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WERA National Challenge Series Rojas coming past on the third lap, Richard Ford in third. Bauchiero was keeping Rojas honest and nearly took the lead on the third lap in turn 10, the hard left at the end of the back straight. Rojas was on the outside and turned in, almost taking Bauchiero's front wheel out. That nearly sent Bauchiero off the track, and forced him to play catch up. "We were neck and neck," Bauchiero said. "He chopped me off and I had to stand the bike up." Rojas saw it differently. "He got in too hot and almost lost his bike," Rojas said. Bauchiero kept the heat on and made a run on the last lap, coming up .024 of a second short. "One more lap and I'd have caught him," Bauchiero said. Said Rojas, "I was one point ahead of him. I had to win that race." Richard Ford finished third. The championship order was the same as the race, Rojas winning the title, Bauchiero the runner-up, Ford third. Rojas, Bauchiero, and Ford were back at it again in the 750 Superstock Novice race, Rojas taking the lead on the second lap with Blue Ridge Collision's Shawn Stinnett going with him. Bauchiero was back in third, and at a disadvantage aboard his Yamaha R6 in a field of 750s, soon to be passed by Norton Racing's Max Norton. As the laps wound down, Rojas was able to stretch his lead, ending up with a 2.91-second win, Stinnett second, and Bauchiero third after passing Norton on the sixth lap. "I took the lead going into [turn] 10," Rojas began, "and from then on had my pit crew tell me how far in front I was." "I couldn't do it," Bauchiero said. "Those guys took off on the 750s." Bauchiero ended up third in the points standings to Ford in second, and Rojas, who'd won his second race and title of the day. Rojas didn't try to win his third race, the 600 Superbike Novice because he wasn't in the title hunt. He'd missed an early round in Texas, which put him out of contention for the class crown. Not so for his friend Richard Ford. Ford was in a position to possibly win the crown and Rojas didn't want to get in his way, circulating in third behind Bauchiero and Ford. There wasn't much drama in this one, Bauchiero checking out with Rojas in front of Ford at one point, but ceding the spot to him on the final lap. The title went to Bauchiero with Ford second and Bauchiero third. "The championship was between those two," Rojas said of Bauchiero and Ford. "I wanted to help Ricky get the championship." The 750 Superbike Novice was his final appearance, or disappearance, depending on your point of view. Rojas had what he thought was a terrible start. By tum six he was up to second and in the lead soon after. Six laps later he'd added the race and crown to the two he'd won earlier. "We had a great weekend," Rojas said with understatement of his success in the Sportsman, Endurance, and National Challenge Series. "I don't know how we came out on top eight times. " Second, at some distance, was Shawn Stinnett with Andrew Mueller third on another Suzuki GSX-R750. Bauchiero was fourth in front of Shannon Moham. Rojas won the number-one plate, Bauchiero was second in the standings, and Moham was third. Chris "Opie" Caylor beat Arclight Suzuki's Lee Acree in Saturday's Dunlop 600 Superstock race on the racetrack, but lost it in the post-race tech inspection. He and Acree were quickly away, Acree leading lap one, Caylor lap two, and then Acree for two more. There was never much in the way of comfort, as Acree found out on the final lap. Caylor came at him with a strong run out of turn seven to take the lead on the brakes in turn 10, holding off his longtime nemesis for the win, the first in ages. "The last year and half, I haven't been able to beat that guy," Caylor said, and he was distracted during this race as well. "I was thinking of the [Suzuki Cup] heat races for a while while I was racing," he began, "then I thought, 'Oh, wait, I can win this and it'll mean something. '" Caylor's Suzuki GSX-R6QO was horsepower restricted for the Suzuki Cup races, while Acree's wasn't because he wasn't racing the Clip Series. That meant that Caylor had to make the most of his opportunity. "Coming off the comers mine was just as good, but it flattened out on top," he said. On the last lap, Caylor backed off slightly to put himself in a position to challenge and pass Acree down the back straight. "I waited that much longer in [tum] 10 to brake," he said. "I tried to make myself wide." "Opie did a little better in the cold," Acree said. "Maybe I'm a little of a fair-weather rider." Caylor was disqualified after failing the post-race teardown, with Acree moving up to the win and teammate Scott Harwell taking second. Vesrah Racing's Mark Junge was third on the track, but he was also disqualified with Montgomery Cycle's Kenneth Snyder moving up to third. Both Caylor and Junge, as well as Wade Buffington in the 750 Superstock race, were disqualified for the same reason. They'd taken their crankcase breather and routed it into the power (Left) Jason DiSalvo won both the Formula 2 and Formula 1 races at Road Atlanta. (Right) Kenneth Snyder (281) and Joseph Temperato battle In the Expert 600 Superbike race, with Snyder ultimately taking the win. 8 NOVEMBER 7, 2001 • cue •• n D _ S Lee Acree (84) leads Chris Caylor (7) In their 600cc SuperBtock race. Caylor won the race on the track, but was disqualified after the post-race tech inspection. valves, instead of into a catch can or the airbox, a WERA official said. Acree took his second National Challenge win in the 750 Superstock race after breaking away from an early three-rider pack. Acree, John Jacobi, and Scott Harwell were away early from the 21-rider field, with Acree easing away. On the fourth lap, Jacobi rode into the pits, handing Acree a healthy lead that he'd expand on his way to victory. "I had the easiest track out there with the best bike and the best tires: Acree said. "The track's still a little cold. I'm not a big fan of a cold track." Harwell's win came in the six-lap Expert Superbike Twins race on Sunday. The Arclight Suzuki rider got the jump on the field and cleared out for a while. Late in the race Quick Time's Bud Lawter made a run at Harwell, losing out by 1.18 seconds. Lawter spent much of the race just in front of Ducati-mounted BCM's Bill St. John, who finished third, the pair losing Mark Crozier and his Honda in the final two laps. "I just got out front and put my head down," Harwell said after taking the win and the number-one plate. St. John was second in the standings, Crozier third.