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/128616
e-rn o o la .c o m W e s t Coa st Fl a t T r a c k S e r ie s Roun d 2 : K ing s Spe edw a y STO RY BY S COTT R O USSEA U PH OT OS BY D EN NIS V OL L HANFORD,CA,MAY20 e ma y h a ve come o ut of semi re t irem ent , but it to o k o n ly 16 laps for Lonnie Pa ule y to prove tha t he is sti ll full-time fas t. A for me r AMA G ran d Na t io na l ca m pa igne r a nd cu rren t AMA Nat ion al numb e r 5 6 p la t eh old er , Pa u ley s hook off a ny ring rust he m ight have ha d a nd sto rmed to the Open A m ain eve nt win in front of t he 2 160 fans t ha t a tte nde d Kin gs Speedway for rou nd tw o of Ge ne Romer o ' s e- rno o la.corn West Coast Flat Tr a c k H S e rie s , thus s howi ng tha t he ha s a ll t h e ne ces s ary t o o ls t o re tak e th e series c ha m pions h ip th at he cla ime d in 1998 . Re ig n ing We st Co a st F la t Tra c k Series O pen Vint a ge Ch ampion J e ff J o hn s o n won t ha t c la ss ' ma in eve nt; whil e J imm y Abr am s topped the 2 50cc Novi c e Mod ifie d Prod uctio n m ain e ve nt. Th e com bina tion of Pa uley a nd his Turbo Blue Raci ng / Tuff Plates Wood Rotax was unsto p p abl e in the 14rider A m a in. He was seco nd off th e line .wh en the green light flashed, but he qu ickl y d isposed o f K&N Fi lte rc ha rger hol e s hot awa rd win ne r Don How a rd with an ins ide m ov e a t th e fi2{§j@ {][}@V!J@ [ljJ@@!J(f!J@@ [fJ(J@@Q!J@)]!J@[fiJ @ 5J!lJ!?tfJ!JiJD0 Dill)' fi] (sOD!?DD D@!? Round two of the West Coast Flat Track Series featured a large increase in the number of entries for the new Novice M odified Production Class. Once again, the novice racers had the chance to run the sam e night as the pros, using the West Coast Flat Track Series' unique formula of 250cc motocross bikes with minimal modifications; one rider had only changed the rear tire and removed the front brake lever. Mo jave Valley winner Scott Rousseau (3) looked set to repeat his win on the White Brothers YZ250, leading for most of the race , but with the white flag waving, A&A Racing's Jimmy Abrams (24) closed in and ran around the outside of the Cycle News editor in turns three and four, with both riders engaging in a wheelspin contest to the checkered flag. Abrams hooked up first for the win, with Rousseau a very close second . Scott Watkins, on a Honda CR250, followed in third, Frankie Eu banks (Ya m) and Bill Kiria kidis (Hon ) rounding out the top fi ve. '" was just sitting back there, trying to keep up," Abrams said. "He was going pretty good. The groove was real narrow, I was on the gas, and it was just one of those things where you've got to wait for an opportunity. , saw it, and , took it, last comer. It could have been either one of us. I think the class is great. It's competitive, low-cost - you pick up tires and you're in it." Fred Windum 26 J UN E 7 , 2 000 ' c ue I e nevvs e nt ra nce to turn th re e . Pa uley t h e n we nt on to clic k off meth od ic a lly pr ec ise lap s o n th e narr ow - gro ov e d King s Speedwa y half m ile , taking the win s evera l le ngths a he ad of Or egon rac e r Beau Brown on a BBRP -ba c ke d CCM. In doin g so, Paul ey a ls o ea rne d th e Ron Wood Raci ng To p Pe rformer Awa rd for be ing the highest finis hing ride r on a Wood -Rotax . "Every t hi ng j us t we n t m y way ton ight," Pau le y said . "I even started in the dust , a nd the thi ng just worked great. Bill y F a gun d e s gets all t he c red it for that. What worried me was that we put a new tire on it be fore the m ain ev ent , but it 