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AMAIProgressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships Round 19: Vernon Downs STORY AND PHOTOS By DAVE HOENIG/FLAT TRAK FOTOS VERNON,NY,SEPT.8 he 2001 Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships season is winding down, but Chris Carr is making like the Energizer Bunny. The Harley-Davidson of the Sacramento/Phoenix Racing-backed Grand National Champion racked up yet another win on the Vernon Downs mile oval. Much like last year, weather conditions played a major part in the night's action. Last year, an all-day rain left the track a moist cushion, but strong winds and high heat made this year's version a dusty groove. Whatever the conditions, Carr was able to deal with them. "I got a good start and did what I needed to do: run up front most of the time," Carr said. "It keeps the racing close when the track grooves up. If they had kept it a cushion, it looks better on an individual basis, but I think you would have seen things spread out a lot more. Visibility either way wasn't very good for the guys in the back, I guess." The National was shortened to 20 laps; then a red flag on lap eight further shortened the race. "The break let my tire cool down and that's probably why it lasted," Carr said. "It was pretty wore down at the end." Carr got the holeshot on the original start, with Kenny Coolbeth, Bryan Bigelow, Jay Springsteen and Rich King bunched right behind him. Springsteen was the first to challenge as the Bartels' Harley-Davidson/Corbin/ PJ l-backed veteran used the cushion to blast into the lead on lap two. Carr stuck to the groove and stayed right behind bim. Coolbeth, Nicky Hayden, Bigelow and King were in a tight bunch for third. Carr was back in control on lap six, with the Corbin Racing/Dave Burks Motorsports/Harley-Davidson of Missouri-backed Coolbeth and King all over Springsteen. On lap eight, Cool beth slipped by Springsteen and King pushed his factory Harley-Davidson to Springsteen's rear wheel just as Springer's Harley made expensive noises. Springsteen coasted down the back straight as the red lights flashed. Corbin Motors/Samson's Roger Lee Hayden had hit the ground in turn three, bringing the race to a halt. "I was just going into turn three, holding my tine; somebody came up beside me and clipped my handlebars," Hayden said. "Some of the guys behind me said it was Jess Roeder, but that's just the way it goes. It's really disappointing, because I was running right up there: I felt real comfortable out there. It's just unfortunate things like that hap-. pen. The track didn't suit me as well in the main as it did in the heat. I'm more of a cushion rider than a slick groove." 20 _ T SEPTEMBER 19,2001 • cue I n __ • Springsteen was done for the night, but Hayden restarted, only to drop out after lap nine. Carr nailed the restart, with Coolbeth, Bigelow, Nicky Hayden, Steve Beattie and King giving chase. Gardner RacingjWalters Brothers HarleyDavidson-backed Beattie was blistering the track as he moved from the third row all the way to third by lap 10. As the pack shuffled into turn one, Beattie slipped high and King took over. "I just got ran off the notch," Beattie said. "King and I were trading back and forth, and I just got the bad end of the stick there one lap. Turn one was dry and he ran it in under me going in. I just got about an inch too high and slipped off the groove. Then all you can do is just try to find some traction and get back. I lost about two positions. Right at the end, I just couldn't get off the corners anymore, but I guess seventh isn't too bad off the back row. Third, where I was, would have been nice, too." Back at the head of the class, Cool beth was in search of his first Grand National win. Cool beth took the lead on lap 15 and again on lap 18, but could not hold on. "I could follow him easier, I don't know why," Cool beth said. It looked like it would be a battle to the wire between Carr and Coolbeth. "Kenny was really killing me off tum four and was able to go by me with the tail wind," said Carr. "I knew I was struggling, but I had the advantage off tum two and down the back straight, into the wind. I just hoped the last few laps I would be able to get a gap on them, just to keep them at bay. It worked out that way, I guess. I never saw Rich the whole race." King had his own agenda and became a player on lap 19. Both Carr and King dropped Coolbeth to third. "I got off the line kind of poor the first time and got up to third," King said. "I really thought we had something for them, but then we had that restart. I got shuffled to the back again, to about fifth or sixth. It was a hard track to pass on, but once I caught back up, I thought I had something for Chris again. When I got into second, I spun the tire off four and let Chris get away. It was close with Kenny at the line. I used the cushion the first couple of laps, and it wasn't that the cushion was bad, but you just couldn't get back in line. The groove was the way to go." Cool beth scrambled back, and after a lengthy review of the finishline tape, he was rewarded with his fourth runner-up finish of the year. "When Rich passed me, it kind of screwed me up a little, but we're happy," Cool beth said. "I was coming off turn four real good all night. I Chris Carr earned his ninth victory of the season· and his third win In as many rounds with a victory on the dusty mile at Vernon Downs In New York.