Campbell and Hengeveld miss overall victory by 53 seconds

Best in the Desert Silver State Series
Round 3: Terrible's Town 250
April 24, 2004

Campbell and Hengeveld miss overall victory by 53 seconds

The good thing about starting a desert race in front is that no clouds of
dust impair your vision. The bad thing about being in front is that you
can't see just how close behind the opposition is lurking. That was the
case for Honda Red Riders Johnny Campbell and Steve Hengeveld at the
Terrible's Town 250 in Pahrump, Nevada, round three of the Best in the
Desert's Silver State Series. The Honda duo had drawn the first starting
time and ran out front all morning. However, at the finish-more than four
hours later-their physical lead came up just 53 seconds short of the
overall lead, which prevented them from adding a second consecutive
Terrible's Town victory, as well as missing the big cash prize that goes to
the overall motorcycle winner.

Of course, it didn't help that Campbell woke up on race morning with his
stomach in knots. "I just felt like I wanted to throw up all day and I felt
lethargic," he admitted. "I got on and gave it my best shot. I was kind of
right in there my first ride from pit two to pit five; it wasn't so bad.
Everything went smooth; the bike felt strong; it was handling well.

"Steve came in from his section and gave me a big lead. I had the last 44
miles from pit seven to the finish so I thought, 'Okay, no problem. Just
maintain like you did earlier, and things will be okay.'

"I did that and didn't make any mistakes-rode strong, I thought, though not
as strong as I would've had I been at 100 percent-but I didn't feel like
I'd lost that much time. But apparently, Ty Davis and Russell Pearson put
on quite a charge and they just ran us down."

Hengeveld said, "For the most part, it went fine. In my last section from
pit five to pit seven I hit everything perfect and felt really good on the
bike. The bike held up really well."

Three of the top five finishers rode XR650Rs, including Four-Stroke Pro
winner Christopher Blais, who rode the entire race solo and claimed fourth
overall.

Terrible's Town 250 Unofficial Results
1. Ty Davis/Russell Pearson-Yamaha YZ450F-4:00:15
2. Johnny Campbell/Steve Hengeveld-Honda XR650R-4:01:08
3. Quinn Cody/Kendall Norman-Honda XR650R-4:21:09
4. Christopher Blais-Honda XR650R-4:26:39
5. Clint Braun/Matt Gosnell-KTM 250 MXC-4:37:34