Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

changed the schedule in their favor. They suggested that the Sport Bike race could have been run before lunch, and the Unlimited Superbike just after lunch, along with the Buell. Had that happened, all of the premier classes would have run to completion. It was common knowledge that severe weather was approaching, and the riders believed that moving the races was the right thing to do. FUSA officials countered by saying that their research showed that many of the spectators come after the lunch break and would have missed the Sport Bike race. Adding to the mess was a blown engine in the BuelJ race. The leaky S1 oiled up turns three through six, with Barnes saying the track was slick clear through turn nine in the Sport Bike race. The Honda Pro Oils Sport Bike, shortened from 16 laps to 10, was green-flagged around 3 p.m. after a lengthy delay to clean the track. Though the riders had a warm-up lap, Barnes, for one, was upset that there was no waming in the affected areas. "There was oil-dry, no debris flags," Barnes said. "We weren't even advised of where it was. Originally, it was [turn] three, and now it went to four, which I didn't feel it - Larry [pegram] did - but it was evident in five, six, seven, eight, and I felt it in nine, which could have been oil or drops of water." Hooters Suzuki/Mountain Dew's Barnes got out to the lead, with Pegram, Arclight Suzuki's Lee Acree, and Shenandoah Honda's Tim Bemisderfer going with him. Acree moved into second in front of Pegram and Bemisderfer on the fourth lap. Barnes knew he wasn't getting away, so he settled in. "I got around so many people I was like, I'm going to do this as smart as possible," he said. "Try to get out of here still winning. I don't need to win it by 10 seconds, five seconds. I just need to win it. "I got in a big slide on my last lap," Barnes continued. "Got four or five drops on my visor and I got in a big slide in the next corner, and it was just like Lee [Acreej had told us. You get a few drops on your helmet, and for him, he went down. Not this weekend, but a couple of weeks prior. I was really aware. I was glad the red flag had come out, because had I gone through turn four, one more corner.... " That would be the final lap of racing for the day. Rain began to fall, but it was ground lightning that brought out the red flags. The rain was merciless, followed by hail, just as the sun came out. Two turns were completely flooded, with little chance they could be drained in time to continue racing. The rain eventually stopped, only to later resume, with water continuously draining onto the track. A group of the top riders - including Barnes and Pegram, Acree and teammate Craig Connell, Synergy Racing Technology's Matt Wait, Barnes (34) leads his teammate Lany Pegram (72) early in the Honda Pro Oils Sport Bike final. The race was stopped when it started to lightning, rain and eventually hail. Points and purse money were ultimately doled out based on qualifying results. Blackmans Cycle's Michael Himmelsbach, the Aprilia rider who considers Summit Point his home track, and Eric and Jeff Wood, among others made their way to race control to discuss the situation with Abbott and Director of Competition Bill Syfan. The gathering turned into a wideranging discussion, not only o~ the present dilemma, but also the wisdom of scheduling races at so many tracks that the riders didn't believe could be raced on in the rain. Michael Himmelsbach, who has been racing at Summit Point since the late '80s, said, "Full rain, this place is fully rideable. Oil, I think, is what killed the place: Arclight Suzuki's Lee Acree, another Summit Point veteran, disagreed. "Realistically, if we could've raced here in the rain, there would've been a lot of destroyed equipment," he said. Syfan responded by saying that, "Just like the AMA, we go to tracks we can get dates at." The riders were also concerned that they had to seek out FUSA officials, and that this was the first dialogue they'd had with them concerning inclement race conditions on the weekend. "This isn't the last time this is going to happen," Barnes said. Syfan assured them there would be an open dialogue and that their door was always open. The option of running the race on Monday was discussed among FUSA and track officials, but dismissed. The weather looked equally dicey and there would be no 'corner workers. Plus, there was another event scheduled for the track. The riders present wanted to be paid the race purse by their order of qualifying. FUSA officials suggested that they run a double round at Pocono International Raceway in late August, with a Sport Bike and two Unlimited Superbike races on Friday, and another set on Monday, giving the riders the chance to race for full purses. The core group of riders stood their ground and Syfan told them he'd have to consult with his superiors. Syfan called Clear Channel's Roy Janson at