Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Kevin McNicholas Memorial Short Track Series Round 4: Timonium ST Sweeten Still Sweet at Timonium ST By LEN AND BEN BREECH . TIMONIUM, MD, AUG. 6 A Ite r the third round of the series was rained /"""\nut, the Baltimo re County Trail Riders and the Cockeysville O ptim ist Club hosted the first of two Friday eve nts . Tho ugh th er e was no t hreat of rain, t he temperatu res were be tt e r suite d fo r a m idseason football game. Making his first start of the year was Mollica, New Jersey 's Bob Sweeten . Proving he's lost none of his quick start ing ability during t he layoff, he jum ped o ut to early leads an d claimed t he Over 30 and Over 40 class wins . In the Over 30 class, he put his two-str oke Ho nda in fro nt of jim Hollister's big Rorax right off t he bat and pulled away from the class do mi nator w it h re lat ive ease . D a m ia n Kocovinos , Chris Hathaway and Jay Rassa were several lengt hs behind Holli ster ; Kocovinos fell two laps from the end . In the Over 40 co ntes t, Sweeten pulled away, leav ing Joe Do hm , Dave Smi th, Jo hn Henderson, Bo b Babcoc k and Mark Stambaugh to fight over second. And fight they did, as they tried to slip under or arou nd each other, w it h Do hm and He nderso n emerging in fro nt. After bei ng d isq ualifie d for a starting-li ne infraction in the 12Scc heat race at the July 28 ace . Brandon Robinson came back on this night to clai m t hre e fina ls. T he tou gh e st was th e O pen B co ntest; he gate d seco nd , be hind He nry Mange ls, with Nicholas Henderson , Cory Te xte r and Jason Eckard fo llow ing. After battling w ith Mange ls fo r most of the race , Robinson slipped under him coming o ff turn fo ur o n the sixth lap, co mp leting the job by the first t ur n. Ma nge ls slight ly lo st his r hyt hm , letting He nde rso n by for seco nd . Posit io ns remained th e same t o the flag. In t he 12Scc conte st , Robinson q uickly jum ped in fron t of Joey Parks and Tony Sapanero for an easy win . T he Rob inso n's Electric-spo nsor ed rider went w ire to wire fo r the 2S0cc B win, but R.J. Hart stayed a co nsiste nt th ree le ngths behind. Evan Bae r and Shayna Texter again tangled in ano ther bar- banging asc c ( 12-1 S) final. T his time , Baer was leading Shayna out of two , w ith Frank Valentin and William Snodgrass Jr. leading the second pack. Baer contro lled the tempo on his Battlefie ld Ha rley- Davidso n/Zech ma n's C ycles Ya mah a an d ch ose t he co rrect line s t hrough the lappe rs to come away w it h th e win . Shayna came bac k to w in th e Wome n's final, ove r Samantha Resch and Kelly Bell. T he SOcc (7-B) group he ld a bang-up final. w it h Joey Schmidt hol d ing a slight le ad over Tyler Stacey, je remiah Snow and C hase Smith. Then Smith re placed Snow in third. In the late stages , Smith we nt to t he ou t sid e line and slipped into the lea d as t hey started the final lap. Smith also too k the SOcc O il-Inject ed win, with Ro bby Smith stay ing close . Zach Paugh won the 50 cc (4-6) final, with T ho mas Webb top ping th e 6Ss. Casey Weikle wo n the SOcc Adult class, and Co ry Texte r held off C hr is Klinefe lte r for the Adult XR IOO win. C hris Hathaway too k full advantage of be ing the only rider on the 500cc Two-Valve fro nt row to easily win it. R ESULT S 50 a ll -IN) : I. Co lton Smith (KTM); 2. Robby Smith (Y am); 3. Luke Johnson (Hon); 4. Be n Deere (Ya m); 5. Gus Lane (Hon). 50 (4- 6) : I. Zachary Paugh (KT M); 2. Colin Bowers (Co b); 3. Luke Johnson (Hon); 4. Kyle Smith (KTM); 5. Ryan Rassa (Y am). 50 (7-8) : I. Colto n Smith (Co b): 2. Joey Schmidt (Cob); 3. Tyl r Stacey (Lem): 4. Je re miah Snow e (Lem); 5. Gus lane (Hon). 65 : I. Thomas Webb (Kaw): 2. Matt Langre hr (Kaw): 3. Joey Schmidt (Kaw): 4. T.J. Irvin (KTM); 5. Joe y A1el(ander (Kaw). 85 (7 - 11): I. Brett Pugh (Hon); 2. Tyle r Kidw ell (Ho n); 3. Dere k Hersh (Y am); 4. Dalton Winkler (Hon); 5. Dylan Hoffman (Y am). 