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/128337
AMA Pro gress ive Insurance Flat Track Cha mpionship just slid it up on the groove and too k off, and it worked fine. When I tried to pass Athe rto n I slid it in a little two low, and as soon as it hooked the groove I was into him. It was totally my fault. Not a good deal. They owe me one. I told them I'm expecting one back." Normally content to ride the bottom of the racetrack, Coolbeth was forced to move up the track to move up in the standings. "We struggled pretty m uch all day," Coolbeth said . " Fo r the main event, we changed the gearing and a few things. We just took a gamble. It defin itely worked way better. I w ish we had done that earl ier. They were getting such an aw eso me drive coming off the corners. Do wn low yo u would get t hem in the m iddle , and coming off yo u would lose about twice th at. I just had to go up top. It kind o f frus trated me and kind of confused me a littie , but I figured it out." T he large crowd was cheering on t hei r "ho me tow n hero" King, but Coolbeth w as about to pu t a wet blanket on that. "I wish I had gotten o ff the line a little better," Co o lbeth sa id. " I don't know if I had anything for [Car r], but I would have liked to try. I thi nk I pas se d Rich coming out of two . He slipped a little high, and I dove und e rneath him . H e 's th e hardest one to get around . O nce I got around him and didn't have anyone to follow , it w as kind o f sketchy there. I lo o ked back a couple of t imes." King sa id that by the t ime he got past Atherton, C ar r was already gone. " I was good by mysel f, but I made too ma ny mista kes early," King said. " I let Coolbet h pass me, but I w as as fast as him. One minute I'm trying to run him ove r and the ne xt m inute I'm trying to gather it up , and I would lose gro und o n him. Th e bike was good, and may be I was n't qu ite as good as I sho uld have been. I made a lot of mis takes, but it happens." Mees had his bes t res ult ever on a 750cc, and he finished the night ho unding King. " I had a real good start off th e back MY OWN RACE 33 j.R. Schnabe l ing it underneath them, and that seemed to work out. Iguess I was trying to get through them as fast as I could." 5th "There were two different grooves coming 14 out of turn two , which was nice," Schnabel said. "The track was great tonight. Igot off of the line not too bad. Coming out of there on the start , a lot of the guys were on the inside. I came out and thought , 'Boy, I'm doing ail right.' Chr is was ahead of me, and he went straight to the top. Allof sudden six guys went right to the bottom right in front of me. I had to work my way up. I was riding up there for the first 10 laps. Finally, jared Mees went by me. I didn't know how those guys were getting hooked up so good. They were just leaving me; I saw where Mees was riding and went down there. I started picking up the pace a lot. I was back to seventh, and once I found that line, I moved up to fifth right away." 20 johnny Murphree Rob Pearson 3 7th the bike working great. I was just racing in the corners, pickingguys off. