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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/142442
(A bo ve) Shobert celebrates his first National win. (Top right) Steve Morehead was pleased with third. (Below) Ricky Graham leads Terry Poovey before Graham slowed with m echanicals. wheel ,as the two entered tum three on the final lap. Robert s won the race to the £lag by half a wheel to take second. Steve Morehead had wheelied off the line on the sta rt of his heat and it had cost him a shot at a top th ree finish and a spot in the Na tional. H e wasn' t going to make th a t m istak e aga in. The first three laps of sem i two were close. O n lap three, Morehead inched away and then bega n putting more and more distance between hi mself and a six rider duel for second. The final lap saw Steve Hall holding second with Rod Farris n ipping at hi~ heels. Farris took second away gomg into tu m one and Hall got it back going into tum three. Hall held on by half a bikeleng th to join Morehead in the National. Last Chance Qualif ier The Last Chance Qualifier was more like th e Last Gasp. It was a six rider duel to th e finish for the final ' transfer to th e Na tional with a lo t of position changing and four abreast racing on the front and ba ck straight. These 10 laps alo ne were worth the price of admissi on . It too k a conference of AMA officials to dete rmine the winner afte r Ricky Campbell, Bradley and Farr is all crossed th e finish line in wha t appeared to be a dead heat. Campbell got the nod by a whisker over Farr is. National " I love ra cing on the mile," said Mertens wh o was grinning from ear to ear . " I' m ready. " " I'm gambling a bi t by using a sof t compound rear tire ," said Morehead. " Wi th a th ird row start, I have to tak e a chance or two. You can' t let th e leaders get away in the early laps." This was the first race run under the AMA 's new tire rules which allow (in addition to any DO T app ro ved tire ) " a maxim u m of th ree ra cing tires accepted per manufacturer at anyone time during the year," A lis ting with th e app ro ved tire numbers (front and rear) was passed out at the Smoky Mountain National prior to the july 1 implem en tation of the nile. . . . . _ . .,.,', .. : _. _. . .. Brow ran afo u l of the rule in tech before the Nationa l and had to change his rear tire. " All we had mounted was a hard com pound tire," said tuner T om Cu m m ings afterward, "so the bike j ust skated aro und. The AMA saw the tire before because we practiced and ra n the heat with it. It wa sn't fair to tell us j ust before the National we couldn't run it ." Goss, who chose the grandstand side pole, was also running a harder compound tir e on the rear than most. Parker, as he likes to do, went right to the top of the track and the cushion on th e opening lap to grab the lead and hold it for the first two laps as things sorted out into a 17rider twisting snake. Goss challenged and then zapped Parker for the lead with Shobert, Morehead - from the back row up to fourth by the end of la p one - and ' Graham in a tight pack. O n the next lap, it was Sh obert in the lead. Then it was Goss' tum and on lap seven, More head too k the point. Behind this swa pfest, Springsteen , Mertens and Sco tt' were having a tussle over sixth with another crowd, led by Poovey, debating ninth. Sp ringsteen began to move on lap 10 Just as the engine in Mertens' Harley-Davidson XR7 50 went on one cylinder. jorgensen would soon also have engine problems and both would eventually retire. P~rker, who had gambled on tire . choice, found it was a bad gamble. "The tire worked great for about 10 laps and the n it quit sticking so I slowly slipped back," said Parker afterwards. Graham led Goss, Shobert and Morehead on lap 12with Springsteen, Parker, Poovey and Scott behind. Two laps later, Sh obert was on top, trailed by Graham as Morehead led Goss. Springsteen had broken away from the Poovey/Parker duel for sixth whi le Kidd and Ek lund fought-and would continue to do so until th e finish-over eighth . A scant three bikelengths separated Graham/ Goss/Shobert at the fro nt as th e leading three got th e sign for • •• • ,. . . ' I- , ' . I five laps to go . Morehead had dropped off the pace. Springsteen and Poovey were now battling for fifth ahead of Parker/Scott and Kidd /Eklund. Goss took the lead on a draft and pass move on th e backstraight on lap 22. Suddenly, Graham dropped back dramatically and the race took on a new com p lexio n. " I think a ring broke 10 the rear cylinder," said Graham. " Luckily, I was able to finish . I could have won this sucker." Springsteen went down on lap 24 mo ving everyone behind up one spot. With one lap to go, Shobert crossed the start /finish lin e with three bikelengths on Goss. Out of tum two , Goss go t a good dr ive and then drafted past Sh obert as they entered tum three. Shobert sta yed right on Goss' rear wheel through tum four and the drag ra ce to th e £lag began. Shobert timed hi s pass perfectly and pulled out of Goss' draft to inch alongside and th en past. Sh obert's margin of victory was less th an one bikelength and he jabbed th e a ir with a fist as the checkered £lag fluttered. "I didn 't really have any strategy on the last lap.t'' said Shobert. "All I could do was wait for Goss to try and pass, I wasn't sure he wou ld try me on the back stretch, but when he did, I felt sure I could out-run him to the finish ~cause I had been getting a better dnve off tum fou r all day. This win wouldn 't ha ve been possible withou t the help of Sandy Rainey who helped build the engine and has been coaching me. My dad has been behind me all the way as well as Scott Machine in Lubbock, Texas, j ack Sisemore, Megacycle and Bruster 's Performance in Lubbock." • Results NATIONAL: 1. Bubba Shobert (H· D); 2. Randy Goss (H·D); 3. Steve Morehead (H-D); 4. Terry Poovey !H-D); 5. Scott Parker (H-D); 6. Gary Scott (H-D); 7. Ricky Graham (H-D); B. Mike Kidd (Han); 9. Steve Eklund (H-D); 10. Ricky Campbell (H-D); 11. Charlie Roberts (H-D); 12. Steve Hall (H-D); 13. Garth Brow (H-D); 14. Ted B09dY (H-D): 15. Jay Springsteen (H-D): 16. TIm Mertens (H-D): 17. Alex Jorgensen (H-D). TIME: 15 min.. 38 .226 sees. AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPIWINSTON PRO SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ricky Graham (142); 2. Terry Poovey (107); 3. Scott Parker (103); 4. Jay Springsteen (99); 5. Randy Goss (9B); .6. Gary Scott (7 2); 7. (TIE) Alex Jor gensen/Steve Morehead (64); 9. Mike Kidd (60); 10. Bubba Shobert (59); 11. Steve Eklund (58); 12. TIm Mertens (44); 13. (TIE)Ted Boody/Steve Wise (43); 15. Eddie Lawson (42); 16. Wayne Rainey(33); 17. Mike Baldwin (31); 18. (TIE)Scott Pearson/Dale Singletorl'(23t;' 20 . Mickey Fay (21). . 7.