Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

ability to tackle the terrain was never in doubt, and he proved that in Irving as well, on a track that was as technical and tricky as they come. "The track here tonight was the kind that you couldn't try to go too fast," explained Windham. "I don't care what you're on, what tires or anything, they're going to break loose. It's like hard, hard concrete out there. (Right) Team Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki's Ricky Cannichael crashed in his heat race and then went on to win the second semi. In the main he rode spectacularly to finish third. II Don't let him fool you. Windham went fast, very fast. And he wasn't the only one. In the main, the terrain for Yamaha's David Vuillemin momentarily changed from hard and slick to shiny and blue when he had to ride over McGrath's downed Mazda/Chaparral Yamaha to get out of the first turn in fourth place. A lap later, Vuillemin had gotten around Brock Sellards and Damon Huffman to claim second, but in the time that it took him to do so, Windham had already pulled away. "Jeremy crashed in front of me, and I rode over his bike," said Vuillemin. "Then I was fourth, and it took me one lap or two laps to pass Sellards and Huffman. I was trying to come back on Kevin, but he pulled away because he was jumping everything from the beginning." Out in front Windham was jumping every obstacle on the track, something that a traffic-delayed McGrath did not have the luxury of doing. "The first five laps were very, very scary," said McGrath of his charge through the pack. "There was so much traffic and so many people to get around, you couldn't do the triple; you couldn't do anything." Even after completing the first lap, McGrath was still in only 19th place as a result of his first-turn crash, a smashup that Windham felt might have been his own fault. "I just kind of came over," explained McGrath. "Kevin was on the inside and he was coming out, and we just kind of came together. He was jumping in the air and landing, and I was kind of coming up and he clipped my bars a little bit. It was nobody's fault. It was just kind of one of those racing things. Kevin thought I was a little mad; I wasn't mad at all." McGrath's classic and impressive charge through the pack leveled off about lap eight, when the champ passed Team Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki's Larry Ward for fifth place. He would only move up one more spot into fourth on lap 14 of 20 when Huffman finally gave way after about six laps of MC pressure. While McGrath was making his way through the pack, another (less impressive, but also commendable) charge was that of Ricky Carmichael. The Team Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki rider completed the first lap in ninth place before going on to finish third. It was his first podium finish since round 10 in St. Louis, where he also finished third. "I didn't get the start I wanted, and by the time I got into third, the first two guys were gone," said Carmichael, who had gained that position on lap five. "It was a fun race, but kind of boring too, I think. There wasn't much racing going on in the front. I kind of put myself in cruise mode a little bit." trying to make up the ground that StHI running a solid second was Vuillemin, who definitely was not in Windham had put on him. 'The track was pretty tough. It was cruise mode. Even though Windham very technical, so I was trying to thought about it too much. I was try- had opened up a huge lead early on, make up time in the rhythm section," ing very hard, but I started to make the Frenchman was not content with said Vuillemin. "I was catching him the runner-up spot and was visibly for maybe five or six laps, and then I started to make mistakes. I had a lot of trouble with lappers, also. I thought Right from the get-go, VuiJIemin made it known that his fourth-place finish from last week was not going to be a new habit. In the first heat, Vuillemin gated behind hometown hero Grayson Goodman of Plano Honda. Moments after exiting the first turn, the Frenchman was in the lead, and not too long after that, by himself. Not long after giving way to Vuillemin, Goodman allowed Sellards, LaRocco and Tortelli by. The three Honda riders battled until the third lap, when LaRocco managed to ride off the track over a berm. Around the same time, Tortelli moved by Sellards to claim second, where he would stay the rest of the eight-lap event. Sellards' troubles didn't end there, as Dowd also went by the 125cc Eastern Region competitor. Coming up behind Dowd was Reynard, who experienced a horrible start but was making a successful jaunt up to the lead pack. It got even more successful on the last lap when Reynard passed Sellards to claim the final transfer spot, sending Sellards to the first semi. The second-heat holeshot went to Carmichael. but McGrath was following closely, and as the pack hammered through the treacherous whoops that lay after the first tum, McGrath and Carmichael managed to tangle, sending Carmichael to the ground face-first. McGrath escaped a crash somehow. "That was more my fault," confessed McGrath about the tangle. "In the heat I was sideways, so when I jumped, I jumped a little bit left." Unfortunately for Carmichael, he was to the left of McGrath, and Windham was to the right. "I had to slow down there," explained Carmichael, about McGrath's pass attempt in the whoops. "Jeremy was aU over the place." Windham came out on top of the entire thing unscathed and in the lead. McGrath also somehow managed to salvage second place, but once Windham got out in front, he set a blistering pace all the way to the finish. McGrath held strong in second, and Great Lakes Aviation/Larson Cycles/ Honda-backed Heath Voss rode an impressive third for the entire eight Japs. Ward rode unchallenged in fourth most of the event to claim the final transfer spot. 'Meanwhile, Carmichael went down again on lap five, making a trip to the semi definite. maybe I could catch him. I think I In the second semJ, Goodman claimed yet another holeshot, making it three Hondas in the lead with Sellards and LaRocco in tow. Sellards pressured Goodman the entire first lap and finally made a pass stick just before starting the second. LaRocco warmed up and went by Goodman a lap later and then Sellards a lap after that to claim the lead. Behind third-place Goodman. Kawasakimounted Jeff Hedden and Tom Morgan Racing-backed James Povolny Jr. were battling for fourth. Povolny got the best of Hedden in the end, making it four Hondas in the top four. Hedden claimed fifth, while a ionely four-stroke KTM 520 - ridden by Shayne King finished sixth, one spot out of a trip to the main. Carmichael hadn't been to a semi since the season opener in Anaheim, and it showed, as the Kawasaki rider shot past fast-starter Huffman and went on to win the semi handily. Huffman stayed in second, followed by Lineman Cycles/Pro Action-backed Jason Thomas. Milse Craig tumed a poor start into a transfer position when he moved into fourth on the third lap. Nevada's Zeb Armstrong finished fifth_ KTM's King had to pass Moto XXX's Kyle Lewis on the third lap to win the four-lap Last Chance Qualifier. Both riders went to the main as Brian Stone won th.e Racer-X Gas Card for finishing third, the first rider not to make the main. c y c I e n e _ S • APRIL 19, 2000 13

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