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/128102
AMAIProgressiv e Insurance U .S . F lat Track Championships Round 2 : Houst on R aceway Park you win your first one it' s easy, and I know . I'v e ridden a lot harder than tha t for a n l Bth." It was obvious to a lot of peop le that Sch nabe l was fast right from the s tart, incl uding the rider wh o wo uld cross th e finis h line in third place , Jay Sp ringstee n. "J .R. wa s fas t all d a y: Springer said. "I watched him in pra ctic e a nd even without a watch I could tell he was the fas test rider in p ractice. His co rner speed was so fast and he was back on the gas fast. Th a t was grea t. Th e Pow ell peop le a re rea lly good , a nd J .R. dese rved it." Unfortunatel y , a t t he pos t race ins pecti on, Spring s teen ' s fuel failed the AMA tr ack tes t and he wa s d isqu alified . Th e fuel will u nd e rgo fur ther tests next week bu t, as of press time , the Ba rtel ' s Harley - Davidson icon has bee n dis qualified. Schna bel, who earned 1996 Rookie of the Year hon ors , would lead 24 of the 25 la ps in th e ma in event. "I was third into the first t urn , but secon d coming off tw o ," S chn abel sai d . "Ch ris [Ca rr] le d fo r a la p or two , the n I go t him co min g out of tu rn four, I did the same thi ng in the he at ra c e . I kn ew Jay [Sp ring stee n] wa s going good , so I knew I had to get ou t front quick . I d idn ' t wa n t to look bac k , bu t I too k a pe a k a ro un d lap eight a nd saw someone was th e re . I Long ti me coming: J.R. Schnabel gave his father, Glen, a much -antici pated victory ri de after winning hi s first career AM A Grand National main event at the Houston Half Mile . Int ere sti ngly, Sc hna be l's win also marked his first le gitimate GNC pod ium appearance. S T O RY BY D A VE H OE NIG P HOT OS BY FLAT TRAK F OTOS BAYTOWN, TX, APR. 21 he fir st "bi g bike" race on the 20 0 1 AMA Progressive Insurance Fla t Track Champi onship Series visited Hous ton Racew a y Par k's clay half-mil e to sta rt the AMA's "Ro lling Thunde r Sh ow" in earnest. The new tra c k tu rne d ou t to be qu ite a c hal lenge for young and old ride rs alike. Most everybody st ruggle d so mewhat with th e slic k, high-ba nke d ov al. But one of the sport 's young guns , J. R. . Schnabel , overcame tho se c hallenges I 28 MAY 2 . 200 1 • cu e • e to finally become a "first time" Grand National winner. Ind eed , the night bel onged to th e 21 -year-o ld Wis con sin na ti ve, who has strugg led mightil y to s c o re a podium finish ever since he was contr oversi ally DQ 'd after finishing sec o nd at Knoxville , Iowa , during his roo kie season in 1996. The hard-ridin g former amateur champion showe d fla s h e s of br illi a n c e ever since , but ne ve r seemed ready to fulfill his promise as a potential top gun on th e AMA circuit. With his Hou ston vi ct ory , t h at m a y fin a ll y h a ve ch a nged . n e _ s "It really feels good ," Sch nabe l said. "I can't be lieve how good it felt to be able to give my dad that [victo ry] ride around there, for all that he 's don e for me. I wish my mom and sis ter and uncle Scott co uld have been here , but I've al ready called home and I think they're having a bee r for me now . "Bill and Carolyn [powell ] p ut that bike together a nd we did n't touch it all n ight ," the Team Powell/West Be n d Harley - Davidso n/ T ucke r Ro c k y-b a c ked Sc hnabe l con ti n ue d . "When it' s set up that good , it m a kes my job a lot easie r. They sa y wh e n thought I'd put in four good laps the n loo k again , th is time I had a good lead. Usually, if I look back, I get too nervous." Schnabel was putting in an authoritative pe rfo rm a nce , however, as he pulled to a 2 .75-second lead. "Whe n th ere 's traction t h e re , I seem to do all right : he said. "We do a lot of ice riding , and you hook u p there, and th is dirt was really hook ing up too . It got a little s limy but, in the main event, with 18 guys o ut there , it kinda b urn ed off. I ha d g otten t ire d in t h e Su pe rT racke r race, s o I fi gur e d if I cou ld pu t