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/128350
Bob Graves and Joe Brown hit turn one side by side. Gary White too k over at the front on the first trip down the back straight , w ith Clyde Dennen in tow. On the first tr ip across the stripe, the order was White , Denn en, Brown, Rick Reed and Graves. Dennen showed W hite a wheel and took the lead entering turn three . By lap three, White was fad ing, Reed was closing, and Brown was all over Dennen. With a lap to go, Brown took over at the front , putt ing in a 24.77-second lap. However, Dennen and Reed we re right there with him. On the final trip down the back straight, Reed made a move on the outside to take the lead, while Brown we nt low into turn three, atte mpting to ret aliate, but this allowed Dennen by as well. Reed snatched the victory, De nnen followed in second, and Brown was third. It took thr ee heats to narrow the field for the Mega Cycle Cams/K&N Vet A main event. When the gre en nag new, Joel Kath leaped out front , followed by Steve Tapper, Mike Vital and Robert Hanse n. Entering turn one for the second time , Tapper took over from Kath at the front , while Marshall Lapp and Eklund were on the move forward from a midpack start. Tapper was turning laps inthe 22.63-second range, but Vital was just a little faste r, and on the second lap he pushed past Kath for second. By the fourth lap, the front three - Tappe r, Vital and Kath - had sep arated the mselves from the field, while Lapp and Eklund had moved up to fourth and fifth. Lap five saw Vital working the low line across the str ipe, even w ith Tapper, and he took the lead going into turn one . Once out front , Vital opened up a little distance, and despite a last-lap charge from Tapp er, Vital scored the victo ry. Tapper was second , followed by Kath, Lapp and Eklund. Hanse n faded to sixth. The Johnson Cams/Barnett Modern 750cc class has been a war all year between Paul Herman and Ken Thiebaud, both on Steve Berg-bu ilt Triumphs. The surprise was when Chris Fitzhugh from Everett, Washington , shot to the front , chased by Herman . Thiebaud ran off the track on his first tr ip down the back stra ight, saved it and rejoined the chase in fourth , some 10 bikelengths back. Fitzhugh, who is fast in his own right, held Herman at bay for two laps before Herman took ove r. Th iebaud, still eight lengths back, had to strike quickly or Herman would get away. By lap four, Thiebaud - the only 750cc rider to go under 23 seconds - put in a 22,45 -second lap as he caught Herman. But catching and passing are two different things, and Her man is a smart rider who 's not so easy to pass. At the white flag, they were side by side. Thieba ud took the high line going into tum three, while Herman went low. Thiebaud was hop ing for a drive , and Herman was protecting his line as they came out of turn four for the drag race to the stripe. At the checkered flag, it was Thiebaud by a wheel, followed by Herman, Fitzhugh and Hansen . A lot of big guns showed up for the Digger Helm Pro 600cc class; mone y has a way of attracting the m. Round six's Pro w inner - nat ional number 20, Jo hnny Murphree, who took the trac k record away from Jimmy Wood - was on hand, as were national number 28, 5haun Russell, and forme r national number 13, Rick Hocking, in addition to a field of names that might be familiar, such as Ronnie Brown, Steve Murray, Don How ard and Alex Wood , just to name a few. This sea son-ending main eve nt would be 20 laps in length, and the current track record sat with Murphree , on the Ron Wood Rotax, at 21.0 I seconds. It sounded like thunder as the pack exploded off the line, with Howard leading the way. Enter ing turn three , Jimmy Wood wasted no time taking ove r at the front . Murphree, not wanting Jimmy to get away, took over