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"I was geared a little different than him, and I was getting a good drive on him from six to seven, and that's where I knew I could put a pass on him, and, shoot, it all worked out," Zemke said. Spies, on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600, didn't have the torque to get off the corners with the others, so he had to make up time on the brakes. In a pack that included Tommy Hayden, Yamaha's Jason DiSalvo and Aaron Gobert, it wasn't until the eighth tap that Spies was up to fifth, then fourth with DuHamel's departure. "Our bikes are a little bit old," Spies said. "It's an awesome bike, but it just doesn't have the acceleration. We did as good as we could, and it was fourth, so it was good." Kawasaki's Tommy Hayden said he knew it would be difficult starting from eighth, and it was. The places he felt he could pass were deceptive, since he didn't have the drive in the previous corners to set the pass up. He ended up fifth. Sixth went to Aaron Gobert, who hadn't been to Infineon Raceway for two years. With a lack of practice time, he chose the wrong front tire. Even so, he sits third in the point standings behind his teammates Hacking and Buckmaster. Hacking leads with 106, then comes Buckmaster with 85 and Gobert with 80. CN Infinean Raceway Sana..a, Califamia Results: May 4, 2003 {Raund 3 af III PRO HONDA OILS SUPERSPORT: 1. Jemie Hacking (Yam); 2. Damon Buckmaster (Yam); 3. Jake Zemke (Hon); 4. Ben Spies (Suz); 5. Tommy Hayden (KllW); 6. Aaron Gobert (Yam): 7. Jason DiSalvo (Yam); 8. Alex Gobert (Hon); 9, Doug Chandler (Hon); 10. Tony Meiring (Kaw); 11. Ty Howard (Hon); 12. Steve Crevier (Suz); 13. Jamie Stauffer (Suz); 14. Chris Peris (Hon); 15. Craig Connell (Hon); 16. Jason Curtis (Hon); 17. Chris Siglin (Suz); 18. Francis Martin (Suz); 19. Thad Halsmer (Yam); 20. Miguel DuHamel (Han); 2J. Brien Whitlock (Suz); 22. Heath Small (Yam); 23. Oliver Jervis (Kaw); 24. David Lambert (Suz); 25. Lance Williams (Yam); 26. Quentin Wilson (Yllm); 27. Charlie Hewett (Kaw); 28. Scott Simpson (Suz); 29. Mark Degross (Han); 30. Chris Velarde (KllW). TIme: 28 min.. 13.260 sec. Distance: 17 11lpS. 37.4 miles Average speed: 91.1 mph Margin of victory: 0.410 sec. PRO HONDA OILS SUPERSPORT C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 3 of 11 rounds): 1. JZlmie Hllcking (106/2 wins): 2. Damon Buckmllster (85); 3. Aaron Gobert (80); 4. Jake Zemke (77); 5. Ben Spies (75); 6. (TIE) Tommy Hayden/Jason DiSalvo (73); 8. Miguel DuH.mel (65): g. (TIE) Doug Chandler/Alex Gobert (59); 11. Tony Meiring (530; 12. Ty Howard (46); 13. (TIE) Jamie SUluffer/Roger Lee Hayden/Chris Peris (42); 16. Kurtis Roberts (37/1 win); 17. Jason Curtis (36); 18. Steve Crevier (34); 19. Cr.ig Connell (30); 20. (TIE) Chris SiglinfThlld Halsmer (29). Upcoming Rounds: Round 4 - Braselton, Georgia, May 18 Round 5 - Fountain, Colorado, June 1 Jamie Hacking celebrates his victory with a wheelie on his R6. Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Round 2: Infineon Raceway ----------------------- STORY AND PHOTOS BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS SONOMA, CA, MAY 4 he Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme was the final race in a very long day at Infineon Raceway, sixth in a six-race schedule that began in the late morning and ended in the early evening. Everyone wanted to pack up and go home, no one more so than Ben Spies. The Yoshimura Suzuki rider sped to an early lead, sliced through traffic, then pulled away to win his second Formula Xtreme race in a row; like his win at California Speedway, he won over Erion Honda's Jake Zemke. Yamaha's Damon Buckmaster was third. By virtue of his win in Fontana, Spies had the pole position, and he put it to good use. Jetting out to an early lead, Spies had Zemke on his rear for a number of laps until Zemke had burned up his tire just as they hit traffic. "I tried to put pressure on Ben (Spies), and, man, I just wasted my tire trying to do that," Zemke said. "About six laps in he was stretching away, and I didn't have anything left for him." Both had their moments, but Zemke seemed to have more problems just when he didn't need them. That allowed Spies to jet away en route to a 5.085-second margin of victory. He completed the 17-lap, 37.4mile race in 28 minutes, 8.420 seconds. Because the track was reconfigured for this race, it stands as a new record. Spies leads the