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AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships Round 4: Illinois State Fairgrounds The race came down to the final comer with Landes 141Z) passing Johnson 114) to take the victory, the second Grand National win of his career. halfway when we got the five laps to go. Then I thought, 'If I'm going to do something, I had better do it now"" Landes was parked on the young superstar's rear wheel with five laps to go, and he waited patiently for his shot at the lead. "I could tell that the closer I got, he was on the throttle, but he was spinning," Landes said. "Early on, he was leaving some room in the right-hander, but when I got up on him, he started closing the door there. I was going to try and go around him on the outside, which would set me up for the left-hander." Johnson made himself as wide as In perhaps the most thrilling finish yet witnessed at the Illinois State Fairgounds rodeo arena, Landes caught and passed Moroney's Honda rider Jake Johnson of Deptford, New Jersey, in the final corner to add the 2003 Springfield IT win to the 1995 Daytona Short Track victory on his dirt-track resume. It was a classic East Coast vs. West Coast battle, with neither rider hailing from Owensboro, Kentucky, and it arguably ranks right up there' with the storied Bigelow / Schnabel/Nicky Hayden Springfield Short Track finish of 2001. "I'll tell you what, I was more excited for this race than I have ever been for the Daytona Short Track," Landes said on the podium. "You know, you dream about winning races like that, but you don't necessarily think that it's going to happen. Was that a hell of a last lap or what?" Indeed, it was a hell of a race, as Johnson passed Kopp for the lead just five laps into the 25-lap main event and then tried to break away while Kopp, Landes and Memphis Shades/Parts Unlimited Yamaha's J.R. Schnabel battled over the second spot. Landes finally passed Kopp in the stop-and-go right-hander that led to the short chute before the final long left that led to the finish line, on lap 13. Johnson held a three-second lead by then. "I had a pretty decent lead there, but around lap 15 the track really started drying out, and I just couldn't really get the bike to work," Johnson said. "I don't have the best throttle control, and I was spinning off the corners really bad. Brett rode an awesome race. He was a lot smoother and consistent." Landes went on a mission, cutting into Johnson's advantage at every turn. "I was real nervous about getting through turn one clean, and we were able to do that and just settle in," Landes said. "Jake started getting away, and there was nothing I could do with him, but then the track dried out, and he started coming to me. But I thought that we were only about possible in the last few laps. Landes finally went for it off the last run through the short chute, diving around the outside of Johnson into the right-hander to take the lead, only to run just a little too wide into the tight left-hander that initiates the final long curve to the front straightaway. Johnson kept his cool and ducked back under Landes. The two drag-raced to the line, with Johnson low on the blackened groove and Landes out in the cushion. Landes got just enough of a drive to propel him around Johnson for a margin of victory that was less than a bikelength. "I saw the five-to-go board, and I was thinking, 'C'mon, five more, five more!'" Johnson said. "Then Brett passed me coming out of the righthander there, and when I got back underneath him, I thought I had him. But he got a drive up around the outside. I knew there was plenty of runoff Theoretically speaking, heats one and three should have produced the fastest lap times due to the fact that the racing surface was manicured before the start of each of those events, with moisture added to the surface in the heat of the day. Brett Landes poked a hole in that theal)' when he went out and took the pole by winning heat race four and posting a time of four minutes, 58.530 seconds, on the driest swface. Landes got the holeshot in the race, pulling ahead of a battle among Joe Kopp, Benny Carlson and A.J. Eslick. Kopp passed Carlson for the second spot on the front straight on lap five, but Landes was already gone, with 3.94 seconds in hand. Carlson would also succumb to a charge by Eslick on lap eight, leaving him to seek out his fortune in the semis. J.R. Schnabel's second-fastest time of 5:00.947 came in heat three, the Wisconsinite having an easy time of it as he pulled the holeshot and then got away while the rest of the pack bottlenecked in the right-hander before the short chute. Bryan Bigelow and John Hlebo managed to squeeze through and set off after Schnabel. Bigelow fmished second, Hlebo third. Johnny Murphree won the third-fastest heat, leading evel)' lap en route to a time of 5:02.666. He won it by the length of the front straightaway, over Shaun Russell and Kenny Coolbeth. Ironically, Jake Johnson posted the fastest scratch qualifying heat but the slowest 10lap heat, the latter a 5:03.531. That's because Johnson had to battle with his Moroney's teammate Paul Lynch and Tommy Hayden. Lynch held the lead over the jump on lap one, but then Hayden tried for the pass and fell in the right-hander. He was unable to restart his machine. Johnson then went under Lynch In the right-hander on lap four and ran away to take the win. Greg Tysor also got past Lynch when Lynch bobbled in the right-hander on lap nine, but Lynch still finished third and picked up the transfer. Carlson earned his first career Grand National start by holding off Gary Rogers in the first semi. Hayden came back to win the second semi, passing Carr and Shawn Clark along the way. Honda riders Rob Pearson and Roy Miller finished one-two in the third semi, setting the field. 16 JUNE 4, 2003' c u e I e nevvs