Above: Eddie Mulder (right) presents series champion Jimmy Woad (left) with the Maxxis Tires check. second exiting tu rn four, and just that qu ickly, Howard was back to third. Murray ran in the fourth-place spot. By lap three, Murray had put a wheel und e r Howard to take third . Ronnie Brown ran fifth, with Hocking sixth. All the while, Shaun Russell , on the Jim Kelly machine, and Alex Wood , on the Ron Wood Y amaha, were sorting things out and beginning to move forward . Lap after lap, Jimmy and Murphree, loo king like dancing partners, stayed a few bikelengths apart, with Murphree wa iting for a mistake by Jimmy. By lap seven, Russell was up to sixth, with Ronnie Brown back to seventh and Alex Wood up to eighth. At the halfway point , the order was Jimmy, Murphree, Murray, Russell, Howard , Hocking, Alex Wood and Ronnie Brown. Murphree was sticking to Jimmy like glue as lappers came into play by lap 12. On lap 13, Howard made a mistake and went backward quickly, On lap 16, Murphree avoided a disaster, entering turn three and about to put A J. Herrera a lap down when the two collided hard, with Murphree almost highsiding. This gave Jimmy a small amount of breathing room, but not for long. The 17th lap saw Russell push past Murray for third, and on the next go-around Alex moved into fifth and started closing. With two laps rem aining, Murphree was two bikelengths back and atta cking, but Jimmy put his head down and turned a 20.80second lap to regain the track reco rd and hold off Murphree for the victory. Jimmy Wood , Alex Wood and Donnie Howard split the $3000 Maxxis Tires Pro Point Fund, making it an exciting and fitting end to Eddie Mulder's 2004 season . The closing trophy presentation recognized not just the winners but all those instrumental in making this series so good : young and old, families, friends and sponsors , all helping to keep dirt track racing alive, and loving every minute of it! eN WillOW SPRINGS WALT JAMES STADIUM WILLOW SPRINGS, CAUFORNIA Ibsuus: OCrosER 24, 2004 (ROUND 7 OF 7) YOUTH 50: I. Andre Ochs: 2. Joe Roberts: 3. Brandon Weisz . YOUTH 60 : I. Larry Smith 111; 2. Bronson Bauman. YOUTH 80: I. Michael Avila; 2. Briar Bauman; 3. Tony Davila . CLASSiC 150: I. Bruce Reynolds; 2. Darren Pritchett. CLASSiC S0O/1S0, I. Joel Kath; 2. Chris ROOy; J. l enny Rodriguez. DINOSAUR: I. David DU'Y3me y; 2. Mike O'Neil; 3. Mal'lh Runyon. MODERN lS0, I. Aaoon Kennedy; 2. Bruce Reynolds; 3. Craig Johnson. MODERN 500: I. Keith Tennis; 2. Anthony Tucker; 3. Keith Speir . MODERN 750: I. Ken Thie baud; 2. Paul Herma n; 3. Chris Fitzhugh. 250 OPEN: I. Mk hael Avila; 2. Devin Booher, 3. Andy Wood. 500 SUPPORT: I. Joe Steffen ; 2. Jay Gosvenor, 3. Jim Rosa. OPEN AMATEUR A: I. Ian Fou lds; 2. Stevie Bom.ey; p. 3. H.... haJ Lap l OPEN AMATEUR 8: I. Andy Wood ; 2. Eric Pinson; Clockwise from top left: Hemet, California's Joe Steffen (6J) won the 500cc Support main on the Mr. Ed's Yamaha; Kenny Thiebaud (63) came from way behind to win a hard-fought victary in the Modern 750cc main aboard a Steve Berg Triumph; Ron Woad of Rotax fame saw three of the top four riders in the Pro class on his frames - Murphree on the "house" Rotax, Jimmy Woad on a Honda, and Alex Wood trying the Yamaha for the first time; Mike Vital (48Y), checking out on the field, shows his old style en route to the Vet A main-event victory. www.cyclenews.com 3. Ray Hensley. OPEN AMATEUR C: I. Dillon Allen; 2. Steve Craft ; 3. Rodney Peyron . PRO 600: I. Jimmy Wood ; 2. Johnny Murphree; 3. Sha un Russell . VET A: I. Mike Vita.!; 2. Sieve Tapper; 3. Joel Kath . VET B: I. Rick Hoc king; 2. Joe Steffen; ) , Steve lewis . SENIOR: I. Rick Reed ; 2. Clyde Dennen; 3. Joe Brown . SENIOR NOVICE/SUPER SENIOR: I . Mickey A1zola; 2, Ken Barrow; 3, Mark St uckert . CYCLE NEWS • NOVEMBER 17,2004 29