Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128231
AMAJPr o g res s ive In s u r a n c e U .S . F lat Tra c k S erie s R o u n d 13: H a les C o r n ers Spe edw a y for JJ@~({U[(1))f AA~r[p)~ ~~ ~Oal1~ a~ if cor{f ~l7u~ v~@r @Ifilcdl WrQl QIfil~ ~r@~l[ilcdl @I[il tCiFur ~ {;@rr S T O RY £, P HOT OS BY D A VE H O ENIG/F LA T T RA K F OTO S MILWAUKEE, WI, AUG. 29 or the first time in rec ent hi st or y , Labor Da y weeke nd didn 't fin d th e AMA Pro g ressiv e In su ran c e U.S. Fl at T r a c k Ch amp i onsh ip a t th e Illinoi s St ate Fairg roun d. In deferen c e t o th e m as s i v e H a rl e y -Da v ids on lOOt h Ann iver sary Part y , th e t radi tion al Sp ringfield races were m oved to th e end of the seaso n, and a short tra ck wa s sc hedu led in th e Mil wau k ee suburb s. And when the nig ht of rac ing had ended, no one ha d m o re rea so n to ce lebrate tha n J o hn n y Murph ree, the Coziahr Harley-Dav idso n ride r getting the monkey off his back with his first victory of the season. If that wasn 't enough to make Murphree a happy man, he also got to wat ch as championsh ip po ints leader Chris Carr fail ed t o !inish th e .r.ac e, his Rot ax co mi ng to a rest in th e infield, his c h a m p io ns hi p p oints l e ad over Mu rphree narrowin g to j ust 11 po ints. Alth ough th e rac e had moved to th e Labo r Da y wee ke nd for a cha nge , th ere was some sadness, as th is race would be last one, as the 56 -year- o ld Hales Co rners Sp eedway is sla ted to (Above) Rich K ing (100) and Johnny Murphree (20) battled around t h e Hales Comers Speedway for most of the race. On the f inal la p, h ow eve r, it all e nded for K ing when his b i k e f a iled him. (Left) That allowed Murphree to rid e unc ontested to h i s first w in of the season and the second of his career. 34 S EPTEM BER 1 0 , 2 003 ' c u e I e ne VIl's be raze d. It will soo n begin its transforma tion in to a Menards Lumber yard . T h e Harl ey faithful were on their feet as the H ar l ey - D a v i d so n Motor Compa ny's Rich King led the first lap of the Grand National on his XR-500 Harley. K ing was glued to his normal inside line, whi le Quali ty Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford -ba cked Chris Carr quickly roared around the outside . This triggered an eight-lap dog fi g ht fo r the lead as King and Ca rr we nt back and forth . Carr would lead eve ry lap at th e li ne, but neither co uld gain a clea r adva ntage. On lap nin e, how ev er , Carr coasted t o a sto p in turn one as hi s Rot ax lost fire. King assumed th e lead, but Co zi ahr Harl ey -D a v id son /N ati on al Cycle / Kiesow Racing 's Murphree was cl osing fa st. Murphree had been fast