Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

.....l8CXI.......... _0 .... up .... _le.d fIIIIed til ..... tile ~ Steve lAbove) Kenny Coolbeth (Cortlin) claimed his fifth SuperTrapp SuperTracker main of the year, but sixth-placed Bryan Bigelow Joined Coolbeth on the podium to show off hIs SuperTracker number-one plate. Johnny Murphree (right) was second In his SuperTracker debut, and WIllie McCoy (left) was third. Be~ttje (87); 16. Kevin Varnes (85); 17. Shaun Russell (72): 18. Shawn Clark (62): 19. Kevin Atherton (61): 20. Brett Landes (51). HARlEY-DAVIDSON SI'ORTSnR PBlFORMANCE NATIONAl (12 laps: 17 riders): I. Willie McCoy: 2. Brian Thomas; 3. A.J. Eslick; 4. James Hart; 5. John Faulkner Ill; 6. Vietor McAnally; 7. Timmy Mitchell; 8. Mark Withllm; 9. Stephenie Welch; 10. Bret Sowders; 11. Kyle Long; 12. Jake Johnson; 13. Dan KllUffmllOj 14. Bryan Smith; 15. Shane Fox; 16. Jim Sumner; 17. Jeff1.8ndrum (Disqulllified). Time: 7 min., 28.295 sec. AMNHARLEV-DAVIDSON SPORTSIl:R PERFORMANCE SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 8 01 8 rounds): I. Bryan Smith (94/1 win); 2. Paul Morgan III (84/1 win); 3. Willie McCoy (81/2 wins); 4. Brian Thomas BRIEFLY••• Due to a light turnout of 35 riders, AMA officials elected to make the most of it by making program changes, running just three regular heat races and transferring four riders from each to the main event. Three riders transferred from each of two semis to make the IS-rider field. The program, which had featured practice and qualifying during the early afternoon before hitting its 4:30 p.m. start time, went off without a hitch. As is the custom, the final race of the year marked the official start of dirt track's silly season, with several teams and riders announcing moves for 2002. One of the biggest of those moves has already been announced. as Memphis Shades/Coziahr Harley-Davidson owner Tim Coziahr has put together a potential winner by announcing that he has hired former Moroney's HarieyDavidson mechanic Mike Wheeler to prepare motorcycles for Johnny Murphree in 2002. Recognized as one of the most meticulous wrenches in the game, Wheeler had been tuning for the late Will Davis. but with the tragic circumstances that brought an end to that pairing, the likelihood of his ever returning to the sport was in question. "Yeah, I went and tested the waters at Rick Hendrick Motorsports INASCARl, and they told me that I had a job if I wanted it, and then Pat Moroney was wanting to know what I was going to do. Johnny Murphree and I had talked before, but I wasn't going to go anywhere as long as Will wanted to race. But after all that has happened, I spoke to Rhonda [Will's wifeL and she encouraged me to do this because it is so hard to leave the people who are your friends and family, especially this way. Alii can say is that Rhonda is a real special lady. Johnny is a star of the future, and I've always thought that Tim Coziahr has handled himself in a professional manner. I'm looking forward to working with them." On the other side of the coin, the Murphree/Wheeler team will now be the only Coziahr-backed outfit on the circuit. as Kevin Varnes and tuner Babe Demay have been let go. "We've been sent packing," Varnes said. "That's fine. There are no hard feelings. We kind of saw it coming for a while. Babe and I will still probably be teamed up next year. We already have one XR750 and a spare motor, a 1000 Suzuki and plenty of 500 equipment. We're looking for sponsors, and we might keep some of the ones that we have. If we do it, we'll do them all, or not at all." -Another rider to get the axe was Canadian Steve Beattie, who was told by the Gardner Racing team that his deal would not be renewed for 2002, as the team is scaling back to concentrate on Bryan Bigelow. "I was looking for a job after Springfield," Beattie said. "I'll be trying to put something together. I still have my own equipment, but if I go that way, I'll only be hitting selected races." With his longtime association with Harley-Davidson of Sacramento's Mike Shattuck nearing the end of the road, Chris Carr has yet to announce any new title deal for 2002. "We're still/ooking,· Carr said. "We have more than two meetings scheduled over the next three weeks. I will race one way or the other." As to what brand of motorcycle Carr will be racing on, well, that remains to be seen. It's no real secret that Carr and tuner Kenny Tolbert have acquired an Aprilia RSV Mille engine, which Tolbert plans to turn into a racer. "We're going to make a motorcycle out of it and hopefully get to test it a few times," Tolbert said. "We tea_tile (t) _ _ , DIIlItdun SpoItRer ...... IIut 8001 MIt.WIllIe tile 12-b1p MIt.