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/128614
AMA/Pace Americ an N ational C h ampionship H illclim b S e r ie s on air time off the ramp ," Petty said. "The rest of the hill is wide open." Petty 's Harle y -Davidson XR750 pounded up th e first part of the hill and stayed low ov er th e ramp. Gle n's T h o r/S t o u gh t o n Cycles /Motoriteba cked Harley , landed nose down off the jump, but he held it on to the line to set the early pace with a 8 .266 second effort. T wo rid e rs later , Da v id Watson rolled th e Klee burg S heetmeta l/Mac's Ka wa sa ki/A&P Machine s Hond a into the starting box . Watso n wo n three 800cc Nationa ls la st year , and he was rea lly pumped up after his 540cc ride . Watso n gu n ned th e C BR90 0 (Le ft) James Large g ot the defense o f h is AMA 800cc National Championship plate off to a good start, taking the win in at the Moonshine Na t ional. (Below) David Watson debuted a new Honda CBR600-based machine and scored the win in the 550cc class. Club Vic e Pres ident Roge r McNeely has been instr ume nta l in th e preparation of th e ev ent, and he drew the first starting tim e. McNeely trie d to ke ep the Mac 's Kaw a saki/Watson Racing/Moose-backed Honda CR500 low over the ramp, then he cra nked it on . He handl ed th e jump e a s ily , but th e front e nd came up in his fa ce ove r th e hump a n d he wh e eli ed past th e lights for a tim e o f 9.943 seco nds . Roger's son , S c ott , wa s the first to e clips e Roge r's time. Scott McN eel y ham mered the throttled off th e line a nd los t time in the air off the ramp , but he really held it on all the way to the top. He h it the hump before the finish 'line so ha rd that he bounced off it almost all the way to the light. The crowd ro a re d as the Madison, West Virginia , rider's tim e was announced . S cott 's go od friend , Da vid Watson, ha s bui lt a new Honda CBR600-b a sed hill climb er , a n d the 1998 5 4 0cc Nati ona l Champion was solid ov er th e ramp a n d th e littl e jump before the ramp . Watson cranked the Kleebu rg SheetmetaljSp ectro Oils/ Mac 's Kawasa ki-backed mach ine up the hill at a blistering pace. He got a big rear end kick off the hum p but held on for an 8.474;the fastest 540cc ride of the day. Cutters Custom Foam Fabrication /Thor /Perform ance T echnolog y -bac ked T im Frazier roll ed his newly bu ilt BSA to the line for it's first run ever. " I talked to Earl [Bowlby] on the wa y down here about gea ring ," Fra zier said. "This is the ta llest gearing I've e ver run anywhere on a BSA." The four -time 540cc Ch a mp ion got a strong holeshot then flew off the ra m p. He sta yed on the far right side of the hill to notch an 8 .748-second ride. Five-time 540 Champion, Paul Pinson nault nearly cracked the 8's , then defend ing cha m pion, Ted Wilkins , finis hed off th e first round. Wilkins ' Rota x twin wouldn 't run on top end, but he still man aged a 9.292 on his first pass with the number one plate. After rider s swa ppe d gea ring . fuel a nd ideas about the ideal line , the second round go t underway. Afte r Roge r McN e ely went out of bound s , S c ott McN eely co uldn't improve on his first ride t im e , S cott carded fifth pla c e at d ay' s e n d . Tyr on e Sm o ot ran a smooth , clean ride on his first attempt, but it was a 9 .5 4 2- second pass. O n 36 n S T O RY A N D P HOT OS By D A VID L. P A TT O N JR . DELBARTON, WV, MAY 7 h e 2000 AMA National Ch a m p ions hip Hillcl imb S e ries , s po nsored b y Pa c e A m e r ic an , kic ke d o ff in sou thw e st West Virgi nia at a new hill a nd with a m ajo r rules c ha nge. Th e Millstone Hillclimb Productions Club gr e eted th e riders with a gr eat h ill , c ha lle ng in g and sa fe and th e First Annual Conl e y Ne wsome J r . Memorial Hillclimb was an excell ent event. For 2000 , riders may compete in both 800cc and 540cc classes , and many fo rm er 540cc champions built new 540cc machines . Man y of la s t ye ar's to p 540 riders will als o ride the 800cc class , making the competiton ev en tougher. The pre-race attention was focused on Dav id Watson's CBR Honda -based machines , and he didn 't d isappo int them, tak ing first in the 540cc class and second , beh ind defending National Champion James "J a m mer" Large , in th e 800cc class . T im Frazier also brought two bike s , carding th ird on the big bike and second, ahead of Paul Pinsonnault in th e 540cc class. T 540cc MAY 24. 2000 ' c ue I e D VI' S his s e cond a ttempt, Smoot powered up th e hill in 8 .879 seconds to claim fourth overall , a career-b est fini sh . Tig er Strank was a tick behind Smoot with a n 8 .996 for sixth in his first 54 0cc pro ride . Th e hill wasn't getting any easier , but Frazie r improved with an 8.720s e c o n d p ass , desp ite the rutted -up h ill. Evolution Ra cing 's Pinsonnault found a stra ight, smooth line to click off an 8.728, for third , .008 of a se c ond behind Frazier. "I ne eded cha ins today ," Pinsonnault said. "My bike just d idn 't seem to be going fast. When th e y told m e I finis hed th ird, I was shocked. " Wilkins was still fighting mechan ica l greml ins and his 9.269 se a le d Wats on ' s win. Watson was proud of th e b ike he and his dad put together. "T his is th e firs t time I'v e ridden th e 600 ," Watson s a id . "T h is th ing flies ." BOOcc Cu rr ent 800 c c Nat ion a l number four, Glen Petty Jr. , was the first big bore to challenge th e hill, and he had a plan . "I th in k the key is to go over the little jum p staight and the n c ut down based hillclimber up the middle of th e hil l, b u t h e nearly ate it over the hump . The rear-end kick ed way u p and sideways, but he had so much momentum that he sa ve d it, getting across the line without backing off for a 9. 11 O-second pa ss . On ce again , T im Fr azier fo llowed Watson with a fa s t run. The Harley Davidson Rac ing Pr o Hillclimb Team /G eren c er ' s H-D of Elkhart/Cutter's Foam Fabrication backed rider h it the same lines that h e ran in t h e 540cc class and pushed ha rd all th e wa y to th e lights. T im climbed to second with a time o f 8 .237 seconds . Re iser 's Cycle rid er Jam es "J a m m e r" Large has won the 800cc Na t ional Champi onship in his first th r e e y e a r s of c o m p e ti tio n , a n d th e defend ing c h a m p was re all y c o ok ing o ff th e line. He got c ross -rutted when he lande d over t h e ramp a n d had to climb all over th e F&S Harley -Dav ids on to stra ighten it o ut. T he co rrections s lowed h im , but he still pulled in an 8 .177 , right beh ind Wa tson. Russ VanderVeen went out of bounds to e nd round o ne . Glen Pe tty J r. wheelie d ne ar the end of his second pass , but his firs t