Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127780
Kenny Coolbeth Kenn y Coo lbeth is In pos ition to have his bestever Grand National season In 1996. Coolbeth , now Just 18 years old , has been rac ing since age 5. By Scott Rousseau Photos by Flat Trak Fotos and the Coo lbeth family hen surveying the recent crop of young talent that has invaded the AMA Grand Nati onal Championship Series, effectively bringing it into the '90s, Kenny Coolbeth is simp ly too good to be overlooked. But he has been, all too often. Why? Perhaps it is because the Warren, Connecticut, resident has suffered from "great expec tations" syndrome - a malady that befalls many young athletes profe ssional pri zefighters, for example who pu t together a stellar amateur career and gamer tremendous acclaim onl y to fall flat in the "real world" once they tum professional. Coolbeth fits the mold. After racking up nine AMA Amateur Grand National Championship titles and 13 Amateur National vict ories between 1f) ...... ..... l-< 0.. -< 2 1986-90, wh isking thr ough the Pro -Am ranks and spending less than a year as a regular Expert, the highly touted youngster made his big-time Grand National debut in 1994 aboard wha t is considered to be one of th e premium rid es in the business, the Walters Bros. H-D-backed XR750s o f Ill in oi s team ow ne r Ste ve Gardner . Coolbeth sho wed imme d ia te promise as he land ed his fir st Gr and National podium finish - a third at the Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Half Mile and then went on to earn Rookie of the Year honors, further boosting his stock as an up-and-comer. Cool beth, th ey said, was the man to watch. Then it all fell apart. The soft-spoken Coolbeth struggled to get along with his team in ' 95, hampering his results and leading him to make an early departure even though he was bound by a two-year deal to compet e for Gardner through ihe end of the season. The resulting legal hassle that arose from the breakup proved to be finan cially costl y and was none too health y for Coolb eth 's reputati on in a bu siness where loyalty is of paramount importance. To complicate matters, Coolbeth wa s a minor at the time, and thus was not legally cap able of ha nd ling his own affairs; his cause was instead taken up by his father , Ken Coolbe th Sr. The bottom line was that the youngster found himself helplessly lost in the dispu te, rideless, barred from competing in illinois (as m andated by the outcome of the Gardner situation), and searching for a way to put his career back together. A small measu re of assistance came in the form of a temporary deal with Randy Texter of Lan cast er H arl ey-Da vid son whe reby Coolbeth would rid e Texter's equip ment unti l "something better carne al ong." With th e pressure o f hi s pa st problems behind him, Coolbeth began to reaffirm his potential by qualifying for all but two of the eight main events in which he rode for Texter, includ ing a stout seventh-place finish at the Oklahoma City Half Mile. Then the better dea l came. At the next half mile in Rapid City, South Dako ta, Coolbeth linked up with Virginia's Eddie Adkins to ride Adkins' Winchester Harley-Davidsons. Adk ins had himself suffered a tremendous blow after the death of his rider Rodney Farris at the Du