Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAlProgressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships Round 20: Ou Quoin State Fairgrounds In his first race back from a severely broken leg suffered in May, Mike Hacker won the Du Quoin Mile. Hacker pulled off a last-second draft-pass to beat Kevin Atherton at the wire. By could run through the corners three wide and still have drive onto the straights. So tight was the pack that there were eight riders fighting for the lead on the final lap, Hacker emerging from the pack out of turn four and drafting by Atherton for the win. "I didn't play my cards right," Atherton said. "I let Mike [Hacker) get too big of a lead coming off turn two that one lap. I figured I'd go by him and someone would go by me and that would put me in second place, but nobody went by me. That was the difference." There was a photo finish, but Hacker knew who'd won. "I knew I had him," Hacker said. "I knew I had him. Today, I kind of got booted out in that heat. I won that heat, and they told me I didn't in the scratch heat. I looked this time. I knew we hit the line first." HENNY RAY ABRAMS PHOTOS BY DAVE HOENIG/ FLAT TRAK FOTOS D(J Q(JOIN, IL, SEPT. 28 ~ ike Hacker wasn't sure he could UUW 25 laps. last Since breaking his left leg at the Springfield TT on Memorial Day weekend, he'd been off motorcycles until seven days earlier, and then only on a Honda XR100. The leg still had a rod in it from the spiral fracture of the tibia and fibula. How it would hold up was anyone's guess. The answer came on the final lap of the "Magic Mile" at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. The SuperTrapp/Moroney's H-D/1800FASTHOGbacked Virginian hooked up out of turn four and drafted past race leader Kevin Atherton (Dodge Bros/Saddlemen/National Cycle) to win his first mile, and second dirt track National of any kind, in the final round of the AMA/Progressive Insurance Grand National Dirt Track Series on a perfect night of close contact racing. "I didn't really know if I had the endurance to come out here today, but everything felt great," Hacker said after coming from fifth to first on the final lap to beat Atherton to the line by 0.178 of a second. "I was comfortable from the word go. The bikes worked, and it was just like a dream come true." The race showcased classic mile racing on a perfectly groomed track. The groove was so wide that riders Atherton (23) looked good early as he towed a lead pack that Included Hacker (67). Shaun Russell (28). Johnny Murphree (201 and Kenny Coolbeth (31) in the late going. 22 OC;;TOBER 9, 2002' cue I e n • _ s Third, covered by the same blanket as the lead pair, was Bartel's H-D/Custom Chrome's Shaun Russell, who was in the lead just two laps from the end. In quick order came Coziar H-D/ Country Motors/National Cycles' Johnny Murphree, who'd miscounted the lap and was caught off guard, then Quality Checked Certified PreOwned Ford's Chris Carr, on his spare bike, Corbin/Samson/KTM's Kenny Coolbeth, Bartel's H-D/ Corbin/ PJ1's Jay Springsteen, the veteran leading the pack late in the race, and Jones Powersports/ KTM/Dick's Suzuki's Joe Kopp. Then a slight break to another fight, this one taken by Memphis Shades/Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialities' Kevin Varnes over Moroney's H-D/Supertrapp's Jake Johnson and a pair of factory Harleys, ridden this weekend by Bryan Smith and J.R. Schnabel. Back in 14th came American Honda's Nicky Hayden, the AMA Superbike Champion thwarted in his bid to become the fifth rider to win the Grand Slam. Hayden had struggled in his heat race, finishing second to Atherton, then had machine problems in the main. After getting the holeshot, Hayden gradually fell back as his 1stLegal.com Honda RS750 lost power, eventually going on one cylinder. "It's definitely a bummer, but I can't just get too bummed about it because I've had a lot of good days, and I don't want to be too hard on myself because sometimes I do that," Hayden said. "I've enjoyed the ride in dirt track, and I'm sure one day I'll do some more, maybe, who knows?" Though Carr had already clinched his fourth GNC title, the places behind him in the series standings were up for grabs, and there were changes. Murphree finished a careerbest second, with Coolbeth a careerbest third. Varnes moved into fourth, his best finish, when Gardner Racing/Waiters Bros/Lancaster H-D's Bryan Bigelow was knocked out of his semi with an ignition problem. Bigelow ended up fifth, ahead of Joe Kopp. Kopp had finished second to Hacker in his heat, the second slowest of the night. Varnes had been third with Bigelow fourth. That sent Bigelow to the semi, where his engine went off while he was running second a lap from the end. The fastest heat was the first one, a race that looked like a preview of the main. Stacked up on the front row were Atherton, Carr, Springsteen, and Hayden. Atherton got to the front early on and was able to get away. while the other three slowed each other down fighting for second. Hayden was having the most trouble, the Honda loose in the middle of the corner, causing him to back off while Atherton scooted away. Once on the straight, Hayden had the power to get to the line first, giving him second with Springsteen third and Carr fourth. Carr couldn't remember the last time he had to ride a semi at a mile. "It's been a while," he said. "The last time I rode a semi of any kind was at this year's Daytona Short Track. I had to change bikes before the main." He had to do the same here. "This thing started making a noise that we weren't real sure about," Carr said after finishing fourth in his heat race. "They're Harleys. Sometimes they make noises when you least expect them." Switching bikes meant moving to the third row for the semi, which didn't faze the four-time champion. "On a mile track, it's not a big deal to start on the third row." Hayden said his Honda was spinning up quite a bit, mainly getting into the corners. "From midway out, I feel good," Hayden said. "Getting it to the ground is the hard thing here." For Atherton, the track is something of a mixed bag. He won here in 1996, but suffered serious injuries at Du Quoin in 1999. "I love this place, but it bit me that. day," Atherton remembered. "I think I was higher than the grandstands there." Russell and Coolbeth swapped the top spot in the second heat, the pair leaving the final transfer to Moroney's H-D/Supertrapp's Jake Johnson. The

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