Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

S.awwlng, bafterl: NlcQ Hayden fa eel In his bid to become the fifth Grand Slam tltllst In AMA history. Motorcycle _ dropped the reigning AMA Superblke champ to 13th In the main event. race for the win went to the stripe with Russell just getting the edge. The factory Harleys were in the third heat, Smith against Schnabel, with Murphree in the mix. At the beginning it was KK/Las Vegas H-D/ Schaeffer's H-D's Geo Roeder II at the front, Murphree second in front of Schnabel and Paul Lynch. Murphree took the lead on the third lap, Smith to the front on the fourth, then Murphree taking his tum again on the fifth. On the seventh of 10 laps, Smith passed Murphree and held the spot to the end, Schnabel passing Roeder on the penultimate lap to take the fmal direct transfer. Hacker had taken over the lead in his heat on the seventh lap, he and Kopp getting away from Varnes and Bigelow. Kopp led out of the final comer - the wrong place to be - with Hacker drafting by for the heat win. "I tell you what, it don't get any better than that," Hacker said. "It was an awesome, clean race. This is a big difference from sitting on the couch with a broken leg. It seemed like, at the end, Joe [Kopp] was going to make a run, and I just wanted to stay with him. With this Moroney's horsepower, I got past him." From the third row, Carr made short work of the first eight-lap semi, taking the lead on the back straight on the third lap. But he couldn't get away, with IstLegal.com's Terry Poovey keeping the pressure on along with Allen Racing/Davidson- Douglas Racing's Jason Tyer, Dallas H-D's Willie McCoy and, at the back of the lead group, K&N/Departure Bike Works/Pro Class Cycle's John Nickens lU. Carr lost the lead, then took it back on the sixth lap. On the final lap, he lost the lead again in turns one and two, getting it back on the back stretch to beat Poovey to the line. JAB Computing/CTC Racing/ Supertrapp's Paul Lynch controlled the second heat from the start, the second transfer to the main going to M&J Racing's Tim Eades after a heated race-long tussle with Stephen Beattie and Greg Teague. The Roeder brothers dominated the final semi, Geo leading from the start with brother Jess joining him in the main after Bigelow was slowed by ignition trouble late in the race. Off the start in the main, it was Hayden first into tum one followed by 17 equal-minded riders. They'd have more luck. Early on, he found out there were problems, and he began a slide to the rear. "It pretty much was terrible," he said. "I got a real good start, and I felt good. I think something happened. Not to blame it on the bike, [but] it finally went on one cylinder, and I rode the last lap on one cylinder. Kind of a bummer because after my heat I felt pretty good. The thing just started slowing. I just started going backwards, backwards, backwards." Going forward were Atherton, Russell, and Murphree, with the rest chasing, and a pack of six soon to form at the front. Atherton led across the line on laps three through II, but he didn't lead a complete lap, the order changing in each corner. "Everybody was fast today, you just had to be there at the right time," Coolbeth, who ran near the front all night, said. "There was a lot of passing in the corners for a mile. It's usually done on the straightaways." Halfway in and there were six riders strung together like a necklace, then a few more trying to close the gap. No one was getting away. The riders knew the race would be won or lost at the very end. Murphree took over the lead on the 15th lap and was there for four trips down the front straight, losing it to Atherton and dropping back to third. Then it was Russell's tum at the front, then Atherton leading when the white flag flew. Now was when the race would be decided, and everyone tried to set up for the final run. "The last lap, I knew I was going to go high (tum one] and I never shut it off, and I knew I was going to get a good run at him," Hacker said of Atherton. "And, evidently, I got a good enough run that only Kevin could draft me. You want to say I pretty much knew I had it once he drafted me, but anything can happen and I got an awesome drive on him and got to the line." Hacker said the difference was his motorcycle. "The bike made it easier because I could go at will. If I got behind, I could get back up there. I wasn't stuck in the back. That made everything a whole lot better. Having an awesome bike makes life a lot easier. "It seemed like I could go where I wanted to on the track. A lot of them had to stay high. It felt like I could go . wherever I wanted to get where I needed to be to set myself up." The win ended what was one of the worst stretches of Hacker's life. "It was terrible," he said. "I went through stages where I thought I was going to get released, and I was training hard, and they shot me down. I went through a little depression, sitting around. I could do everything but ride my motorcycle. I could train. I couldn't take a chance on my motorcycle." Hacker said he would have been back sooner, but the fracture was in his left leg. "If it had been my right, I could've come right back into the game," he said. Atherton was in the game right to the end, not sure who'd won until the AMA made the call. The Michigan rider said that the track had changed during the course of the night. "I think it was a little slower, a little slipperier than it was earlier, and so we had a little more wheelspin, and I think I overheated my tire a little bit," Atherton said. As for the last lap, "Obviously I wanted to be way out front," Atherton said. "I wanted to be second. I could beat anybody to the start/finish line. I was getting off four real good. I didn't play my cards right." Good enough for second, though, just in front of Russell, who also wanted to be in second off the final comer. "I think I still could've won it," Russell said. "I just pulled out of the draft a little bit too late. It was a good race. There were a lot of guys up there in the front. It was all close, just getting yourself set up on the last lap where you wanted to be. "We were all pretty good at different points in the race. I think everyone was showing different signs where they wanted to be and everything. I did everything and it was close. " Murphree was a close fourth, blaming himself for not having the chance to podium. "We were there, had the bike to win the race and miscounted the laps and misjudged the deal," Murphree said. In the thick of the serum, Murphree said he was relaxed, but not counting down laps. Expecting to see a sign for five to go, he saw the white flag, "so I just dove into turn one all the way on the bottom, went to third, Russell (28) and Hayden (69) lead the pack at the start. Russell's eventual third-place finish was his third such result In as many mile events. aua •• n • _ 55 • OCTOBER 9, 2002 23

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