85 ( 12- 15): I. Evan Bae r (Y am); 2. Shayna Texte r (Yam 3. Frank Valentin ); (5uz); 4. Zachary Johns (Hon): 5. Bill Snod gras s Jr. (He n). 125: I. Bra ndon Ro binson (Yam); 2. Joe y Parks (Hon); 3. Tony Sapanero (Hon); 4. Matthe w Koontz (Hon); 5. Byron Whipperman (Hon). 250 B: I. Brandon Robinson (Hon); 2. R.J. Hart (Hon): 3. Chris MacCa rty (Hon): 4. Jeff McManus (Hon); 5. Rick Price (Hon). 4 00 : I. Bob Babcoc k (Y am); 2. Chris Hathaway (Y am); 3. Richard Foard (KTM): 4. Corey Herm es (Yam 500 2-VALV I. Chris Hathaway (Y ). E: am); 2. Cory 'Iexre r (Bue): 3. N ick Taylor (Y am); 4. Jim Chapm an (Y am); 5. Mark Stambaugh (Y . 750: I. Jason Isennock am) (Tri); 2. Ch ris Klinefelte r (Tri); 3_ Ed Romee ki Jr. (Y am): 4. Bryan Douglas (Tri). OP EN 8 : I. Brandon Robinso n (Hon); 2. N icholas He nde rson (Yam): 3. Hen ry Mangels (Rot); 4 . Cory Texter (Han) ; 5. R.J. Hart (Yam SPTSMN: I. Chris ). Kl nefelter (Hon): 2. Cor e y Horme s (Rot); 3. Bryan Douglas i (Rot): 4. Jason Ise nnock (Rot): 5. Ryan Henderson (ATK). WMN: I. Shayna Texte r (Hen) : 2. Samantha Resch (Yam 3. ); Kelly Bell (Ho n): 4. N icol e He nde rs o n (Hon) ; 5. Josee St eddi ng ( Ho n). 3 0 + : I. Bo b Sweeten (Ho n) : 2. Jim Holliste r (Rot) ; 3. Chris Hathaway (Y am); 4. jay Rassa (Y am); S. Jay Boarman (Kaw) . 40+ : I. Bob Sweeten (Hon): 2. Joe Dohm (W-R): 3. John He nde rson (Yam): 4. Bo b Babcock (Rot ): 5. Mar k Stamb augh (Y ). AD ULT 50 : I. Casey am Weikle (Hen ); 2. Jay Rassa(Hon): 3. COI"ey Hermes (Hon): 4. Scott Saye rs (Hon) ; 5. Scott Bo cowy (Hon ). A D U LT XRIOO: I. Co ry Texte r (Hon); 2. Chris Klnefelter (Han); 3. i Jase n Ise nnock (Hon); 4. Scott Saunders (Hon); 5. Bryon Whipperman (Hon). AHRMA Dirt Tra ck Na tio na ls Round 15: Kankakee County Fairgrounds By LIZ LOWRY n previou s years, the Kankakee Co unty Fair st aff e nte r tai ne d s pectato rs at th e an nual co untry fair with a co mb ine demolition der by. T his year, how ever, they finally ran ou t of o ld farm eq uipment, so they decided to exh ibit o ld mo to rcycle s instead , hosting the 15th roun d of the American Histo ric Racing Motorcycle Associatio n's Dirt Trac k Na tional o n August 6. T he event was sponsored by the fairgrounds as well as by us ual sp on so rs Th e Classic Moto rcycle and Metro Racing, and e ntry fees were waved I 60 between Ro nnie Rail and Bob Litte n. Rail race d just as ha rd in th e feat ure, ba ttl ing fell o w Triumph rider Mickey Alzola fo r first place . The win eventually went to Alzola. with Rail cr oss ing the finish line right be hind him. Finishing th ird was Mel Bro wn . also on a Triump h, but Brow n was d isq ualified when officials disco ve red that h is Tr iumph had not been thro ugh tec h inspection (a violatio n of AHRMA rules), and the t hird-p lace trophy w e nt to Harley jockey Litte n instead. Afterward, ride rs and spec tators headed off to see the res t of the fair 's attractions - though. o f co urse , eve n a T ilt-a-Whi r l can't re a lly co mpare to the fun of racing a vintage bike. R ESULTS DINa : I. George Wills (H-D). e LSC 25 0 : I. Barry Ba ke r : 2 . T ho mas Co le ; 3. Mike Land ru m : 4 . Larry Gillesp ie; 5. Kennet h A1de rden. S/SR: I. Mickey A1zola: 2. Ronnie Rail: 3. Robert Litte n; 4. AI Golley; 5. Gary Brenn an. '7 0s 2 -STR K: I. David Wills; 2. Mike Asht on : 3. Joh n Harsh bar ger; 4. Bo b Wills; 5. Patrick McDe r mott. ClSC 500 /750: I. George Wills; 2. Rusty Lowry; 3. Robert Litten; ... Dan Beher; 5. David Wills. SPTSMN 250: I. David Allen; 2. Mike Ashto n: 3. Barry Baker ; 4. Jeff Webb; 5. Mike Van Keuren. SPT SMN 60 0: I. David Allen; 2. David Hackett : 3. Andy McRo berts : 4 . To ny Br e nnan : 5. Bo b Adams . SPTS MN 750 : I. Melvin Brown: 2. David Weicht; 3. Daniel Weicht; 4. BillCobb. '70s SGl: I. Bob Wills; 2. David Wills: 3. Scott landrum; 4. Jeff Haubaker; 5. Robert Adams. VET: I. Robert Adams; 2. Andy McRobertS; 3. Kennet h A1derde