Cycle News

CN III ARCHIVES P206 BY LARRY LAWRENCE BREAKING THE RECORD J une 8th, 1991 was a momentous day for Scott Parker. In fact it was a momentous day for all of AMA Grand National motorcycle racing. On that day, on the crushed limestone of the Louisville Downs Half-Mile, Parker won his 40th AMA Grand National. That tied the all-time wins record of fellow Flint, Michigan, rider Jay Springsteen. Ironically it was at that very same Louisville track where Springsteen had scored his very first National victory 16 years earlier. To rack up the kind of numbers it took to catch Springsteen, Parker had been pretty dominant in the years leading up to tying the record. So it was expected by most that Parker would quickly break the record and become the all-time winningest rider in AMA Grand National history, but a funny thing happened along the way – Parker went through a mini-drought. He couldn't buy a win that summer. The next National after Louisville that year was Lima. The surface of Lima was very similar to Louisville's so it was highly anticipated that Parker would break the record. A massive crowd turned out. Magazines and newspapers sent reporters to Lima to cover the feat. With Lima being relatively close to Flint, Parker had a whole gaggle of friends and family down to watch the race in hopes that he'd break the record. Anticipation was thick in the air, but Parker looked to be sloughing it off, laughing and smiling as he talked to well wishers before the race. Parker went out and won his heat race and then sat down for a hasty dinner in the pits. Reporters surrounded him and he talked about the possibility of victory number 41. "It's not something you set your mind on, but it's an exciting position to be in," he said between bites of chicken. "All the people in the stands know what's going on and that pushes my enthusiasm up. But whether I'm going for my first victory or my 41st, my job is still the same. I've got to go out and give it 100 percent." The race was exceptional. Parker, Chris Carr, Geo Roeder and Kevin Atherton were all in a tight pack battling for the lead. About two-thirds into the 20-lap main, Parker took the lead. The crowd roared and came to its feet. They wanted to be the ones who witnessed the historic win and were behind Parker. But then Parker made one little bobble coming out of turn two and the ultra-aggressive Carr took advantage and the lead. Parker had leaned so far on the slippery limestone circuit that it ripped the left footpeg off his bike. Even without the peg, Parker hounded Carr at every turn, but couldn't find a way around.

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