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Round 4 OFF-ROAD ~ AMA Grand National Cross Country Series My OWN RACE 16 Scott Summers 4th Afte r making the podium in Georgia, Scott Summers missed it by one here. "I got a bad sta rt again; I th ink I was like 18th," Summers said. "I made a mistake and killed the eng ine in the first co uple of laps. 1didn't lose too much time . Th en I passed everybody and go t into se cond . I got behind Jason, and Rod ney and Kiedrowsk i were right beh ind me. I hit a lappe r. I went to make a pass on the right, and he moved to the right . He kind of took me o ut . I fell over. and it took me awhile to get up and get my bike started. It just killed me beca use I spent a lot of energy." 15 Nate Kanney 14th A first-tum crash basically ruined Nate Kanney's day. "Me and Robbie [jenks] came into the first tum together, and I don 't know what happened after that because we went dow n so fast," the RER MOlOrcity backed privateer said. "The next thing 1 knew, I was on the gro und with my eyes closed , just feeling knob bies running ove r my neck . After I opened my eyes , I looked over, and Ro bbie looked like he was dea d. So I ta pped him o n the back, and he started moving, so I figured , well, he 's alive. 1 had no fro nt fender. It' s so hard to ride with out it. It's such a distraction. After 1stopped and fueled up , I started charging, and I was really going strong. I had a few seconds left to get Hawk ins, but I did everything I could, but I couldn't get him." 18 Shane W a tts 7th Watts, Who was com ing off his win at the OMA Series in Arkansas the week before, looked strong at Stee le Creek, but... "I ran out of brakes on the last lap," he said. ''A mile and a half from the finish, I had like 40 seconds on Andrews, and he passed me . I co uld have spit o n the finish line, I was so close , but the re was not hing 1could do." Earlier in the race Wat ts was runni ng fast with the leaders. "I got with the lead pack so I just tagged along," he said. "I got a heap of lappers in between me and lost like 30 seconds. I was just charging and charging and charging, and the distance stayed about the same. I just couldn't get to them. Then I had a few crashes, and then the brakes failed." 1 Barry Hawk Seon Summers co ntinues to ride w e ll. He finished fou rth and is third in points. a hill climb and dropped to fourth," Smit h said . "I got back into second, but I had some d irt in my goggles, a nd it was to the point where I couldn't see. So I had to stop for new goggles. I just put the hammer down and kept charging aft er that." At one point, Kiedrowski held the reins . ''After gas I had the lead," said Kiedrowski, who would end up third. "We were u p in this canyon, and there was a bad mud ho le. Jason and I were racing trying to get across, and Ro d ney and [Scott] Summers went by; t hey took the normal line and didn't have any lappers in the way. So Jason and I just jumped out of the mud hole and barely got through. So I dropped back to fourth . I just kinda 36 APRil 7 , chased Jason the rest of the day. Rodne y got me wi th ab out a lap and a ha lf to go , and I just stayed with him . We were making some good time an d kinda pulled each othe r. I figur e d w e would end up ca tc hing him [Raine s]. Lappers reall y play a big part out the re . I knew we were getti ng close because w e kept seeing so m e lappers getting back on the track and stuff. We just kept pushing." "I think it worked out with the lappers ,' said Sm ith . "Mo st of them were getting out of my way. So then we just put some pressure on, and he made a mistake. That's racing." Raines, who is known as one of the fittest r iders on the tour, admitted that he had no idea how the Suzuki riders ca ught him. " I don't know how they caught me so fast ," Raines said. "I fe lt like I was riding the same pace all day. I was pulling away and pulli ng away. and then all of a sudden 2004 • C YC LE N EWS DNF The de fend ing champ had a terrible day in North Carolina. It began with a crash and brake failure , and it ended with a dunk in a river. "I got by Kiedrowski and Rodney on the first lap," Hawk said. "I felt good. Then I hit a root and crashed, and like six guys got by me. I got back on the gas, and the leader of that second group was Chucky [Wood ford] , and I think his arms were tight. So everyone was trying to get arou nd him, so I dro pped do w n to get arou nd him, and Watts hit me, and I broke my fro nt brake line. So I rode into the pits , and we fixed the brakes, and I jumpe d back on the track. I was going to just salvage as many points as 1could." But then Hawk's day went from bad to worse when he slipped off the bridge. "I just have to come back now and win in South Carolina," he said. 8 Robbie Jenks 25th Robbie Jenks went down really hard with Nate Kanney in the first tum. He thought he separated his shoulder in the crash , but he kept on rid ing. "It was a tough day at the races ," Jenks said. "But I'll be fine." 11 Chuck Woodford 12th After a few tough races , Chuck Woodford made his debut on the Team Green KX2S0F four-stroke and looked goo d, but a crash and a broken front brake cost him a shot at a top-five finish. "I felt goo d and strong and ready," Wood ford said. "I just need some good luck now. At least I didn' t get hurt. I was riding without a front brake ." 40th A nniversary