Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

A MA P r o g r e s s iv e In su rance U .S . F lat T r a c k Ch ampion sh ips S e r ie s R o u nd 17: Illi n ois S t a t e F a ir g r o u n d s HEAT 4 ( 10 laps; 12 riders. top 3 transfer): I. Rich King (H· D) ; 2 . Kevin Atherton ( H· D); 3 . Steve Jess Roeder ( H- D ); 6. Rick Winsett ( H· D ): 7 . Greg Ty sor ( S uz) ; 8 . T immy M it ch ell ( H- D ); 9 . Lee Johnson ( Suz) : 10 . Kevin Vem es ( Suz); I I. Scott Scherb ( Bu e} : 12 . D om in ic Beaul ac ( H - D ) ; 13 . Charlie ltelie (H · D ). lime: 6 m in.. 00 .812 sec. HEAT 2 ( 10 laps; 12 riders. top 3 tran sfer): 1. Beattie (H-D): 4. J.R.Schnabel (H·D): 5. Gary Rogers (H-D): 6. .Jescn Tyer (H·D): 7. Tom Eades (H-D): 8. Garth Bastien (H·D): 9. Shawn Clark (H-D): 10. Bob Buffing ton ( H· D): It. Mi ke Hinds ( H· D); 12 . Bria n Them es (H- D ). TIme : 5 min .. 57.277 sec. SEMI 1 (8 laps: 13 riders. top 2 tran sfer): 1. Terry Poovey (H-D): 2. Bryan Bigelow (H-D): 3. Joe Kopp ( H - D ) ; 4 . Jay Spring steen ( H · D ): 5. Bryan Smith (H·D): 6. Chris Hart (H-D): 7. Paul Lynch (H-D): Bryan Smith (H·D): 2. Goo Roeder II (H·D): 3. Gary 8 . Jared Mee s ( H- D ); 9 . J eff Landrum ( H- D); 10. Cory Mc De rmitt ( H- D ); 11. John Reu n Wood ( H- D) : 12. Roy Miller (Suz). TIme : 5 m in., 54 .36 6 sec. HEAT 3 ( I 0 laps; 12 riders, top 3 tran sfer): 1. Rogers ( H- D) ; 4 . Dominic Beeul ec ( H· D) : 5 . Garth Ba stian ( H- D ); 6 . S ha wn Beer ( H - D) ; 7 . T o m McGnme (SUI) ; 8 . Lee Johnson (Suz); 9 . Ja red Mees (H-D): 10. Rick Winsett (H·D): I I. Mike Hinds (H-D): 12. Charlie Itelie (H -D) . Time : No time, due to red flags. SEMI 2 ( B laps: 12 riders. top 2 t ransfer): I. Willie McCoy (H-D) : 2. Jay Springsgteen (H-D); 3 . Ja son T yer (H- D); 4 . Jess Roeder (H-D) ; 5. Paul Lyn ch ( H· D) : 6 . Cory Mc De rm itt ( H· D) ; 7. Shawn Clark (H-D) ; B. Scott Scherb (Bue ); 9 . Rob Pearson Kenny Coolbeth (H-D): 2. Chris Carr (H-D): 3. A.J. Eslick (Suz ); 4 . Geo Roeder II ( H- D) ; 5. Willie McCoy (H-D): 6. Dan Stanley (H-D): 7. Shawn Beer (H-D): 8 . Rob Pearson (H·D ); 9 . Jeremy DeRuyter ( H · D) ; 10. To m McG rane (Suz ): II. Ken Yoder (Suz) ; 12 . Larry Pegram (A pr). TIm e: 5 m in.. 54 .23 1 sec. BRIEFLY•• • It remains to be seen whether or not this was truly Jay Spring" steen's last S p ringf ie ld appe arance. but the old gunfighter sugges ted that this would not necessarily be a race where he'd show up just for the sake o f the racing itself. "I'm ·just going to send some things out to the promoters, and if we can work someth,ng out. then I'll be here. " Springe r said. " If not. then I' ll stay hom e and do something I'm good at. like hunting and fish;ng." ( H -D ); 10 . T immy M itchell ( H · D ) ; 11. Ken Yoder (Suz): 12. Brien Th omas (H -D) , TIme: 4 m in.. 4 7 .74 6 sec. SEMI 3 (8 laps ; 12 rider s. t op 2 tran sfer ): 1. Kevin v e m e s ( S uz) : 2. Chris Hart ( H- D); 3. J .R. Schna be l ( H- D ): 4 . Da n Sta nley ( H· D): 5 . Ja ke Johnson ( H· D); 6. Larry Pegram (A pr); 7. Tim Eade s (H-D): 8. Jeff Landrum (H·D): 9. Roy Miller (Suz): AMA PROGRESSIVE INSURANC E U. S. FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS SERIES POI NTS STA ND ING S (A fter 17 of 17 rounds): 1. Chris Carr (282/ 5 wins) : 2. Johnny M urphree (257/1 win); 3. Joe Kopp (239/2 wins); 4. Kenny Coolbeth (220/2 wins): 5 . Rich King ( 186/1 win): 6 . Jake Joh nson ( 14 7 /1 win ) : 7 . Kevin Atherto n ( 11 8): 8 . J . R. 10. Bob Buffington (Suz): 11. Jeremy DeRuyter ( H·D ); 12. Greg T ysor (Suz ). T ime : 4 min.. 46. 133 sec . GRANO NATIONAL (25 laps: 18 riders): 1. Rich King ( H- D); 2. Kev in Ath erton ( H-D ): 3 . Joe Kopp Schnabel ( 116/2 wins): 9. Bryan Billelow ( 113): 10. Jay Springsteen ( 112): I I. Mike Hacker ( 108): 12. (H-D): 4. Chris Carr (H·D): 5. Johnny Murphree (H-D): Bryan Smith (50): 20. John Reun Wood(45). 