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/128623
24th A n n u a l A MA Dirt Track Grand Cha mpionship s (Left) Johnny Cooper (82) and Michael Butler (1) clashed in the 30+ class all weekend, Cooper dominated the class on the Indy half mile. (Be low ) Justin Hittle was quite the half·miler at Indy, achieving success in the 85cc DTX (7· 11) class. (Bottom) Anthony Fong Jr. was one tough Hombre in the 65cc DTX class, splitting wins with eventual champion Matthew Weidman during the week. pu lled ou t to a four -length lead by the c he c k e re d fl ag . Cumm in gs r a n behind J ohnson to finis h third . Th e rider co u nt was down in th e 18+ Twins a nd 4 00cc Modi fied classe s, s o rac e o fficia ls e lected to run them to geth er o n the t ra c k while s c o ring th em separate ly . Gord on S chi o p era y b o om ed h is Har le y XR7 5 0 to th e 18 + fe atu re win , with Ro yal Add e rs on second a nd George Ma ck Jr. t h ird . Me anwh ile , Charlie ltalia had KTM tw o -stro ke -mounte d Joe Bromle y a nd La rry Van va lken burg covered on th e 400s . Afte rwa rd , both S chi op eary a n d It a lia t o ok a joint victo ry lap , ea ch ride r holding a c heckered flag to c e lebra te his win. It was clea r that Canada 's Ro yal Adderson was goi ng to be th e man to be at whe n the Open 4 0 + fina l ro a red off the line, but th en th e race ha d to b e resta rted. At th a t p o in t , Adde rso n's Harl e y-Davi ds on XR developed tr oubl e s , a nd he was forced to p ull o ut . Ins te a d , Dan Craw ford atoned for his earlier defeat by ta king a comfo rta ble win in the ma in, fo llwed by Dan We icht and William Co uvelis . J ohn n y Coo pe r go t t he ho leshot a boa rd his rathe r sto ck -loo king ATK 6 04 in th e 30+ c lass, with Mic ha e l Butler giv ing cha se. Butl er did e ven tua lly ca tc h Cooper lat e in th e race , bu t with th e c us hio n go ing away a nd the ride rs favoring the narrow groov e that had developed, Butle r could not find a wa y around Cooper and had to s ettl e fo r s e c ond p la c e . Ma tt McQuill in finis he d thi rd , well off th e p ac e of the le ader s. No qu e sti on about it : Illinois rider Rob Pearson is a stud on a cus hione d half-mil e. Pearson proved it by murdering th e field on th e fresh tra ck during his heat ra ce . Come m a in event tim e , howe ver , a nd Pea rs on was only huma n , a s h e b a re ly h eld o ff t he advan ces of Cory McDerm itt and 40 JU L Y 26,2000 ' cue I e rain de lays , th e Group I program ra n into the ea rly e ve ning before th e first feature ca me to the line . But when it did , th e tra ck had b een re stored to n ea r -p er fect co n d iti o n a fter th e groove was run -in by a co uple semifina l events . Man y of Monda y' s winners scored repeat vict o ries , Jesse Janisch being no e xc e pt io n as he s to rmed off th e line to le ad every lap of th e 85cc DTx (9- 13 ) cla ss fina l. John Lewis, Ca rter Mye rs and Tr avi s Myer s tried to stay clos e , but Janisch was riding smooth ly and us urping every bit of his horsepower a dv a nt age . J an is ch too k th e w in , foll ow ed by Lew is a nd C arte r Mye rs . Pa t J a c obs en and Bail ey S penc e we nt at it a ga in in the 5 0cc J r. ma in ev ent , with J a cobsen and h is Co bra taking an early le a d a nd looking for all t he wo rld lik e h e was go ing t o s c o re a n o t her win . Appar entl y Spence had had e nough of that, how ev er , an d he wic ke d it up jus t past J ared Me e s to tak e a narro w win in the 600c c Mod class. McD e rm itt tried to find a wa y to pass Pe ar so n late in th e rac e , but th e notch m a de passing ex tre me ly tou gh . Smith was ba c k again to dominate a nothe r Pr o -Sp ort fina l, t his o ne b ei ng for th e 600c ~ riders . De s p ite ha ving to be patient bec aus e of several re d flags , S mith easily rolled to th e win, a he a d of Brian Vincent a nd Brett Pa nke . In a s howdown of sorts, Stev e Murra y of Grand Blan c , Michi gan , o utgunned the ta lented Charlie Ita lia in a qu ick 500cc Mod fina l. In fac t , Ita lia stru ggled rather uncha ra cteristi ca lly on the s lick notch , a nd ne a rly a llowed Matt Bu rton o f Ottumw a , Io wa t o overco me a poor s ta rt a nd ta ke the s e c ond s po t. Burton' s lat e -r a c e cha rge was too litt le to o la te , how ever, and Italia salva ged the run ner-up spot. Th e fina l event of the da y was th e h o tl y contes ted 250cc DTX class, which qui c kly came down to two ridn e "" s: e rs - Nick Cumming s a nd Cor y McD erm it t. T h e tw o riders outd is tan c ed th e rest o f the fi e ld, Cumm ings taking t he e a r ly le a d, but McD ermitt somewhow found his way pa st Cummings, who refu s ed to g ive up . McDermitt took th e win by only a bike length o r so at th e wire . Thanks to some rath er frus t rating the ha lfway po int and blew by Ja cobs en like he wa s sta nd ing still. Spen ce went o n to take the win , with J acobs en fin ish ing seco nd. Just in Pitm an finished third. J ess e J anis ch w as o nce ag a in un stoppabl e in the 8 5cc Mod ( 12- 15 ) cla ss, as he c ru ised to a no the r win in th e ma in e ve nt , m ak ing it fo ur fo r four on the In dy Half Mile . Carter Myers fin ish ed s e cond , foll ow ed by Devin J essop. J a c ob s en wa s o n fire aga in with his wa rp -dr ive PW50 in the Pee Wee 50 (4 -6) class , fin ishing far ah ead of Kevin Wa lter and Rob ert Bo ulis . An th ony Fong and Matthew Weid man squared o ff agai n in the 65cc DTX class, with Fong ta k ing a determined victory over We idma n and John Long . Michael Ross st epped up big in the 50cc Sen io r class , with Ma tt Weid man taking th e win in th e 65cc DTX class. Nick Cumm ing s held it wide open to claim a s olid win in th e 125cc Mod cla ss . Cumm ings was c hased to th e lin e b y c o us ins Loga n My ers a n d Ca rte r Myers.