Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

і її i iiiiiB 11 ill —| ніш iibs ! mu i s!!!!s!=!! — the lead, but in turn one, Bast crossed his rear tire and tumbled hard into the cushion. Everyone made the restart, and Venegas, who missed the first gate miserably, came back strong and beat Pfetzing into turn one. The battered Pfetzing tried to stay wide, but his shoulder was not strong enough to withstand racing the cushion. He turned in a courageous effort and finished a close second. Back in the pits, Venegas' bike owner Rich Gadwa laughed, "That's another hundred dollars (each heat winner received a $100 bonus). That other motor (blowing) was the best thing that happened to us!" The crashing continued in event seven, as Hamill and Jes Ochoa tangled in the first corner to bring out another red flag. Both riders restarted and were battling for second far behind the leading Oxley when they tangled again on lap two. Out came the red flag once again, and Oxley was robbed of a certain win. Referee Fishback was ready to exclude Hamill for causing the crash, but Hamill pleaded his case and Fishback went to his assistant Cary Pollard. This time, Hamill came off the line first and Ochoa last. Hamill posted a win with room to spare over Kossuth, while Oxley ended up getting third. As Hamill turned on the track to pick up his $100 bonus, he and Ochoa nearly collided again! "I had it won twice,"said Oxley. "It's hard to see what goes on behind you, but obviously there was a prob lem. Jim Fishback is the best referee we've got on the circuit and I'll take any call he gives." Across the pits, Hamill was critical of his starts. "I can't get out of my own way out of the gate," he said, shaking his head. "It looks like I'm going to have to do it all from behind, the hard way." Despite an ill-handling motorcycle, Schwartz took a hard-fought victory in event eight. He bobbled in turn four on the second lap, and Correy caught up with him. In turn one on the next lap, Correy gave Schwartz a shot and knocked off his chain guard. Schwartz maintained his cool and scored his second win of the meeting. That left him tied for first with Manchester and Venegas after two rounds. "My bike wasn't really 100 percent in that race, but I pulled it off," stated the two-time Champion. After dropping from a first- to a second-place finish in rounds one and two, Faria took another step down when Pfetzing and Hicks bested him in heat nine. Pfetzing beat everyone off the line. Faria was second, but Hicks passed him before the end of lap one. Still feeling the effects of his earlier crash, Faria nearly dropped to last before fighting off Oxley. "I can't ride my own race," said Pfetzing. "I've been wanting to go out and attack the cushion. I just can't do it. I'm really just hanging in there. I can't believe I won a race." Lucero started his march towards the rostrum with a win in heat 10. Brent Werner and Bast pinched Lucero back on the start, but the 1988 National Champion brilliantly cut to the inside and passed both of them in turn three. From that point on, it was all Lucero. The best race of the night was in heat 11. Schwartz beat Hamill off the start and they began to duke it out for the lead. Brant was in last place on lap one, but soon moved into third. Brand went to the outside and shot past Hamill at the halfway point. He stayed wide and went after Schwartz. Bobby Schwartz (left) was the oldest rider in the competition, but scored just two points less than Manchester for second overall. Schwartz found extra traction and bobbled in turn four just before the white flag. Brant kept the throttle pegged and off turn two on the last lap, he went by for the lead. Brant took the win and pumped his hand in the air while receiving a standing ovation. Brant had an ear to ear grin when he pulled off his helmet. "There is some pretty good dirt out there (on the outside) and it helped. Billy (Hamill) was pushing on Bobby (Schwartz) and that kept Bobby on the pole. That left me the room out there and I know how to make the outside work. I had nothing to lose so I tried my hardest and it paid off." Heading into heat 12, Manchester and Venegas were the only undefeated riders. Correy pressured Manchester all the way, but he could not find a chink in his armour. Manchesetr won, and was well on his way to the title. Venegas only managed a third place finish. "My confidence is really high right now," said Manchester. "I've got my toughest competitors coming up in Billy (Hamill) and Bobby Schwartz." Faria smoked the field in the 13th heat. "It ain't over till the Fat Lady sings," said Faria. "I've got to win my last one. Anything can happen. It already happened to me of course. It could happen to him (Manchester) just as well. I don't wish it to happen to him. Best of luck for him and me the rest of the way out." Heat 14 matched Schwartz and Manchester, and despite Schwartz getting a slight roll off the line, Manchester still beat him to turn one. On the second lap Manchester motored away, and went on to win by nearly half a straight. After the race, it was discovered that the fork leg on Man chester's motorcycle was cracked. Venegas dropped from title conten tion when he finished third behind Hamill and Lucero in the 15th heat. The fourth round ended with Kossuth posting a wire-to-wire win over Brant, Correy and Pfetzing. Heading into the final round, Faria, Schwartz and Hamill were the only riders who still had a shot at Manches ter, but all Manchester had to do to clinch the title was finish second. Schwartz, off gate two in heat number 17, steered his Weslake into first off the line. Faria tried to go around him on the back chute, but Schwatz shut the door in his face on lap two. Faria changed lines and went low, getting inside Schwartz and riding him wide in turn two. He kept Bobby Schwartz got his arm caught in the crash wall after a collision with Faria. taking him wide and as they exited the corner, Faria flicked his rear tire out and Schwartz flew into the wall, wedging his handlebar and arm under a plank. The red flag immediately came out and crews rushed to Schwartz' aid as he writhed in pain. The fans booed Faria, as he sat on his motorcycle with his head down on the handlebars. Faria was disqualified for dangerous riding. Some fans cheered the decision while others continued to support the popular rider by booing the disqualification. Faria argued with Fishback in the infield, eventually shoving the referee before returning to the pits. Schwartz returned to the pits with the left chest torn out of his leathers, but his crew scurried to prepare his bike. After the restart, Schwartz shocked everyone by smoking the field while wearing a T-shirt over his torn leathers. "It (the crash) really scared me bad," said Schwartz. "I thought I got myself pierced with a big chunk of wood. I don't feel very good. I'm not really sure. Right now I have a lot of adrenaline flowing. If I had a few minutes to think about it, I probably wouldn't have ridden the rerun, but I'm glad I did." Brant won event 18 over Hicks. Fans hung over the walls and cheered as Manchester won his final race. When the checkered flag came out, Manchester wheelied across the line and was immediately swept off his bike and tossed into the air several times by pit workers and fellow competitors. As the celebration returned to the pits, Lucero won heat 20. That gave him 11 points and tied him for third with Hamill. A run-off was required to settle the spot. Hamill tried high and low, but Lucero was equal to every challenge. In turn three on lap three, Hamill got too far sideways in turn three and went down. That ended his night and gave Lucero the number-three position. "The last round I was really, really scared," said Manchester. "Steve Lucero calmed me down a lot. He just told me what to do. It'll probably hit me a little bit later. It just feels good to be number one. I've never been number one at anything!" cn Results_____________________________ O/A: 1. Chris Manchester (15); 2. Bobby Schwartz (13); 3. Steve Lucero (11)·; 4. Billy Hamill (11); 5. Charlie Venegas (10); 6. (TIE) Mike Faria/Scott Brant (9); 8. Louis Kossuth (8); 9. Robert Pfetzing (7); 10. Brad Oxley (6). • After runoff. 25 IMHII II O cto b er 21, 1992

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