6 . Kenny Coolbeth ( H-D): 7. Jay Springsteen ( H ·D): B. Mik e Hack er ( H -D) : 9. Te rry Poovey ( H- D) ; 10. Ste ve Beatt ie ( H - D) ; 11. Bryan S mith ( H - D) ; 12 . Bryan Bigelow ( H- D ): 13 . Willie McCoy ( H- D) ; 14 . Chris Hart ( H· D) : 15. She un Russell ( H- D ); 16. Geo Roed er II ( H - D) : 17. A .J . Eslick ( Suz}: 18 . Kevin Varnes (Sua). T ime: 14 mln ., 51 .64 1 sec . W ind was a faclor fo r a lot of riders all day as they atte mpted to co me to grips with a different mile racetrack than they are used to at Sp ringfield . " The speeds are going up and down ," Chris Ca rr said bef or e th e hea t race s. " The wi nd is wrea ki ng havo c out there. W e're getting a goo d shove down the fro nt st retch. but it 's lik e so meone has a sheel out in fro nt of you dow n th e bac k stret ch . W e put a tach on our bike . and if s like a 500 rpm differ ence fro m the front straightaway to the back. " When told that the Suz uki rid ers said th ey were not affected by the wi nd . Carr laughed and said. " I wonder why ." The Suzukis displace 1000cc and use production 41 mm throttle bodies with smaller restrictors compared to the XR750s . which run larger res tnc tors and 38 mm carburetors. Steve Beattie (98) : 13. Gee Roeder II (80 ): 14 . Shaun Russell (70 ): 15. Willie McC oy (6 9); 16. Jared Mees (66): 17. Terry Poovey (52): 18. Paul Lynch (5 1): 19_ 88 3 NATI ONAL ( 12 lap s: 17 riders): I . Scott Scherb: 2. Merle Scherb; 3. Josh Toungett ; 4. Cory M cDermitt: 5 . Danny Esli ck ; 6 . Scott Stum p ; 7 . Shawn Beer: 8. Brian Thoma s; 9. Brien Kromroy: 10. Roy M iller; 11. Shane Vance; 12. John Faulkner; 13. Robe rt Lewi s: 14 . Br et Sowd e rs ; 15 . Bran don Laursen; 16. Dan Stanley ; 17. Je ss Roeder . A fte r at least making an AMA main eve nt at the Spri ngfield Short Track the night before the M ile. Jason Tyer we nt from upbeat to homicidal afte r both of his Harley-Davidson XR750s co mmitted suic ide in p ract ic e. one of th e exp lo sion s oiling muc h o f th e already narrow groove . " That's a typ ical Springfield for us." Tyer said. "I guess that' s just part of racing. W e'lI be back . " Tyer was dow n but not out. as he was able to land a guest spot aboar d an Eddie Adkins Racing Harley XR750 afte r Adkins rider Aaro n Crea mer smacked the guardrail with his left hand in practice and had to be taken to the hospital. " I appreciate Eddie helping me out today since Aaron got hurt . " Tye r sa id. A dkins said tha i C reamer needed to have a pin inserted in the damaged hand and that he wtll be out for a w hile. but he wtll return. "Jason 's had a hard day. and we've had a hard day. " Adk,n s said. " W e' lI just help Ja son out today and go fro m there . " Tyer almos t made the main event, missing out by one spot in the second semi after dicing wrth W illie M cC oy and Jay Springst een for the lead in that race . D a n S t a nle y was also on a borrowed ride . The W ashington rider cuI a deal w ith Sk ip Eaken Racing to ride one of Eaken 's XR750s just for the M ile. " It feels really fast." Stanley said. " Our times are right in there. All we had to do after practice was raise the fro nt end a quarte r of an inch. and it was perfec t aft er that. like Tyer, St anley just missed the main eve nt by one spot. finishing fourth in a fou r-rider draft at the end of the last semi. S e a n R u sse ll is scheduled to undergo surge ry on the Tuesday afte r the Springfield M ile to repair his lef t shoulder . wh ich he injured in a cras h at the A MA Red Bull Supermo to opener at Laguna Seca in July. " It ' s going to be four months before I can get back on a motorcycle again." Russell said. " lt's going to be a long winter." Although the main event d.dn 't wo rk out the way that it wo uld have liked. Team Suzu ki had a lot of the co mpetitio n talking aft er Kevin Varne s qualified the fuel-inject ed factory D L 1000 number one with a fast scratch heat time of two minutes. 