Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

5. 7. Rider: Rich King National #: 80 Team: TeamSaddlernen Age: 31 Hometown: Waterloo, Iowa 1995 Result: Second 9. Rider: Davey Camlin National #: 27 Team: Team Corbin Age: 26 Hometown: RockIsland, Illinois 1995 Result: 10th A WILD- CA RD IT ' s HAR D TO pick in las t ye a r ' s t op 10 predi ctio ns, Rich King s ho c ke d ev eryone and no one wi th his fanta s tic second-place fini s h in th e 1995 po ints chase. The Garvis Honda ride r displayed his picture-perfect consis ten cy better than ever, sitting on or near th e p odium throughout th e yea r whil e his opponents' results yo-yoed u p and down. And the Iowan finally broke th rough the clouds with his first career victory at the Denver H alf Mile. But just wh en it seem ed as th o u gh King was es tab lish in g h is presen ce, it lo oks as though he will now be starting ov er as he goes into ba ttle with an all-new team. King will rid e the Crai g Rogers-owned Team Saddle m en Hondas th at w ere heretofore occupied by Will Da vis. "It's a br and-new team, and we'v e go t a lot of new sponsors," King said. "I'm real excited . If everything com es together, it could be th e best ride I' ve eve r h ad." We' re bettin g that th e unfamiliarity of his new surroundings may cos t him a ... little. King will be fifth. fault Da v e y Cam lin's abilitie s on th e h i gh- sp e ed mil e trac ks th at are a cruc i a l par t o f th e ser-es each year, but t he lik a b le Illinois rider still lacked the consistency on th e h a l f mile tracks and the fina ncial resources to propel him into the top five last year. For 1996, Ca mlin and mechanic Skip Eaken appear set to correct a t least one of th ose p ro blems as th ey have joined forces with aft erm ark et s a d d le ki ng M ike Co rb in to con te st th e se ries. "We 've got m ore mone y th an ever bef ore," Camlin said. "They've p r o mise d m e whatever it takes to win, and we' ve p romised to do w h atev er it takes to wi n ." For th e dim in utive Carnlin, that means bei ng in the best possible sha pe to deal with the physi cal d emand s of the sh o rte r tracks. If he is, then we think he sho u ld finish where w e sa id he would a year ago . Rider: Kenny Coolbeth National #: 31 Team: Winchester Harley-Davidson/ Eddie Adkins Racing Age: 19 Hometown: Warren, Connecticut 1995 Result: 17th 6. Rider: National #: Team: Age: Hometown: 1995 Result: KevinVarnes 89 USC Racing 21 Pottstown, Pennsylvania Ninth DOU BT No a bou t ' it , Kevin Varnes is a co m e r. After runnin g as a re lativ e un k n ow n in 1994 w hile contes t ing se lect e d G ran d N ational races aboard a Babe D e May H arley-D avidson, the you n g Pennsyl- , vanian burst on to the sce ne in 199 5, scoring two runaway wins aboard h is Johnny Goad -tuned, USC Racing Hon da and tu rn in g lots of heads in the proces s . Va rnes is excellen t o n th e grooved h aIf mil e tracks, bu t he still needs to acclimate himself to the cushion and the 140-mph mile ovals in orde r to b reak int o th e top five . "I 'm go n na kick all th eir asses th is year," Vames jo ke d . " Becau se if I d on 't, Joh nny' s gonna kick mine . 1 think a lot o f th e you nger gu ys are go ing to do well this yea r.' I kn ow I can win, but I' ve got to be more cons istent. I ran in the to p 10 ~ight times last yea r, but I also missed > three main events." Com in g into th e sea s on with a b it m ore co n fi den ce sho uld help Varnes make the m all this yea r. And it will impr ov e hi s fin a l result. 8. Rider: Jay Springsteen National #: 9 Team: Bartels' Harley-Davidson Age: 39 Hometown:' Lapeer, Michigan 1995 Result: Eighth T HERE WASN' T a d r y e ye in th e h ou se when Jay S prings t ee n com pleted his 10-year jo u r ney back into t he w inn e r ' s cir cl e a t the spring run n in g of the Po mona Ha lf Mi le . Fr om there, the m an affectionately known as "Sp rin ger" carv ed out a very successful season, finish ing eig ht h for team owner and longti me friend Bill Bartels. So the team will be hitting the ro ad in '96 vir tu ally unalte red. Springer and mechanic Joe Bisha will hi t the road in search of ca reer Grand National w in number 42 with Jim Kelly-built XR750s. Th e form er te am H arley-D avid son rider and three-tim e Grand Na tional Champion claims to be as ready as eve r to go have som e fun wi th his pals. W hether win number 42 is waitin g ju st around the corner