Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

T ed Jeyki ns began in sixth place but skill fully m oved thro ugh the pac k and picked up th e second spot . Steve Jenning s also ma de th e right m oves and took th ird , foll owed by Gary Ea k er . Th e sec o nd tim e aro u nd , J enni ng s placed seco nd and A lexa nder was th ird. Ray Dru ry slo tted in fourth. J ohn Webb , wh o just recentl y cele bra ted his 72nd bi rth day , is still th e Novi ce ace, and he proved it once aga in by com ing first in both m ot os. How ev er, winning th is time was qu it e a cha lle nge , as Ed Rodza ch wa s o ut th ere to win , too , and he made th ings exciting with his serio us rear- fende r pursuits . Webb pr evailed . and Rod zach placed second in both motos . Asker Larnkja er rode hi s fa st Suzu k i to tw o third-place finishes. D irt Cou nt ry Raceway Stricker Quicker at Dirt Country B y RUP ERT X. PE1.L.ETr BLANCHESTER ,OH, AUG .1 2 A cou ple of hund red racers tumed out on a hot August night at promoter Shannon King 's Dirt Country mot ocross co urse, which features acres of humps and jump s nestled besid e Lak e Dirt Country. As the ducks flew off the water and the frogs scra mb led beneath it, racing began with the screa ming song of two-strok e motors echoing throughout the trackside marshes. Greg Stricker of Moscow , Oh io, wa s the m aster of the fast ki ds, whipping his blu e YZ in for th e wins in two clas ses. FE1S Suzuk i's Billy West kept him hon est in the 80cc Extr a (9 -13 ) class, even tua lly tallying second overall. while Mason ' s Jordan Fl ege , on his Kawa sak i, fol lowed Stri cke r in for second in the 85cc Senio r ( 12- 15 ) class. Th is was Stricker's night; he wa s sim ply too mu ch for the othe r Mini riders as he whisk ed his ma ch ine around th e tric ky circui t, Cin cinnati' s W alk er Br igh tw ell pr ov ed he has the potential to be one of th e di str ict 's and possibl y the nati on ' s fastest Pee Wee ride rs by handil y top pin g the 50cc (4 ·6) class o n his Co br a an d also to p p in g th e Pee Wee 50 cc cl ass, besting loca l fast guy Tommy Meiers. Mar k Murra y sho we d o nce a gai n t ha t seemingly no one ca n beat this O ver 40 rac er at Dirt Country. When he ma kes an appear- Result s NOV. I. John Webb (Hon) ; 2. Ed Rodza ck (Yllm); 3. Ask~r l4mklaer (Sull . AM: I. Ronald Wwke (Yam ): 2. Steve Je nnings (Yam ): 3. T~ J ey kinl ( Yam ); 4 . Steve .AJMander (Yam ). EX: I . Gene J o hn l on (Ya m ). 2 . Philip Cruz (Ya m ): 3. Kirk Lukrofh (Yam). MSTR: 1. s teve Dona ldlIOIl (Yam) ; 2, \..any Williarm (Y am). th en Er molen ko found the way around him and took the spo t over. Northrup also tried to fi nd e way to get through but th e door wa s closed and he would have to settle for fourth . M cConn ell sli pped off th e groove, and he was credited fifth . In the Handicap ma in , Danny Perkins had th e 20 · ya rd lin e all to himself. The 40 had F i sh er , Castro and N orthrup . Ermole nko , Chris Man ch ester, Hicks and McC onn ell were on th e 50. Wh en the fla g came up, Per k in s tried to put so me breathing room between himself and th e pack, but Fi sher ran him down in on