Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128173
If Carr landing the title didn't bother Murphree, whose second-place finish marked another podium appearance in 2002, then finishing second when he thought that he should have won the race did. "When there's a race to be won, and you let it get away like that, there's no reason to be happy," Murphree said. "That happened to me at Hagerstown, and at Granite City too. I was just fine before the restart, but then after the restart I turned into the Statue of Liberty out there. I got really stiff. Jake [Johnson] was my hero tonight. He did a great job. He showed a lot of poise in the main event." And what of America's newest potential GP hero, Nicky Hayden? Typical Hayden. After falling while leading, Hayden started at the rear of the field and absolutely tore his way through the pack, running the high line for several laps and then dropping in underneath some of his tiring rivals for a few more to wind up an incredible third at the finish. It was the kind of ride that many say they will miss by the Kentuckian as he will be unavailable for dirt track duty while he is abroad in 2003. "Third? It ain't good enough," Hayden said. "I mean, for what happened to me... I don't want to sound like a sore loser. I had a pretty good start, but once I had got going, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to pull away. Then, when Johnny got under me, it kind of shot me over the high side. On the restart, I rode around the outside of some guys and then squared up and got under a bunch more. I was happy about my charge." Because of their qualifying times from practice (see Briefly... ), Hayden and Carr squared off right away in heat one, with Hayden on the inside pole and Carr to his immediate right. Hayden led it into turn one, but then Aupperle Racing/Eastside HarleyDavidson's Eric Rickman bulldogged his way underneath Hayden and took the lead. Hayden then tried the outside in turn one two laps later and Carr got underneath him. Hayden had to take the long way around in three and four on lap five, but he snatched the lead and ran away with the win. Carr also found his way past Rickman to secure second. Murphree had the pole for heat two, and he went straight into the lead, but Reds Racing/Afam-backed Ken Yoder Jr. and Shoei/Jessupbacked Marc Williams tangled off turn two, bringing out the red flag. Murphree simply picked up where he left off on the restart, pulling well ahead of Yoder, who ran second ahead of John Nickens III after the two riders diced briefly in the first two laps. Murphree took an easy win, followed by Yoder. A.J. Eslick and Brad Tegardin/ RHC-backed Henry Wiles went at it off the start of heat three before Donnie Mullen II diced his way into the lead. He then had to hold off Eslick, Wiles and a charging Steve Beattie was all she wrote, the two moving into the main event after Johnson won the race handily. Johnson earned the pole by finishing with a time of one minute, 52.007 seconds. "The track is pretty yough, and it wears you out quickly," Johnson said. "Hopefully I can get the holeshot and run away, but I don't think it'll be that easy. We've made a couple changes, and we're definitely going to start on the bottom. It seems like no matter what kind of start you get, you can get off the first turn first. " I Thumpl: Hayden's chance at another serles win was derailed when he got sideways In front of Murphree while (20) leading. The two touched wheels and Hayden crashed. He would restart at the rear of the field. the rest of the way. Wiles continued to work the outside on Eslick, but the Dutrows Honda/Lancaster HarleyDavidson-supported Beattie threaded his way underneath Wiles and then also got under Eslick to land safely in second two laps before the finish. Mullen took his first-career Grand National heat-race win and earned his first-career Grand National mainevent berth all in one shot. Johnson had the low pole, with Varnes right next to him, in heat four, but the first attempt at a start was aborted when Joel Henson and Nicholas Williams jumped. Then Gardner Racing!Walters Brothers H-D's Bryan Bigelow had clutch problems, and after taking too long to get them cured, joined them on the penalty line. Johnson took the lead, followed by Varnes and Brandon Cartwright. Then Bigelow crashed in turn three, causing another red; he was absent from the restart. Johnson beat Varnes to turn one on the restart, and that cue I. Garth Bastian led off the pole in heat five, with Bartels' Harley-Davidson/Custom Chrome's Shaun Russell coming from the middle of row two to run second briefly. Then Scott Powersports/Greenland Masonry's Raun Wood charged around both Russell and Bastian, disappearing into the sunset. Bastian tried to hold off Russell and JAB Computing/CTC Racing's Paul Lynch for the only other ticket into the main, but the two shot past him and battled it out for second place, which Lynch took over on about lap seven. Wood earned his first-career Grand National start with the victory. Charlie Orr launched off the pole in the final heat, with Indianapolis Southside Harley- Davidson/Bob Berry-backed Greg Teague running second, and a desperate Roger Lee Hayden seeking to find a way around the outside of Diem's Cycle/Paradise Truck Tire's Tom McGrane to at least get a shot at Teague for a transfer spot. Then Orr dropped out, handing the lead to Teague. Hayden and McGrane engaged in a two-wheeled sumo, but in the end. McGrane was in, and Hayden was on the outside looking in. Corbin Racing/Samson Racing KTM rider Kenny Cool beth won the first semi to earn the only direct transfer to the main event. Other winners included Wiles, who won heat two to earn his first-career Grand National start, and the Pooler Enterprises/Ward Performance-sponsored Bastian, who earned his second start of the year via a win in the third semi. Russell held off Roger Lee Hayden to win the fourth semi and take the last ticket into the main. Mullen hampered his chances at a Cinderella Victory in the 25-lap main event when he jumped the start from his spot on the outside of the front row and was sent to the penalty line. Johnson failed to make good on his plan to get the holeshot, as Wood rolled around him and got on the gas first to take the lead down the back straightaway. Johnson was right on Wood's tail and began to look for a way to slip underneath the leader while Hayden and Murphree grouped up with them. Vames and Teague ran side by side in a battle for the fifth spot. Hayden nearly highsided on his own on the third lap, but he recovered and made his way to the high line. When Johnson got wide and n. _. • SEPTEMBER 25, 2002 9