- ...... (79): 5. James Hart (68): 6. Victor McAnally (64): 7. Buffington (Su,): 13. Scott Scherb (H-D): 14. Daie Scott Scherb (62); 8. John Fllulkner (56): 9. Jllke Johnson (55/1 win): 10. A_J. Eslick (47): I t. Timmy Mitchell (43); 12. Jeff Landrum (41); 13. Brian Jennemen (Yam); 15. Brian Thomas (Bue), TIme: 7 min., 7.476 sees. Kromroy (35): 14. Michelle Disalvo (33): 15. Jason Tyer (32): 16. Mark Witham (28): 17. Kyle Long (21)/Wiley Duane Duvall (21): 19. Yuhlko Hirao (20): 20. Shane Fox (19). AMA/SQPERmAPP saPER11lACKER NATIONAl (12 laps: 15 riders): 1. Kenny Cool beth (Su,): 2_ Johnny Murphree (Suz); 3. Willie McCoy (Suz); 4. Mike Hacker (Sue); 5. Sam Lowe (Suz); 6. Bryan Bigelow (Sue); 7. Jason Tyer (Suz); 8, Roy Miller (Suz); 9. Michael Hinds (Suz): 10, Brent Armbruster (Suz); 11. Jerry Vanderkooi (Suz); 12, Robert AMA/SUPERTRAPP SUPERTRACKER SERIES POINTS STANDINDS (After 9 01 9 rounds): I. Brylln Bigelow (142/3 wins); 2. Kenny Cool beth (130/5 wins); 3. J.R. Schnabel (115): 4. Sam Lowe (110): 5. Willie McCoy (105): 6. Mike Hacker (96): 7. Jason Tyer (91): 8. Gary Rogers (81): 9. (TIE) Brian Thomas (71)/Roy Miller (71): I t. Scott Scherb (65); 12. (TIE) Joe Duvall (57)/Gre9 Teague (57): 14. George Richtmeyer (55): 15. Joe Kopp (53): 16. Brian Kromroy (44): 17. Bryan Smith (35): 18. Steve Liberty (25): t 9. Brandon Lee Cartwright (22): 20. Jerry Vanderkooi (20). don't know what we're going to do yet because we don't know what AMA is going to do with the rules. If they're going to choke them [1000sJ down to where they aren't competitive. it won't be worth it." torsl.· Among the bigger names that Moroney is rumored to have spoken to about 2002 are Dave Durelle and Mike Hacker, though these are unconfirmed. While the AMA has not yet finalized its rules package for the integrated XR750/1 000 GNC class, it has been testing a few ideas. At Du Quoin, the AMA sent Corbin Racing's Kenny Coolbeth out on a few test laps aboard his Dennis Town-built Suzuki. NWe were just testing some different restrictor sizes, ~ AMA's Steve Morehead said. • Unfortunately, we found out that putting the restrictor in actually allows them to hook up better, and their lap times are even faster." That's not the desired result, and Morehead said that the AMA may look into implementing restrictions at the ignition box, although there is concern that such rules could be hard to police. While his rider, Geo Roeder II, remained on the sidelines due to his recent rotator cuff surgery, Skip Eaken fielded no less than three riders at Du Quoin, putting youngsters John Nickens III and Shawn Clark, and low-buck veteran Dale Jenneman on his equipment. Clark was looking good in the first heat race but crashed out and was forced to ride in a semi. where he missed the cut. Both Jenneman and Nickens went on to transfer to the main through the first semi and finished 13th and 17th, respectively. Speaking of Corbin, the four-rider, two-truck team that includes 2000 AMA Grand National Champion Joe Kopp, Kenny Coolbeth, and brothers Nicky and Roger Lee Hayden will likely remain intact through 2002, according to team owner Dave Burks. "Economics will tell a lot - we'll know more next week," Burks said. "Some [sponsorl names associated with the team might change a little [Burks cited the possibility that the Haydens' Corbin Motors title might simply be replaced by Corbin Racingl, but we're happy. and we think Mike Corbin is happy. We don·t anticipate any rider changes. We want to keep it going." One rider who may be out of work and in high demand could be Bartels' Harley-Davidson' s Shaun Russell. The 22-year-old Californian, whose career was seriously set back when he was injured at the 2000 Indy Mile, was one of the up-and-comers to watch as he got back on track, as evidenced by his fantastic finish at the Springfield Mile over Labor Day Weekend. Of course, Russell would like to stay where he is. "Bartels' hasn't said no, but they haven't said yes," Russell said. "I'll be going back to talk with