Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAIProgressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships Round 10: The Dirt Trac at Lowe's Motor Speedway Kevin Vames (89) leads Chris Car Ii) and Paul Lynch (19) during the ONC final at Charlotte. Vamea held them crff to take his first win In _ n ,ears. Kevin Vi\rnes By SCOTT ROUSSEAU PHOTOS BY FLAT TRAK FOTOS CONCORD, NC, JULY 27 IJ,. fter bagging his first two wins in I.i1J, the AMA Grand National Championship Series in dominant fashion, Pennsylvania's Kevin Varnes was confident that win number three would be right around the corner. That was 1995. It may have taken seven years, but win number three finally turned up in the Wendy's Charlotte Half Mile, on the tacky, fast, red clay Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway, outside Charlotte, North Carolina. Varnes grabbed the holeshot from his second-row starting position and rode away from the competition to card the victory aboard his Babe Demay-tuned, Memphis Shades/Drag Specialties-backed Harley-Davidson XR750. He rode a flawless race and led every lap of the 25-lap main event. And yet it sounds easier than it really was, as Corbin Racing/Samson Exhaust's Kenny Coolbeth came calling in the last few corners, stalking his first career win just as he had done against the late Will Davis at the same facility one year ago. Once again, Coolbeth came up short, however, bagging another runner-up finish after charging all the way from the penalty line. Varnes was back on top of the box for the first time since winning the 1995 Knoxville, Iowa, Half Mile. This was his first Grand National win aboard a Harley-Davidson, though; his first two career victories came aboard Johnny Goad-tuned Honda RS750s. 40 AuGUST 7,2002' III U III •• • ni\bs wIn number "I had forgotten what it feels like to win one of these," Varnes said. "I felt comfortable all way, really. We were fast right in practice. I didn't do all that great in my heat race, but I got lucky to get a good start from the inside of the second row. I had a clear' shot to the corner, and I just got lucky. Once we got rolling, I knew our setup was fast. We ran the same tire that we had on there all day." It could be argued that, had Coolbeth not been forced to switch bikes due to a broken transmission after scorching the track in his heat race to land the pole position for the main, he would have checked out on everyone. Instead, the Connecticut rider played catch-up for the entire race, running 14th on the opening lap but battling his way into second after a racetrack brawl with young sensation Jake Johnson in the middle laps. It was just too little too late. "They need to change these things to 26 laps," Coolbeth joked afterward. "I'm just kind of bummed out. I think that 1could have easily won it if I was up on the front row, but, you know, racing is racing. We'll just go into next weekend and do it all over again, just keep our heads up and not let ourselves get down over this." Johnson finished third after starting sixth and punishing his SuperTrapp/Moroney's Harley-Davidson on the bottom of the racetrack for most of the race. He may have been too hard on the equipment, as he slowed in the final laps after his engine began to tie up. Still, good things have not stopped happening to the 18-year-old New Jersey rider since starting his Grand National career n __ s with the Moroney's team. The Lowe's event marked his second podium finish of the season. He is now ninth in the series standings, and he is the clear frontrunner for Ricky Graham Memorial of the Year honors. "It has been great ever since I came over here," Johnson said. "It just seemed like, with five laps to go, it just started slowing down. At first, I started smelling something, and I wasn't sure what it was. It turned out to be the motor. I thought it was the brakes. I kept peeking back, and I seen Springer closing in every lap. But the bike held together. She blew up right at the start/finish line, but we were able to hold him off. I can't believe it. I came into this season just hoping to make a few main events. Now I've got two podiums. I'm just thrilled. " Despite battling his often-heralded "mystery illness," Bartels' HarleyDavidson/Corbin's Jay Springsteen fought his way to fourth place after a poor start. Springsteen started 12th and made his way past several riders, including title contenders Chris Carr and Bryan Bigelow, during his run through the field. It wasn't as bad the race or the post-race butterflies as Springsteen has experienced so many times before. He was actually able to comment on the race while relaxing in his transporter afterward. "I was hesitant to even go out for the main event," Springsteen said. "But then I came in here to the motorhome and relaxed a little bit and got it together. Then I suited up. I knew once I got on my bike I would be all right." Springsteen ran the bottom of the track for the first few laps before moving up the racetrack and picking off riders. "I seen Coolbeth making ground up there, and so I just went to the top and started buzzing around them. I felt really comfortable out there. I never got tired at all. The 25 laps went fast. I'm happy with fourth. Jim Kelly is here, and he builds my stuff. Now he's going to go onto Harrington and Hagerstown with us before he goes home." Gardner Racing/Lancaster HarleyDavidson's Bryan Bigelow started fifth and finished fifth, putting in another of his ultra-consistent results aboard his Greg Crow-tuned machine. Bigelow worked his way into third early before Johnson, and

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