n. S R: I. Micke y Alzola; 2. Edwar d Fatzinger Sr.: 3. David Hackett ; 4. Me lvin Bro wn; 5. Roger Johnson. Chris Crass MX T hird T ime's a Char m at Chris Cr oss MX A. BELT EASTABOGA, AL, AUG. 6 T for all part icipants. Local racer Geo rge W ills fo und a new way to dom inate the Dinos aur class: His Harley WR was t he onl y entry fo r t he older, hand-sh ift bikes . De spite t he lack of com pe tit ion in his own class, how eve r, he still managed to ride a close race against t he Classic 2S0cc riders, with w hom he s ha re d t he tra c k. Wi lls was lef t be hi nd at th e sta r t ing lin e by t he ne w e r, qu ic ker-off-th e -m ar k 2S0cc b ike s , b ut he worked his way steadily through the pack to compe te w ith C las sic 2S0cc w inner Ba r ry Baker's Bultaco for the overall lead. Baker held SEPTEMBERB, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS on to his position , however, crossing the finish line half a bikele ngth in fron t of W ills. Harley riders T homas Cole and Mike Landrum finished second and t hird in th e 2S0cc class , behind Wills, and Larry Gillespie's Bultaco ro unded o ut the fie ld in fourth (and fifth overall). Wi lls also p laced first in the Classic SOOcc/ 75 0 cc class , but he had a bit m o re competition there, in the fo rm of fellow Harley riders Rusty Lo w ry and Bo b Litte n. Lowry 's Harley KR followed Wills closely fo r the first seve ral laps, with Litten close beh ind him, until Wills pulled ahead in the latte r half of the race to cross the finish line uncontested. Ducati rider Dan Beher placed fo urt h, and Wills' son David Wills was fifth. Wills was not the day's on ly dou ble w inne r. Yamaha rider David Allen took home first-place awards for both the Sportsman 250cc and the Sportsman 600cc classes. Second place in t he Sportsman 250cc class we nt to Can-Am pilot Mike Ashton, followed by Bake r's Bultaco and Yamaha jockey Jeff We bb. Coming in second in t he Sports man 600cc race, be hind Allen, was David Hackett , followed closely by Ho nda rider Andy McRoberts. O ne o f the mo re exciting race s (from a spectator's po int of view) was the Super Sen io r class. Th e heat race had seen a close struggle By PATRICK Where There's a Wills, There's a Way KANKAKEE, IL AUG. 6 , Bill Berger (58 ) lea ds Barry Baker (1), Larry Gillespie (3 7) and Mike Landrum (67) in the Classic 250cc heat race a t raund IS of the AHRMA Dirt Track Nationals, he ld in Ka nkakee, Illinois. he weather was coo l and heavy w ith moistu re ea rly on Saturday morni ng at C hris C ros s MX. This was to be the third day of racing at this fine new track in the midd le of Alabama. The first race of the day was the 6Scc Ope n contest . While there were o nly th ree ride rs in t h is class, t he compe t ition w as at its best. T hrou ghout the tw o mo tos, the lead posit ion changed hands many times, proving how eve nly mat c he d t he se race rs we re . Triple Racing's Joshu a Belt , rid ing a 6Scc Kawasaki, took first overall. Sean Adam s. also on a KX65, came in second. Cole Kimbe rt kep t the press ure on to finish third . The 85cc O pen also featured a great ban Ie. It is ra re in racing that the win ner is decided not 40th A nniversary by who is faster but by who picke d t he be st line . Th is was the case in this race. Jo nathan Be lt, riding a Yamaha YZao, came in first. justin Wade , aboard a Hond a CR8D, finished a close second. Jo rd an Kimbert, on a Kawasaki KX I00 , took third . Though the O pe n Fo ur-Stro ke , Pre teen and Yout h classes o nly had one rider each, these yo ung men wo rked har d and dese rved the ir victories. D.J. McKibbon too k first place in t he Ope n Fo ur-Stroke class; Cole Kimbert placed first in the Pretee n class: Jo rdan Kimbe rt won the Youth class. T he O pen Hare Scramb les was the last race of th e day. Kevin Adams, Doug McKibbo n and David Brad e n we nt one-two-three. It was a great day of racing for ride rs and fans alike.

• Cover