Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128322
My 1 OWN RACE Barry Hawk 7th Hawk's chances of defending his GNCC tide took a bit of a dive in Tennessee . After a few weeks of bad luck, Hawk never put it together on the rough Loretta's course . "I do n't know what the prob lem was today, but I just hit the ground way too many times today," Hawk said. "I just made a lot of mistakes. It seemed like I wo uld pass a guy and then pass anot her guy, and then I would crash. I don't understand . But I'llbe back to try to win in Kentucky in tw o weeks ." 7 Steve Hatch 4th Hatch finally got a good start, and he turned it into anot her fourth . Concerns with gas mileage may have kept him off the podium. "I was really pushing it on gas both times," he said. "I've run out at 26 miles before . The first three laps we re 36 miles. Then they wanted me to go three laps again, and that was 39 miles. So I just kind of cruised it, and when Igot in, I must have had five ounces left in the tank. I didn't want to do two stops because the pack was so tight, three or four guys would have gone around , and you have to wo rk so hard to get back around them : ' 9 ho urs swa ppi ng t he lead back and forth over the last few weeks. "T his seaso n will d efin it el y be one fo r t he memory banks ," Raine s said. "The las t fe w weeks, these battle s have been the greatest ones of my life . Rod ney and I batt led aga in, and we were go ing fo r it out on t he m otocros s t rack. And t he ra cing is clean, a nd t hat's probably th e best part a bout it ." Smith likes the close racing as well. " Like I said at the last race, I do n't care who wins; the racing here is so good and so fun, it doesn't matter," Sm ith said . "We have so much respect for each other. I'd get him , and he'd get me back. Then he made a mistake o n the last lap, and I go t around him." With Smith and Raines playing a n int e nse game of teacher and stude nt each weekend , the focus no w moves to the championship chase. Smith ho lds the point currently, but will Raines ' lessons finally pay of? Or is Smith rolling to a dominant season? "The way these finishes have been, it's going to be a long season ," Smith said of the points chase. Raines and Smith aren't the o nly con te nd e rs racing in t he series, but t hey are o ften t he only two st and ing w he n t he final bat tle begins . T his week , a huge pack of rid e rs circulated in clo se for mation halfway t hro ugh t he eve nt , a nd for a few laps , it a ppeared Smith's FMF Suzu ki Team mate Fred And re ws wo uld ro mp ho me a wi nner. Doug Blackwell 5th "Fifth is pretty good for Loretta's," said Blackwell, who is riding with a bad thumb. "This place usuallyisn't very good to me. The n I hit it [the thumb] in a field, and I just had to suck it up. I fell back a little bit, but then I reeled everyo ne back in. I took a rock to the goggles, and I had to stop for a new set. Top five was my goal today, so I'll take it. The sched ule from here on out , I like it: ' 187 Cole Calkins 10t h Just like he has at the last few races, Calkins battled with KTM's Brian Garrahan allday. "It's good ; we push each other," said the young O hio pilot. "This track was rough, though. I hope it's the roughest of the year." 18 S hane Watts D NF Another strong ride by Wattsy was wasted in a freak accident. The Australian grabbed the holeshot for the second race in a row, but he crashed a few times and e nded up "a million miles beh ind: ' He mounted a charge and caught the lead pack, but a hard collision with a lapper too k him out . "The guy saw me coming, and he moved ove r," WaltS said. "He did the right thing, but when he stopped, he lost his balance and fell right into me. I drilled him:' WaltS smashed his water-pump in the collision, dropping him out of the race. "I'm just so sick of having to make excuses for not gett ing the re sults," said the forme r GNCC champ. "I feel great , and I'm training so hard . I'm just not getting the results: ' 711 Josh McLevy 16th McLevy made his season deb ut after brea king both wrists testing in the winter. It was also his debut with the Thrott lehead.com Kawasaki squad. "Icould not ask for a bette r bike ," McLevysaid. "It' s just about getting the tra iningfigu red out . Speed is fine; I just have a few things to work on. With the two -lap board I kind of hit the wall. I haven't been on a bike in four months." »»»»> »»»»> Chuck Woodford didn 't hove one of his better doys at Loretta Lynn's but he 's still right th ere for the Hare Scrambles Championship. -ctsnews .co rn CYCLE NEWS • MAY 5,2004 29