Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Continued from pose 39 Bill Werner said that working with lay Springsteen at Springfield was just like old times. "It was just a joy," Werner said. "Working with Springer is liking working with your brother. I just feel bad that somehow, in the main event, we developed a wobble. The motor was okay, but we just had something with the chassis_ lay is capable of winning every race he enters yet. He's still a force, and I feel bad that I couldn't have done more for him. We could finish last and still smile about all the great times that we've had. There's no downside to working with Springer. Winning and all that is the icing on the cake, but you don't have to do that to have a good time with Springsteen." Scott Stump made his first GNC main event in over a decade oboard ~he Lloyd Racing/Double L Builders Aprilia, one of only two non-Harleys In the main. Stump suffered gremlins on the Italian machine and dropped out early. "It's just like 20 years ago," Jay Springsteen added. "I can come in and tell him [Wemer] what the motorcyde is doing, and he knows what to do to make it better: He's just got so much knowledge_ Every time we make a change, it's like we're always going a step in the right direction. A lot of people don't like him, but he never got to be where he was by being a nice guy. It's like now he doesn't have to deal with that, and he's communicating with a lot of people and giving them his knowledge." Though he was working with Bill Werner in the pits, Jay Springsteen wanted to make it clear that he and longtime engine builder jim Kelly have as strong a bond as ever. "lim and I talked, and things were okay for me to swap a Bill motor into my chassis. It's not going to hurt our program. There's no hard feelings between me and jim Kelly and joe Bisha." Rich King had to rush back to the hot pit area right before the start of the main event to have his mechanics take a look at his machine. "We had a little brake problem," King said, "The piston wasn't working quite right in the master cylinder, so they adjusted it up until it got where it was too high and too touchy. They didn't want to back it off, but yet the lever was up above the footpeg, so I had no feel, which was fine if I was leading, but when you're in the back and you're drafting and have to slow down, it got pretty grabby. I got used to it, and it isn't why I didn't win." Chris Hart (1) held off Merle Scherb (78N) and Scott Stump (77A) to win the HDSP main and take over the series points lead by one point with one round remaining. Murray (H-D); 7. Gary Rogers (H-D); 8. Roy Miller (Suz); 9. Kevin Snyder (Suz); 10. Clint Erickson (H. D); t I. Robert Buffington (Suz); 12. Matt Burton (Hon). Time: '" min., 46.799 sec. SEMI 2 (8 laps; 12 riders. top 2 transfer): I. Kevin Varnes (Suz); 2. Tim Eades (H-D); 3. Paul Lynch (H-D); 4. Sam Halbert (H-D); 5. Nichole Cheza (H-D); 6. Chris Hart (HoD); 7. Shawn Baer (H-D); 8. Jimmy Wood (Suz):. 9. A.J. Eslick (Suz); 10. Charlie Italia (H-D); II. Garth Bastlan (H0); 12. Ben Knight (Yam). Time: '" min., 43.886 sec. SEMI 3 (8 laps; 12 riders. top 2 transfer): I. Raun Wood (H-D); 2. Scott Stump (HoD); 3. Dominic Beaulac (H-D); 4. Henry Wiles (H-D); 5. Ken Yoder (H-D); 6. Jeremy DeRuyter (H-D); 7. lee Johnson (S.uz); 8. Geo Roeder II (H-D); 9. Josh Toungett (HoD); 10. Ricky Marshall (H-D); II. Dan Gedeon (H-D); 12. Michael Meyer (H-D). TIme: 4 min., 47.579 sec. GRAND NATIONAL (25 laps; 18 riders): I. Chris Carr (H-D); 2. Shaun RuS'e11 (H-D); 3. Rich King (H-D); 4. Joe Kopp (H-D); 5. Willie McCoy (H-D); 6. Jay Springsteen (HD); 7. Kevin Varnes (Suz); 8. Johnny Murphree (H-D); 9. Raun Wood (HoD); 10. Bryan Bigelow (H-D); II. Steve Beattie (HD); 12. Tim Eades (HoD); 13. Bryan Smith (H-D); 14.Jared Mees (H-D); I5. Jess Roeder (H-D); 16. Kenny Coolbeth (HD): 17. Terry Poovey (H-D); 18. Scott Stump (Apr). Time: 14 min., 230451 sec. Margin of victory: .841 sec. AMA FORO QUALITY CHECK£D CERTIFIED FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 14 of 15 rounds): I. Chris Carr (230/3 wins); 2. (TIE) Kenny Coolbeth (191/2 wins)1Joe Kopp (19112 wins); 4. Jared Mees (16712 wins); 5. Bryan Smith (141); 6. Rich King (135/1 w;o); 7. Shauo RuS'eli (133); 8. Johnny Murphree (126): 9. (TIE) J.R. Schnabel (115/2 wins)/Jake Johnson (11511 win); II. Henry Wiles (107/1 win); 12. 