Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Baltimore, Ohio's Larry Pegram earned his second career National win with ease on a track that scared others away. > Pegram wins controversial Fresn9 Mile By Donn Maeda Photos by Mitch Friedman FRESNO, CA, SEPT. 13 t looked more like a backyard race than a Grand National Championship event The track was rough, the crowd was sparse and the field was thin. But in what many racers described as the' "worst race ever,", 20-year-old Larry Pegram gritted his teeth and earned the second National win of his career in convincing style at the first-ever Fresno Grand National Mile. \ Although two 600cc Nationals had been held at the Fresno Disuict Fairgrounds, it was the first time that the Camel Pro Series had visited the facility. Pegram's win carne in the absence of several top riders, as the factory HarleyDavidson team - Scott Parker, Chris Carr and Kevin Atherton - along with Jay Springsteen, opted to sit out the race due to appalling track conditions. "It's too dangerous out there to be racing," said four-time Crand National Champion Parker of the sandy track that rutted up in the first practice session, "and it's definitely not worth my life." While the salaried factory team and tbree-timechamp Springsteen sat on the sidelines, privateer Pegram attacked the track and led the main event - which had been shortened from 25 laps to 20 - from start to finish. Trailing Pegram's Texas Harley-Davidson/Sponseller Racing Harley-Davidson XR750 across the line were Rusty Rogers in second and two-time champ Ricky Graham third. Rogers, who returned to action after a one-race suspensio~ for wild riding, I 6 piloted a LA Racing Harley-Davidson, and Graham was aboard the FIG Honda RS750. "Yeah, the track was dangerous," said Pegram. "But I've felt comfortable on it all day long. My job is to race, and that's what I carne here to do." For his win at the American Motorsports-promoted, Budweisersponsored event, Pegram pocketed $5000 of the $33,000 purse, along with $4000 in Harley-Davidson contingency funds. Rogers went home $3250 richer, while Graham pocketed $2450. After the opening practice sessions, all of the riders agreed that the track was terrible. Large holes in the exits of turns two and four, along with rolling "whoops" on the straights sent more than a dozen riders swapping across the track. A two-and-a-half hour delay to blade and wheelpack the track was for naught, as the riders continued to struggle with the conditions when practice resumed. After the second wobble-filled practice session, a riders' meeting was held and the majority of the racers pleaded with AMA officials and race promoter Jim Webb to reschedule the event. That idea was turned down because of unavailability of track time at the fairgrounds, and AMA National Referee Jerry Kennedy announced that the race would be held as scheduled. "We did everything the riders asked for," said Kennedy, who spent nearly an hour himself driving a sweeper 'around the groove. "We graded the track, we packed the track, and we swept the track. We can't just call off an event like this, the promoter has over $120,000 sunk into this up front If the riders choose not to ride, that's up to them, but we're going to have a race." After the riders' meeting, talk of a boycott was heard, but the riders as a whole couldn't come to an agreement "The track is dangerous as hell," said series veteran Steve Morehead. "We don't want to give the promoter and the AMA black eyes by not racing, but the track is unfit to race on and we shouldn't be out there. But on the other hand, if we boycott it, we'll look bad - who will want to sponsor our series in the future? Also, the majority of us have come from the East and we can't afford not to race like the factory Harley guys can." After much discussion, Parker, Carr, Atherton and Springsteen shed their leathers and began to load up their motorcycles. "All the work they did to the track did no good, they just moved the dirt around and the bumps are still there," said Carr. "These are our lives on the line, and as a team we don't feel that it is worth it to race. Scotty and I are sitting it out so that neither of us will gain points." Though they didn't compete, Carr continues to lead Parker in the series point standings, 205-192. Graham, third on the day, gained points on Parker but sits well behind in third with 163. Pegram's 20-point win allowed him to overtake Atherton and he moved into fourth with 135 points. Atherton has 121. Parker's decision not to compete was arguably the strongest statement about the poor track conditions, as his chances of overtaking Carr in the points race with only two rounds to go now seem slim. "If I crash and can't walk again, the Grand National Championship isn't' going to seem all that important," said Parker. "If we don't take a stand now, how are the tracks ever going to get any better? As for the championship, there's two races left Chris knows what he has to do and I know what I have to do. Anything can happen." "The track was okay to ride on, but racing is a different story," said Atherton. "They want us to put on a show and the AMA thinks that we owe them a favor. We don't." "I can't remember the last time I saw a track as shitty," said Springsteen. "Hell, I'm still racing because it's fun. This ain't fun." , While the four riders began to pack up, the remaining riders were puzzled about what to do. While Pegram, Morehead, Graham, Rogers and Ingram had no doubt that they would compete, others drew a blank. "I figured that I'd do what the majority did," said racer/promoter Ronnie Jones. "The majority look like they're going to ride, so that's what I'll do. Normally, I would've said cancel the damn thing, but as a promoter myself I know what that means." With the show running over three hours late, fans became hostile and booed the Harley team as they. loaded their vans and left the track. Promoter Webb announced that full. refunds would be given before the racing began, and, according to Webb, approximately 400 of the 3886 ticket holders took the refunds and left. The time delay and the already-thin 3Q-rider entry list that was thinned out even further called for a shortened program. Time uials were eliminated and riders were assigned starting positions by their positions in the series points standings. The $10,000 Camel Challenge, normally comprised of the day's six-fastest qualifiers, was postponed and will be held at the October 10 Pomona Half Mile, the concluding round of the series. Expert heat races were cut from 10 laps to six, and a single eightlap semi took the place of the traditional three' eight-lap Semis. With the additional problem of excessive tire wear, the main was shortened to 20 laps. Heats The crowd booed, threw beer cups and set fire to the front straightaway hay bales when only four riders lined up at approximately 5 p.m. for the first of four heat races that offered two direct transfer positions in each. Canadian National Champion Steve Beattie, rookie Expert Allon McBee, Billy Herndon and Mike Inderbiuen sat on the line, while Terry Poovey sat on the sidelines, still contemplating the situation. Beattie grabbed an immediate lead at the start, ahead of Herndon, McBee and Inderbiuen. Herndon stalked Beattie for two laps before pushing his Hud Racing Honda RS750 past for good. Beattie glued himself to Herndon's rear . fender and crossed the finish line a close second aboard his Deeley' HarleyDavidson with a comfortable lead over McBee and a distant Inderbitzen. "I just wanted to go out and see how it was," said Herndon. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure if I'm going to come back out in the main. Even with only

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