Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Formu la USA/wrench e ad. com National D irt Track S erie s Round 6 : Portland Spe edw a y back a little lat er and saw t hat I had Corsetti sai d . "I [kn o w that ] I have the enough g ro u nd o n Dann y [F is her] to han g o n to fifth and th en was content wi t h th at. " W hile Fishe r h e ld a lock on t he fifth position, t he ba ttle for sixth - th e m a c h in e ca pa ble of f in i shin g up th er e . D anny ' s a great rider: h e ri des a ll of t h e tim e a nd has a lo t more experience t ha n I do w ith all of his Grand Natio na l stuff, but I think that I second most climactic batt le to the proved I can ru n with these gu ys. I Sp rin g steen / L an d es finish - was th at of th e Sta n ley/Corsetti clash. Corsett i , wh o was ridi ng t h e Ron Woods - got o ff t h e l i ne in I I t h , but go t around Pa ul [ B e rgs trom], Jason tun ed Fact ory Rot ax, w as all over t he [T y e r] and Nate [W ai t ] after a lap . Onc e I g ot by Gary I kept g unnin' fo r Bell ingh am , W ashingt on , ri der after overtaking Rog er s' 750 a nd m ak in g a Da n b ut used up a lo t of energy to ge t t here." vai n drive to n ar ro w th e g ap on Stanle y o n t h e sa me l ap th at Schn ab el Fin i shing a c l o se ei gh th t o th e Stan le y / Co rse tt i battl e fi ni sh w a s had overta ken F isher for fourth place . Cor setti pushed Stanley a ll t he way to t he fini sh , but despite b e in g Rogers La k e Ra c in g - su pp o r t e d . Ro g ers. Rog e rs ran e i g h t h o n th e opening lap and stayed t he re fo r o ne u n a b le to make a pass stick - his last-ditch attempt o f nabbing Stanle y went a w r y - a lt h o u g h the final out c ome pleased the Californian. Stan le y , wh o had earlie r dominated d u ring lap before releg at in g A ll en Racing /KK Rac ing -sponso red T y er ba c k a posit ion , and sta y ed th er e fo r se ve n la ps until Corsetti 's progres sion d erail ed . h is o w n and he finished e ig ht h . "I m ov ed up a p o siti on , b u t I Pro Si ngl es p ortion o f t he prog r am , h ad th e advantag e going his wa y afte r ge tti n g a bett er d rive off of turn points standings at 296. Wash ington riders Kurt Hawk a nd D on Wilson c omple t ed t h e top 10 after st arting in 14 th and 15th p o si ti on s. Ha wk , a first -y ear Expert fr om Pre st on , Washingt on , wh o ne arly much , [t o si xt h ], bu t t o fin ish th er e , man that' s great. I w as really h av in ' a pull ed off a vi ctory in th e Pro S ingl es fina l the night prior at C astl e Ro ck , made h is National d ebut ab oard th e ha rd tim e j u s t breath ing, a n d when Corsetti caught m e, he really m ade me work to st ay there. All of the mus - The majority of the riders opted to compete in the National class ri d ing 600cc sing le s . but 12 chose to utilize 750cc (or larger) machinery. The most successful of the 12 was Jay Spring. steen. the second-place finisher. A multi-rider pileup during qualifying sent four riders to two Portland hospitals. Washington's Lonny Kopp encountered engine failure while nunning ahead of a large field of riders during timed practice. his bike locking up and leavinq nowhere for the following riders to go. Kopp was uninjured. but Eli Price. Troy Rose. Todd Somers and Robert Miller weren't as fortunate. Price was reportedly the worse off, suffering facial lacerati ons and internal injuries. while the others received possible broken bones. although the information at press time was not available. One rider who was seriously injured last week at Springfield. Washington rider Dan Stanley. made his Suzuki-mounted debut aboard the Dennis Armstrong/Brian Billings Suzuki DRZ400. Stanley. who crushed two vertebrae and badly tore lower back muscles. dominated the Pro Singles class and would later finish sixth in the National. Jay Springsteen was one of only a few w ho e le cte d to rid e 750s in the ha lf m ile. Springer couldn't match Ca rr's pace, bu t he rode well to fi ni sh second. F o othills E x cavat ing /H awk Ra c ing cles in my lower ba ck are tore up so Rota x , and finished ninth. "T h is is by far m y best ni ght of rac - bad that it's amazing that I'm riding at a ll. It h urts just t o move around at ing as an Expert," sa id Ha wk wh o la st yea r dominated th e N o rthw est a s a all ," the BBRP/Circl e F /Be ll - b a c k ed Stanley added whi le slumped in h is cha ir . " Ye a h , I was ho p ing to c atc h him [St anl ey], but I d r ifted up h ig h on the Pro -Sport rider and quickly made th e tran sition t o an Expert a su c c es sfu l one while co ntesti ng th e Pro Singles portion of th e Series . "It feel s rea ll y good to finish ninth and run w it h th e last l a p and i t was all over with , " It seemed like Chris Carr could do no wrong on this part icular night aboard the Kenny Tol bert -tuned Rotax. Afte r setting the evening' s fastest time during qualifying. Carr connected on holeshot honors in the first and fastest of the three heat races, followed by Oregon's Rex Fisher and Steve Ub erty, both of who would trail the long -gone Carr to the finish . Paul Bergstrom, with a fourth-place finish aboard an XR750 Harley-Davi dson , netted a tran sfer, although Don Hart, Lonni e Pauley and the rest of the field were semi bound. Jay Spring steen, who set the second fastest tim e in qualify ing, led Dan Stanley, Brett Landes, rookie Expert Kurt Hawk and Oregon' s Beau A. Brown in the second heat race. Springst een would maintain a Carr -lik e lead to the fini sh to nab the victory ahead of the close Stanley/ Landes confrontation, a battl e in which would go to the finish in Landes' favor . Also tran sferring directl y was Wood -Rotax backed Mark Corsetti , the fourth -p lace finisher. Wisconsi n's J.R Schnabel , the third fastest quali fier, had thing s going his way in his decimation of the third heat race. Schnabel led Gary Rogers, Texan Jason Tyer and Nate Wait into the National final. Two sem is transferred the top two finishers to the final from each. Washing ton's J .P Simonsen, best known for his TT prowess, showed he had oval track promise by notchin g a victory in the first semi in which featured nine riders, alth ough only Simonsen and Californian Hart would gain tickets to the elite 18-rider final. Hawk, who in the second heat race narrowly m issed out on a tran sfer to what would be his first National berth , got around early race leader Brown early on In the eight- lap sem i. Hawk achiev ed his ultim ate goal of a transfer by scoring a convincing win ahead of the Oregonia n Brown . Thirteen riders assembled for a last-ditch attem pt at making the final. Washingt on' s Chris Fitzhugh absconded with the lead at the unleashing , but the fading Fitzhu gh would eventually fall to seventh. Pauley, the first rider to displace Fitzhugh, led to the fini sh to earn a berth to the final , but the final tick et to the main event went to the wire. Rotax rider Wilson and Russell, riding an XR750 Harley-Davidson, fought to the finish, but Wilson got the drive out of tum four on the final lap to narrowly edge Russell at the line and was the 18th and final qualifier for the final. ue Seventy-two riders were on hand for the inaugural Po rtla nd event. evenly split with 36 entrants in the National class and 36 in the Pro Singles class. Only six riders. though. did double duty by making both the National and Pro Singles final: Dan Stanley. J.R Schanbel. rookie Expert Kurt Hawk. Oregon's Beau A. Brown. ldaho's Steve Liberty and Lonnie Pauley all fared well with the dual-class format. th en fo c u s on Seattle, " sai d Rogers , wh o maintains fourth p l a c e in th e points stan di ng s. "Must've be en ru nn in ' a bout se v en th o ff the line ," a b atter ed an d t ired Stanl ey sa id . " I didn 't rea lly m o ve up c ment to the state in which it currentiy sits - a clay oval - in July. and hosted its first motorcycle event in the Speedway's 75-year history. The facility has a rich heritage in stock car racing. and recently hosted the Outlaw World of Wheels. afte r th at j ust r e a ll y wan ted t o salvage w hatever po i nts I c o u l d, and C o rs etti at th e fi nish - netting sixth to a lso va ult Stanle y past t he absent Ri c h King into si xth place in th e S EPTEMB ER 20, 2000' Portland Speedway's surface recently returned