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/128004
Round9: State FairS peedw ay AMA GRAND NATIONAL DIRTTRACK SERIES Ca rr had bla st ed all the wa y to the front from the penalty line to seventh at the end of lap one. Ca rr was in fourth by lap tw o and progr essed one posit ion a lap , taking the lead on lap five. "The bike was gl ue d ," sai d Carr. "I go t a go od start from the penalty line a nd wen t aroun d a few guys. I thin k co ming off turn two I was se ven th or eigh th. The guys wo uld slide up, and I'd ge t un derneath them and get one or two at a time. All of a sudden I was chas ing the lead ers. Man , the bike was stuck to the gro und lik e yo u wou ld n' t believe. Kenny (To lbe rt) d id a really good job ge tting set up for the main eve nt." Af ter Ca rr moved by, Jones settled into th ir d , on ly to come und er a ttack fro m another yo ung charger. Harley.Davi dso n of Missou ri / Dave Burks Mo tors ports' Ken ny Coolbeth was able to dro p the vete ran to fourth on the 11th lap and looked to be set tling in. r "I thought I was goi ng to ge t th ird, (Left) Doin' it and doin' right: Chris Carr and tu ner Kenny Tolbert celebrated the ir third Grand National victory of the year in front of the crowd at the Oklahoma City Half Mile. carr had to came from the penalty line to earn the win. (Below) Polsitter R6nn ie Jones (16) battled ea rly with Will Davis (21) at the front of the pack during the start of the feature. Jones wound up fifth, while Davis dropped back to 12th. By Dave Hoenig Photos by Flat Tra k Fotos OK LAHOMA CITY, OK, JULY 17 MA GNC seri es poin ts lead er Chris f, Carr demonstrated his own version of th e Okla homa land ru sh as he captured the win at the Oklah oma Ci ty half mil e, ro u nd nine of the A me rican Mot orcycl ists As s oci ation' s G ra n d Na tional Dirt Track Series by Drag Specialties. The wi n was t he 40 t h o f Ca r r 's ca re e r, movin g h im ou t of a tie w it h Ricky Gra ha m for third on the all-time win list. He is now just two wins behind second -placed Jay Springsteen . _ The Harley-Da vid son of Sacrame nto / Ph oeni x Ra cin g / Big Valley Fordba ck ed Ca rr not only co nq ue re d th e slick State Fair half mile, but he did it fro m the penalty lin e. Joining Carr on th e p enalty lin e wa s n in e- time Grand Na tional Ch am pio n Scott Parker . Like Carr, th e Harl ey -Davidson M otor Co '; AGV / Fick Excava ting-s po nsor ed Parker also cha rged th rough th e field and finished a solid second. "I w en t across the line, but it was aft er th e red ligh t came on - it wasn't b ecau s e I'd ju mped th e green ," explained Carr. . "I think I was on the line, but I don't kno w if I was over the line or not," reaso ned Parker. "There's no sense arguing, the way thin gs have been goi ng . I just roll ed to th e back and d ea lt with wha t I had to deal with . Then they pu t Chri s back. I don 't know if he jumped or not, either. I do n't think I was over the line, but I did move, and I thi nk that's wha t they look at - if you move an y." &\ g: ~ as N -5 -, 28 At the first flash of gree n, pa rt- time racer (and fast qualifier for the Nati on al), Ronn ie Jones put his Tom my Cu mmin gs Raci ng /Bob Wei rbach /R.J. Performance Harley out front , but tha t lead was short-lived, as J.R. Schna bel slid his Team Powe ll /Su noco mo u n t to th e gro und in turn three. "I just took it in like I did in the heat race, and the track was a little d rier from ' eve ryb od y ru n n in g on it ," Schn abe l said . "I just went in too hard, then I got a little high. I got too excited and go t on the gas too hard . It just slid ou t, so we had to restart from the fourth row." Last week's winner, Will Davis; led the res tart into turn one, bu t Jon es was back up front at the end of the first lap . Ea ke n Racing /Yuasa /Batter y Tend er ' s Davis held down second , bu t it was the high point of his night. USC Racing /LencasterHarIey-Davidson/ Marshall Distribu ting's Bryan Bigelow moved into second and then sho t by Jones for the lead on lap three. The 1998 Rookie of the Year' s time at the poin t was brief, however. "I was able to ge t by Ronnie and lead it for a few laps," Bigelow said . "Chris passed me, and I tried to stay wi th him and just abou t fell down. That guy was flying . He had his foot up so early and was on the gas. He wa s so hooked up." but I kept on messing up going int o turn three," Coolbeth said . It was real slick. I caugh t Bryan, but I kept ma ki ng mistakes, and it messed with my head a lit1 tie." Event ua lly, bot h Bigelow and Coolbeth wou ld fall victim to Parker's blitz. "I think there were only a couple of riders behind me off the line, so I had to pass a lot of peopl e," said Parker. "I had some good lines, and the trac k wo rked for me. I saw othe r people struggling, but the combi nati on we had was working good for us." Parker dropped Bigelow to third on 1 the 17th lap and set out after Carr.