e. Perkins wa s moved off the groove and Errn olenko moved into second . But Hicks saw a double win in his sights. On the third lap, he was ru nni ng second and putting pressure on Fi sher. By halfway , the running order was set. Th e win was "Fl yi n' " Ryan ' s. with Hicks sec o nd and Castro third . Ermolenko , Northrup, McCo nnell and Perk ins roun ded ou t the field . Th e Miss ion Yamaha tea m of Bill Matherson and Dale Leeder t ook the Sidecar win , ove r Bob Brayton and Dwa yne King. Robert McCle ndon J r . jumped i nt o t he Open-cla ss lead , followed by Mike Speh, Tim Lorg e and Lou Snedden. McClendon held on for two laps, and th en , on lap three, Lorge moved around Spe h and McClendon and into first . Back in the pa ck , Steve Hartley got around Snedden on the fourth lap for fourth, wh ere they stayed fo r the rest of the rac e . Lorge, McClendon and Speh raced in a tig ht bun ch until lap five , wh en Sp eh zipped into second. The t o p five staye d in pla ce , with Lorge winning over Speh and McClendon. The K nobby class wa s another excelle nt race with qu ite a comb inati on of vintage and modem MX bikes. Greg Pet erson , on a 2000model KDX Kawasak i 250, jumped into th e l ea d, followed by Kad rova ch ( o n a 19 74 250cc Ho nda Els inore) , Myles Nelson (o n a n ew YZ12 5), and Jim Su mp (o n a 1974 Husky 250) . Pete rson and Kadrova ch were side by side, w ith Kadrovach taking th e poin t on lap three , but Peterson came back to lead laps four and five . Kadrovach again took the lead on lap six, but Peterson was back in fro nt aga in on lap seven. Kad rovach stay ed to the outsid e and went into the turns a littl e deep er, but Peters on ma i ntai ned th e lo w l in e a nd came out a little fast er, m an agin g to k eep it in fron t and win by abou t half a bik e length ove r Kadrova ch . Nel son rod e a good , consiste nt race to fin ish th ird in his fir st dirt- tr ack race , foll owed by St ump, ridin g a Husk y , wh ich he raced in a vi ntage MX the next da y . Re s u lt s S R OPEN: I. J~ Chalhngsworth (T rl): 2. Doug Ko drov oc h ( Hon): 3 . Bene Rod l ( Nor); 4 . Ji m St um p (Hul); 5. Lou Snedden (AlK) V1NT OPEN I. John Sluntlel' (Tn): 2. Joe Cha llings woeU1 (Tn): : 3. Doug Kadrovoch (Hon): 4. Bene Rodi (Nor); 5. J im Stum p (HUl l KNBBY OPEN: 1. Gre g Pelerson (Kaw); 2. Doug Kadro voch (Hen): 3. M.i Netaon (Yam ): 4. Jm Stump (Hus): 5. l.oren Yeril.ey ies (Yam) . OPEN : I. Tim Lorg e ( Rtx ): 2. Mike S~ ( H· D): 3 . Robert McClendon Jr. (Yam ): 4. Steve HartJey (Yom) ; 5. lDu SnedMn (ATK). a nce . Murray ow ns the tra ck . Th e Ho nda moun ted rocket man walked away from Brad Randolph . w h o fi nishe d secon d , a nd T o m Meiers. who wa s th ird . Maineville's m ain man, Kevin Hildebrand, a real-esta te professional and full-time m otocrosser , launched hi s F&S Suzuki RM250 to three class wins. topping the 250 cc B, Ov er 25 and Ov er 30 divis ions . T h e " Re · M ax K id " was unbeatable on thi s evening. A fine perf ormance was put in by Fairborn's Terry Blakely , who scored second behind Hildebrand in the Ov er 30 class and fourth in 2SOcc B co mpetition. Log Road Motocros s Durivage Dandy at Log Road MX Re s ults C o sta Mesa Sp e edwa y: " Fly in '" Ryan Fisher gollo Ihe fronl an d slayed Ihere 10 take the Han dica p maln-e ve nl w in in Cosla Mesa, Ca liforn ia . P/W 50 : I. Walker Brigh~1l (Yom) ; 2. Tommy Mf:tffS (Yom ); 3 . 