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• ForlTlula USA UnlilTlited GP Series Round 5: Heartland Park "It started cutting out on the second lap in the back section," Wait said. "I made it down the straight, and it died in one, came on again, then it just died. No juice at all." Once Wait went out, Greenwood had the race to himself, neariy five seconds in front by the fifth lap and adding to it with each successive tour of the 2.1-mile track. At the end he had more than a 15-second cushion. "I was just trying to ride consistent laps, and I was watching my split on the board," Greenwood said. "It looked like four and five [second]), then I just tried to ride smooth and consIstent, and I was pretty tired after that [Sportbike] race early today so it took a lot out of me." The fuel problem came up when his pit board said there were seven laps, but in fact there were less, he said. "I think their lap count was off a little bit because I had three on the board on the white flag lap." Greenwood was the only rider among the top three who chose DOT tires over slicks. "I'm a DOT guy," Greenwood said. "Dunlop DOTs are so good. You can run slicks - they might last a little longer - but the DOTs are so good, and that's what I know, and that's what I always ride on at Loudon, and the Superbike race at Loudon I ran the DOTs as well. They're going the distance here and hooking up great." Scott Harwell passed Argo Cycles/ Bettencourt's Jeff Wood early on, then Wood lost the front in the final corner ending the fifth lap (Wood got up and finished fifth.) Then it was up to Larry Denning to challenge Harwell. Back and forth they went, with Denning finally giving it up for good on the eighth lap when Harwell came by and started to slightly edge away. "I knew I had Larry [Denning] on the motor, so I just used that to my advantage," Harwell said. "I just motored by him. I knew he was going to work real hard in the corners." By the 11 th lap Denning had caught back up, then they hit traffic in the chicane. It would be his undoing. "Harwell got by a lapper going into the chicane, and I didn't want to wait until we came out of the chicane; Harwell would get the jump on me," Denning said. "There was just enough of a window. I was riding on the curb going into the right-hand part of the chicane, and [the lapper] just kept coming in and in, and he kept leaning on me, and finally I fell down, and I think I pushed him wide. I was pretty disappointed, because I got the bike working way better for that race. I was really hoping to get second place, or at least be there on the podium." Harwell said he'd put it in conserve mode after Wait, his main championship challenger, blew up, and after Jeff Wood had earlier crashed in front of him in the final corner. "I need points, so I wasn't worried about winning the race," Harwell said. "I was looking at the big picture." Harwell took over the championship lead and now has seven points in hand, 81-74, over Jeff Wood. Greenwood is third at 71. Third today was a gift for Arclight Racing's Dave Stanton, and he was grateful. "I'll take that, considering the kind of weekend I've had," Stanton said after finishing about nine seconds behind teammate Harwell. "It's unfortunate that Matt's [Wait] bike broke and Larry [Denning] crashed out, but I guess there's something to be said for consistency. I certainly wasn't the fastest guy out there, but anything can happen. Considering how many changes we've been back and forth through here this weekend, I'm really happy to be here." Hooters Suzuki's Mike Himmelsbach was fourth, not far behind Stanton, with Jeff Wood finishing fifth after having dropped back to ninth following his crash. eN Heartland Park Topeka, Kansas Results: August 10, 2003 [Round 51 S/BK: 1. Scott Greenwood (Yam); 2. Scott Harwell (Suz); 3. Dave Stanton (Suz); 4. Mike Himmelsbach (Suz): 5. Jeff Wood (Han); 6. Michael Fields (Yam); 7. Dave Resno (Yam); 8. Des Conboy (Suz); 9. Logan Myers (Han); 10. Kevin Gordon (Suz); 1 I. Charles Walter Sipp (Bue); 12. Larry Denning (Yam); 13. Matt Wait (Yam). S/BK C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 5 of 7 rounds), I. Scott H.rwell (81): 2. Jeff Wood (74); 3. Scott Greenwood (71); 4. Matt Wait (68); 5. Des Conboy (46); 6. Mike Himmelsbach (37): 7. Dave S'.nlon (35); 8. Lee Acree (28): 9. (TIE) Robert Jensen/Michael Shaun Fields (20); 11. Craig Connell (16); 12. Carlo Gagliardo (13): 13. Kevin Gordon (12); 14. Andrew Nelson (11); 15. (TIE) Doug Chandler/Christopher Rankin/Jason Scott Smith (10); 18. (TIE) Vincent Haskovec/Jeffrey Purk/Michael Niksa/Dave Rosno (9). Upcoming Rounds: Round 6 - Summit Point, West Virginia, September 7 Round 7 - Daytona Beach, Florida, October 19 STORY AND PHOTO BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS TOPEKA,KS, AUG. 10 ric Wood was walking like he had two broken feet. In fact he had only one. But once on his Argo Cycles/Bettencourt's/Barden Precision Bearings Suzuki GSX-R750, you couldn't tell he was hobbled, especially during Unlimited GP qualifying. On a sultry Sunday morning at Heartland Park, Wood earned the pole position with a time that was best by 1.6 seconds. It looked like a day at a very hot beach, but it wasn't to be. Kansan Larry Denning had other plans. Denning pressed Wood for the first eight of 15 laps before making a graceful exit with a fall in the final corner of the 2.1-mile road course. From there to the end, Wood added to his gap, which totaled close to 38 seconds. The victory made his Unlimited GP championship a virtual certainty. "We just went out and did what we could, and we've got a good championship lead," Wood said. "The idea is, if I can clinch this in Summit Point, I can just focus on the Buell [Sportbike] 100 percent at Daytona because we're going to come to Day- E Eric Wood came to Heartland Part< with a broken foot, but it didn't stop him from winning the Unlimited GP class.