Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

it up, and one guy [Hacke r] got und e rnea th me. As I tried to d ose it back down , ano ther guy hit me, and then another guy. Off the resta rt , I just tried to calm do wn . I was still in th ird, but then Brett [Landes] was co ming, and I chopped th e throttle and let him by. I started reeling in "I really tho ught I had something the re at the beg inning, but th e n about 15 laps into the race I started getting a terrible w heel hop ," Hacker said . "It w ould hop so bad that it started pushing the front end, so I freaked ou t and w e nt into block mode. I tried to guard my spot, but that just made it w orse, and Landes got by me. Iquit racing and messed myself up, but I neve r expected that I would leave here o n the bo x. I'm real ly happy about getti ng some points. I'm feeling hea lthie r than eve r, and I feel like I'm really starting to get my drive back . I fee l like we're going to be up front th is yea r." Carr's win places him back in a fam iliar spot, in the series points lead . He now has 10 points over Landes and 5hau n Russell, the latter finishing fifth in the main event after taking the pole position for the race. But many w ere the dirt-track insiders at the event who argued comi ng into the Cow Palace event that it was not wo rthy o f Grand National statu s. Dirt track is supposed to be raced o n dirt , they said. Regardless of what sides of the fence folks were o n, the racing action was hailed as worthy by the fans in attendance - even ifthere were only 55 entries and 2000 spectators in the stan ds . Carr answered crit ics of the format by invoking historical precedent. "To be honest with you , this type of racing has been a part of flat trac k for over 40 years," Carr said . "They raced in this building here back in the earJy '60s. It's part of the fabric of dirt track. Th ey used to race indoors on polished concrete in the wintertime . I know this isn't winter, but what did Hemmingway say? The coldest winter he ever spe nt was the summer he spe nt in San Francisco . Well, he re we were. This is a part of flat track racing. It's not dirt track tonigh t; it's flat track tonight. I th ink it's pretty cool, and I applaud the guys from Supermoto Productions fo r having the balls to promote an event like this and the AMA for allowing it to happen." After runn ing as high as second early on, Mees more than he ld his own against 2002 Ricky Graham Rookie of the Year winner Jake Joh nson to nail down the fourth spo t. The young Pennsylvanian had a good run , matching his career-best AMA Grand National res ult. He has now finished fourt h on three occas ions. "Wh e n I do get on th e box , I guess I'm just go ing to have to go straight to the top of it," Mees said. "I actually didn't feel like I st ruggled ton ight. I was just trying to get with Carr's pace going into the comers, and I caught him and thought that he was go ing to just get on the gas and go. But he got a little fro nt-e nd push o r something, and I almost hit him. I had to stand Hacker at the end, but he was just smooth. I finished fourth. I'm happ y with that ." Fifth place fell to pe rhaps the hardest working rider all night, Bartels' Harley-D avidsonlTNT Action Spo rts ' Shaun Russell. Th e Californian had wanted to make the best of his o nly home state Grand National appearance, and he did so earJy on , earni ng the number-one qualifying positio n and then winn ing the fastest hea t to sit o n the po le for the main even t. That w o uld be his high-water mark, though. Carr beat him to tum-o ne in the main event, and then Russell cras hed a lap later, bringing ou t the first of several red flags be fore the eve nt co uld really get under way. Starting from the rear of the field, he methodically picked off riders to finish as the last rider on the lead lap. "It's always a disap po intm ent when you' re the fastest guy all day and then can't put it togethe r," Russell said. "But that's short track racing, and that 's how it goes. I had a good ride , and my bike was unreal. Ronnie Brown built me a bike where alii had to do was sit on it. It's a bit frustrating to finish like that, but we'llgo on to the next one with our heads up, knowing that we can do it. "I just go t a little im patie nt," Russell conti nued . '" didn't get off the line all that good. Guys were stopping in the middle of the comer, and Iwasn't ready for that. I was trying to go fast, and