Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Rounds 3/2:Volusia Speedway Park FLORIDA FLAT TRACK SERIES/AMA HOT SHOE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES By Dave Hoenig Photos by Flat Trak Fotos BARBERVILLE, FL, MAR. 3 iCh King showed that he is getting his new XR750 Harley.. Davidson dialed in, as he made -. quick work of the Budweiser Half Mile at Volusia Speedway Park. King, on the Corbin Racing/HarleyDavidson Center of Waterloo-backed Harley, rocketed off the line and then used his patented low line to pull away from a large pack of riders in the' 750cc Expert main. Johnny Murphree, on the Coziahr Harley-Davidson/Memphis Shades' H0, kept the field at bay until Will Davis was able to slip his Eaken Racing/Dick Ford/Rod Lake-backed Harley around him on lap nine of the 12-lap race. Murphree was able to hold off Steve Beattie for third. Also in the pack behind Mur- , phree were Bryan Bigelow, Chris Carr, Steve Morehead, Kevin Varnes and Mike Hacker, but none of them were able to work enough -room off the groove. to get around the young Californian. The 600cc Expert main was shaping into a Dan Stanley runaway when Greg 'I:ysor bailed off into the turn-one will. After a brief delay to help Tysor back to his pit, the race resumed. On the restart, Stanley kept his Circle F Frames/BBRP Rotax out front, with KTM Sport Motorcycles/J&M Racingbacked Joe Kopp resuming his chase from second place. Defending Hot Shoe Champion Kenny Coolbeth made the most of the restart. Coolbeth had been mired deep in the pack when the red flag came out, but after the restart he quickly knifed through the field. On the last lap, Coolbeth slid by Toby Jorgensen to take third.. . Billy Martin staved off an early challenge from Michelle DiSalvo to take his Skip Fordyce Harley-Davidson-backed Sportster to the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance win. Rogers Lake Racing/Mitchell's Modesto Harley-Davidson's Gary Rogers was able to take second over DiSalvo and her Mitchell'sbacked ride. I Tom McGrane Jr. continued his successful week with another hard-fought win in the 600cc Pro Sport main. McGrane kept his Diem's Cycles/Indian M/C Supply-backed Rotax out front all the way, but the scene behind him was ever-changing. Canadian Dominic Beaulac, John Winsett Jr., Dan Bond and Robert Weiss were constantly changing positions. Claude Racine Performance's Beaulac and Winsett ended the race in second and third. The 250cc Pro Sport race w~s a dandy, as Robert Weiss and Cory Roth waged a war to the end. The Moroney's Harley-Davidson-backed Weiss came away with the win. Brian Vincent rode a strong race to finish a lonely third. Only a few riders were forced to miss the rain date, and more than 130 riders made the trip out from the beach. Both Weiss and Roth easily won their 250cc Pro Sport hea ts before squaring off in the main. Weiss, Roth and Brandon Laursen led the main into turn one, but a trip off the groove dropped Laursen off the pace. Brian Vincent moved up to challenge the leaders, but he couldn't hold the pace. Vincent dropped just a little behind but easily held on to third. Back in the pack, Nick Hammer, Joel Hensen and Laursen .dueled over fourth. Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance heats went to Billy Martin and Tim Eades. Eades' night came to a violent end in the main when he fell exiting ~ turn two on the first lap. The race was co~pletely restarted and Martin picked up where he left off: in first place. Michelle DiSalvo held second early but finally gave way to Gary Rogers just past the halfway point. Stephanie Welch rode in the fourth position until the very end, when both Chris Hart and Joe Duvall slipped around. As might be expected, Robert Weiss, Tom McGrane and Dominic Beaulac won the three 600cc Pro Sport heats. In the first heat, Weiss had to hold off Dale Jones all the way, while Doug Whelan held off Jason Goodwin for third. McGrane ran