Hank Takes DuQuoin A Record Fourth Time
Hank
Scott, a ten-year veteran on the American Motorcyclist Association's
Camel Pro Series circuit, served notice to his fellow competitors in 1984
that he still holds the speed secrets of the .'Magic Mile" at the
Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. Last year on Saturday, July 28, Scott won
the Du Quoin Mile for the second year in a row and for the fourth time
in his career. Previous wins came to Scott at Du Quoin in 1983, 1980 and
1978. Scott won his heat and then went on to average more than 99 MPH
for the 25-laps to win the event on his privately sponsored Harley-Davidson.
Ted Boody, aboard a Tex Peel tuned Harley-Davidson, appeared headed for
victory when he took the lead and held it for the first 17 laps. Scott,
who had been running second, pulled into the lead on lap 18, only to have
Boody retake it for three more laps. On lap 22, Scott regained the lead
for good and held Boody to a second place finish. Steve Morehead, also
aboard a privateer Harley, fought his way from a seventh place start to
third in the final laps. When he first broke into professional racing,
Hank was known best as "Gary's little brother ." 
And
although his career statistics have not quite matched those of his 1975
Camel Pro Series champion sibling, Hank has enjoyed a remarkable career
. In 1980, Hank lost the Camel Pro Series championships by a single point
to Harley- Davidson factory rider Randy Goss. Then, in the final race
of the 1981 season, he was seriously injured in a dirt track crash that
kept him out of action well into the 1982 season. In 1978 here at Du Quoin,
Hank became the first rider to ever average 100 MPH on a mile track. That
season, Hank also recorded the first of his four Du Quoin wins. In 1983,
Scott again won at Du Quoin, this time on a Honda. Thus, Scott became
the first rider in history to win a mile track event on that Japanese
motorcycle. In all, Hank has won 17 Camel Pro Series Nationals in his
career, which ties him for ninth on the " all-time list with Ricky
Graham and leaves him only two wins shy of his brother's 19 lifetime wins.
Hank Scott has also won twelve Mile Nationals, the same number as Jay
Springsteen and Bubba Shobert who has the most big track victories. An
older generation of race fans may recall Horace Travis of Nashville winning
a 20-mile National here at Du Quoin in 1949 on his three-speed handshift
Harley- Davidson. After a six-year pause, a 15-mile National was held
in 1955.
