Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Mv Owtrt FURce: 3 mike Brown ! 2th Place Tearn Pockstart Suzuki's Michael Brown once again rode his two-stroke and came away with a I 2th-place finish. Brown nailed the start in the main but 8ot pushed out to the Tuff Blocks in the flrsa turn and finished lap one in ninth. "l'm not happy with l2th, but still, lgot into the 26 Michaet Byrne Team Kawasaki s Michael B),rne came out on top ofa good bat- rle with MDVMotorsport's Nick Wey to finish sixth overall in the main. Byrne got a tood slart and was runnint third for the first couple of laps before dropping back into sixth. Wey pushed Byrne for more than halfthe race, and with the laps windinS down, Wey moved ahead of Byrne to take over the sixth-place position; however, Byrne got back around the Honda rider on the final lap. "lt was a tough track and I rode really tight," Byrne said. "l struggled a litrle bi! iLrmpint in the whoops - I'm not a bi8 fan of jumping through (he whoops - they were pretq/ rutted. Last year, here, I was jumpint the whoops and I went over the bars and busted my shoulder, and thar kind ofended my season, so I think that was in the back of my mind. I iust wanted ao get through the niSht safel). and get as many quality points as I could. I need to do better next week and not let ly_dn fEdesco] get away in the championship." 32 Ryan Clart 9th Place Ryan Clark put his Team Solitaire Honda inro ninth ovem.ll in Adanta, matchinS his best performance of the year. Clark has scored points at every round this year except at Anaheim lll and is currently I lth in the series standings. "l was lined up on the inside at the start and I actuall),, tot in the wake of the guys who got the holeshot," Clark Said. "l ducked under in the first turn. and I knew from the heat race that Suys were crossint lines on that first jump after the start, so I opted to single-double it, instead oflumping into it, and sure enouth. Stewart looked like he came across and hit Sellards, and ahere was a huge chain reaction ofguys going down. I ended up in sixth afrer rhat, rhen moved into fourth right away." Clark rode well during the lirst halfofthe race, but admitted that he tithtened up in the end. main," Brown said. "The track was a lot faster than last week's. I aint blaming nothing on my bike, but I think the straights here are a litle bit faster and the four-strokes run a little bit better I think I tightened up in front of the hometown crowd, but it's good to be home." 43 Tyler Evans I lth Place Team Bloodshot's Tyler Evans has had a rough year and currently sits in lSth in the series standinSs. ln Adanta, he made it into the main event by winning the LCQ, and, in the main, Evans started midpack and basically held his ground to finish I lth. "The tracks are easy," Evans said. "There's nothing ro separate the men from the boys now. lt's good racing for the guys up front. though, On these tracks, when you start in l5th, unlessyou are Carmichaelor Stewart, or somebody like that, you ain't coming up, be

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