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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127985
FLORIDA FLA T TRACK SERIES
By Dave Hoenig
Photos by Flat Trak Fotos
BARBERVILLE, FL, FEB. 27
he Florida Flat Track Series moved
on to the Vol usia Speedway Park
for round two of the six-race
series. A full day of amateur racing left
the D-shaped half mile in a smooth, drylick condition, and throttle control
would prove to be very valuable - especially for Will Davis.
Working the throttle just right, Davis
ran away from a tight batch of riders in
the 750cc Expert main and, wi th the
win, he climbed to within three points
of round-one winner Chris Carr, who
finished third at Volusia.
Davis' Eaken Racing/Dick Ford/Rod
Lake Racing Harley showed a lot of
power on his second night out.
"We had some bad gas the other
night, I guess," Davis said. "We've got.
that straightened out. ow we're ready
togo."
Steve Morehead proved he's still
.very fast and can get very wide as he
kept his KK Supply/F&S Harley-Davidson Harley in front of Carr's Sacramento
Harley-Davidson/Phoenix Racing ride.
Bryan Bigelow made it a three-rider
pack by putting his USC Racing/Lanca ter Harley-Davidson mount right
into the thick of things.
Kenny Coolbeth and Dan Stanley
renewed their personal war in the 600cc
Expert main, but they both ended up
cha ing Carr, as he worked his way
around Coolbeth and Stanley and led
the 10-lap main from the fourth lap on.
Carr was making use of the' track
time to get his Sacramento HarleyDavidson/Phoenix Racing Rotax into
shape for Sa turda y' s opening round of
the Grand National Championship.
Missouri Harley-Davidson/Dave
Burks Motorsports/Bill LePage-sponsored Cool beth and the Circle F
Frames/BBRP-backed Stanley were relegated to battling over second. Mike
Hacker caught Stanley at the end but
couldn't work his way around him
T
44
(Above) Will Davis
(21) leads Kevin
Varnes (89) during
a 750Cc Expert
heat. Davis took a
commanding win
in the main event.
(Right) Chris Carr
celebrates his
victory in the
600cc Expert main
with a wheelie.
The Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance class continued to be hotly contested. Moroney's Harley-Davidson/!800-FASTHOG's Joe Eades led every lap
but was hounded all the way by Skip
Fordyce Harley-Davidson's Billy Martin
and the Rogers Lake Racing Sportster of
Gary Rogers. Rogers took second on the
last lap when second-placed Martin tried
to go for the win and opened the door.
Gordon Schopieray ran away with
the 600cc Pro Sport main on his In The
Wheel-backed Wood-Rotax. ABDA Service/IndIan MC Supply-backed Tom
McGrane Jr. held off three riders for
most of the race before gainirig a small
lead at the end. Moroney's HarleyDavidson/Skidmore Auto & Cyclesponsored Robert Weiss was able to
hold off Dale Jones and Cory Roth for
the last podium spot.
William Adams survived a racelong
battle with Dan Bond and a red-flag
restart to win the 250cc Pro Sport main.
Adams and Bond raced wheel to wheel
until the start of lap nine. Bond attempted to dive under Adams in turn one, only
to drift wide and hit Adams. Bond highsided hard and the red flag came .out.
,
Bond was able to restart and he worked
his way back up to sixth at the end.
Weiss took fuJI advantage of the restart
to capture second over Jon Hansen.
Once again, there were more than
150 Pro dirt trackers on hand for a fuJI
night of racing.
The 250cc Pro Sport heat wins went
to Adams and Weiss. After the restart in
the main, Adams pulled out a close win
over Weiss. Wisconsin riders Jon
Hansen and ick Hammer finished
thIrd and fourth, respectively, as Hammer edged Brandon Laursen.
Joe Eades won the single HarleyDavidson Performance heat race and
backed that up with a wire-to:wire victory in the main. Eades, Gary Rogers
and Billy Martin prQved to be equally
matched in this class and had very close
races. Mlchel:le DiSalvo is just a tick off
their pace, and she took her second
straight fourth-place finish. Tim
Eaqes and Tim Lorge finished right on
DiSalvo's rear wheel.
The 600cc Expert class had 55 entries.
The five heats moved the top two into the
maIn, along with the tlnrd-place finishers
from the two fastest races. Fast qualiiier
Coolbeth took the first win
over Paul Lynch and Chris
Hart. Carr led Dan Stanley and Ronnie
Brown into the main with his second-heat
victory. Martin held off Mike Hacker to
take the third heat. Dave Camlin ran
away with the fourth heat, well ahead of
a batfle between Lonnie Pauley, J.R. Schnabel and Shaun Russell. Pauley captured
second and moved on to the main. John
Nickens led the last heat for mo t of the
way before giving way to Greg Tysor and
Toby Jorgen en. Despite a strong ride,
Nickens' error left him out of the main.
Dan Stanley led the main off the line,
with Coolbeth and Carr right behind
him. Carr methodically moved to the
front and then pulled to a healthy lead.
Coolbeth took second on lap six and
also opened the margin over Stanley.
Hacker caught Stanley, but the laps ran
ouf on him. Camlin and Lynch filled out
the top half of the field.
The 750cc Experts finished up the
night's racing. The first heat looked to
be set, wIth Morehead easily leading
Johnny Murphree, Camlin and Steve
Beattie, but a red flag stopped the race.
The restart saw Morehead keep his posItion, but everything else changed. Camlin moved up to second as Murphree
coasted to a top. Lynch and Randy
Shank also moved into qualifying positIons. The second heat was an all-out
war as Bryan Bigelow kept Carr behind
him the. entire way. Varnes rode a lonely
third, as Hacker sent George Richtrneyer
to the van. The last heat saw Davis
and Varnes holding the top two spots.
Schnabel held off King for third, with
both advancing.
.
Davis quIckly took command of the
main and left a good race behInd him.
Morehead had his hands full holding
Carr in third, while last year's RookIe of
the Year, Bryan BIgelow, looked for a
way to get into the fun. Lynch was running fifth, dueling with Hatker. On lap
five, Hacker dived under Lynch in turn
two. Lynch slipped high and off the
groove, enough to fall. Lynch was up
quickly and the race contInued. The
top spots were ali set now, as Varnes,
Schnabel, Camlin, Varnes, King and
Shank filled out the field.
C#II
Volusia Speedway Park
Barberville, Aorida
Results: February 27,1999 (Round 2 of 6)
750 EX: 1. Will Da,is (H-D); 2. Steve Morehead (HD); 3. Chns Carr (H-D); 4. Bryan Bigelow (H-D); 5. Mike
Hacker (H-D); 6. M.>ke Varnes (H-D); 7. l.R. Schnabel
(H-D); 8. Dave CamJin (H-D); 9. Kevin Varnes (H-D); 10.
Rich King (H-D); 11. Randy Shank (H-D); 12. Paul
Lynch