'Mutt (Yarn). 50 (4 -6 ): I. Walker Bngh~1 (Cob); 2. Nick "'''itlIker (KTM); 3 . .kif Gragg (KTM). 80 (7 . 11) ; 1. J u on Hennjng~r (Kaw); 2. Billy We st (SUl); 3 . Brandon£Mtric:h (SUl). 80 ( 12. 15 ): 1. Cteg Strick er (Yam ): 2. Jor da n F1ege (Kaw); 3 . C~ Farmer (Yam) . 60 ( 14 -15): I. Kevin Branson (Hon ): 2. Ryan C ant~r (Sul) . 80 EXTRA: 1. Gr'1l Stricker (Yam ); 2. 8 l11y West (Suz): 3 . Jor · dan Flege (Kaw). 125 B: I. Dusly Adam i (Ya m ): 2. Bra d Ho lzapf e l (SUI); 3 . Robert l"IobIey(Ya m). 250 B: I. Kevin Hildeb ran d (Suz); 2. Ron WMek ~r (Yam ); 3 Lowell Mason (Yern); 4. T~ny Blakely. 25 +: I. Kevin Hil ebra nd (Suz): 2, Chris Dona ldso n (Ya m ); 3, d Joe Miller (Yam ). 30 ..: I. Kevin Hildebrand (Suz ); 2 , T~ny Blakely (Yam ): 3. Joe Miller (Yom) . 40. : I. Mark Murray (Hon); 2, Br4d Randolph (Yam ); 3. Tomm y M~ i~l'$ (Yam ). K~ Costa Mesa S p e e d w ay IIGorg e ous" Gary, IIFlyin '" Ryan S oar to a P retty Pair B y Et.AJNE J ONES CO ST A MESA, CA , AUG . 19 At Harl ey Night at Cost a M esa Spee d w ay , "Gorgeous " Gary Hick s pulled off th e wi n in the Scratch ma in event a nd " F l y i n' " Ryan Fish er won the Hand icap main. Th e first Scratch semi had Kit Nay on th e po le, with Fis her in two and Shawn "Ma d Dog" McConnell in th ree. On the outsi de wa s Bobby " Boo g aloo " Schwartz, wh o cui a great gate and was in the zone in the quick four-lepper . McConnell wa s a solid second, and the two would transfer to the m ain. Fisher and Nay wou ld have one more shot in the last -chance qualifier. In the second Scra tch semi, the pole went to Hicks, wi th Andy "Th e Enfor cer" Northrup in two and "Fast" Ed Castro in three . On th e outside was "Dukie" Ermolenko. Hicks read the gate perfectly and led the fi eld as they hit th e first tum. No rth rup was hot in second, and the tw o went unchallenged and transferred directly to th e m ain . Castro and Ermolenko m oved on to the LCQ. In the LCQ, on e rider wou ld m ake the fina l cu t to the Scratch m ain. and starting position was very important. The pole aga in went to Nay, with Fisher in two an d Ermol enk o and Castro in three and four. Ermolenko had the worst draw for position on the lin e, but o ne would never k now it fro m the sta rt he got. He read the gate to pe rfection and was gon e, and nobod y wa s able to get close. Th e fin al spot was hi s. Th e Scratch ma in had McConnell • whose best work is don e low on the Bu llrin g tr ack -o n the po le. Schwartz was in two and Hic ks wa s in three. On th e outsid e we re Northrup and Ermolenko. Th e ga te wen t to McConnell , but his lead wa s sho rt -li ved. as Hicks muscled hi s way und erneath and was in the lead as they came out of two. It was all over bu t the shouting . Schwartz ran seco nd for the first lap, but P e rris Race w ay Donaldson Masters Perris OTMX B y B OB A lLOY PERRIS, CA, AUG. 19 Th is night race at Penis Raceway was the firs t night