Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Shaun Russell was one of the few riders to use a 250cc two-stroke for the n. He put It in the big show, finishing 13th. with Tommy Hayden, Nicky Hayden, Dan Stanley and Shawn Clark occupying the rest of the front row. Tommy Hayden grabbed the holeshot and set a torrid pace right from the green light, with brothers Nicky and Roger Lee pulling clear of Carr, Clark and Stanley. Honda 450 riders John Hlebo III on the Istlegal.com CRF450 of Terry Poovey and Team WE/West Bend H-D/Fieldsheer Leathers-backed J.R. Schnabel tacked onto Stanley's tail to make for a gaggle of six Honda CRF450s in the top eight. Kopp and his factorybacked Jones Powersports KTM completed the first lap in ninth place, with Lancaster Harley-Davidson/Saddlemen Racing/Dodge Brothers' Steve Beattie completing the top 10 on his traditional, Rotax-powered TT machine. The lap wasn't even complete when Hacker lost his footing while hitting the kicker jump that sat just off the end of the final curve and slammed his left leg into the ground upon landing. Hacker rolled into the infield, knowing his leg was broken badly, but AMA officials refused to stop the race, and Hacker was forced to wait almost 12 minutes for the race to be completed before the ambulance could be called across the track to assist him. "I told [AMA Dirt Track Manager] Bruce Bober that I knew my leg was broken," Hacker said. "The pain was so bad that I was sweating, and I thought that I was going to pass out. He didn't want to stop the race, but he offered to give me a ride back to my pits on the back of that Sportster. I told him that I didn't even think that I could get off my motorcycle." After the race, Hacker was transported to St. John's Hospital in Springfield, where X-rays revealed the spiral fractures (see Briefly... ). As the first five riders began to gap the rest of the field, Nicky Hayden had his late-braking maneuver in the right-hander after the jump dialed to perfection, and he U$ed it to good effect to catch Tommy just two laps into the race. Once he caught his bro, Nicky's attacks were relentless. He pulled alongside Tommy as the two went over the jump on lap four and managed to complete an aggressive pass around the outside of Tommy in the right-hander and then beat him through the short chute to assume the lead. Then it was adios hermanos. "It was important to get off the line good with those guys," Hayden said. '" followed my brother for a little bit, but I knew that I wanted to get by him early because I figured that the track was going to brush off a little bit. Normally, that's when he is better than me when the track is slick - so I wanted to have a gap on him when it did get slick. That right-hander really got slick late in the race. I'd like to take a lot of credit, but my bike was just perfect. That thing was money. My gearing, everything was perfect on it." Nicky Hayden picked up the pace even further, with Tommy desperate- Iy trying to stick close, but to no avail. Roger Lee maintained third, with Carr showing that he was game by keeping the youngster firmly in his sights the whole way. "I feel really good tonight because I won two races," Carr said afterward. "I won the non-Hayden race, and 1 won the flat-tracker race. I charged up until about lap 15. It seemed to me that the motocross bikes were a little easier to ride overall. They weren't wheelhopping through the corners, and they're a bit lighter and more nimble. I rode my bike as hard as 1 could until I started making what 1 thought were fatigue mistakes. I really took a shot at Roger, but 1 just ran out of steam. I heard something thumping. I think it was my tongue hitting the tank." There was trouble in turn one on lap four when Schnabel inadvertently parked it while trying to pass Hlebo for the sixth spot. Russell and Kopp where right behind Schnabel and they stacked up like chordwood, with Schnabel getting punted forward and Kopp hitting the ground. Kopp recov· ered to finish 11 tho Iowa's Trent Bailey made the main event, finishing 14th. It was his second career Grand National start. "I was actually in between Russell and Schnabel," Kopp said. "When Schnabel parked it, I just went down in the deal. It was really disappointing. It seemed like, when I got going I could run with them because my bike was really good. Oh well. I felt like I was riding good tonight, and it was great racing. They were pretty much all DTX bikes out there. I think it's the way we should go. I'll park my C&J if the rest of these guys will." Schnabel caught Hlebo again, and the two riders then caught Stanley, who was stuck behind Clark. The Carl Patrick/Cayuga Tool & Die-backed Clark tried in vain to stay in front of the pair, but faded, as he is just coming back from knee surgery. Clark wound up seventh at the finish. "I was just trying to get my first 25 laps in this season," Clark said. "My conditioning has been put off by the knee, but I was really glad to get Carl's bike in the main event. I just got a little tired. It was really, fun in the beginning. This track is so much fun that I wish we could come here every weekend. All the guys out there had a blast tonight." Memphis Shades/Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties' Kevin Varnes came through the field from the 16th spot on his CCM flat-tracker to catch the similarly mounted Beattie, who was running ninth, around lap five. The two waged a such a furious battle for the ninth spot that it drove them forward to Hlebo. Varnes ultimately shot past the Californian in the infield to land the eighth spot. "The whole race, Beattie and I were going at it," Varnes said. "I finalMike Hacker's season came to a bonecnlnchlng halt when he broke his left leg over the front straightaway kicker on the opening lap of the main event· without even crashing. Hacker Is expected to be out at least eight weeks. cu cle n e _ so • JUNE 5, 2002 15

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