Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

DIRT TRACK AJIA GRAND NATIONAL CHAJIPlONSHIP SERIES tJ. 1' ; Reoria M to ycleClubgrounds 2 o rc • (Le ft ) Joe Kopp won his first Grand Nati onal victory In grand sty le, by outrun ning defending champ Scott Park er to the checkered Ilag at the 49th running of the Peoria TT. (Below) Scott Parker had his chances but a coupl e of bobbles kept him out of the Peo ria winn er's etrete - again. By Scott Ro ussea u Photos by Rat Trak Fotos 'PEORIA, II., AUG. 3 ~t th e 49th annual Peoria IT, Joe Kopp finally g ot what he deserved, It wasn't like he hadn't been asking for his first AMA Grand National victory. He'd worked his tail off for it, coming u p just short on both his 600 and his 750 on more than a few occasions since joini ng u p w ith Kenny Tolber t o n th e Mike Shattuck-owned Harley-Davidson of Sacramento team in 1996. And it is likely that nobody who was at the historic Peoria Mo to rcycle Clubgrounds will ever forget how Lady Luck practically tore what should have been a sure win from his arms in 1996. She smiled on him a yea r later, as the 26- year-old from Mica, Washi ngton, ea rn ed his first AMA Grand ational w in in s li rri n g fashion at the oldest Grand National facility in existence, thus permanently etching his name in the books, alongside dirt track racing legends such as Markel, Mann. Graham a nd Ca rr . Inciden tally, Kopp's win also gave Texas tuner Kenny Tolbert his ninth Grand ational victory at the Peoria Clubgrounds, eight of them coming in succession during the Chris Carr era. Thoug h early portions o f t he race mirrored those leading to his near-disastrous attempt at the 1996 IT, it wa s a much cooler and more collected Kopp L,ti who s lip ped th rou g h the pack after a med iocre fifthplace start to run dow n his riva ls, wai ting eigh t laps before making a d elibe ra te pass on las t year's winner, Andy Tresser, a s th e y hooked up a nd powerslid off turn two. Kopp's victory was no cake w alk fro m there, howev er, as he then had to call upon all his concentration to deal with the almost unbearable pressure from perhaps the most tenacious rider on the circuit, Team Harley-D avidson's Scott Parker. After 25 intense laps, Ko pp took the win by a mere bike length. It was more than enough to wipe out the year's worth of frustrati on after his crash-to-third run in the event last year. to "T h is is hard describe," an uncharacteristically emotional Kop p said afterward. "I t's something that I've waited for my whole life. I've ha d the rig h t team behind me for two years now, and we've struggled a lot this year. I had 10d o something to pay th em ba ck . I'm s o ha ppy for Mike Shattuck - all of us needed th is - but I'm really happy for him.· He's put out a big chunk of change for this program . Eve rybody has helped me so much... I can' t believe it." The second-pla ced Parker was somew ha t less than overjoyed with his perfo r mance, p erhaps in th e kn owledge that, although he had come closer than ever to realizin g the dream of wi nning at one of the few events he has failed to conquer durin g his illustrious ca ree r, a series of miscues had cos t him the victory. Parker got a solid th ird-place run off the line, following Tresser and Ga rd ner Radng /BBRP rid er Dan Stanley for the first tw o circuits before moving to second and then almost immediately losin g the position to the charg ing Kopp. Park er the n dog ged Kopp, keeping p a ce wi th him as the pair blitzed past Tresser in unison on the eigh th lap. And that's when thi ngs sta rted to happen - little thi ngs , su ch as falling o ff the groove in turns one and M O, or running wid e off four. Parker actually appea red to ca rry mo re speed than Kopp throughout the race, put the seven-tim e AMA Grand National Champion co u ld not match him d own the fro n t s traigh ta way, and the mistakes at the entrance to and exit fro m that part of the course were cos tly. In the end, it all added up to eq ual a bid that fell sho rt, as Parker finis hed seco nd, a position that he has ea rned at Peoria severa l bmes befor e. Close, but no cigar. "This s ucks," Parker sai d . "I ca me he re to win. We were go ing good. but

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