AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships
Round 1 : Daytona Municipal Stadium
ian to slide up high in the cushion in turns three and four, to
take the lead on lap 18. Carr
then pulled out to a threelength advantage, which
grew as Murphree struggled
with the slick rutty track surface that developed late in the
race. Carr won the race by about
a second.
The win was Carr's 58th career
Grand National victory, and it also
tied him with Terry Poovey - the
Texan winding up 16th after his ignition let go in the main event - for
third on the all-time Grand National
Short Track winners list. Carr,
Poovey, Springsteen, Davis and Gary
Nixon are knotted on four wins, one
behind co-record holders Kenny
Roberts and the late Steve Eklund. It
had been nine years since Carr won
his second Daytona Short Track
(1994), his first coming in '92.
"Nine is a good number, since my
buddy Springer is up here, and he's
number nine: Carr said. "It has been
nine years since we won here. The
STORY BY SCOTT ROUSSEAU
PHOTOS BY FLAT TRACK FOTOS
DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 8
hris Carr said that he had more
motivation to win the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track
Championships series opener at Daytona Municipal Stadium than he's had
in recent years. And a motivated Carr
is a dangerous Carr.
The three-time and reigning series
champion placed his name in the
record books alongside that of the
late Will Davis as a three-time winner
of the Daytona Short Track tonight,
emerging victorious aboard his Quality Checked Certified Pre-owned Ford
Racing factory Vor afer a 25-lap
chess game with his protege, Coziahr
Harley-Davidson's Johnny Murphree.
The two pulled clear of another threetime AMA Grand National Champion,
Jay Springsteen, who finished third
aboard his Bartels' Harley-Davidson
Rotax.
Carr held the pole for the main
event, but Murphree managed to outfox him and take the lead when the
green light flashed. Murphree put two
to three lengths on Carr for the first
10 to 15 laps, with the pace hovering
in the low 20-second range. But Carr
closed the gap on Murphree with nine
laps to go and took full advantage of
a bobble which caused the Californ-
C
26
MARCH 19, 2003'
cue • e
(Top) Chris Carr (1) leads Jay
Springsteen (behind Carr). Johnny
Murphree (20) and the field early In
the race.
(Left) In the end It was Carr (centerJ.
Murphree (left) and Springsteen (right)
standing on the victory podium.
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