Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Schnabel (center) stood atop the podium at the Springfield Rodeo Arena for the second time in as many rounds there, Murphree's runner-up w ould be capped by his third -place finish on the mile two days later. My said . "I passed C hris o n the first lap, and Igot away from him early, whi ch I wanted to do. I need to gain so me poin ts back from him in the Cham pionship chase." Schnabel d id enco unter o ne problem that allowed Murphree to close in, and it could have cost Sch nabel th e race. "I about messed up early in th e race," Sch nabel said . " I got too exci ted being in front, and I wanted to make some time o n these guys. Then I just about threw it away in the right-hander. I had to straighten it up , an d t he n I stalled it. Luckily, I was ab le to bu m p start it and keep it go ing." Murphree did his best to keep Schnabel ho nest the rest of the way. " I made a few runs at him early in th e infield," said Murphree. "JR had a pr o blem in the right -han der; and I almost got there, but he is just an an imal o n that motorcycle, and he pulled away again." Schnabel then took co nt rol of the race and cruised to his fifth Natio nal wi n. "I tried to calm dow n and put in good laps," Schnabel said. "I was ab le to rail around the edge o f th e cushi on in the last comer. That was a key to my w in. I knew once it bru shed o ff, it would be hard to make up time. So I opened up a Iitde bit of a gap. I checked on Johnny a couple o f times toward the end, and I was able to back o ff so me." Th e victo ry pro pe lled Schnabel to th ird in the poi nts standings. Babe DeM ay, Sch nabel's owner/tuner had a huge grin on his face after the race. ''J.R. just rode the heck out of the motorcycle," DeMay said . "We finished putting it tog et her about eight o 'clock last nigh t. We changed the piston an d d id a valve job o n it. This is the bike he wanted to ride . Setupwise, we d id n't have to change much from the test. We d ialed on the suspension a litde bit and the gear a litde bit, and that was it." Mur phree t ried to follo w Schn abe l ar o und until th e cus hion go t blo wn off, and then he plann ed to run down on the bottom an d put it on him . "I felt like I was making time everywhere ex ce pt in the last sweeper," Murp hree said . "I'd get real sid eways the re. I just co uld n't rip through the cushio n like J.R. I th ink it's 'ca use he had a han dful o f th ro ttl e and I was riding like an o ld lady." Murphree d id ride on to finish second about five bike lengt hs beh ind Schna bel. "Mike Wheel e r, my t uner real ly d id a great job o n my White Bro the rs CRF450," Murphree said. "My Coziahr H arleyDavid so n/Nation al Cycle team is going to be really strong th is year. We have tri pped up a few times t his season. We have struggled just to get in th e show, th en to finish main events. I thought I m ight have a chance to win th is one. We will take what we can get right now." Jo e Kop p ro de his KTM USNJone s Pow e r Sports e ntry to a well-deserved thi rd -place finish. "My stock KTM was working perfect," Kop p said . "Travis [Smith] really had it dialed in. He really pu ts a lot o f man-hours in these bikes, and it' s paying off. J.R. rode his butt o ff, an d so d id Jo hnny. We were running a fast pace out there, probably faster than we had ru n all day. Th e racetrack was great. It dried up a litde co m ing o ut of a few comers, but it was perfect. It was pr o bably the best TI track we have had here in Springfield ." Chris Carr rode his Q uality C hec ked Certified Pre-Owned Ford-s po nso red KTM to a solid fourth-place finish . "I had a pretty ten ta tive first lap," Carr said. "With some o f the wrecks, I probably could have been a litd e more aggressive, and that cost me a position or two . I would have really had to stick my neck out to ru n their pace u p front. I stayed fairly even fo r a while. As the track changed and got d rye r, I learned a lo t about the KTM. Tonight there were three guys better than me . I d id th e best I could . We need to do some more testing on the KTM in th e dirt. The bike is very sensi tive to gearing. We are learning more and more about it all th e tim e . Fou rth wasn't bad consi dering where we finished a co uple of years ago." Rob Pearson made a couple of key pass es an d finished in fifth place . OWN RACE 17 and a large turnout of 90 riders fo und the rich , loamy track in excellent co nd itio n despite rains that could have played havoc with the surface. The weapon of choice was the motocross-based bike . Wi th a few rare exce ptions, all w ho qu alified for the 48 -rider main had th e longer t ravel suspension bikes . Last year the TI was a race few in attendance will fo rget. Brett Landes chased down lea de r Jake Joh nso n, an d after dogging him fo r severa/laps, he