to its dirt track roots. changed from pave- c ras h ed p retty h ard in pra cti c e a n d f o u r on t he final lap to ba re ly n i p 28 BRIEFLY••• I e n e vv s big boys in m y first N ational. " Th e v eteran Wil son , who w ith a se c ond-pl ac e finish in the LCQ a nd g arnere d th e final transfer to the fi nal aboard th e BBRP/Maxima Rotax , fo llowed Hawk 's proc ession through the field , but c o uld n't gain ground on the te enager , Hawk , and round ed out the top 10 . " I m ad e it to 10th after st arting in th e third ro w ," Wil son said . " I went forward quite a b it, it's one of those deals that you h ave to fe e l pretty good about w he n it 's al l said and done." Wai t , Bergs trom , J. P Si monse n, O r e g o n ' s B e a u A . B r o wn , Id a h o ' s Steve Li berty , Ca lifornia n D on H art and T y er , who ran as h igh as eig hth b efo re dro pp in g t o ninth - wh er e h e sta y ed until la p 16 when he dropped o ut - and Lon nie Pauley ro und ed ou t eN th e National fi el d. Portland Speedway Portland, Oregon Results: September 9, ZOOO [Round 6 of 1Zl HEAT I (8 lap s, 9 riders, top 4 transfer) : 1, Chris Carr (Rtx] : 2. Rex Fisher (Rtx) ; 3 . Steve Liberty (Rtx ): 4. Paul Bergstrom (H·D) ; 5. Don Hart (Rtx) ; 6. Lonnie Pauley (W· R); 7. Larry Marsh (H·D); 8. Chris Fitzhugh (Rtx) : 9 . Jacob Latimer (Rtx) . Time: 3:18.400 HEAT 2 (8 laps. to riders, top 4 tran sfer): 1. Jay Springsteen (H·D ); 2. Brett Landes (ATK) ; 3 . Dan Stanley (Rtx); 4 . MlIrk Corsetti (W · R) ; 5 . t5urt Hawk (Rtx) : 6 . Don W ilson (Rtx) ; 7. J .P Sim onsen (Rtx); 8. Beau A. Brown (CCM); 9 . Joshua Currey (W·R): 10. Richard Wall (H·D) . Tim e: 3:20 .925 HEAT 3 (8 laps, 10 riders. top 4 transfer): I . J .R Schnabel (H·D ); 2. Gary Rogers (H·D) ; 3. Jason Tyer (H-D) ; 4. Nate Wait (Rtx): 5. Jaime Aguilar (HD); 6. Shawn Russ (H-D); 7. Kenny Noyes (Hbg); ell 8. Ronnie Brown (H·D) ; 9. Christian Vernon (ATK); 10. Steve Pruczinskl (CCM). SEMI 1: (8 laps, 9 riders, top 2 transfer): I. J.P Simonsen (Rtx); 2. Don Hart (Rtx); 3. Don Wilson (Rtx ): 4. Lonnie Pauley (Rtx) : 5. Ronnie Brown (H· D); 6. Jacob Latimer (Rtx) : 7. Steve Pruczinski (CCM ); 8. Richard Wall (H· D): 9. Richa rd Wall (H· D) . Tim e:3 ,26.238. SEMI 2 (8 laps. 8 riders, top 2 tra nsfer): 1. Kurt Hawk (R tx); 2 . Beau A . Brown (CCM) ; 3 . Chr is Fitzhugh (Rtx ) ; 4. Shawn Russell ( H·D ); 5. Jaim e Aguilar ( H·D ); 6 . Larry Mars h (H- D) ; 7. Christian Vernon (ATK); 8. Joshua Currey (W·R). Time: 3:26.799. Lee (8 laps, 13 riders , top 2 t ransfer) : 1. Lonnie Pauley (W· R); 2. Don Wilson (Rtx); 3. Shewn Russell ( H· D): 4 . Ronnie Brown ( H· D ); 5 . Ja ime Aguilllr ( H· D ): 6 . Christian Vernon (ATK); 7. Chris Fitzhugh (Rtx) ; 8 . Joshua Currey (W· R); 9. Jaco b La time r (W ·R ) : 10 . Steve Pruczinski (CCM) ; 11. Richard Wa ll ( H· D ): 12 . Kenny Noyes (Hbg) ; 13 . Larry Marsh (H·D) . Tim e: 3:26 .608. NAT IONAL (2 5 laps, 18 riders) : I. Chris Cerr ( Rt x}: 2 . Ja y Springstee n (H ·D ) : 3 . Brett Land es (Rtx ): 4 . J .R Schnabel (H-D); 5. Rex Fisher (W· R); 6. Dan Stanley (Rtx) : 7. Mark Corsetti (W ·R); 8. Gary Rogers (H· D); 9. Kurt Hawk (Rtx) ; 10 . Don Wilson (Rtx); 11. Nate Wait (Rtx) ; 12. Paul Bergstrom (H·D) ; 13. J .P Simonsen (Rtx); 14. Beau A. Brown (CCM) ; 15 . Steve Liberty (H ·D) : 16. Don Hart (Rtx ) : 17. Jason Tyer (H·D); 18. Lonnie Pauley (W· R). Time : 10 mins, 20.8 14 sees. FORMULA US A/W RENCHEAD .C OM NATIONAL DIRT TRAC K SERIES POINT S STANDINGS (aft er 6 of 10 rounds) : 1. Chris Carr (388/1 win); 2. J.R Sch nabel (338): 3 . Jay Spri ngsteen (316 ); 4. Gary Rogers (29 6 ); 5. Mike Hacker (254) ; 6. Dan Stanley (25 0); 7. Rich King (248/3) : 8. J ason Ty er (22 4); 9. Terry Poovey (2 16/1): 10. Joe Kop p (200) : 11. Will Da vis ( I 98/1); 12 . Geo rge A Roed er ( 192); 13 . Kenny Col beth ( 190) ; 14. (T IE) Mike Varnes/Willie McCoy ( 188) ; 16. Greg Ty sor (176) ; 17 . Jo hnn y Murphree ( 160 ): 18. Dale Jenneman (136): 19. Beau A ,Brown/ Shawn Russell ( 134) . Upcoming Rounds Round 7 - Seattle, Washington, September 16 Round8 . Sacramento, Califomia, September 23

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