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/128166
@CfJ[Jf? U@CfJDfJD Lif?CfJ[fiJfB{j)@[?(l@[? 1!ll[?@@f:I@@ -- Chris Carr's Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford Racing transporter, along with team members Kenny Tolbert and Travis Smith, were involved in a serious traffic accident on State Highway 49 less than a mile from the Dirt Track at , -'~ Lowe's Motor Speedway as it was making its way to the track. Fortunately, neither Tolbert nor Smith was seriously injured. The accident occurred when an l8-wheeler tanker truck ran a red light while Smith, who was driving the transporter while Tolbert rode shotgun, attempted to make a left tum on a green arrow. The 18-wheeler slammed into the passenger side of the Carr rig, shoving it 22 feet. The impact was sufficient enough to break the engine block on the transporter. Damage to the trailer was comparatively minor. After the investigation. Carr's transporter was then hooked up to a wrecker and towed to the track, where the trailer was dropped and the tractor was hauled away. Carr said that the trailer, which was purchased in North Carolina, wiu be repaired by the middle of the week. Ford's Mike Dennis said that a new truck is being located. _~~I 'r-,.. --->--- Paul Lynch (19) and Jay Springsteen had a good batUe In the final. David Liles Fuel-backed Chris Carr, who started second but got swallowed backed A.J. Eslick led most of heat then later Springsteen, got past him. The 21-year-old Michigander kept rolling, though, and was rewarded with a finish that moved him past Coziahr Harley-Davidson/Country Motors' Johnny Murphree, who was eighth in Concord, in the series points standings. Apparently, that wasn't enough. "In a way, that's not what I wanted," Bigelow said. "On the other hand, I watched this race from the stands. But with the points so close, you really got to win to make a difference in the points. Last week, I was ticked to death to finish third, but I lost seven points to Chris [Carr]. Seeing Kevin disappear on us was kind of disappointing. I just ran too low on the racetrack, not enough arc. The bike ran great. We made leaps-andbounds progress from last year." Bigelow was followed home by Paul Lynch, who made good use of Murphree passed three riders on the two aboard his Lynch Racing HarleyDavidson before Bigelow slid under- his guest ride aboard a Moroney's Harley-Davidson to land sixth, ahead of series points leader and Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford/ get past Kevin Varnes and White's Garth Bastian finishing second to land his first career Grand National start. Dodge Brothers/Saddlemen rider Kevin Atherton also struggled in Davidson Racing/Saddlemen- by the pack and slipped to seventh. final lap to finish eighth, right behind Carr, thus minimizing the points damage in his championship run. Paul the heat races but made good with a win in the second semi. KK Motorcycle Supply/Las Vegas Harley-Davidson's Roeder followed him across the line for a transfer spot. After his strong battle with Springsteen in heat four, Cartwright delivered on a vow to make the main by winning the third semi. Second-placed K&N/Departure Bike Works' John Nickens III was the last rider to make the field. Eslick got the drop on the field off the line, but Carr and Varnes were right with him, and Varnes got to the neath him in between turns one and two on lap eight to take over. Bigelow Sehiskar/Cayuga Tool & Die's Shawn went on to win, with Eslick second Clark and Bartels' Harley-Davidson/ Custom Chrome's Shawn Russell and Johnson third. After Cool beth's blaZing run, Springsteen took the lead in the fourth heat race, only to see the effort ruined by the only red flag of the night, when Sam Lowe slid out, unhurt, in between turns three and four. Springsteen was disappointed to see the red flag come out. "That sucked," Springer said. "The rounded out the top 10. Coolbeth's fast time of three minutes, ] 2.625 seconds, came in heat three, where he was able to get out front right off the start and pull away. He appeared to be throwing the bike into the corners as hard as he could while testing the racetrack. He finished over half a straightaway ahead of Clark and Russell, who also earned transfer spots. Lynch was a surprise winner in the opening heat, however, especially after he had to come from the penalty line after jumping the start. He dropped low in turns three and four to Harley-Davidson/Schaeffer's HarleyDavidson-backed Mike Varnes, leading them into the main. guy got up and got off the racetrack, so what are they throwing the red flag for?" The restart cost him dearly, as Carr jumped into the lead, with Performance Harley-Davidson/Lombardi's Harley-Davidson-sponsored Chris Hart tucking in behind him after a brief battle with Geo Roeder II, who faded quickly. Springer got trapped in fourth, behind Ron's Cycleland/ Cartwright Heating's Brandon Cartwright. A heroic outside run to the flag netted Springsteen third and a direct transfer. After struggling and finishing fifth front as they made their way into turn three. Varnes led the first lap, with Carr, Cartwright and Lynch following him. Lynch then got past Cartwright in turn one on lap two to run third. A swarm of riders then came up to challenge, and he would three spots before the finish - this on a bike that he'd never ridden before. "We have been struggling, but we made a few changes - hopefully for the better," Lynch said. "We'll find out soon enough. Everything is hopefully going to come together by the end of the season. I got a good start, and I ran third, behind Carr, for a few in the opening heat race, Murphree laps. Running sixth, for my first time, on this bike, and with this team, I'm pretty happy with that." By lap five, Varnes had stretched his lead to over 10 lengths. His superior drives off turn two were gaining him time, though he didn't appear to make as much in turns three and four. Those curves were absolutely dominated by Cool beth and Johnson, who were tearing through the field. got on track and into the main by winning the first semi, with Pooler Enterprises/Ward Performance's (Left to right) Coolbeth, Varnes and Johnson celebrate on the Charlotte podium. Coolbeth was flying around the top of three and four and had already moved up to seventh, while Johnson was running the bottom, in fifth. After running second for the first eight laps, Carr started sliding backward through the field. He would dig in at seventh in the late going. cucle n "" _... • AUGUST 7, 2002 41