Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Round 11: Playfair Raceway Dirt Track AMA NATIONAL HOT SHOE SERIES .. By Clay Li g ht Photos by Frances Engelcke . SPOKANE, WA, SEPT. 24 NC contend ers Stev e Beattie and Joe Kop p captured impress ive wins during ro und 11 of the AM A Na tio na l Hot Shoe Series held at Playfair Raceway in downtown Spokane. Beattie , from Burlin gt on, Ontari o, posted a so lid performance in his 750cc Expert wi n, o ne w hich ca p tivated the crowd of 4000, as Beattie and Cal ifornian Gary Roger s spent m uch of the 12lap fina l in a side- by-s ide configuration that fell in Beattie's favo r. Idaho's Steve Liberty fi nis hed th ir d to fi nalize the podium positions. Kopp, the hom etown hero, improved his cha nces for a 600cc Expert class titl e by winning the 600cc fina l. Corn ing into the Spokane ro u nd, Kopp trailed fellow Was hing tonian Dan Stanley in th e point stand ings, 140-106, but sliced in to Stanley' s lead with the 23 point s th at the form er P e or ia TT w in ner ea rn e d this evening. Lonnie Pauley, w ho for seve ral laps challe nged Kopp, fini sh ed second in the 12-rider final , follow ed by Washington's Don Wilson . Beattie, w hose win earned him $1535 from th e purse of $10,000, also moved himself into a title contention, as he trailed Kevin Varnes by eigh t points but has now moved up from third, behind Varnes and Geo Roeder, to first. Beattie now holds a 15-point lead over Roeder, 82-67. Beattie, the National number 26 pl at e holder, g rabbed th e hole shot at the sta rt G of the 750cc final , followed clo se ly by Rogers, who w as the po lesitter, se tting up th e best battle of the evening in a clash of heavy artillery . On lap five, though, th e m omentum sw ung in Beattie' s favor, as Rog ers' lead ca rne and wen t. Beattie, w ho had a lso w on th e clas s at the annua l Joe Kopp C h a lle nge th e ni ght p rio r a n d w a s quickl y becomin g a n ado p te d "homeboy," slam med the d oor shut on all of Ro gers' ad vances, going o n to post a narrow mar gin of victo ry . Rogers clung on to a close second -place finis h, but the batt le for th ird betw een Liberty and Eli Price we nt to the finis h . Liberty, w ho at last year's National won the 750cc final, go t th e drive out of turn four to take the position from Price to nab the fina l position on the rostru m af te r an ' inc redib le co me-fro m -behi nd pe rformance. Liberty initia lly started off in 12th pl ace and overtook Ken Yoder, Lon ny Kopp, and fina lly Pri ce, to gain th e posi tion and just applause from the cro w d for his incredible performance. Yod er, Kopp, Larry M arsh , M ik e Inderbitzin , Jai me Aguilar, Joey Duvall and Robert Miller rounded ou t th e field . Beattie was understandab ly pl ea sed with the win. "H e (Rogers) kept me honest," Beattie said. " It (the win) wa sn 't a ca kew alk like it was last ni ght at th e Joe Kopp Challen ge." Seco n d mark ed a go o d n igh t fo r Roger s, w ho has been one of th e most stea d ily improving rid ers on the Gra nd National circuit this yea r. "Steve (Bea ttie ) go t off ahead of me and started to get away , but then I found some traction corning off of fou r," sa id Rogers . "Th en on th e next la p I noti ced that Steve was u sing that line, too. By that time, I think it w as the sixth lap, I didn't have anything left to gi ve him ." By virtue of his wi n in the fast est of the 600cc qualifying he at races, Kopp sa t on th e po le positi on for the 600cc final at w ha t is co nsi dered by m an y to b e his ho rne tr ack. Ironicall y, Kopp, a fixture on the G C trail, has been previou sly u nab le to a t tend th e Spo kane round since its incep tion. . Wilson, one of th e two non-Nationaln u m bered rid ers o n th e fr ont ro w , jumped ou t front a t th e sta rt of the fina l as the field funneled in to turn one , but the ve tera n Wilson quickly lost his lead , as Pa u ley push ed past Wilson to g ra b the lead sho rt ly aft erward. Wilson maintai ned s econ d pl a ce fo r a nother la p , allowing Pauley - last yea r's w inner - to ho ld a commandi ng lead . It w as quickly slas he d o nce Kopp got aro u nd Wilson on th e next circu it. Kopp wen t on from th at p oint and gunned d own Pauley, tak ing the lead for keeps on the fifth lap. A highl y anticipated Kopp /Pauley confro n ta tio n failed to materia li ze when Kopp pulled awa y from Pau le y via a successive stri ng of consistent laps. Wilson, m eanwhile, w as demonstrating h is fi nest p erform an ce in rec e nt years, as he held Oregon's Rex Fisher at bay after Fisher carne kn ockin g. Farther back in the field, a three- w ay swapfest fo r fifth between seco nd-yea r Expert Beau A. Brown, Steve Mayfield and J.P. (Abov e left ) Steve Beattie endea red himself to the fan s at Spokane's Playfa lr Racewa y by sto rming t o victory in the 750cc Expert main eve nt during round 11 of the AMA Natio nal Hot Shoe Series. (Abov e ri ght) Homeb oy : Joe Kopp wo n -the 600cc Expert main event at wh at is considered his home track. Simo nse n was wag ed, o ne w hich would finish in Simonsen's favor. Th e trio kept th e crowd entertained w hile their hero Kopp wa s in th e process of wrapping up hi s first N ational win a t the facili ty . Paulev held o n to finish seco nd ahea d of WilsOn, while Fisher nabbed the fourth positi on, ahead of Sim onsen . Mayfield finis hed sixth, ahea d of Brown, who wa s foll ow ed by To ny So uza, John Grant, Ryan Anderson, Jer ry Southw orth and rooki e Aaron West on. eN Spokane Playfair Race Track Spokane, Wash ington Resu lts: September 24, 1999 (Round 11 of 14) 750 EX: 1. Steve Beattie (H-D ); 2. Cary Rogers (H ~ D); 3. Steve Liberty (H -D); 4. Eli Price (H -D); 5. Ke n Yod er (H -D>; 6. Lonn y Knp p (H-D); 7. Larry Marsh IH; 0 ); 8. Mike Tnderbitz in (H- D); 9. jaime Aguilar (H-D> 10. JOt' Du vall (Ho n); 11. Robe rt Millt·r (H· D). 600 EX: 1. Ice Kopp (Rtx): 2. Lonnie Pau ley (Rtx): 3. D o n W ilson (W -R ); 4 . Re x Fis he r (W- R); 5. J.P . Si monse n (Rtx ): 6. Steve Ma yf ie ld (W·R) ; 7. Bea u A. Brown (W· R); 8. Ton y SoU7..a (Rtx): 9. Jo hn Grant (He n): 10. Rya n An de rson (W-R); 11. jerry South wo rth (KTM); 12. Aaron w eston (W -R). Upcoming Rounds: Round 12 · Newberry town. Pennsyl vania . September 25 Round 13· Seatte. Washington. September 25 l M ., ~ ~ .c o (j o 35

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