AUGUST 30th - SEPT 1st, 2002
HALLETT MOTOR SPEEDWAY, Hallett, OK.

By Charles Brothers

BACKWARDS A BLAST AT HALLETT

For the ninth event of the season, The CMRA decided to do something that hadn't been done since the 80's - run Hallett backwards. By most accounts, it was a worthwhile diversion and certainly increased attendance in Friday's practice as everyone was looking to learn the track and gain an advantage. It also helped provided a level playing field for the influx of Great Plains region CCS riders chasing crossover points. Another plus was the timely arrival of the first cool front of the season, which provided fabulous weather for the entire three days.

Racing action got underway early on Saturday morning with round 7 of the CMRA's Mini Endurance Series, but the new track direction didn't seem to have any effect on the results - Euro Shop Waco ran away with it yet again, this time by 4 laps from Centrifugal Force. Other class winners included K&R Mini Motard in Middlewight, THE Lab in Lightweight Super, and Bisquit Racing in Lightweight Production.

Forty one teams lined up for the five hour big bike race and Northwest Honda lead off rider Matt Maschmann got quite a surprise when he went out on the warm up lap and discovered he had no front brakes. The reason - no brake pads. The famous and long time tuner of the team, having already suffered sufficient embarrasment, will remain anonymous here. One Way Racing led the first of three waves to the first turn, ahead of House of Fish, Big Air, No Homeless, Faltless, and Excel.

As the race settled in, John Haner began making his way forward from the second wave on the HAS machine, taking over the lead on lap 12. Also on the move was Ty Howard, who started even further back in the third wave. He forged his way all the way up into second place but then retired, never having planned to run the whole race in the first place. HAS continued to lead but pitted a little early, three laps shy of the first hour. "We didn't know how far we could go on a tank, so we stopped early," said Haner. One Way stayed out and led the first hour results ahead of the House of Fish and HAS who fell back a bit to third.

To make a long story short, HAS used their all-star line up of John Haner, Marc Gifford, Heath Small, David Sanders, and Brett Champagne to eventually stretch out a one lap lead and nurse it to the finish, even though last round's winner, the House of Fish, applied steady pressure. One Way Racing took the final spot on the podium with Desert Rat fourth and Northwest Honda recovering to fifth.

The track was packed with over 400 entries for Sunday's sprints and the excitement started early with electronic qualifying for the USGPRU 125 GP. Danny Eslick and Ryan Andrews hooked up for the 12 minute session and traded the pole position back and forth before Eslick finally claimed it with a lap of 1:24.20 to Andrews' 1:24.26. Colorado's John Hjelm took the final spot on the front row with a 1:25.21

After the stunt team from mental ergonomics spiced up the lunch break for the large crowd, action resumed with the $1000 Shogun Shootout, which John Haner led by a comfortable margin until mechanical problems left him stranded in turn three. Troy Green took over and won the race ahead of Adam Coco, Craig Montgomery, and Waukesha Wisconsin's Chris Weeden.

The USGPRU 125GP didn't draw that many entries, but it more than made up for it by the constant three way battle by Danny Eslick, Ryan Andrews, and John Hjelm. On the twelvth and final lap, Ryan Andrews light weight was probably the deciding factor as he ekked out a 0.12 advantage over Eslick at the line. Hjelm was a close third with Robert Rawlins a distant fourth and Alan Tan fifth. To the victor go the spoils, and in addition to fastest lap (1:23.60), Andrews also won the $100 holeshot award presented by Blockworks.

John Haner came back with a vengence in the Shogun Grand Prix, and led it wire to wire. Troy Green held second until late in the race when Ty Howard came by after working his way up from a poor grid position. Shane Stokyo was fourth and Adam Coco finished fifth.

In the Amateur ranks, Michael Sanchez was his usual hard to beat self, riding a wide variety of donated machinery to take wins in MSS, UGP, HSS, USS, HSB, and probably others as well.