race of th e year for Riversid e OTMX , and th ere 's usually n ot a very goo d t urnout at th ese events. Surprisingly, 35 un daunt ed rid ers turned out to test thei r night vision, alo ng with all th eir othe r m otoc ross ski lls . Wi th his awesome speed, it ' s difficu lt to beli eve tha t Masters-class racer Steve Do nal dson isn't a 20 -year-old Pro race r as he does those great-looking tri ple-jumps, He ran away with bo th m oto vi ctories and an im p ressive ove rall win. Larry Willi am s also loo k ed good as he blasted away at top speed and sco red seco nd place in m ot o one . Unfortunately, th is was follo wed by a DNF in m oto tw o. Gen e J ohn ston was in th e wi nning groove as he led the Experts at the first tum, and he proved to be an unstoppable force as he sped a ro und the t ra c k, o utrun n ing the m all and cha lk ing up the big wi n. Some good moves and a fast pa ce was Philip Cruz 's tick et to second pla ce. Bill Shu ltz was th ird . J ohnst on di d n't coo l down in m oto two , pulling off an othe r fast firs t- place fini sh Chri s Cumbo had things und er co ntrol and quickly zap ped th e rest for seco nd place, while Kirk Lu kr ofka crossed ove r th ird. Ron Wuttk e wa s defi nitely in top fonn and was the unbeatable Amateu r in both m otos. 44 O CTOBER 4, 2000 ' cue e n eVIl' S Re s u lts SCR: 1. Gary Hicks (GM): 2. Dukie EsmoI~nko (J aw); 3 . Bobby SchwarU (GM): 4 . Andy North rup (J a w); 5. Shawn McC~1I (GM), HDCP; I. Ryan Fisher (J aw); 2. Ga ry Hick s (OM): 3 . Ed Castro (J a w); 4 . Dukie Ermolenk o (J aw): 5 . Andy Northru p (J aw) SDCR: 1. B. Mu~ID . Leeder (Yam ); 2. B. Brayton lD. King (Gdo) ; 3 . J . Mathenon/ J . Straw (Yam ); 4. S . Morrow/ C. Cha pman (&al· SOP: I. Jo hn De Frlel (J a w): 2. Bentle y Barrett (J aw); 3 . Shawn Harmatiuk (J a w); 4. Pat Dwyer (J aw). SOP B: 1. Randy Kreps (J ew): 2. J ohn Stunk ard (J aw): 3 . PhUlp Williams (J awl: 4. Kevin Fefelfo (J aw): !l. David Moorf! (J aw). Oak G rove Motor S p o rts Park Challingsworth Takes the Challenge By Loa AND J ANET S NEDDEN BA KER, FL , AUG . 19 Joe Challingsworth rod e a borrowed 500 cc Triumph for the firs t ti me and sho wed everyo ne the quickest way around the fast O a k Grove qua rter m ile. winnin g the Senior Op en class and co ming in a close second in Open Vintage competition . In th e Senior race, Challingsworth led fro m the first la p and pulled away to a co mforta ble win . Do ug Ka d rovach and Beno Rodi ha d a good, close race fo r second, with Kadrovach eventually gai ni ng a little breath ing space over Rodi, who fi nis hed th ird . and J im Stump, w ho ca m e in fourth . In the Vintage fea ture , C halli ngsworth again jumped into the lea d , over John Sk in n er , on hi s g o rg eo us 75 0 c c T r iump h . ChalJings worth led until th e back straight on la p three , when his gas ca p po p ped o pen . Skinner took that opport unity to dive into the lea d whil e Challings worth fixed the ca p . Fro m there, th ey were side by side all th e way , with Challingsworth putting a whee l in at eve r y tu m . He co uld n' t qu ite m ake the pass, tho ugh , and Sk inner crosse d th e fi n is h li ne first by abou t half a bike length . Skinner's co mm ent after the race? "Wh o the hell was that gu y? " Third th ro u g h fi fth was a re -run o f th e senior race, with Kadrovach th ird , followed by Rodi and Stu mp. B y B ART N EWMAN BRON SON. MI , SEPT . 