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(Top) Jimmy Jarrett (II)
leods oH th e stort.
(Right) Smith ond his
first-p loce trophy.
(For right) Steve Hatch
ended up fifth after a bo d
start.
they were right the re . I didn't
really have any problems w it h
tappers. But then I saw t he pit
board, an d it said 10 se conds,
and t he n I saw Lori [Smith]
there wav ing a towel, so I
knew they were close . I didn't
have e nough time to react. I
made a few little mistakes and
crashed . I almost threw away
the w ho le race ; I made a mistake on a bridge and almost
went into th e w ater. I know
Rodney rides just unbelievable here . He got by me , and
I didn't have e no ugh time to
get back aro und him."
The race turned into a
shootout between Smith and
Raines , as they battled
through the final grasstrack
section.
"I went w ay wide in o ne corner, and
we raced down into the ne xt one," Raines
said. "I w asn't going to shut off, and
Rodney - I co uld tell there was no way he
was going to shut off. It was like playing
suicide o r chicken or so mething. The only
thing that was go ing to happen is, we
would have both gone down. That w asn't
any good, so I sh ut off. We had some
close turns, but it was good racing."
Parts Unlimited/Moose Honda ride r
Scott Summers was in the mix fo r most of
the day, too, but a crash on a hill sapped
just enough energy from the five-time
champion to prevent a last- lap burst. He
finished fourth ahead of Steve Hatch, who
continues to be plagued by so-so starts.
Shane Watts also ran strong all day, but
a bo lt fell out o f his rear brake. taking him
out of the mix.
And w he re was se ries
points lead er and de fending
GN CC C ha mp io n Barry
Hawk? Taking a bat h. Hawk
lost majo r time w he n he
bro ke a brake line and
rolled into t he pits for a
re pair. But then he threw
the race completely away wh en he accidentally launched off the side of a bridge
and ended up upside down in several feet
o f water (Se e Brie fly...).
With the DN F, Haw k dro ps from first
to fifth in the early-season standings .
Smith , meanwhile, has taken the points
lead back .
"I didn't realize I would leave here with
t he points lead, but it's way too early in
www.cy clenEWs.c om
t he seaso n for this." Smith said. "T here's
a lot of com petition ou t here."
eN
STEm CREEK GNCC
MORGANTON, NORTH CAROUNA
RESULTS: MARCH 2 1, 2004
(ROUND 4 OF 14)
OIA:. I . Rodney Smith (Suz); 2 . jAson Raines (Yam); 3.
Mike Kiedrowski (Suz); "'. Scott Summers (Hon ); 5. Steve
Hatch (Suz); 6. Fred Andrews (Suz); 7. Shane Watu (KTl1);
8 . Jim jarrett (Yom ); 9. Brian Garrahan (KTl1); 10. Doug
Blackwell (Suz) ; II . Cole Calkins (Kaw); 12. Chuck
Woodford (Kaw) ; 13. Randy Hawkins (Yam); 1-4 . Nathan
Kanney (Yam); 15. Charles Mullins (KTM); 16. Garrett
Edmisten (!