them next week. I'd really like to stay because Bill Bartels has reaHy been good to me, but I do need to get a little more crew behind me so that I don't have to work on the bikes myself as much_" As far as that other Bartels' guy, dirt track legend Jay Springsteen has once again made the claim that he intends to be • more selective" with his 2002 appearances... Some of the badder race tracks - and there's only maybe three or four of those that are bad every year we go there - I'm just going to stay home," Springsteen said. As for possible retirement. Springer's one-word response said it all. "Why?" he said. Moroney's Hariey-Davidson's Jake Johnson, 17, indoctrinated himself into dirt track's ·brat pack" of future superstars by making his first career Grand National main event in only his second start aboard an XR750. "That was a blast," said Johnson, who finished 15th in the main. "I rode the 750 for the first time at Vernon, New York, but I guess you couldn't really call that a mile. I'm pretty sure that this is what I want to do. It's the most fun job I've ever had anyway... Although he always fields strong teams, Moroney's Harley-Davidson team owner Pat Moroney admits that he is back to "ground zero" as of right now, completely unsure of what his 2002 program will look like, although he would like to field Jake .Johnson and at least one other marquis rider... Right now. I've lost the best rider I ever had [Will Davisl, the best mechanic I ever had [Mike Wheelerl and the best sponsor I ever had [Gould ErecIII U The start of the day brought a scary moment as Brian Kromroy and J.R. Schnabel were involved in a brutal crash during the first SuperTracker practice session. The incident started in tum three. when Kromroy was clipped by another rider and lowsided. Schnabel came onto the scene and had no where to go, clipping Kromroy's motorcycle and flipping backwards into the hay bales at high speed. Schnabel was knocked out, but he regained consciousness as he was being loaded into the ambulance. Both riders were taken to Marshall Browning Hospital in Du Quoin. Kromroy was X-rayed for a possible broken left heel: the pics were inconclusive. Schnabel underwent spinal X-rays and a catscan, with both coming up negative. He was released and retumed to the track. though he did not attempt to ride again. After winning his sfilmi, Bartels' Harley-Davidson's Shaun Russell was barred from the main event as he attempted to switch motorcycles before the final after his primary ride gave up. AMA rules allow riders to switch motorcycles and slart from the penalty line only until they qualify for the final. As Russell had qualified through his semi. his motorcycle was locked in. Still, he tried to sneak out on his back-up, was caught, and was sent back to the pits. "I talked to them, and they said I couldn't do it, but I tried to sneak out there anyway," Russell said. "Then they caught me and sent me back, but it wouldn't have mattered because the bike I was on wasn't ready to go 20 laps." Russell was credited with 18th place. Not only did Bryan Smith earn his first career professional National title by taking the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series title, he was also the top points earner out of all the newcomers in the 750cc class, earning Ricky Graham Rookie of the Year honors. "That's really great," Smith said. "Almost everyone on that list has grown up to be somebody, and I want to grow up to be somebody. That [Rookie of the Yearl was my main goal for this year, and I'm really happy about it." Smith made the Grand National main event, finishing 14th aboard teammate Willie McCoy's back-up bike, which Smith called the slowest motorcycle he has ever ridden. Hoping to battle for Rookie of the Year honors in 2002 will be Stephanie Welch. who made the Harley-DaVidson Sportster Performance Series main event at Du Quoin and thus earned the four points she needed to secure her Grand National license classification. "This is awesome," Welch said... I've wanted this for 15 years, and I finally got it. - Welch said that she is hoping to be able to announce a 750cc ride for 2002. ·We've been working on lining up a ride since Springfield," Welch said. "I can't say anything about it yet. Just wait and see. " III I • neuva OCTOBER 10. 2001 35

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