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Coca-Cola Classic Supercross Umatilla County Fairgrounds (Left) Jason McConnick was Friday's top perfonner at the Coca-eola Classic Supercross, scoring the 125cc and 250cc main-event victories. STORY AND PHOTOS BY CLAY LIGHT HERMISTON, OR, SEPT. 28-29 MA National and Supercross £,;J riders Jason McCormick, Tiger Lacey and Lance Smail headed up a stellar field of top West Coast Pro· fessionals in Pro· class victories at the Umatilla County Fairgrounds, site of the 2001 Coca Cola Classic Supercross, which featured a $ 13,000 Pro purse. Vancouver, Washington's Me· Cormick was Friday's top performer, with wins in the 125cc and 250cc Pro main events, pocketing a cool $1000 for each victory on the heavily rutted track. In front of a near· capacity crowd on Saturday night, Oregon's Lacey and Washington's Smail cap· tured the 125cc and 250cc Pro·c1ass wins, respectively. The Suzuki·mounted McCormick, however, couldn't duplicate his per· formance on Saturday. While leading his 125cc qualifier, his RM's engine failed and he was done for the evening in that class. McCormick was well on his way to victory in the 250cc final, but an encounter with a lapped rider just 75 yards from the finish cost him another win. The only thing that salvaged McCormick's night was a win in the crowd·funded Dash For Cash, in which he beat Cali· fornian Jeff Willoh and Oregon riders Mike Corder and Tony Graves to pocket several hundred dollars. The Pro Caliber-supported McCormick was the top rider during qualifying on Friday and posted wins in his 125cc and 250cc preliminaries. Lacey and Jay Whipple scored the other 125cc and 250cc preliminary wins, respectively. Smail, riding the KTM Canada·backed machine, grabbed the lead at the unleashing of the 20·lap, 12-rider 125cc Pro final, followed by Idaho's Chaun McAlister, McCormick and Lacey, all aboard Suzukis. Smail held a comfortable advantage out front, but McCormick got around McAlister on the third lap and then slashed into Smail's lead with each circuit. With four laps remaining, Me· Cormick was set to challenge Smail. For several laps, McCormick kept the pressure on Smail, who eventually buckled and allowed McCormick to take the lead, which he maintained to the finish to pocket his first $1000 payday. Smail finished a close sec· ond. McAlister netted third, ahead of Lacey and Graves. McCormick was fastest out of the chute at the unleashing of the 250cc Pro final, with McAlister and Lacey running two·three. Lacey got around McAlister on the sixth lap, but by the time the 18-year·old from Wolf Creek, Oregon, broke free, McCormick had checked out. McCormick held an advantage of more than half a lap for I'i\ 56 NOVEMBER 14, 2001 • cue (Left) Lance Small took adventage of McConnlck's last-lap tangle with a lapped rider on Saturday to win the 250cc main event. Smail placed In the top five In all four main events at the Umatilla County Fairgrounds. his second $ 1000 payoff. Graves posted his best performance of the weekend with a third-place finish, behind McCormick and Lacey but ahead of Smail, Corder, McAlister, Jesse Bath, Willoh and Billy Binckley. "I'm just coming back from an injury." said the number·two·ranked rider in the SFX Arenacross Series, Willoh, who was obviously disappoint· ed with his results, as he was highly favored to win coming into the event. "We brought up a stock Honda CR250 in the trunk of the car, one that's hardly like the one I'm used to riding." On Saturday, things would go Answer/Bill's Pipes·sponsored Lacey's way in his 125cc main·event win, as the up·and·coming rider dart· ed to the head of the field at the start and stayed there to the finish. Smail, who was involved in a tum-one pileup, charged through traffic at a blistering pace to chase down Lacey, but Lacey's advantage was too great for the three·time AMA National Four· Stroke Champion to whittle down, and Lacey scored his only win of the Tiger Lacey (21) topped Saturday's 125cc main event in Henniston, Oregon. Small (83) absconded with the holeshot In Saturday's 125cc final, but Lacey (21) took the lead out of tum one and was never headed. Small finished second, ahead of Mike Corder (969). Lacey also finished In the top five In all four finals. I • n e wv s weekend. Smail, who had quite a bat· tle with Corder and KTM·mounted Rory Sullivan while forging forward, finished second. Corder finished third after running in close quarters with Smail for much of the later stages of the race, fol· lowed by rookie Pro Sullivan and KTM·mounted Washingtonian Garhett Carter, the fifth-place finisher. McCormick was looking to salvage his evening with a win in the 250cc final. Things were looking good for the Suzuki rider, who snared the holeshot and did a superb job of hold· ing back the challenges from Smail after Smail overcame a poor start. Smail, Lacey, Willoh, Sullivan, Corder and Graves were all tightly bunched in a battle for the second through seventh positions; Smail got through the field fastest to close in on leader McCormick. It looked as though McCormick would, indeed, nab his third main event of the weekend, as he had checked out on the competition in the late stages. However, with only two turns remaining, McCormick tangled with a lapped rider, and both were sent sprawling to the ground. By the time McCormick got rolling again, Smail and Lacey had overtaken the fallen rider, and they finished one· two. McCormick, Corder and Willoh rounded out the top five finishers. "I'm pretty bummed," McCormick said of his last· lap encounter with a backmarker. "r had the thing won and some lapper just cost me a lot of money. This is how I make my living." I:N Ummlla County fairgrounds Hermiston, Oregon Results: September 28-29, 20Dl Friday 125 PRO: 1. Jllson McCormick (Suz); 2. Lance Smail (KTM); 3. Chaun McAlister (Suz); 4. Tiger Lacey (Suz); 5. Tony Greves (Yam). 250 PRO: 1. Jason McCormick (Suz); 2. Tiger Lacey (Suz); 3. Tony Greves (Vam); 4. ltloce Smail (KTM); 5. Mike Corder (Kaw). Saturday J25 PRO: 1. Tiger Lacey (Suz); 2. Lance Smail (KTM); 3. Mike Corder (Kaw); 4. Rory Sullivan (KTM); 5. Gamett Carter (KTM). 250 PRO: i. Lance Smail (KTM); 2. Tiger Lacey (Suz); 3. Jason McCormick (Suz); 4. Mike! Corder (Kaw); 5. JeffWilloh (Han). DFC: 1. Jason McCormick (Suz); 2. Jeff Willoh (Han): 3. Mike Corder (Kaw): 4. Tony Graves (yam).