3 Th e 60 c c cla ss kick ed off Log Road 's race day. Some 29 of the littl e boogers lined up fo r their first moto of the day . Michael Chapman tested hi s main jet and roc k eted through turn one, leading Brett Wagn er and Greg Durivage into the ba ck secti on of the track . Wh en the lead freig ht tra in reappeare d, Du rivage was o ut fro nt, with Wagn er clo se behind li nd Cha pma n right there. As th e race progressed, Durivage slow ly p ulled away from Wagn er. Chapma n was ridi ng just off Wagner's pace but had sole co ntro l of th ird . The next th ree rider s • Ada m Behringer , Cody Hawkes and Bubba Cline " were all banging bars, ho ping to land in a top fiv e slot opening and hear their names bree d cast over Radio Log Road. In the end , Durivage won with seven second s to spare, Wagner was a lo nely second , and Chapman placed th ird . Behri nge r pu lled out the stops end m ade th e pass on Haw kes stick to claim fourth. Hawkes and Cline ro unded out the top six. In moto two, Wagner wheeled his Classic Trailer KX6 5 out in fro nt of the fast pa ck and eve n led the affa ir for a lap before Durivage fo und his way pa st to take the lead . Once out fro nt , Du rivage was on the move. opening up a big lead on Wag ne r and riding his pace to the win and th e overall . Wag ner was sec ond w ith a good -sized cushion over Chapman. who held a good lead over Cody Davis. Davi s had sta rt ed m ota one in fo urth . but a m iscue dropped him to 10th at moto one 's end, so a fourth-pl ace fi nis h in moto two WlIS a move in the rig ht direction . Behringer held on to fifth, but Cline and Haw k es ke pt him honest . Re sults P/W SHAFT (4·6 ): I. Logan R. Nevins (Yam ): 2. Alex G. Ditton (y1Il11); 3 . Lewil Hunt (KTM): 4 . TrftltM W. Risner (Yam r,!l. Dylan S . ~ (Yam ) . P/W SHAFT (1.8): I. Dylan Ch urch (Yom ); 2. Zachary Balsler (Vam ): 3 . Kaisle Monow (Yom). P/W JR : I. Alex G. Ditton (Yam): 2 , Taylor Morris : 3 . levi A. Da via; 4. Lewis Hunt (KTM); 5 . Conor J . Edgill. P/W SR: 1. Taylor W. Davis: 2. Colton LA ntlo (KTM); 3 . Kyle C. Straube (Cob ); 4 . Tyler Burdin (Kaw); 5 . M.11t J . Kova ch (Kaw). P/W 80 : L J amie Cra nda ll (Ya m). S/ M1 NI 100 ; I. A1~x Hotcheu (Ka w): 2. MoU ew L Haag (Ya m); h 3. Mork Tinsle y (Kaw): 4. Trovil King (Yam ): 5 . Andrt'WDunn. 65 BEG: 1. 5«yler Stoker (Kow); 2. Cole Hlnen (Kaw): 3 . Cody Caldwe ll (Kaw): 4. Seth Walter (Kaw); 5. Eric J . Kovach (Kaw ). 65 : I. Greg J . Durivag~ (KTM); 2. R. Brett Wagne r (Kow); 3 . Michat!1A. Chapman (KTM); 4. Adorn M. Behmger (K_ ); 5 . Bubba L Cline (Kaw). 85 BEG: I. Brien Howard (Hen): 2.. Dan iel T. Boggs (Hon) ; J . Scott Kobeck Jr. (Hon) : 4. Cory Le ~ {Kaw); !l. Ryan Young (Kaw). 85 J R: I. J erry Lorenz rn (YIIl11 ): 2.. GI1!Q J . Dun v3ge (KTM): 3 . R. Br~tt Wagne r ( Ka w): 4 . Alex Hot c he ll ( Ka w): 5 . Adam M. Behr"nger(Ka ...).

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