Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ DIRTTRACK AMA Grand National Championship_/C_am_e_1P_ro_S_en_'es_:_Ro_u_nd_I_4 ~ Terry Poovey (18) and Chris Carr (20) hooked up in a heat race duel that ended in a photo finish. After reviewing a videotape, the win was awarded to Poovey. Scon Parker (1), Chris Carr (20), Ricky Graham (3), Kevin Atherton (behind Parker) and Davey Durelle (58) thrilled the crowd in the late stages of the 25.lap National. 14 Carr led Tim Mertens across the line at the end of the opening lap. Mertens was in the race thanks to Billy Herndon, who had provided a Hud Racing Honda RS750 motor to Mertens after the Illinois rider~s had "blown up" in practice. "I've got to thank Billy, or I'd be watching today," said Mertens, who lives 90 miles south of Springfield in Belleville, Illinois. "It was a madhouse (the engine swap). R.ick Canode and some friends, all who deserve thanks, . made the change in an hour and 10 minutes. That's fast!" Veteran Steve Morehead led lap two, ahead of Mertens, Carr, Jay Springsteen and Poovey. The following laps saw those riders joined by Rich King, Jason Fletcher and Scott Stump in an eight-man pack that conducted many position swapping draft passes all around the Springfield oval. But things settled down into a twoman fight over the last two laps and it was Poovey and Carr doing the battling. They crosssed the line side-by-side at the end of the ninth lap, and the 10th and final lap saw the pair repeat that. Who won? Waiting for AMA Dirt Track Manager Mike Kidd to review the finish line camera videotape, Carr said, "I was looking at om front wheels. I think it was a dead heat." And Poovey? "I think he got me at the line. I need to start following through three and four, not lead." Both Carr and Poovey were wrong. It wasn't a dead heat and Carr didn't win. The tape showed it was Poovey the winner by an inch or so. Veterans Mertens, Springsteen and Steve Morehead rounded out the top five, but all three would have to compete in a semi in hopes pf advancing to the main. Semis While only the first two finishers .advanced to the main out of the heat races, the three eight-lap semi-finals would each advance three riders to the National. Semi number one epitomized the old thrill of victory, agony of defeat theme as the win went to rookie Expert Jim Sumner. The Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson-sponsored rider from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, qualified for his first-ever National by coming out on top of a fight with Dan Ingram and Gteg Sims with a draft pass on the front su-aight on the eighth and final lap. Ingram, who finished second, and Sims, who was third, joined the rookie in advancing to the National. Not as fortunate was Ronnie Jones, who was a little hot under the collar as he was sent packing after finishing fourth. "Farris (who crashed) nailed me twice before he went down," said Jones, pointing to black tire marks on the exhaust system boom box on his Gardner Racing XR750. Jones had gone wide to avoid Farris and had dropped out of the front running pack. He turned in a tremendous charge to finish fourth, but that was one position shy of a tra,nsfer ticket. Morehead also suffered the agony of defeat when his steel shoe broke just past the midway point of the race. He pulled to a stop at the start/finish line where officials unstrapped the broken shoe. Morehead returned to the race, but with no chance of earning an advancement spot, let alone catching the field. The second semi had to be restarted due to Donnie Estep crashing in turn three on the first lap of the original start. The restart was led off the line by Camlin, on the Brenny's Cycle/ Wiebler's H-D-backed XR750, and Rich King, aboard the Garvis Honda Town RS750. They were trailed by Mertens off the line and the three diced throughout the race, joined at times by Chance Darling and Willie McCoy. The checkered flag saw the first three spots go to King, Camlin and Mertens, in that order, and they were headed to the main, while their pursuers were through for the day. The third and final sem(started with six riders on the penalty line, including Davey Durelle, Jay Springsteen, Steve Beattie and Garth Brew. The first three would finish the race 1-2-3, but for Brow it was a race to remember, or rather forget. Durelle, Springsteen and Beattie were the first three riders across the start/finish line at the end of the opening lap - despite having started on the third row - and the conclusion of lap two saw Brow join the fight up front. But he was also shown his, number and the black flag as he crossed the line. Referee Jerry Kennedy had ruled that Brow had jumped the start. Brow ignored the black flag for the next three laps, an understandable decision, although a fruitless one, as he was either leading or side-by-side with the leader at the end of each of those laps.