they were slowing me down. I tried running on the bottom, but I wasn't giving th em enough room when they woul d stop in front of me . I would have to sto p again, and they would get away." After his cras h, Russell said that he was still confident that he could make headway. "I didn't th ink it would be all tha t bad," he said. "I knew so me guys would crash, so I just had to stay cool and work my way through." After learning that he was about fo ur-te nths of a second pe r lap faste r than Carr, Russell responded: "That' s even more frustra ting." Aqua -Flo/Motorex Honda rider Jethro Halbe rt finished sixth, followed by 2003 RickyGraham Rookie of the Year award win ner John Raun Wood on the Scott Powersports/F&S Harley-Davidson entry. Quality C hecked Certified Pre-Owned Ford Racing/KTM's Wi llie McCoy, KTM Sportmotorcycles!Jones Powersports' Joe Kopp and Moroney's Cycles! American Honda's Jo hnson rounded o ut t he top 10. eN Cow PAlACE DAL CITY, CAu FORNIA Y REsULTS: MAy 1, 2004 (ROUND 2 OF 10) GRAN D NATI ONAL (30 laps; 16 rid ....), I. Clvis Carr (KTM 2. ): Brett Landes(Hon); 3. Mike Hacker (Hon); 4. jared Mees (Hon); S. Shaun Russell (Ret): 6. Jethro Halbert (Hon): 7. John Raun Wood (Hon): 8. Willie McCoy (KTM) 9. Joe Kopp (KTM 10. jake Johnson (Hon): II. Michael : ): Varnes (Yam 12. Rod Spencer (Hon); 13. Donnie Mullen (Han): 14. Rick ); Wonsen (Hon): 15. Chris Hart (Hon): 16. BryanSmith (Rot). TIme: No time. due to red flag. Margi n of victory: 0.287 sec. AHA PROGRESS IVE INSURANCE FLAT T RACK C HAMP IONSH IP SERIES PO INTS STANDINGS (After 2 01 20 rounds), I. Chris Carr (37/1 win): 2. (TIE) Been Landes (27)1Shaun Russell (27): 4. WillieMcCoy (26); 5. J.R.Schnabel(23): 6. (TIE) Bryan Smith(22VJoeKopp (22): 8. Mike Hacker (20): 9. jake Johnson (18); 10. Johnny Mu.-phree( 16): II. jared Mees ( 15): 12. Jethro Halbert ( 13): 13.John Raun Wood ( 12): 14. Jay Spring>teen (I I): 15. Terry Poovey (10): 16. Michael Varnes (8): 17. (TIE) Rod Spencer (7)IKenny Coolbeth (7): 19. (TIE) Donnie Mulle n (6VRonnie Jones (6). UPCOMING ROUNDS: Round 3. U nion, K entucky, May 22 Round 4. S gneld, Illinois M!:Jy 29 prin , www.cyclenews.com Briefly... Conlinued from poge 49 explanation for his failure to make the main event at the Co w Palace : "I was n't pre pared," Murph ree said. "I didn't do my hom ew or k. We we re n't fast enoug h to start with, but by the end of my heat race I was up to speed and had my tires to w here they wer e working. I had to do some aggres sive riding to get third in my heat race , and that put me on the pole for the semi, which would work out good if I didn't make any mistakes . But I also had Donn ie Mullen in my semi , and that guy is hell on the co ncre te. I could have made the main event, but I jumped the sta rt . I made that one mistake whe n I couldn't afford to ." Johnny Murphree was one of the riders who questioned the AMb'sdecision to have an indoor concrete race that paid Grand National points, although he wasn't as blunt in hisdisagreement as Teny Poovey. "Bill Boyce[fanner AMA dirt track manager) is rolling over in his grave right now," Poovey said. Mike Hacker made sure to give cred it w here cred it was due for his performance at the Cow Palace. "I'd really like to thank Ame rican Supercarn p,' Carr said. "Danny Walker and Chris Car r have really made a differ ence in my career right now, and the y're bringing me to the next level. I rea lly appreciate what they have done for me, and I rea llybe lieve that a lot of the reason why I am riding bett er on these short tracks is because of the experience that I have gained w ith them guys." Car r explained Hacker's involveme nt in the Super camp program . "We had Mike come to a schoo l last year, and the n we had him com e back and help us out w ith a couple schools over the w inter," Car r said. "Eve ry oppo rtunity he 's had to come and work w ith us, he has gotten something out of it. I'm glad that it's helping him o ut, and I'm glad that he is appreciative of it. I'm not sur prised to see him on the box tonight." In order to e nsure accuracy in the results for the Cow Palace race, AMAPro Racing hired in Judy Hom of Mirage Timing and Scoring to provide transponders for all the racers. Formula USAdirt track fans might recall the Mirage name as one that was associated with the now-defunct Formula USA National Dirt Track Series. The Cow Palace race marl

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