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/128335
Briefly... . . Full fields were the noi:m all week long, .- as a record 1459 .e ntr ie s flooded the Illinois State Foirgrounds for the . w k -Iong event, Lewis (left) takes ta the half mile. When his week was done , he w o uld pick up Grand Championship titles in three premier classes and eam the top honor of the event, the AMA Horizon Award • The event, which drew a reco rd 1459 entries, started with two days of racing on the pea-gravel half-mile course and then headed over to the grounds' multipurpose arena for two days of short-track racing (the first was a IS-hour marathon). That same venue hosted Thursday's and Friday's TT competitions (one day for youth classes and one for full-size bikes) on a track that included three left turns, one right and a smooth jump. For the final day, the full-size riders were scheduled to go at it on the famous , black-gumbo mile track, but after precipitation canceled Saturday and then postponed the fo llow ing day's rain date, the entire continge nt was moved over to the half-mile track for a hurry-up program. Class winners were declared in each discipline, but overall champions were detennined by accumulated points over the week. The Gran d Nationals are all abou t the young, up-and-coming tale nt, but the event's importance was highlighted by the many estab lished heroes who made appearances over the week. Among them were Joe Kopp, Rich King (father of racer Aaron King), A.J. Eslick, Davey Durelle , Johnny Murphree and Bryan Smith. In addition, Chris Carr's newly retired parents , Ann and Gerry, showed up. Several spectators got a bit excited when a rider wearing orange-and-black HarleyDavidson leathers with "Parker" stitched on the back pulled out on the track for the final day's half-mile, but it proved to be Scott Parker's nephew, Jason Hensley, competing in his very first Pro Sport event. Suz uki's facto ry d irt-track rig was on hand in the pits to offer assistance to riders of any make of motorcycle. "Our crew chief, Kenny Mohler, was an amateur racer and still holds a pro license," said team boss Mark Pulliam. "He said we need to go there. Suzuki is a sponsor, and we talked to them, and we all decided to come. We came to show Suzuki's support of ama te ur racing. I'm amazed at the num ber of entries. It's a great spo rt ." Pulliam and Muller bro ught alo ng Kevin Vames' Suzuki DR-Z400. and it wasn't just a pro p, as they gave John Lewis some sea t time on the factory mach ine. Lewis ultimately opted to do most of his racing on his personal bikes, but he said he had enjoyed the opportunity to try out Varnes' Suzuki. fonned the hurried repair). Lewis won, with King second, and the Horizon Award was decided . If you think that's impressive, consider the case of Ethan Gillim, who less than one year ago - struck down by a nasty injury - was simply hoping to rac e again one day. The Owensboro, Kentucky, race r - a cousin to road racers Tommy, Nicky and Roger Lee Hayden - had caught his left arm in a Tommy Gate hydraulic lift, and the damage was so bad that his winning two separate premier youth-class wins just 10 months later borders on the miraculous. For his troubles , the seven-year -old was named the AMA Sports Youth Dirt Tracker of the Year. "It was bad, but he had a third artery," said father Frank Gillim. "T hat' s what kept his hand alive. He 's pretty amazing. They did nerve grafts, skin grafts, skin naps, everything - fo ur different surgeries . He's had his brothers to chase down, On Wednesday aftemoon, AHA Sports held its trad itional pool party for con testants and their families, at the nearby Howard Johnson's hotel . In addition to horseplaying in the swimming pool and gorging on barbequed hot dogs and hamburgers, those on hand could take part in a sponsorship sem inar led by Cool Skunk Kyds' Phil Rispoli and Suzuki chief Mark Pulliam. www.cyclenews.com CYCLE N EWS • AUGUST 4,2004 69