Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Stanton stopped on top of the finish line table-top jump and saluted the crowd. Moments later he dropped his bike and gave his mechanic Danny Bedey a big hug. Stanton (2) and Brian Swink (15) shared the holeshot, while Damon Bradshaw (4) got sandwiched between Mike Kiedrowski (3) and Jeff Emig (8). Silver Bullet Showdown as the highestplaced heat race winner in the feature. Stanton and Bayle were the main attraction in the first of the two sixlap semis, which would each advance five riders to the main. Yamaha's Mike Chamberlain led the way for the first three laps before getting passed by Stanton and then endoing out of contention. Stanton inherited the lead, while Bayle worked his way into second after a poor start. The last two laps turned into a sprint race between Stanton and Bayle. With the last-lap flag in sight, Bayle set Stanton up in a long, sweeping whoop section and Bayle went to the outside and outrode Stanton through the whoops to take the lead. A lap later, Bayle sailed aeross the finish line with the win with Stanton a close. second. Noleen Yamaha's Larry Brooks finished a distant third, just ahead of Kawasaki Team Green's Gene Naumec and Suzuki support rider Larry Ward.. Cooper supplied the entertainment in the second semi, as he led from start to finish. Along the way he had the crowd chanting "Cooo-per" by throwing his Suzuki sideways over the doubles and triples. However, Yamaha's Doug Dubach made it a close race on the last lap, perhaps too close, as Dubach tagged Cooper's rear wheel in the whoops and crashed. Luckily Dubach recovered quickly enough to nab third behind Noleen Yamaha's Shaun Kalos. Following Dubach across the finish line with tickets to the main were KTM teammates Keith Johnson and Mike Fisher. "I was just having fun and showing off a little," Cooper said. "I made a lot more mistakes than I wanted to. I'll keep it a little tamer in the main and hopefully I can win." Kawasaki's Jeff Ward, who was making the final Supercross appearance of his career, finished sixth after crashing in the first turn and had to ride the last chance qualifier, where he came out and blew everybody away. Ward led every lap and had the crowd on its feet as he took the checkered flag going away. "I've ridden every race today, I know the track pretty well by now," said Ward. "I just need to get the holeshot in the main." Chalk one up to inexperience. The 19year-old Bradshaw will no doubt have many more shots at the title. Jeremy McGrath scored his seventh 125cc feature win of the year. the title approximately three seconds ahead of Kiedrowski, who had about five seconds in hand over Cooper. Bayle ended up a distant fourth, while Bradshaw finished fifth even further back with his Yamaha teammate Jeff Emig crossing the line in sixth a few bike lengths behind him. Rounding out the top 10 were Swink, Mike Fisher, Larry Brooks and Larry Ward, in that order. Rather than sailing over the finish line jump, Stanton rolled over the table-top with his fists in the air. He immediately dismounted his Honda on top of the jump and saluted the crowd, again, with his fists in the air. He then hopped back on his bike, coasted to the bottom of the jump and greeted his mechanic Danny Betley, who, in celebration, had flung his pit board high into the air. Stanton let his bike fall to the ground and the two hugged each other in triumph. "Neither of us could talk," said Stanton. "We were just screaming, cursing and crying. We really didn't say anything. It was just an awesome moment. We've had our ups and downs through the season, a few arguments, but we pulled together. "I've got to give Kiedrowski and Cooper credit," Stanton said. "They put in a hell of a ride for me." Later that evening, Betley walked over to Cooper's pit and said, "Thanks for your help, Guy, you ran great." Stanton's teammate Bayle wasn't so impressed with Stanton's ride, though, as the Frenchman rode right past Stanton, who had stopped on the track after taJ9.ng the checkered flag, without even glancing at the new champ. "He never said a word to me," said Stanton. "But I don't care. I won the championship; he can go back to France now." Bayle was unavailable for comment after the feature, as he was last seen . sprinting across the pits to catch a late night flight back to France where he will compete in his first road race, the French Grand Prix on July 18. While tears of joy flowed in the Honda pits, the mood was somber in the Yamaha camp. "I've never been in this kind of situation before," said Bradshaw. "I may have lost the championship, but I learned a lot today." When asked if the leg he had injured at the Red Bud National MX the weekend before hindered him, Bradshaw said, "No, it was all mentaL" "I feel for Damon," said Stanton, "but that's all part of racing." Kiedrowski, who finished second on the day, said, "It was a tough track and I ran as hard as I could. If Stanton The last rider to qualify for the main was On the Line Racing's Erik Kehoe, . who finished second behind Ward in the LCQ. With the $100,000 championship title on the line, the gate dropped for the start of the 20-rider, 20-lap feature. Stanton nailed the holeshot, chased by Cooper, Kiedrowski, Bradshaw and Swink. Bayle was running a few places behind Swink. "I knew I had to get the holeshot and get away early," said Stanton. And that's exactly what he did. While Stanton pulled clear of Cooper, Bradshaw stalked Kiedrowski for the all-important third-place position. But Bradshaw would never even slip as much as a fron.t wheel into third, as Kiedrowski passed Cooper for second on lap seven and motored away from the Suzuki rider. Now it was Cooper's tum to feel the heat of Bradshaw, but the pressure didn't last for long, as Bradshaw began fading with Bayle nipping at his heels. "I really didn't want to be the spoiler for Bradshaw, but I wasn't going to give it to him, either" said Cooper. "I was going to give him a race but not brake-check or rubberneck him or anything, just race him. I rode hard, but he was never really breathing down my back. I was making mistakes at first, then I smoothed out and pulled away from him (Bradshaw). His biggest mistake was not trying to pass me when I was making mistakes early on." "I knew Guy was in front of me and I had to pass him, but I kept focusing on the track too much," said Bradshaw. "Everytime I tried doing something, I'd go backwards. It was just a losing battle." As the race progressed, everyone was waiting for Bradshaw to' make his move, instead he just fell farther and farther behind Cooper, while Bayle trailed the faltering Yamaha rider closely. With just five laps to go, it was obvious that Bradshaw wasn't going to catch Cooper, and that's when Bayle. decided to pass Bradshaw. If it wasn't for the fact that the championship was on the line, the race would've been a snoozer, as the top five riders were significantly spread out as they crossed the finish line. Stanton took the checkered flag and 9

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