AMAIProg res s iv e Insurance U .S . F lat T r a c k Champ io nsh ips
Rou n d 3 : Ill inois S tat e F airgrounds
STORY AND PH OTOS BY
D A VE HOENIG/FLA T T RAK F OTO S
SPRINGAELD, IL, MA 27
Y
e ath e r once again played havoc
w ith the AMA ' s Progressi ve
Insurance Flat Tra ck Ch ampionsh ip
Series. After lo s in g it s or ig ina lly
schedu led round three in Fort Worth ,
Texa s , to ra in, the ne w round th re e
was supposed to be a TT at the Illino is Sta te Fai rgrou nds o n the night
befor e th e Springf ield Mile , bu t that
race was pushed ba c k when a se ries
of storms hit S pr ingfield. The hea vy
ra ins tha t swept th rough c entral Illino is left a lot of people won dering if
the Illino is Motorcycle De a le rs Asso ciation could get the big m ile ready
for its Sunda y time slot. It took time.
but th e final result was typical Spring field Mile e xcit ement.
The strategy th at it takes to cap ture the most famou s mile of th em all
lends itself to the exp e rien ced riders .
It wa s no d iffe re nt this time, as the
podium was filled with th e seri es ' vet eran s ta rs. Lea di ng th e cavalc a de
wa s Harley -Davidson of S a c ra m e n to /Phoen ix Ra cin g 's Ch ris Ca rr, who
out-foxed the Harley fac tory -backed
Rich King and last year's winner Jay
(Abovel Chris Carr 141 held ott a pack containing Jay Springsteen lSI. Joe Kopp 111. Mike Hacker IS71 and Rich Klns (801 to earn
his third career Springfield Mile Grand National victory. King finished second. Springsteen third.
(Belowl Defending AMAJProgressive Insurance U.s. Flat Track Champion Joe Kopp (11 led several times early In the race. but a
miscue ott the last comer cost him a shot at the win. Kopp finished fourth.
W
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JUNE
6 .2001
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