Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAIProgressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships Round 10, The Dirt Trac The Hal1ey-Davldson Sportster Perfonnance National gets the green flag In the final. at Lowe's Motor Speedway worse. We just struggled. We went backwards, and we got seventh. It could have been worse." Bigelow moved as high as third, passing Carr and then Lynch up high on lap eight, but Johnson was right there as well, and he slipped underneath Bigelow a lap later, as did Coolbeth. That set up an incredible showdown between the older and younger dirt track prodigies, as Coolbeth stormed the top while Johnson held the bottom in turns three and four, the two meeting every time they hit the front straightaway. It was the best race on the track. At times, it appeared as though Johnson never shut off. "Some days just go like that," Carr said. "I just didn't seem like I could get hold of the ground, but at least I didn't hit the ground. We had some bad luck earlier in the day [see sidebar], so I'm happy to be able to come in here and go 25 laps without a red flag. I tried running a little bit everywhere. When they went by me low, I tried going low, and guys were getting all over me. So then I tried to go high, and that didn't seem to work any better for me. If anything, it was @fiJ1!7D0 DfiiJ@G!J@(1@@ (1@ I5!lfiJDrz ®rJ f?@fJiJiJ@ The late Will Davis was inducted into the Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway Walk of Fame in front of the main grandstands of the track in a ceremony at 5 p.m. on the day of the Wendy's Charlotte Half Mile. A large crowd - the largest to attend a Walk of Fame induction at either the dirt track or stock car track at Lowe's - witnessed the ceremony in which a granite stone with Davis' number 21 on it was set in concrete, along with an imprint from Davis' steel shoe. Lowe's Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler released the follOWing statement regarding Davis' induction to the Walk of Fame. "Will Davis was the best flat-track motorcycle racer to ever grow up on the red clay of North Carolina," Wheeler said. "He was so proud to represent North Carolina in his sport, and his exciting victory here in front of the home-state fans last year was very special. It is only fitting that Will Davis be the first motorcycle racer inducted in the Walk of Fame." The Davis family was in attendance, and Davis' a-year-old son, Cole (pictured), was the one who placed the imprint of his father's steel shoe in the concrete. It was an emotional moment for the family, although Davis' widow, Rhonda, said that they are trying to move on. "I want to thank everybody for coming out and supporting me and Cole and the rest of our family," Rhonda Davis said. "We love you all. I know everyone misses him. This is a very big honor, and I know that he would be proud." Davis joins World of Outlaws sprint car racer Steve Kinser, who was the first inductee to the Walk of Fame at the Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway. 42 AUGUST 7, 2002' C Y Ell I n III __ s "I had some real awesome lines through three and four there," Johnson said. "I couldn't get through one and two as well as I wanted to. But through three and four, once Kenny showed me the high entry, I was able to get it squared off and get back by him. He kept getting me back, and then, once my bike started to die, I was in survival mode." Coolbeth was able to keep charging, however, and he clearly had a shot at Varnes when the five-lap board came out. "I was running a little too high at first, and Jake kept coming in there on the bottom and screwing me up," Coolbeth said. "He was getting a better drive coming out. But who knows? Kevin was going good. He rode his butt off." Varnes said that he was feeling the heat as Coolbeth closed in on the final lap, but it was simply too much real estate to make up. If the race had been a lap longer, Coolbeth very well could have gotten his first win. Varnes held on, however, taking his first win in what must have seemed like eons. "This track is so fast that 10 laps goes by quick," Varnes said. "In the main event, though, it seemed like it took a long time to get the halfway flags. But I was still doing consistent laps until we got to five laps to go and I started looking around, and I let it get to my head. If Kenny had started on the front row, then he would have won. He would have been really tough to beat. One more lap, and it would have been really exciting. "The last couple of seasons weren't very good to me," Varnes said. "I've thought about quitting before. Now we've got a good team together, and everything is rolling this year. Sometimes you just get lucky." Coolbeth wasn't the only rider to put in a late-race charge, as Murphree went from 11 th to eighth, passing Nickens, Russell, and then Clark right at the line. "I got one guy in one and two, then I got Russell going into three and Clark coming out of four," Murphree said. "I rode my butt off. The last four weeks, we have been struggling, and that is so frustrating after the way the first three weeks went. We have been busting our butt to finish eighth." Ninth was one of Clark's best finishes on a clay track. "We just got a bad start, and then we couldn't hold Murphree off at the end," Clark said. "I tried to block him, but he out-horsepowered me. We usually struggle at this place, so we're happy." Russell rounded out the top 10. "The bike was good, and this track is always great, but I just need to be faster in the first five laps," Russell said. "A 10th is good, considering that we started on the second row and didn't get going right away. We made a lot of progress from where we started the day, and we'll have some good notes for here next year." HARLEV·DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE NATIONAL In Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series action, A.J. Eslick rode his Frieze Harley-Davidson around the championship points leader, Moroney's Harley-Davidsonbacked Jared Mees, on lap six of the 12-lap feature to score his first career Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series win on a racetrack that' was allowing the Sportsters to run fast, 20-second lap times.

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