23.4 96 seconds in the second of the eight four- lap heats to set the 48 rider field. Varnes app eared to effortlessly run clear of Harleymounted mile aces J ohnny Murphree and Shaun Russell en route to the win. I was pretty confident coming in here," Varnes said. " W e had a good test in Sacramento a coup le weeks ago . I was n't really even looki ng forw ard to running the short track this year . I was looking righ t to the mile. I don 't even notice the wind that much . I thought it would be a factor. but it really isn' t , The bike' s really stable. and it is handling better than it has all year . W e're making little change s to keep the tracti on the re. As long as we 've got traction , we 're going to go fast. " Unf ortunately for the team . Varne s suffered the rare bad luck of havinq his rear inner tube split at the seams wh ile he was running 11th oand in the lead draft . with five laps to go . " I' m bummed . " Va rnes said. " I've never seen an inner tube split at the seam like that. It didn't have anything to do with our tire, because our tire was wearing realty well. It got bett er the more th at it wor e down . and we start ed to pick off some guys. Then I'm going down the back straightaway. and all of a sudden it feels like I' m runninq over rum ble strips out ther e. What are you gonna do ? We are get ting bett er every nrne we ride the Suzuki. not just on the miles. but also on the half miles . W e're going to be tough next year for sure." Both factory Suzuki riders made the main event. wnh A .J" Eslic k finishing 17th and Varn es 18th . N S te v e Bea ttie also said that he could feel the wind making a huge differe nce on the back straightaway . " lt's really bad." the Canadian said. " If s hitting us in the face and pushing us around quite a bit. But the trac k is great . maybe the best we have ever had. " B ry a n Smith was once again aboard a factory Harley-D avidson XR750 . this time on the Springfiel d M ile. " It's fast. " Smith said. .,It ju st needs its rider to get his act toge ther and figure out how to get around this track. Ifs not yo ur typical Sprinqfield, Usually by now [scratch heats] there ' s plenty of rubber down . Right now there' s just dust. and it's inconsistent. There will be plenty of rubber down later. and it will probably be real one-line. Smith made the main aboard the factory XR. co ming home ninth . 12 O CTO BER B . 2 003' c ue I e n e vv Mike Hacke r appeared to be sti ll quite sore afte r being hit by ano th er rider w hen he cra shed in his scratc h heat during th e Sp ringfield Short Trac k. " 1just wen t out in the mud there and got a littl e sideways and lowsided. " Hacke r recalled. " I turned around . and they were comi ng at me . I just balled up and got drilled m the bac k. It felt like he hit me at about 100 miles per hour. My back is sprained. but nothing is broken. I' m geW ng loo ser as the day goes on. " Hacker sai d that his trip to St. John ' s Ho spital in Springfield felt like an eerie deja vu, as it was the same facility that treated him when he suffe red the spiral fractures to his left leg at th e Sprinqfield IT last year . " It wa s the same ho spital. same room even," Hacker said. "1was very scared when I got in there. " Ja re d Mees looked comfortable almos t immediate ly aboard his Joh nny Goad -tuned Saddi emen Racing/ Lancaster Harley-Davidson XR750 in his first Springfield Mil e GNC appearance. " I feel really good each ti me I go ou t for pr act ice ." M ees said . "I 'm learn ing some thi ng new every time I go out there. and my lap times have co me down unbelievably. W e starte d in the 36s . and we 're already in the 34s . I've just got to leam to roll off the throt tle inst ead of chopping the thro ttl e and to j ust be smart and patient