I bet not many people even knew that nine-time AMA Grand National Champion Scott Parker ever earned a national road race podium finish, but here’s the proof. It was Daytona ‘87 and 1986 Battle of the Twins Champ Gene Church was racing the new Buell designed Harley-Davidson. That left Church’s ’86 championship bike, Lucifer’s Hammer, vacant and Harley decided to fill that vacancy with Parker. It was Parker’s road racing debut. He worked his way through the field in the race and made it all the way up to third by the finish. This photo shows Parker (No. 114) sharing the podium with winner Marco Lucchinelli (No. 618) and second-place finisher Stefano Caracchi (No. 621), both riding Ducatis. Parker was thrilled with his podium result. “Man that was something,” he said on the podium. “I got it pretty sideways at one point when I hit oil. I never road raced before and it was a thrill. When I was up there on the banks all tucked in and going so fast, I thought: ‘Man, I hope my mechanic did a good job on this thing!”

Flat tracker Scott Parker (No. 114) had never road raced, but he scored a podium result on Harley-Davidson’s famous Lucifer’s Hammer in his very first try on the pavement at the 1987 Daytona Pro Twins final. Parker took third behind winner Marco Lucchinelli (No. 618) and second-place Stefano Caracchi (No. 621), both Ducati mounted. (Courtesy DIS)