHIP POINT STANDI NGS (A ft er 4 0110 rounds): 1. Damon Buckma ster ( 127/ 1 win); 2. Aaron Gobert (1 06): 3 . John Hop ki ns ( 105/2): 4 . Gran t Lop ez ( 102) : 5 . Josh Hayes (9 0): 6 . Mark Miller (89) ; 7 . Jake Zemke (78); 8. Rich Alexander (7 1); 9. Roger Lee Hayden (6 9); 10. James Bonner (45) ; 11. Chris Voelk er (4 1): 12. Owen Richey (39) ; 13. (TIE) Chuck Allen/Jami e T hompson (38 ) ; 15 . Ja son Pridmore (37/ 1): 16. Tom Kipp (26) : 17. Michael Barnes (24): 18. Mark Foster (23) ; 19. (TIE) Billy Eth ridge/Robert Mesa (2 2) . Upcoming Rounds: Round 5 - Monterey, California , July 6 Round 6 - Lexington . Ohio, Ju ly 21