championship by T 11 points, 75 to 64 over Zemke. Buckmaster is third with 55. "The bike was perfect," Spies said after admitting that not being able to practice made setup a crapshoot. "I wasn't perfect on it by any means. I was making a lot of mistakes. I just tried to get in a groove and tried to get a small gap on Jake (Zemke). He was hanging in there, 'til we got to lappers, and then I guess I got the better of him." All three podium finishers had horror stories about the lapped riders. "I don't know what was up, but every time I'd get up to them, I'd get past somebody; they'd show me a wheel and try to pass me back," Spies said. I passed two guys going up to turn two, and they both passed me back before I got to the next corner. So I guess they were wanting to race. " Zemke said, "The lappers, it looked like every once in a while he'd (Spies) start coming back to me, but every time he'd get balked by the lappers it seemed like I'd get balked twice as bad. In the end it kind of evened out. It was kind of a lonely race out there. I was riding around by myself." Buckmaster was 3.5 seconds back of Zemke; like the front two, mostly by himself. "I'm pretty pleased to be up here twice," said Buckmaster, who'd finished second in the Supersport race earlier in the day. "That's always a bonus. I didn't get the best of starts and ran off the track going up the hill, and a few guys got around me, and it just took me a little longer than I anticipated to get around those guys. All in all, we finally got there, and the boys were gone." The first fight was for fourth, and it went until the final corner of the final lap. Bruce Transportation Group's Marty Craggill, who'd run third for the first seven laps, spent the remaining 10 laps holding off Valvoline EMGO Suzuki's Steve Rapp. Rapp, who grew up in nearby Lafayette, California, and who made his name in the AFM series at then Sears Point Raceway, kept the heat on right to the end. It paid off. In the final corner as Craggill tucked the front end and ended up on the ground, officially 17th. "Pretty stupid," he said sitting in the back of the Bruce truck after the race. He explained that his line had been affected by a lapped rider, and when he moved his line, he slipped on something on the track. "I was down like that." Corona Extra EBSCO Media Suzukis filled the next two slots, Adam "Crusty" Fergusson taking fifth in front of teammate Jimmy Moore, the pair just in front of Attack Suzuki's Josh Hayes. Then came Annandale Honda's Ty Howard and Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Aaron Gobert, with No cue I e Ben Spies (11) leads Jake Zemke (98) in the Formula Xtreme final. Spies won for a second straight race. Limit Motorsports' Doug Chandler finishing 10th. CN Infineen Raceway Sanama, Califamia Results: May 4, 2003 {Raund 2 at 101 LOCKHART-PHILLIPS USA FORMULA XTREM.E: 1. Ben Spies (Suz); 2. Jllke Zemke (Hon); 3. Damon Buckmllster (Yam); 4. Steve Repp (Suz); 5. Adam Fergusson (Suz); 6. Jimmy Moore (Suz); 7. Josh Hayes (Suz); 8. Ty Howard (Hon); 9. Aaron Gobert (Yam); 10. Doug Chandler (Han); 11. Jamie Hacking (Yam); 12. Lee Acree (Suz); 13. Chris Ulrich (Suz); 14. Craig Connell (Han); 15. Mike Rllab (Suz); 16. Jason Pridmore (Suz); 17. Marty Cragill (Han): 18. Kim Nakllshima (Suz): 19. Garry Combs (Kaw); 20. Doug Pitcock (Suz); 21. James King (Suz); 22. Shawn Reilly (Kaw); 23. Mickey Lane (Suz); 24. David Bell (Suz); 25. Bryan Edginton (Kaw); 26. Oliver Jervis (Suz); 27. Kenan Rappuchi (Suz); 28. Jason Knupp (Suz); 29. Jose Quintanar (Yam); 30. Michael Dantonio (Suz); 31. Jay Jacobson (Suz); 32. Darin Edwards (Suz); 33. David Guy (Suz); 34. Rocky Caceres (Suz). Time: 28 min., 8.420 sec. Distance: 17 laps. 37.4 miles Average speed: 91.3 mph Margin of victory: 5.085 sec. LOCKHART-PHILLIPS USA FORMULA XTREME C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (Arter 2 or 10 rounds): 1. Ben Spies (75/2 wins): 2. Jake Zemke (64); 3. Damon Buckmaster (55): 4. (TIE) Steve Rapp/Josh Hayes (51); 6. Adam Fergusson (49); 7. Jimmy Moore (46): 8. Aaron Gobert (44): 9. Martin Craggill (43); 10. Doug Chandler (41); II. Ty How.rd (40); 12. Chris Ulrich (37); 13. Roger Lee Hayden (25): 14. James King (21); 15. Jamie Hacking (20); 16. Lee Acree (19); 17. Jason Curtis (18); 18. Craig Connell (17): 19. (TIE) Mike Raab/Marco Martinez (16). Upcoming Rounds: Round 3 - Braselton, Georgia, May 17 Round 4 - Fountain, Colorado, May 31. nevws MAY 14, 2003 19