Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

lead and the win. Shobert a nd Graham followed fo r the tra nsfers to the National. Mi ke Kidd put a Honda at th e front of heat two for the opening lap . Goss, from third, motored up on the high li ne in turns 314 around Adams and Kidd to take the lead and leave the figh ting to the rest of the fiel d as he sped awa y. Roger Crump, who has been in and out of racing for 10 seasons , caugh t fire and moved up to ch allen ge Ada ms for seco nd as Kid d slipped ba ck to fourth. Crum p and Adams tra ded second, but wh en th e checkered flag flew it was Adams leadi ng. T he th ird heat saw a five rider duel led by Honda 's Billy Herndon-riding Lance Jones' XR after Jones scra~ed from the program af ter two practice sessions -in the opening laps , slip to a four ri der fray by lap five. H erndon held onto the lead, hounded by Mertens, Jay Beach a n d Fa rris. ~he.n Farris came around on la p SIX hIS brake disc was glowing red hot. Earlier, Fa rr is had come so close to the wall exiting tum four th at he had pushed himself away with his foot. On the ninth lap, H erndon coasted to a stop in turn two, th e victim of his engine's flywheel co ming loose and cutting an ignition wire. Mertens and Beach ran 1-2 to the fla g while Farris saved third after nea rly going to the wall in turns 3/4 when his brake failed as h e was charging into the tu rns. Poovey and Alex J orgensen put.on a good fight in heat four for the first four laps. Then th e engine in Jorgensen 's XR went on one cylinder and he was out for the night. Poovey had an easy time to the finish with Steve Hall and Tom Maitland rounding out the top three. Of n o te was a spirited ride to fourth place by Tammy Kirk, the only Expert ranked female in AMA dirt tra ck co m pe tition. This was the quickest heat of the nigh t, giving Poovey the pole for the National. Semis Only one rider would transfer from each semi. The fiel d was so slim that Charlie Roberts made th e semi grid ' with ou t actu all y racing in a heat. Mike Kidd led Mickey Cole for 10 laps in.the .fir~\ semi, Co le di d some fancy riding, but Kidd's ex pe rience' kept him in front for the win. The ' second semi belonged to Eklund. He led the entire distance, followed by Kirk, who could never really get within striking dista nce . Last Chance The final slot in the 15 rider field for the National would come from the Last Chance race. " I didn 't really plan on having to run 30 laps through the heat, semi and this race to make the National," said winner Ted Boody. " H owever, I'm not com p lain ing." (Top left) Tim Mertens and crew prepare for the National, )Nhere Mertens was fifth . (Above) Third place Scott Parker. (Below) Goss (6) hounds Poovey late in the race. National Roger Crump was probably the happiest rider on the grid for the National. He was grinning from ear to ear. " I figured I would get serious about my racing one last time this year," said Crump. "This is the first National I've been in since 1975. I'm having a good time." The 6-6-3 three row grid saw Poovey choose the grandstand sid e pole position. Tim Mertens streaked away at the green light to grab the lea d followed by Parker, Poovey, Crump, Goss, Hall, Shobert and Graham. O n the next lap Mertens run at the front came to an end as Poovey took cha rge. " It was fun while it la sted," said Mertens afterward. The top four broke away from the rest of the field with Poovey openin g a bit of breathing room on the Mertens/Parker/Goss duel for second . On lap four, Goss made his move to charge from fourth to second. Poovey was still running ou t front and ha ving his way on lap seven while Goss had gotten away from Parker, who had passed Mertens one lap earlier. Crump was having a good ride in fifth followed by Shobert and Graham. Goss was steadily on th e move in the laps just before th e halfwa y flags in the 20 lap National and was cutting down Poovey's adva ntage. He moved up to challenge on lap 10 and the two began a duel that would last to th e ch eckered flag. Parker was well clear in third with Mertens holding fourth ahead of Crump a n d Graham. Steve Hall was out aft er a crash. Goss studied Poovey's line for three laps, then made his move to take the lead with a low line pass into tum on e. " I ca me h ere with fire in my eyes," 'said G oss.' i.'i haven't had a good year so far and I wa n ted to tum th in gs around." Poovey gained back th e lead on th e next go-arou nd . Farris was experiencing the same bra ke problems h e had in his heat and would soon go to the pits. Crump and Maitland were bo th sp ecta ting after cra sh in g . Crump received a sprained wrist. With five laps to go, Graham go t by Mertens for fourth a nd th e top five were set. Goss and Poovey never backed off their battle wi th Goss trying every move in the book to ge t by. H e couldn't. Poovey wa ved to th e crowd as he took the ch eckered flag as Goss watched a scant two bike lengths away. It was 12.26 a.m . "Terry.was in the right place a t all times, " said Goss afterwards. " I tried my best, but he wasn't making any mistakes." " The th in g tha t ma kes this win even more exci tin g for me is that my mother and father-in-law as well as my wife wer e here to see it," said Poovey. • Results NATIONAL: 1. Terry Poovey (H-D); 2. RandyGoss (H-D); 3. Scott Parker (H-D); 4. Ricky Graham (H-D), 5. Tim Mertens (H.D); 6. SIeve Eklund (H-D); 7. M ike Kidd (Han); 8. Bubba Shobert (HoD); 9. TlId Boody (HoD); 10. Jay Beach (H· D); 11. Scott Adams (H-D); 12. Rodney Farris (H-D); 13 . Roger Crump (H-D); 14 . Tom Maitland (HoD); 15. Steve Hall (H· D). TIME: 7 m in.• 22 .198 sec . AMA GRANO NAT IONA L CHAMPIONSH IP/ WINSTON PRO SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ricky Graham (134 ); 2. Jay Spr ingsteen (99); 3. Terry Poovey (96); 4. Scott Parke r (93); 5. Randy Goss (82); 6. Alex Jorgensen (64 ); 7. Gary Scott (63); 8 . Mike Kidd (53); 9. SIeve Eklund (52); 10. SIeve Morehead (51); 11 . Tim Mertens (45); 12 . SIeve Wise (43); 13 . (TIE)Ted Boody/Eddie Lawson (42); 15. Bubba Shobert (39); 16. Wayne Reiney (33); 17. Mike Baldwin (31); lB. (TIE) Scott ....rIOn/Dale Sil1gleton (23); 20. Mickey Fey (21). 11

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