Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

the championship next year. The penalty on Salminen served as a gift fo r Smith, who was bu m ped from th ird to second in the results . It's a huge boost fo r the Californian, as it keeps h is points lead at five instead of one, where it would have been if he had finished third. As always, the four-time champ was a gracious podium finisher. "Jas o n rode great today," Smith said. " I just didn't have it today. I was fighting the bike all day. I don't know if it was my bike setup or what. Freddy [And rews) went past me and he lpe d pull me along, and then I crashed. I had fun racing, but I just wish I had a better start and was able to get going." Salminen was credited w ith th ird, while Andrews took fo u rth. For years, O h io -ba se d riders like Andrews have dom inated The John Pe nton event, but this year " Fas t Freddy " su ffered a terri ble start and had no chance of catching Salminen an d Raines up front. He ran as high as t h ird, but Smith was able to get pas t him lat e in the race to knock him off o f the podium. An drews t hen barely held o ff the charge from his o ld rival Scott Summers. The rest of the field struggled in very hot and humid co nd itio ns. local favorite Robbie Je nks grabbed the holeshot and looked strong early, but he ran out of steam in the latter portion of the race and dropped to sixth. Ohio's other contender, Chuck W o o df o rd , won The John Penton t he last two years, but he got severely dehydrated this time. KTM 's Mike lafferty was back from a long layo ff with a torn ACl, b ut he ran out of water in his drink system . Suzuki's Doug Blackwell h it the wall, too, as did KTM 's Brian Garrahan . In fact , the only riders who seemed to excel in Ohio were Raines and Salminen . " I think some people were pacing themselves for the heat, b ut I know I t rain hard , and I wasn't worried , so I just went fo r it," Raine s said . " I've been rid ing a lo t down at Randy's [Hawkins' house in So uth Carolina) and it's just like this - really hot and humid . It got really ho t the last two laps , but the fans out there kept us going ." " I got a really good start, and that helped, " Salminen said . " I was able to ride my own pace. I know Jason was fas te r than me, so I just let him go around . I tried to follow him , but then I lost just a little bit, and I was down one minute. But I learned many things about this." " I got a pretty decent start, and I was fo lio w ingJ uha, and he kind of looked back to kind of to say, ' He y you want to le ad ?' and I was like 'Yeah,' '' Raines said . " Rand y an d I had talked about it before the race, and we knew if he got the start, he m ight fade back a little bit , or we wouldn't see h im again until we got to the podium. You never know with someone like him - he has so much speed in reserve." The pack battl e d ha rd behind t he m . After grab bing the hole shot , Jen ks overshot a turn a nd lo st t he lead, an d then he hooked up with Smith and put on a charge to try to catch the le ad e r s. Woodford came w ith them and even moved into third at one point, by far his best performance in what has been a very difficult season. At t he midway point, Andrews, Summers, Blackw ell and his FMF Suzuki teammate Mike Kiedrowski had all joined in the fight for third. " W e were all in a train," Kiedrowski sa id. " I wasn't doing anything spectacular; I was just trying to find a way around. " Eventually Andrews was ab le to find his way around everyone e lse an d get to third . He then dropped Smith and a t iring Blackwell and p ulled away for what lo o ked like a sure podium. Smith reeled him back in late o n the last lap to reach t he podium . Summers p ut o n an amazi ng cha rge , logging the fastest last lap of any- o ne, an d he t ried a last-di tch pass on Andrews in the fina l turn before se ttlin g Briefly... . fo r fifth . Jenks, Kiedrowsk i, Blac kw ell and Throttlehead.com Kawasaki teammates Steve Hatch and Josh Mcl evy rou nd ed o ut the top 10 of the Pro class, with 2S0cc A Amateur pilot D.R. Atwood eN earn ing 10 t h overall. SUNDAT CREEK RACEWAT MIWIELD, OHIO RESUlTS: JuLT 11, 2004IROUND 10 Of 14) O /A , I. )non R.H... (Yom): 2. Rodney Smith (Suz); J. ; Juha Salmmen (KTM) 4. Fred And.-. (Suz); s . Scott Summon (lion); 6. Robbie Jonk> (Y om); 7. H ;ke IGedrow>ki (Suz); B. Doug _ kweI (Suz); 9. S.... Hatch (Kaw); 10 . D. R. Atwood (KTH). I I. josh Hcl ( IOJ); 10. Ilri>n Garra han (99). J"""' The Wiseco Jo hn Penton race took place at the S u nday Cre ek Raceway motocross facility, which is owned by GN CC officials Howard and Jeff Russell. For this yea r's race, several miles of fresh trail were cut, which most of the racers loved. Th ere was also significantly more room for parking, and the factory sem i trucks were put on full display at the top of a ridge in the pit area. But weather is always the biggest factor at Sunday Creek, since past editions of the race have e ither been dusty or muddy. Th is year's was both, as heavy rain during Saturday 's ATV race turned the dry track into a very slick one. By Sunday aftemoon though, the track was a little slippery but much better than it has been over the last few years. The strong perfonnance by Juha Salminen had manyriders singing his praises. "He picks such good lines," Rainessaid. "It' s kind of like riding behind Shane [Wa 1because he is so tts smooth. It loo ks like he can go so much faster if he needs to." Salimenw ill be racing GNCC full-time in 200S. "I feel like I have done ali i can in Europe," said the nine-time WEC Champio n. "It's time for a new challenge." Mike lafferty made his longawaited ret urn following ACL surgery. Although he didn't have a top finish, he was happy w ith his strength and speed. "It felt good," said the six-time AMA National Enduro Champion. "I had been waiting so long to get back out there. I was patient. In fact , the doctor said that knee is now tighter than the one on the other side." Du ring the race, Rodney Smith accidentally slid into Lafferty on a slippery downhill , and the collision knoc ked Lafferty into the bushes. Smith apologized, but lafferty was actually happy since the cras h proved his knee is now strong enough to handle the rigors of racing. taM had a busyweekend. Not only did it host Watts, Salminen and Lafferty but, international , racing manager Kurt N icoll, a retired fanner GP motocross contender, decided to strap on his boots and race , too . Nicoll finished a respectable 17th in the Pro class. Chuck Woodford continues to be con fused by his performances. "I got really dehydrated." said the Kawasaki Team Green rider. "I don't understand w hy. I drank a lot o f water like I always do be fore the race." Woodford was running third early, but he was only able to complete five o f six laps. Defending GNCC Champion Ba r ry Hawk was at the race to cheer his fellow riders on , but he was unable to race , as his face continues to heal fro m injuries suffered at the Patriot GNCC in Virginia. " I wanted to ride, but my doctors didn't want me to ," Hawk said. "It' s a slim chance, but if I were to fall like that again, they tell me I could do nerve damage and go blind in one eye . So I had better not take any chances." John Penton himself was at the race. The Oh io nativ e was a pioneer in the early stages of American off-road motorcycling, and he is respo nsible for importing KTMs into the United States in the 19705. www.cycienEWs.com CYCLE N EW S • JULY 28, 2004 39

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