Revvin’ Kevin Rentzell dusted off the competition in Yamaha contingency action at Gateway International Raceway in April of 1989. The Chattanooga, Tennessee, resident won three of the four Yamaha money races, earning $1500 in the process. Rentzell’s near perfect day ended on a sour note, when he crashed in the final race, Formula USA. In the B Superbike race, Rentzell’s Yamaha FZR600 should have easily been out gunned by the firepower of the GSXR750s and FZR750s on hand. Much to the chagrin of the other riders, Rentzell forgot to notice the power discrepancy and quickly put the race out of reach. Rick Delgado was running second on the first lap, before his Yamaha FZR750 Superbike rolled to a stop on the second lap. Sam McDonald looked strong running a solid second. Gene Burcham made it a clean sweep for the FZR600s, by passing the GSXR750 of Kurt Wanner late in the race.     The C Superbike contest was almost a mirror image of the previous race. Rentzell jumped out front and consolidated his lead early. McDonald ran a distant second. This time Sam Wardrip took third place, Burcham fourth. Both races were yawners. Rentzell’s margin of victory was 15 seconds each time.

Revvin’ Kevin Rentzell dusted off the competition in Yamaha contingency action at Gateway International Raceway in April of 1989. The Chattanooga, Tennessee resident won three of the four Yamaha money races, earning $1500 in the process. (Larry Lawrence photo)