· Brow, who was riding the Cloninger Cellars Honda - formerly campaigned by Keith Day - for the first time, finally gave in on lap six and he pulled out of the race. The race ended with Durelle the winner, Springsteen second and Beattie third - all headed for the National- after the fastest of the three semi-Unal races.. Durelle was the first race winner of the day not to be interviewed trackside by Dave Despain. The TV personality suffered a broken heel when he jumped the last few feet off of the scaffolding from which ·he was announcing the races. Despain refused to take an ambulance ride to the hospital or painkillers and announced the remainder of the program before going to a local hospital where his injury was diagnosed. Camel Challenge The five-lap dash for cash - a $10,000 purse which would reward the winner with $5000 - gridded the six fastest qualifiers and Graham, the fastest of those, chose a starting spot in the middle of the single row. Parker lined up next to the grandstand with Atherton,· Graham, Poovey, Ingram and Carr· to his left. _ Parker, with an outside line\ led the field through turns one and two and down the backstraight on the opening lap. The four-time champ and Carr then crossed the line side-by-side with Atherton, Graham, Ingram and Poovey right behind them. Parker was also out front at the end of lap two, but lap three was led by Atherton at the line as was the fourth lap. The final lap began with Atherton, Carr, Graham and Parker running as one, and it ended with Carr the winner, Graham the runner-up, Atherton third and Parker fourth. Poovey was fifth and Ingram sixth. "That was the most fun I've ever had," said Atherton. "It was a helluva race." In contrast with Atherton's smile, Graham's face reflected disappointment. "I did everything I could do," said the runner-up. "It was a good clean race," said the winner, Carr. "It wasn't easy and we were fortunate to pull it out at the end." National Fast heat winner Atherton chose to start from the outside pole, next to the wall. He was joined on the front row by Poovey, Parker, Graham, Pegram and Carr. Herndon, Durelle, Sumner, Roeder, Springsteen and King gridded on the second row, and Sims, Camlin, Beattie, Mertens and Ingram sat on row three. The green light flashed and Parker pulled a magnificent holeshot anclled the field around the oval only to be greeted by the red flag as he came down the front straight. . Referee Kennedy seemed unhappy with the start and the crowd was unhappy with his decision to red flag it. With the crowd, which obviously had its share of Scott Parker fans, booing, it was announced that the race had been halted due to a TV cameraman having blocked the third row starters' view of the starting light. When the 25-lap race got underway for good, it was Atherton who held the point ahead of the thundering pack at the end of the first two laps. Lap three saw Graham take the point, trailed by Atherton, Parker, King, Pegram and Carr. It soon became obvious that many of the riders were playing a waiting game to conserve their tires. "I wasn't trying to conserve my tire," said Graham who ran out front all but unchallenged through lap 10. "But nobody was drafting with me either." The field closed on Graham on lap 11 and he got someone to draft with on lap 12 after Atherton steamed by him to lead at the line. Graham drafted by Atherton to take the lead back at the line at the end of lap 13, but that was the last time the seven-time Springfield winner would hold the point as the waiting game, the conserving game if you will, was over. "Yeah, we were conservative the first 10 laps or so," Parker said later, "but then all hell broke loose.;' "All hell" broke loose on lap 15 as an eight-rider pack rumbled around the oval' in close formation. Suddenly, Parker opened up a little bit of a margin over the pack that was headed by a quartet of riders - Graham, Pegram, Atherton and Carr, who crossed the line four abreast at the end of lap 16. Right on their rear wheels came Durelle, Poovey and King. As the laps wound down the excitement level went up and the capacity crowd rose to its feet to watch the drama unfold. . Parker continued to lead at the line,

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