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AMAIChevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series Round a: Pikes Peak International Raceway over the Australian, despite feeling a bit under the weather. "It's all great, but at the same time I don't think there's any place I'd rather be than in my motorhome, lying down," DiSalvo said. "I've had this cold since Monday and she's been kicking my butt the whole time. It's a good thing they didn't have this race on Wednesday because I felt like I'd been in a train wreck. I'm feeling better today and hopefully tomorrow I feel even better. I took a few peeks back every once in a while and that number 302 [Connell] was always behind me. I just wanted to get deep on those brakes. I never saw a wheel, and I guess I got some breaks in traffic, which is good for me and to get rid of that Jason luck I've been having lately. I'm very pleased." Connell couldn't do much but watch DiSalvo get away. He finally just settled for third place, his first podium of the season. "I was behind Jason [DiSalvo] and all was going pretty good, so I thought, 'Well, I'll sit here for a little bit,'" Connell said. "I decided to take my time. Unfortunately, when we caught up to some of the backmarkers, Jason fortunately got through in good areas and unfortunately for me I got them in bad areas." Behind them came the impressive Meiring, riding alone and clear of the surprising Haner, who got the best of Acree. "It was fun," Meiring said. "The bike worked really well. The Kawasa- ki really steers well, and we worked hard to make it work well for 29 laps. Through the big sweeper is where I could make time on those guys. The first half of the race was fun because I was going back and forth with a lot of guys. On the first lap, the leaders got a break and [Adam] Fergusson crashed right in front of us, and we had to chase them down after that. " Haskovec finished on Acree's tail in seventh, with a gap back to Howard and Ulrich, the latter coming from well back in the pack after starting on the fourth row. eN Pikes Peek Intel'lllltiDul Race.ey Fountain, CeIDr8dD Resulls: June I, 2002 SOPER STOCK FINAL: 1. Jimmy Moore (SU1); 2. Jason DiSlllvo (Suz); 3, Craig Connell (Suz); 4. Tony Meiring (Kaw); 5. John Hllner (Suz); 6. Lee Acree (Suz): 7. Vlncent Haskovec (Suz); 8. Ty Howard MaNA 250cc Grand Prix: Round Five STORY AND PHOTO BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS FOONTAlN, CO, JaNE 2 ich Oliver has a pretty nasty scar running up the inside of his right forearm, a side effect from complications following surgery for the arm he broke in a crash at Sears Point Raceway a month earlier. There were other lingering injuries from the spill, his second big one of the year, including the smashed pelvis suffered at Daytona, and he wasn't as fluid on the Team Oliver Yamaha TZ-250 as he expects himself to be. But as he made his return on a sun-baked day at Pikes Peak International Raceway in the Colorado Rockies, Oliver was good enough to win his first MBNA 250cc Grand Prix of the year, albeit at a much slower pace than his racerecord time from 2000. The win, his third in a row and fourth overall at PPIR, gave the 40year-old from Fresno, California, 57 for his career, and his first since ending last season with a win at Virginia International Raceway. "I mean, records for me are amazing," Oliver, whose 250cc GP win total is the most for a single class of any AMA road racer. (Miguel DuHamel's 40 600cc Supersport wins ranks second. DuHamel also has 23 Superbike wins and a 750cc Super- Newly broken arm and all, Rich Oliver came back after a layoff to win tile 250cc Grand Prix final at Pikes. 16 JUNE 12,2002' cue •• n __ s (SUl); 9. Chris Ulrich (SUl); 10. Brian Parriott (SUl): 11. John Dugan (SUl); 12. Alan Schmidt (SUl); 13. Shane Clarke (SUl); 14. Brian Uvengood (SUl); 15. Robert Jensen (SU1); 16. Ricky Orlando (SUl); 17. Jacob Holden (Sul); 18. Andrew Nelson (Hon); 19. Tommy Hayden (Kaw); 20. Chris Caylor (SUl); 21. J.J. Roetlin (SUl); 22. Scott Jensen (SUl); 23. Marco Martinez (SUl); 24. Giovanni Rojas (SUl); 25. Justin Blake (SUl); 26. Martin Sims (SUl); 27. Rich Conicelli (Suz); 28. Juon Chisum (Suz); 29. Dennis Burke (Suz); 30. Kevin Pete (Suz); 31. Jeremy Chisum (SUl). Time: 27 min.• 45.170 sec. Distance: 29 laps, 38.135 miles Average speed; 82.446 mph Margin of victory: 3.434 sec. A!'oA SOPERSTOCK C'SHIP POINTS STAl'U>INGS (After 5 of 10 rounds); I. Lee Acnee (145/2 wins); 2. Jimmy Moore (129/2 wins); 3. Tommy Hayden (22/1 win); 4. Brilln Parriott (119); 5. Chris Ulrich (108); 6. Jason DiSalvo (107); 7. Vincent Haskovec (lOS); 8. Brian Livengood (100); 9. Tony Meiring (99); 10. Ty Howard (98); II. Craig Connell (87); 12. Alan Schmidt (74); 13. Rich Conicelll (66); 14. Jordan Sloke (61); 15. (TIE) Chris Caylor/Robert Jensen (50). Upcoming Rounds Round 6 - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, June 8 Round 7 - Brainerd, Minnesota. June 29 sport win.) "You stick around long enough, you're bound to set records. Heck, I'm 40 years old. I've been racing so long I'm going to break the age record, I guess." Not if Randy Renfrow has anything to say about it. Like Renfrow, Oliver began this year with a horrific crash at Daytona. Renfrow's injuries were far worse and he's still on the mend. Oliver bounced back, only to go back on the injured list with his Sears Point crash. The more serious injury was a broken right forearm, though he also lost the tips of two toes. Surgery to set the bone was successful, but the arm developed compartment syndrome and an additional procedure had to be performed to relieve pressure. That was the one that marked him with the foot-long scar. "It's hard, because just a couple of weeks ago I was laying in a hospital all hooked up to tubes and stuff," Oliver said. "You're thinking you're never going to ride again. I didn't let that mentality set in. I'm stubborn. Man am I stubborn. I wanted to come back and ride." Oliver came back and set fast qualifying time. Starting from the pole, he jetted into the lead of a 29lap race that would be as exciting and processional as a chain gang. The top six places were set from the second lap on, though Oliver was pressed for much of the race by Irishman Simon Turner. Turner outrode Oliver in the infield, latching on to his rear by the time they flip-flopped to enter turn seven, the looping left leading onto the front straight. But Oliver's Yamaha had more juice and he would gallop away around the banking and into turn three, the back-stretch exit. Turner stuffed his way into the lead on the ninth lap in turn seven, unable to hold on even for the brief run to the finish line. After that, he never mounted a sustained charge, gradually fading,