away from John Winsett Jr. while Jason Spearin, Jacob Latimer, Nick Hammer and Perry Phillips were all racing for the last two transfer spots. Spearin and Phillips made it. Dan Bond led most of the last heat before giving way to Beaulac. A distance back, Roth was able to stave off Trenton Bailey and Will Adams. In the main, McGrane, Winsett, Beaulac and Bond ran nose to taiL Weiss dropped off the lead pack and once again raced with Cory Roth. Dan Stanley left the field in his dust in the first 600cc Expert heat. Lonnie Pauley, Dave Camlin, Charlie Orr and Billy Martin were all scrambling for the last two transfers. Camlin and Pauley came through. Joe Kopp led the second heat all the way. Jason Tyer pulled clear of a battle between Scott SehI and Ronnie Brown. Sehl edged Brown to move on into the main. The third heat was another good race. John Nickens got the holeshot, but he had Kenny Coolbeth, Donnie Steward, Toby Jorgensen and Jeremy Thompson all over him. As Coolbeth looked for a way around Nickens, he left just enough room for Jorgensen to slip into second. Coolbeth was able to keep Thompson behind him, but he woi.1ld have to settle for a back-row start in the main. Brian Shirley looked to have control of the last heat, with Greg Tysor, Shaun Russell and Chris Hart all bunche9 on his rear wheeL Going into turn three, Hart made an inside move on Russell. Russell slipped up the groove and suddenly went into a tank-slapper that pitched him violently into the air. The (Above) Rich King (80) ruled the Volusia Speedway Park half mile as he pulled away to the win in the 750Cc Expert main. Here he leads Johnny Murphree (20), Michael Varnes (26), Steve Moorhead (42) and the rest off the start. (Right) Dan Stanley topped the 600cc Expert main on his Rotax. - race was red-flagged and the shaken Russell retreated to the pits. The restart was a disaster for the rookie, Shirley. Tyser, Hart, Pat Behrle and Doug O'Boyle all got by. Tyser was able to hold off Hart in the remaining laps as Behrle gained the last transfer. The first 750cc Expert heat was led off the line by fast qualifier Johnny Murphree. J.R. Schnabel, Steve Morehead, Bryan Bigelow and Bob Knapp were running in tight formation right behind. Bigelow bumped Morehead back one position as three former Rookies of the Year battled for the lead. Murphree and Schnabel pulled a little lead as Bigelow tried a couple of outside moves that left him off the groove. Morehead dropped back into a battle with Chris Boone and Mike Hacker; they would finish in the last transfer spots. If the first heat belonged to the "rookies," the second was definitely a veteran show. Rich King, Chris Carr and Will Davis led Mike Varnes, Steve Beattie and Kevin Varnes early on. The lead trio prodded one another the whole race, with no changes. Beattie moved up to fourth, with Kevin Varnes and Paul Lynch filling out the qualifiers. King just ran away from the field in the main, while Murphree, Beattie, Davis, Bigelow, Carr, Morehead and Varnes freight-trained along. Beattie slipped around Murphree once, but going into turn three, Murphree slipped under Beattie, made contact and raced back into second. Beattie also lost a posi- tion to Davis, but he recovered to hold fourth. On lap nine of the 12-lap race, Davis wedged his way by into second, but he ran out of laps in his pursuit of King. MurphPee led Beattie, Bigelow and Carr home in third. CII Volusia Speedway Park Barberville, Florida Results: March 3, 1999 (Rounds 312) 750 EX (12 laps; 12 riders), 1. Rich King (H-D); 2. Will Davis (H-D); 3. jolmny Murphree (H-D); 4. s,eve Beattie (H-D); 5. Bryan B;gelow (H-D); 6. Chris Carr (Hell; 7. Steve Morehead (H-D); 8. Kevin Varnes (H-D); 9. Mike Hacke' (H-D); 10. Paul Lynch (H-D); 11. j.R. Schnabel (H-D); 12. Chris Boone (H-D). Time: 4 min., 15.266 sec. 600 EX (12 laps; 12 riders), 1. Dan st>nJey (Rtx); 2. joe Kopp (l

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