Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAIProgressive Insurance U. S. Flat Track Championships Round 20: Ou Guoin State Fairgrounds which was my plan - to get into third on the white flag, but then I was all sideways down on the inside, while Kevin [Atherton] and [Mike] Hacker drove off into the sunset. That was kind of the end of my race right there. I think I was fourth at that point, and that's where I ended up. I went to third and busted it sideways, and then Shaun Russell went by me down the back straightaway and I kind of got sideways in the middle of three-four a little bit too much. Panicked when I saw the white flag is all that happened." Carr, on the other hand, never panicked. Starting from the back row, Carr never led, but deliberately cut through much of the field in the early going. He jumped to fourth on the first lap, then fell back as far as eighth before a late run moved him up to within striking distance of the podium. "You could go into a corner with two of them abreast and try to make a move, but when they were fanned out three-wide like they were most of the time, I couldn't ever find a hole to get through to the front," Carr said of the chase. "I thought I had a decent chance the last lap, but Murphree came back around me on the outside, kind of pinched me off, killed my drive to the line. I might have had a chance had I been able to get through three and four better the last lap. "The only time I could ever get by a bunch a guys was to the inside, and the inside of the corners, especially going in, were real slippery, and you'd lose a lot of speed. Both ends would take off, and they could just ride right back around the outside of you. I couldn't ever get in there and get the bike planted and turned and on a lower line to move forward." Coolbeth was next, losing his drive after Carr passed him on the 16th lap. "He was using the whole racetrack," Coolbeth said. "He rode a good track." 24 OCTOBER 9,2002' cue .•• (Above) Factory loaner program?: Bryan Smith (42) and J.R. Schnabel (33) each got a golden opportunity to ride one of Rich King's Bill Wemertuned Harley factory racers at Du Quoin. Both riders made the main event. Smith finished 11th, Schnabel 12th. (Above right) Russell, Hacker and Atherton on the podium. Behind Cool beth came Springsteen, who ignited the crowd by taking the lead in turn one with less than three laps remaining. "I was in the back for a long time, then, as the race went on, I kind of worked my way to the front and then, I mean, the last couple of laps I don't know what happened," Springsteen said. "Them young kids, they just shut their brains off and was going in every direction. I just was kind of a little hesitant, and you just back off a split second and three of them go by. It was good racing. It was good, clean racing. Nobody really touched or anything. It was fun. Last one of the season, everybody survived it. It was good. I came from the back and worked my way up. Hey, I was right. there leading it. Things happened the last couple of laps. I was just happy to finish where I did. Seventh wasn't all that bad." One spot better than Joe Kopp, who had a handling problem all day that was worst at the worst possible time, in the main. "I had a problem all day that I couldn't get my bike to two wheel as much as I wanted to," Kopp said. The team shortened up the chassis for the main, which was the wrong move. "The back end was stepping out too much," Kopp said. "We kind of chased the chassis around all day long trying to get it handling a little bit better. It seemed like we kind of went backwards in the main event. I could catch them, but I couldn't pass nobody once I got up there. I was in that lead draft, but I was stuck in seventh or eighth the whole time. We were on the pace, we just couldn't get it turned." There was a slight gap, then came Varnes, Jake Johnson, Smith, and Schnabel. Varnes, like Carr, had to switch to a backup after his race bike sprung an oil leak in his heat. That put him toward the back of the grid, but it wasn't an issue in the main. "It looked like we were gaining on them and just ran out of laps," Varnes said. Then came Johnson, Smith, and Schnabel. "I feel pretty good, I just didn't ride where I needed to," Schnabel said. "I needed to be up about 10 feet higher. I was riding too low. I was looking up a couple of times to see Atherton and the guy up front running up there. I just couldn't get myself to do it. I got it up there a couple of times because I'd draft by a guy on the outside and feel real good, I'd be like, 'Man that's good up there,' and two laps later I'd be riding on the inside. Mostly my fault. .. H-O SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE NATIONAL Cory McDermitt used the chaos theory as his strategy in the HarleyDavidson Sportster Performance final at Du Quoin Fairgrounds. "I don't know what I was thinking throughout the entire race," the Lima H-D rider said. "I was just trying to stay in at least the top three, just in Cory McDermitt (54X) won his flrst·career AMA National main event by taking the 12·lap Harley-Davidson SportsterPerlormance Series feature. Bryan Smith (i) was second, and Jared Mees (16A) was third. n e _ :IS

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