used a last lap, last com e r, w in it or throw it away, outside pass to win the race. Co ming into the event, Landes was one of the favorites and lived u p to that billing in the scratch q ualifying heat, posting the fastest time. He batded with C hris Carr in his heat, but he cras hed while leading to finish last and th en couldn't make the pass in his semi to transfer to th e main . A strong field of 18 riders lined up for the TI final. At the flash of the green light it was Jo hnny "Sho wtime" Murphree who nailed the start but q uickly surrendered the lead to Schnabel. "I t hought I had a pretty good start, and th is blue thing (Schnabel's Yamaha) came shooting around the outside," Murphree said. "We were battling in the first tu m , and I thought I could get around anybody, but t he n t hat Schnabel character han d le d everybody." Schnabel has his own gameplan from the outset. "I wanted to get ou t fro nt early, and I just drove it deep in the cushion in one, opened it up and he ld o n," said Schnabel. "My Babe De May-tu ned Memphis Shades Yamaha exploded out of the comer, and w e were on ou r way." Murphree came out of the comer second but was passed by Chris Carr over the infield jump. Murphree dove to th e inside of Carr in the follo wi ng right-hander to reclai m the positi on . Joe Ko pp took advantage of Carr also and moved by him for third. "W e came out o f the first tum in good shape, an d I was thinking about Carr." Kopp HenryWiles 6th 1he final went pretty well for Wiles, who started on the second row. "Igot around the first tum pretty good, " Wiles said. "Ithink we were sixth, then Shaun Russell broke. We were a pretty easy sixth, and I think we were catching Chris a little. Then I messed up the right-hander and kind of tightened up for three laps and lost my rhythm . 1hen a little while later Rob Pearson got by me . 1loosened up after that, and I caught back up to him. 1tried to pass him several times towards the end of the race but couldn't get it done. Then Kingtried to get around me on the outside in the right-hander, and I drifted out a Iitde bit on him. It was a pretty legit move, I thought, but Iguess he didn't like it. I have a lot to prove , and I don't quite have the equipment he does, so I have to make up for it in other areas. After putting it on the podium here last year at the Short Track, I had big expectations coming back. We're pretty happy with sixth, but ~ could have been better." 67 Mike Hacker 12th Happy just to be in the main event at the IT again after sufferinga seriously broken leg over one of the jumps here two years ago, Hacker nonetheless got a terrible start from row two. "I think the entire second row beat me, and then I just got pelted for three laps," Hacker said. "Guyswere going four abreast, and 1couldn't finda line. I couldn't get where I needed to go. When everything deared out, Igot going pretty good , and Iwas in the top 10. 1hen the track dried up, and I kinda struggled. I fellbackward, one at a time . Jake Uohnson] and 1battled for a littlewhile. We even had a little contact in the right-hander. He set ~ in there, and I thought Iwas going to get underneath him. Iwent to square ~ and ran into him. I ride with Jake a lot, and I'm real comfortable with him. It was just one of those radng deals. I'm happy.Two years ago I left here in an ambulance . Last year I didn't come dose to making the main. This year we have made every man, and we are making points and making progress . I feel like I'm getting back to myoid self We are ready for that mile tomorrow." . 80 Rich King 18th Kinghad trouble all night getting his BuellBlast-powered Harley SSO off the line, but he was stillgood enough to put it in the show, making his first main event of 2004. His starting diffICUlty was pretty much the same in the main event. "I think Iwas stuck in lastplace for a lapor so," Kingsaid. "I started working through the crowd, and 1was fee ling pretty good . I felt like the track was going to come in to me and Iwould get faster as the man went on. We came off the jump one time, and ~ hit pretty hard and tore the rear shock mount out of the frame . When ~ did that, it pulled the oil line out of the shock canister ; that got on the pipe, and it went up in smoke. 1hen Iwent into the right-hander, and she felt like she was riding awfully low in the back end. Allmy pedals were oiled down, so I pulled her in. Allin all it was a good run. We felt likewe were going fast enough . It just came down to holeshots . We need to start a little bit better. We keep getting better on it. It's just been a tough year for us. It's been little things like this allyear long. Iam really lookingforward to the mile tomorrow. 1think we have something for them." www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 9, 2004 27

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