's eem ed to work gr e a t r ig h t fr om th e st art. He [Howa rd] was fast in the co rne rs , bu t h e wa s d own a bit on th e st rai g htaw a ys , and I kn ew th at if I co uld get in behind him I co uld swoop him o n th e stra ig htaway a nd tr y to run off wi t h it. Thi s tr a ck wa s a ll th at I exp ected a nd m or e ." Brown , who m ade a big spla sh at th e Formul a USA /Wren ch ead .c om Na tiona l Dirt Track S e ries o pener in F o rt Wo rt h , T e x a s , whe n h e b e a t re igning AMA Grand Natio na l Cham pion Chri s Ca rr to ea rn a d irect tra nsfer into that m a in e vent, pu t in a ste lla r sh owing a t Ha nfo rd aft er getting a le ss than stella r start. The 19 -ye a r-o ld m ore than m ad e up for it by pu lling in t o fifth pla c e a nd th en s woo pi n g under fourth-pl a ced Rob Damron a nd third -pl ac ed Billy Martin in turns one a nd two on lap s even. He would catch and pass How ard jus t a few lap s late r, rolling on to land the runner -up spot, e a rn h is seco n d West C o a st Fl at Tra ck Series pod ium finish in as ma ny round s a n d ta k e o ve r th e s er ie s p oints lead . Wi th t he a b sen c e of pr ev io us ro und w in ner J oh nn y Mu rp h re e a nd re ig ni ng s e ries c h a m p io n Ron n ie Bro wn , it wo u ld see m that Be a u Brow n now has a n in si d e track o n t h e We st C o as t F la t Tra ck Se ries title. " I' m j u s t so h appy rig ht now ," Br own sa id . "This is th e be st [pro] finis h th at I' ve e ve r h a d . I was ju s t ru nni n g a lo w line , a nd it paid off. I felt a lot b etter ru nn ing a CD5 [Goodye a r rear tire ]. We we r e run n in g an 8 e a r lie r , a n d it s how ed th at we were sp inning th e tire all the way d own the ra c e tra c k. We threw the five b a c k o n th ere , a n d it worked . I was jus t trying to run a c o ns ist e nt ra c e a nd kee p pi c k ing up th e pa ce." Howard ' s third -p la c e finis h might not see m like a big deal un til yo u c ons ider that he ca pt ured th e s pot a board a ra t he r un c on v e n t ion a l p ie c e o f equ ipment. Us ing a Hus a berg FC600 . th a t is s et up fo r th e pa ve m e nt/ di rt co ntes ts kn own a s Sup e r Mot ard , Howa rd was bullet-fast all night, e asi ly w inning h is hea t ra c e t o e a rn a di rec t transfe r to th e m ain event . He the n grabbed the holesh ot a nd led the featu re ra c e fo r two turns a nd a back straightaway . Th en Pauley got by, and Howard c oul d n ot h old off Br o wn e ither, but he still finish ed comfortably ah ead of th e re st of the pa ck to cla im the last s po t on the podi um . "We we re jus t o u t here to hav e fun ," Howard s aid . "I th ink that I got co n fuse d wh en we ca m e o ut he re . Th e o nl y asph a lt I saw was o n th e wa y to the tra c k! But it worked good. It didn 't like th e marbly stuff, but if I kept it on the b lue , I wa s doing good . I had no idea it would go th is good on a flat track . This was re ally a ne a t tra inin g deal for me . We' ll be ba ck." Beh ind the front -running trio we re a co uple o f good b attl e s , as eve nt ua l fourth- pla ce finish e r Martin a nd fifthplac e finish er Dam ron ran in form at ion fo r t he e ntire d istanc e , ne ith e r rider giving or gaining a nyth ing . Th e nint hpla ce ba tt le was also a good one , as Rob ert S ea y, Sha wn Raggio a nd Kevin Bric ke r co ntested the s po t. Seay held it for mu ch of the race but ultimatel y yie lded to Ra ggi o a nd th en Br icker , dr opp ing to 11 tho They were rac ing just as hard right behind Seay. Jerry