his home in Illinois. Janson had seen this situation a number of times at various dirt tracks and understood the riders' concerns. After consulting with Janson, a final discussion, involving about 30 riders, took place around 7 p.m. "I said I told them what I was thinking about [the Pocono double round] and some liked it and some didn't," he said. "This was about the make-up race at Pocono. They [the riders] were more interested in try ing to get paid for their efforts at this event." In the end, "We decided to pay the full purse in Sport Bike and Superbike based on qualifying," said Syfan, who made the decision to pay the purse. "We will give everyone that was entered in the race eight points, iii la Daytona [which was also run in the rain]. The two pole sitters [Pegram and Barnes] get their point. The two classes that we grid by points, [Thunderbike and 600 Supersport Amateur, which were also rained out], that was a done deal, we give all those basically credit [for their entry fees]. We don't use timed qualifying, so there's no fair way to dole out points. Those are just a done deal: The top winners were Hooters/ Mountain Dew Suzuki's Pegram, who took the Unlimited Superbike pole, and was third-fastest Sportbike, and teammate Barnes, who was fastest Sport Bike, and third-fastest Superbike, and won the Buell race. Pegram pocketed $5000 of the $20,000 Unlimited Superbike purse, plus another $ 1200 from the $10,000 Sport Bike payout. Barnes earned $2700 from Unlimited Super Bike, and $2000 each from Sport Bike and Buell. Millennium Technologies' Shawn Higbee continues to lead the Unlimited Superbike points standings with 42. Acree is second at 36, with 14K the Movie's Eric Wood third at 32. All Sport Bike riders were given eight points at Daytona, and another eight here. The difference is the point for pole position earned by Barnes. He leads all riders by a point, 17 to 16, after two of eight rounds. Syfan said that he thought the riders would opt for the chance to race cue I • for the full purse at the Pocono doubleheader. "I thought they'd want to ride, I thought they want to race on a dry track for money," he said. The feeling among the riders present was that, since the FUSA had taken in the front-gate money, the riders should be compensated. FUSA officials countered that they were looking at offering refunds in the way of tickets to the Pocono round. "We'll take care of the spectators," Syfan said. "It sucked that we didn't get to race, but it was nice that they~istened to our concerns and made a decision based on our concerns," Pegram said. "Syfan came back and said we're going to payoff according to our qualifying and give everybody eight points, plus Barney [Michael Barnes] and I got a point each for being on pole." Pegram said Syfan and Co. got a round of applause after making the announcement. "We clapped, actually," Pegram said. "We asked for something and they were in the opposite and they changed it because we asked for it. I was there to race anyway. You don't get contingencies based on that type of deal." Syfan said, given another chance, he would have done things differently. "I took a gamble," he said. "I started looking at this from the moment I woke up. I turned on the Weather Channel and saw that the forecast had deteriorated from when I went to bed: But, after talking with local riders, track officials, and track workers, he decided not to alter the original schedule, aside from what was necessitated by the crashes and oil slicks. "The same scenario presented itself two weeks ago. It rained for five minutes and it went away," Syfan said. "I wish now, in hindsight, that I'd run those [the premier classes]: eN Summit Point RacewlY Summit Point, West Vi'llinia Results: MIY 2&, 2002 [Round 2 at 8] BUEll UGHTNING SERIES: 1. Michoel Bomes; 2. Bryan Bemisderfer; 3. Richie Morris; 4. Clint Bretz; 5. Jeffrey Johnson; 6. Anthony Fenia: 7. Steve luxem; 8. Jeff Harding; 9. Joseph Rozynski; 10. $em Rozynski: 11. Douglas Burton; 12. Dllrren James: 13. Shawn Smith; 14. Gregory Avella; 15. Mlchllel Myers; 16. Patrick Wakefield; 17. John Spinelli: 18. Alan Cheese: 19. J~son Smith. Time: 12 mins., 7:393 sec. Dist~nce: 9 laps, 18 miles. Average speed: 89.085 mph. Margin or victory: 0.596 sec. BUELL LIGHTNING SERIES C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 2 or 8 rounds): I. Michael Barnes (35/1 win); 2. Bryen Bemisderfer (28); 3. Richie Morris (24); 4. Clint Brotz (21); 5. Jeffrey Johnson (19); 6. Anthony Fonlo (18); 7. Steve Luxem (17): 8. Jeff Harding (16); 9. Douglas Burton (13); 10. Do"en Jomes (12); 11. Shown Smith (11); 12. Gregory Avello (10); 13. (TIE) Brion Bodine/Scott Korol/Jason Smith/Paul Jemes/Mlirk Reynolds (8); 18. Joseph Rozynskl (7); 19. Som Rozynski (6); 20. Michoel Myers (1). Upcoming Rounds: Round 3 - Loudon, New Hampshire, June 16 Round 4 - Toronto, Canada, July 21 n • _ 55 • JUNE 5, 2002 37

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