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/128630
AMA/Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Trsck Chsmpionships Round 13: Illinois State Fairgrounds SPRINGFIELD, IL, SEPT. 3 ith tw o l a ps to go b efor e t he c hecke red flag fell at the Sp ri ngfield Mile, T eam Harl ey - Davidson's Sc o tt Pa rk er had so me quick thinki ng to do. Mak ing wh at coul d possibly be his l ast a p p eara nc e at .t h e Sp r in g fi e l d M i l e, t h e " ret i re d " nine-time AMA Grand National Ch am p io n was in a pos it i on to w in the r ac e , but it seem ed like every time th at he got a go od run off the fo urth turn , he wo ul d get pas sed at the line by one of three other rid ers running in the lea d draft with h im . T im e w as ru nn ing o ut o n the ra ce, on his c areer. It was ti me to try something new. Tha t' s ju st wha t t he 38 -yea r - o ld dirt-track er did. In th e fash ion of th e great Gr een Ba y Packers co ac h, Vinc e Lomb ard i , Parker r ea ch ed down deep and pu lled a new trick out of his m ile -racing playboo k . Drop - p ing low up the fro nt st raig hta way, Park er ran all al on e in the midd le of th e tr ack w hile his fell ow competito rs - J o e K op p , Rich K ing an d J oh nn y Mur phr ee - all ran th e traditional line against the wall. Park er then dropped back into line in turn one. The trap was set . As the front four hurtled into turn three fo r the fina l time, Parker buried it in as deep as he could , leading off the corner and running the low line again . J ust as he had hoped, someone came with him this time. Kopp left the out side to pursue Park er whi le King and Murphree, in third and fourth, headed to the outside. With that , Parker suc cessfully broke up th e draft and left th e rac e in the hands of ac e tun er Bill Werner, m ak in g the dra g rac e to th e li ne a battle of horsepo wer. N o t t o o m an y pe opl e ca n o u tmus cl e We rne r in that rega rd, a nd thus th e cagey Park er c ap ped off a hug e weekend of AMA Gra nd N at ion al d irt t rack ra cing b y scori ng his 94th - and po ssibl y last - career GNC victory before a sold-out crowd at th e 22 e B y S COTT R OUSSEA U PH OTO S BY F LA T T RA CK F OT OS S EPTEMB ER 1 3 , 2000ยท cue I nevvs Illinois State F a irground s, c ross ing the line fi rst t o bag his 14th Sp ringfield Mile. " I love coming here to Sprin gfield ," Parker said. "That was so awesome. Everyone gave each other plenty of room out there , and the track was beautiful. That was motorcycle racing at it s best. " After struggling at yesterday's Hall of Fame Grand National on the same racetrack , Parker was a player from the beginning on this day, running in a lead draft that inc luded Hall of Fame podium finishers Will Davis and Kopp , along with young stars Mike Hacker and Murp hree and Parker's factory Harley - Davi dson tea mma te King. The previous day 's w inn e r , D a v i s , an d reignin g A MA G ra nd Natio na l C ha mpion Ch ri s Ca r r ra n ju st behind th e lea d p ack , and they nearly ca ug ht it until th ey were forced to check up and pl ay it ca utious after Hack er's bike began to let go . Hack er was b la ck -fl a gg ed w he n th e f r o n trunners received th e fi ve -lap sign . He wo uld be credit ed wi th 15th place. Scott Parker earned his 14th career Springfield Mile victory before a packed grandstand at the illinois State Fairgrounds, then he picked out a random fan and took him for a ride around the track. D esp it e his presence in the lea d pack, Parker's victory was far from assured . "They drafted me out against the wall every time," Parker said. "I knew that I had to go low. I had to do something different. " A d iff eren t move led to a fa miliar res ult, and the woo woo woos once again rang out from th e t op of th e podi um, p erh ap s n ever to b e hea rd agai n. "I don 't k now if thi s is goi ng to be my last rac e or not, but I wanted to thank th e IM DA and DM Promotions (promote rs of the Lima Half M ile ) for ma king it feasible t o c ome to a few rac es th is yea r," Park er sai d. " I guess wha t' s most im po rta nt is tha t we got to co me ba ck and win one more for th e fans ."