8ryan Bigelow (102); 13. Willie McCoy (100); 14. Kevin Varnes (89); IS. Nick Cummings (68); 16. Jay Springsteen (52); 17. Geo Roeder II (45); 18. (TIE) Raun Wood (39)fTim Eades (39); 20. Paul Lynch (31). HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE NATIONAL (12 laps: 17 tiden): I. Chris Hart; 2. Merle Scherb: 3. Scott Stump: 4. Josh Toungett: 5. William Seyle; 6. A.J. Eslick; 7. Robert Lewis; 8. Ricky Marshall; 9. Kyle Whitis: 10. Bryan Hazel: II. Kent Briggs; 12. Jeremy DeRuyter; 13. Brian Kromroy; 14. Brian Phillips; IS. Jaran Smith; 16. Logan Scherb; 17. Darren Carter. HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (Alte, 8 of 9 rounds): I. Chris Hart (143/3 wins); 2. Scott Stump (142/2 wins); 3. Merle Scherb (133); 4. Ricky Marshall (104/1 win); S. William Seyle (96/1 win); 6. Bryan Hazel (92); 7. AJ. Eslick (91/1 win): 8. Brian Phillips (68); 9. Brian Kromroy (59); 10. Jeremy DeRuyter (54); II. Lucas Scherb (53); .12. (TIE) Josh Toungett (50)/Logan Scherb (50); 14. Kent Bnggs (40); IS. Robert Lew;, (37): 16. Clayton Riggle (36); 17. Aaron Underlars (24); 18. Kyle Whitis (18); (TIE) 19. Brandon Laursen (16)/Shawn Clark (16). UPCOMING ROUND: When asked about how his career has evolved, Rich King offered: ':At one time, I thought I was a short-track guy and a TI guy," King said. "That was what all my good finishes were on, and that was the equipment that I had. Now I've got good mile equipment, I've always felt like I've went good on the mile. I've learned from some very good guys, like Scott Parker, Ricky Graham, Chris Carr and jay Springsteen. You run mile after mile with them guys, you'll pick up a few things. I love the mile, but I love short tracks and TIs as well. I'm just at a period in my career where I'm not doing as well on them." His fill-in ride on the factory Suzuki actually gave California GNC Expert Jimmy Wood his first tasted of mile racing. "I've got a total of 16 laps on the mile now," Wood said after practice. "It's kind of cool. It's really smooth, and the Suzuki handles really good. It's kind of nice to learn on, because you can kind of struggle through the comer a little bit and then get her straight up and down and pin it and have a bunch of extra power. Taking off on the starting line with such tall gearing is different. You can get into a high-gear spin, where you have it tapped and then it lights the wheel up_ There's a fine line between lugging it and lighting the wheel up." Terry Poovey came out of retirement for the Springfield Mile, but only because he couldn't afford not to. And no, the Texan isn't having financial problems. "I always said if a pot of gold came along, I'd come back and ride for it," Poovey said. "Well, a pot of gold came along. Doc's Harley-Davidson is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the Granite City and Du Quoin races are close to where they are in St. Louis. The original deal was for Granite City and Du Quoin, but the~ they canceled Granite City, so Doc's asked me to Springfield and Du Quoin instead. It isn't just like I decided I was just going to come back racing_ They've helped me out a lot, and they are helping me out to come to these two races. I'd like to have trained a little more, but I will do that before Du Quoin, because I'll have another month." Scott Stump climbed aboard his first GNC mile ride since his mid-'90s stint with the old M&M Racing Honda team. The former Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series Champion - currently battling for his second title in the class - also rode the Lloyd Racing/Double L Builders Aprilia normally ridden by larry Pegram. Though he appeared to struggle in the middle of the turns on the bike, Stump was impressive when he pulled the trigger on the Italian Ytwin down the Springfield straightaways. Aided by Geo Roeder II's premature exit in the third semi, Stump also earned GNC points by putting the bike in the main event. Though he dropped out early and finished 18th, Stump was impressed with the Aprilia. "It's hard in the middle of the comers, because it wants to take off really fast," Stump said. "Going in is good and coming off is good_ In the middle, if you just touch the throttle, it wants to spin_ But it's a great bike, and these guys have done all the development on it_ It's getting better all the time." Mike Hacker tuner Carl Patrick went from a man without a rider to a full-blown team in the matter of a few practice sessions at Springfield, as both J.R. Schnabel and Jared Mees climbed aboard Patrick's SuperTrapp/Lombardi's Harley-Davidson XRs when their own eqUipment wasn't up to snuff. ':After practice, things just started coming unraveled for a couple guys, and I haven't run these bikes all year, so I figured this would be a good opportunity," Patrick said. "We've got a couple good riders on them, so we'll see what happens." Both riders were actually fortunate that Patrick showed up at all. With Hacker injured, Patrick, a big drag-racing fan, had entertained the idea of going to Indianapolis for the 51st U.S. Nationals. "It crossed my mind. but there are sponsors we need to look out for," Patrick said. "We need to take care of the people who take care of us, so I thought it best I show up here." After seeingj.R. Schnabel and Jared Mees run around the Springfield Mile aboard his bikes in the final practice session, Mike Hacker jokingly replied, "They didn't look that good to me." Mees would qualify for the main event, while Schnabel missed it. Round 15: Du Quoin, Illinois, October 1 CYCLE NEWS • SEPTEMBER 14, 2005 41

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