remains to be seen, but it is likely th at Sp ri ngsteen will still hav e the courage t o ta ke to that ou ts id e line often en ou gh to make th e necessary passes for an eighth-place finish when it' s all over. S URE, IT MAY sound li ke a s tretch for this form er Rookie of th e Year to make hi s w ay inside the to p 10 aft e r fi n is hing 17th last ye a r. But th o s e num bers are m isl e a d in g . Kenny Coolbeth is ye t another in th e line of ris in g young talents in the di rt trac k world . The you n gster suffered through a fru strating 1995 season with cont ract has sles caus ing him to bounce from rid e to rid e befor e he found a job and a frien d in Virgin ia -b ased te am ow ne r Eddie Adkins; who w as himself looki ng for a w ay t o put it a ll ba ck together after t he d eath of longt ime r ide r Ro d ney Fa rri s . Coo lbe th an d Adkins appear to have started to build a positive relationship as evide n ced by th eir top-20 fin ish in the fina l p oin ts sta ndings. Now th at he's sett led d own, Coolbeth needs onl y to focus on the job a t h a nd . H e ' s n o t lack in g in s kil l, according to Adkins, but rather in th e ab ili ty to read and interpret wh at is actu ally h appening on the race track. If he can d o th at, Coolbeth will finish no lower than ninth. ' 10. Rider: MikeHacker . National #: 67 Team: Spectro/Moroney's Harley-Davidson Age: 20 Hometown: PrinceGeorge, Virginia 1995 Result: 11th M IKE H ACKER lived it all in 1995 . In hi s first fu ll s ea son on t h e road, he expe rien ced everything from the hi ghs of a podium finish at the Ok lah om a City H al f Mil e to th e low s o f a gr indin g crash at the Denver Hal f Mile, which le ft hi m batte red and bruised. The re were rumo rs tha t Hacker, the reigning AMA 883cc N ational Champion, was p la nning to d epart th e Sp ectro /Moroney's team in search of a new deal in 1996, but Hacker's new Spectro pro gr am sh ou ld leav e n oth in g to b e desired . He will be rid ing a brand-new Ha rley -Davidson XR750 wi th a Carl Pa tri ck-bu ilt engin e" and he will have Ohio me chanic Doug Fa y sp inning wrenches on the road in p lace of Clayton Oliver . Once again, the newness of it all could cost Hacker in the early part of the seas on, bu t if he can keep his head down an d concentrate, he should be a th reat at each and every race on the circuit. ' W ILD CARDS Rider: Joe Kopp National #: 43 Team: Harley-Davidson of Sacramento Age: 26 Hometown: Mica, Washington 1995 Result: 12th IT WOULD H AVE bee n d ifficult to try and place Joe Kopp somewhere in t he top 10. The Wa sh in gton rider missed qua lifying for several events la s t . year a nd was absent from a few more. Yet s omehow he managed to na il dow n a 12th-p lac e fin ish in '95 with his fines t h our coming at the rough an d dusty Denver Half Mile where he finis h ed third. And Kopp, too, h a s a sweet new deal, tearning up with Grand Nationa l Championshi p -winning mechanic Kenn y Tolbert to rid e for the Mike Shattuck-owned Harley-David son of Sacramento team. The duo could be formidabl e. Cal l them an ace in the hole. Rider: Brett Landes National #: 41 Team: Team Undo Age: 26 Hometown: Los Gatos, California 1995Result: 16th AFTER GETTING OFF to su ch a prornis- . in g s t a r t b y winning the 1995 Dayton a Short Track, Brett Landes was another young and talent ed rider who strugg led for t h e rest of t he year, mainl y du e to injury . Bu t h i s starts were non e too sh iny either, something the Californian was all too aw are of a s h e foun d h ims e lf s cram bl ing through the field in a semi only to mi ss a main event by one p lace. He needs to stay healthy and get going w hen th e green lig ht flas h es. If he can do both, Landes cou ld figure in to things. Rider: Georgie Price IV National #: 71 Team: Team Harley-Davidson Age: 21 Hometown: Sicklerville, New Jersey 1995Result: 19th A FT ER A RAT H ER stormy falling out w ith h i s for mer tea m , Spectro / Moroney's HarleyDavidson, Georgie Price IV linked up wi th team owner Bob N orflee t a n d sh o we d a lo t of pr omise with a six th -p lac e fini sh a t the Denver Half Mile. Do n't look for the burly New Jersey resident to score on the miles, but hi will be tou gh on the half mil es and s ho rt tr acks . Sin ce h alf m il e racing make s up the bu lk o f the Gran d Nationa l sch edule, Price may be one to watch . 21

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