Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

WERA National Challenge S er ies Round I: Jennings GP Smith Hammers Out Some WERA Wins By DAN SCHMITT JENNINGS, FL, MAR. 28 The WERA National Challenge Series kicked I off at jennings GP in beautiful Florida sunshine and temperatures in the 80s . As Chuck Edgeworth flipped the first green nag of the day, Mark Youngtoo k his Vesrah/Neilson Suzuki into the lead, with Suzuki-mounted Mike Smith hot on his heels. Australian Ben Attard charged fro m the last row through the pack, w hile Yamma·mounted Larry Pegram grabbed sec ond . Smith took his first win of the day in the Open Superstock class with his best lap time of 1:17:B26. David Weber led the huge Expert field In t he 600cc Superstac k final , with Br adl e y Champion, Junge, Smith and Joh n Jacobi right behind. Four laps in, Smith ran off the trac k. At halfway, Champion drove his Yamaha R6 into the lead, and Junge moved up to second. lames Bro nson and Mike Sanchez battled the e ntire race for fifth. with Bronson taking that spot at the end . "I want to th ank Jamie and Aaro n of j&A Petwatchers," Champion said. "It has reduc ed my stress, knowing they are watch ing my pets ." Smith came back in the 750cc Supers toc k headed. With only one more race remaining in the series , Duvall, on t he john Calvert Honda, looks uncatchable in the sta ndings. The visitor from the east, Aaron Creame r, chased Duvall to the chec kers but couldn't really get close . Jere my Hinkle looked good, despite being on an unfamiliar bike , en route t o a th ird-place finish. and Sowders finished fourth . Marlin tipped over again on the last lap , and Jerry Cartwright was a DNF due to a bent shifte r after he tangled with Duvallearly in the race . Tulsa's Kevin Ellingsworth ke pt his Honda hummin' to take the vic t o ry in the Vi ntage race to take the early le ad . Vesrah Suzu ki teammates Tray Batey and Jacobi ran second a nd t hird . A ba t tl e deve lo ped for fourth between Brian Strokes and Sanchez. Smith picked up his second win of the day with a twosecond margin over Batey. In the Novice 600cc and 7SOcc Superstock finals, Deals Gap Resort 's Corey Brown came from midpack to pick up the victories . In the 600cc race , he tracked down Dan Montgomery and Eric Long for the win, whereas in the 7SOcc race he got by Ryan Gordon and Bra ndo n Parrish. Ben Thompson traveled 4635 miles to come up 10 feet short of his first Expert win in the 600c c Superbike final. He just cou ldn't get by Pegram. Keith Marshall ran third, with David Weber fo urt h. Steve Breckenri dge took his Triumph 600 to fifth, the best finish fo r an English motorcycle road racing at a Natio nal championship event in Ame rica in this modem era . Corey Brown took his th ird victory of the day on his Yamaha in the 60 0cc Superbike Novice race. Thompson came back to win in the 750cc Superb ike final. Marshall stayed close , but the Alaskan wo uldn't be denied his first Expert d ivision with a flag-ta-flag run over points le ader Mike Bauer. Derek Marlow finished third. over Scott Koonce . Jeff Brewster pulled off a win in Open-class racing, beating Ian Washburn. Joe Matto x and po ints leader Dylan Marlin. Still another Honda pilot prevailed in the I25-2S0cc contest , as Justin Elswick took his first win in the se ries, just holding off Mattox at the checkers. Dalton Marlin finished third. Hun te r King won a no ther 80cc final to extend his lead in t he points. Austin Medrana kep t the Tulsa rider honest but . after pass ing Mike Smith won the Open Superstock final on the Cycle City Powersports Suzuki GSX-Rl000 at the WERA National Challenge Series opener. victory. Ryan Gordon stopped Brown's sweep In the 7S0 cc 5uperbike Novice race by a bikelength. Smith he ld a one-second advantage over Batey in the Formula One final. In the battle for third, first-year Expert Matt Lynn came fro m the back of the pack to challenge Pegram and Sanchez. At halfway, Lynn got by Pegram . One lap later, charging down the back stretch, Lynn displaced Sanchez . With only four laps to go, Lynn co uldn't catch the leaders. Smith picked up his third victory of the day. " Ro d ne y [Vaughn , of Cy cle C ity Powersports] built these motors, " Smith remarked, "and when you have a great package like I did today, you can leave with some wins." The next round will be held at Nashville eN Super Speedway on May 2. fred Mattox for second position. couldn't make the next pass for the lead. Christian Y ork won the 50cc final, over Von Gray. The crowd -favorite Mad Dog Minis neve r disappoi nt, and th is night was no e xception. After t he tu rn-one elbowing was over, Mike Hinds squirted to the front and steadily held off challenges from C reamer. who had earlier caused a red flag in his heat race when he fell an d was r un o ve r by Cartw right . Th e Massachusetts rider first had to fight his way past A.J. Eslick's Mark Ellingsworth "Honzuki" to ge t to Hinds , but he was unable to ratt le "Happy's" cage and had to settle for second. Es lic k fin ished t hir d . Randy King got t he JENNINGS GP JENNINGS, FLORIDA R.£SULrS: MARCH 28, 2004 (ROUND 1) 600 S/STK NOV: l. Corey Brown ; 2. D a n Mon tgomery; 3. Eric Long. 600 S/ STK EX : I. Brad ley Ch ampkHl ; 2. MiU'kJunge ; 1. David We be r. 7S0 S/S T K NOV: I. Corey Brown; 2. RyanGordon: 3. Brandon Panish. 750 SlSTK EX: I. Mike Smrr:h; 2. Tray Batey, J . John Jacobi. 600 S/BK NOV: I Corey Br o w n; 2. Jas o n Bro wn ; 3 . Brandon Parrish. 600 SlBK EX: l. Larry Pegram ; 2. Ben Thompson: J . Keith Marshall. 750 S/ BK NOV: I. Ryan Gordon; 2. Core y Brown: 1. Eric Long. 750 S/BK EX: I. Ben Th o mpso n: 2. Keit h Marsh all; 1. Mar k Bilet n ikoff . O PEN S/STK EX: I. H,k. Smith ; 2. lArry Pegnm: 3. Ben Anan:I . F- I: l. Mike Smith 2. Tray Batey; J. Matt Lynn. F· ] ; NOV: I. Daniel Pa r ke r so n; 2. Ro ss Ryal s; 3. T hom as WiIlWm. F-2 EX: I. Hari< Brown; 2. So Ho.gon; 3. jo/vl Klaras , LT TW S/ STK NOV: I . Ross Rya ls; 2. Danie l Park erson; J. Thomas W illiams. LT TW S/ ST K EX : I. Roger BeJl; 2. Brian SuRridge; 1. Stephe n Servis. LT TW S /B K NOV: I. Ste ph e n Nicho ls. LT TW S/BK EX : I. Michael Killingsw orth; 2. Bo Morgan ; 3. lee Fields. HVY TW S/STK NOV: I . Daniel Parkerson : 2. Ro ss Ryals; 1. Thomas W~Ii.ams. HVY TW SlSTK EX : I. Tray Batey; 2. . Scott Brown; 3. Fran k Shocldey HVY TW 5/BK NOV: I. RandyH,lb; 2. Billy Odom; 3. jo/vl Reld>. HVY TW SlBK EX , I. Joseph Subriz;; 2. Hv1

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