when I get up in there w ith the guys . " Unfortu nately for M ees. he also learned what it felt like to crash at Springfield when he dumped it while going into tum three during the first semi. M ees walked away from the incident. but the bike was serio usly "back-halved . " Jo hnny M urphree 's head wr ench . M ike Wheeler. wa s in even more dire straits, as he is still recovering from a recent surgery. "Y ou don 't even want to know. " Wh eeler said wh en asked how bad he wa s hurting. " I really shouldn' t even be here tod ay. I'm just here to call sho ts . and Randy Bmdy is here for us. I have a lot o f respect for Randy . He and I think the same . and I tru st him wholeheartedly. " Wheeler also said that de spite Murphree' s losing the title to Ch ris Carr. he is pleased with his rider s development just the same, and that the team will be stronger in 2004. " The way that I see it. this rs a three-year plan. " Wheeler said. " The first year we wanted to get into the top five . the seco nd year top thr ee . and then by the third year we should be looking at the champi onship. So we 'r e way ahead of schedule. Hey . Ch ris Carr is the guy who set s the benchmark for us. He and Kenny Tolbert have been together for so long. and Kenny is the smarte st guy out here . He just make s me work harder . " That first semi was a c rash fest , as Jared M ees wasn't even the first rider to c rash in the race. The first of two red flags flew for former Dayt ona Short Track winner Ric k Winsett. w ho had the dubiou s dis tinction of also be;ng the first rider to test the air fence in turn one. W insett admit ted to being a little woozy after the crash. but he did walk away . M ees d,d not hit the air fence during his crash. Larry P eg ra m was back aboard the Lloyd Ra c ing A p rilia M ille dirt"tra c ker at Sp rinqfreld. and while Pegram ultimately missed the main event. he appeared to be pleased at the devel op ment of the bike. given the fact that it still has very littl e time on it. "Skip Eaken built it, so its a wel l-built bike. but th e biggest probl em is that there' s no budget behind it ,,. Pegram said. " W e have been tryi ng to figure out how to ge t the thinq to handle better using the existing frame when it really needs a new frame. We have been geWng power by domq litt le things to make it better. and it is getting better. but com pared to what Suzuki has to wor k with in terms of budget... W e 've only rode it a couple times, too, so I' m pretty impresse d with rt actually. " s The Ro adra c ing World A ctio n Fund"supplied a ir fe nce was once again placed in the transition between turns one and two and also turns three and four . Shortly afte r the checkered flag fell on the last race o f the year . the IMDA and Ford Motor compa ny host ed a year-end party for the rider s. crews and fan faithful. First on the agenda was that Ford Mo tor Company paid out the end of the year IM DA Series bo nus chec ks . Joe Kopp. Chris Carr. Rich King. Kenn y C oo lbe th and J .R. Schnabel all co llected $2000 . The Harl eyD avidson Sport ster Performance clas s wa s honored next as Scott Scherb. Sco tt Stump and C ory M cD erm itt were recog nized for finish;ng first. second and third respecti vely in the series . The top lO in the GNC class were honored next. First to be called was the l Oth -place finisher. J ay Sp ringste en . w ho was then honore d w it h a slide show and film c lips d ep icting his lif e ti me of accomplis hme nts in flat track . The last ca lled w as this ye ar's Grand Nat ional Champ ion . Chri s Carr . Aft er making all the proper thank yo us. Carr threw down the gauntlet and announced that he and his team would start working on the ir defense of the title on W ednesday. and if any othe r team hoped to keep up. they would have to do the same .

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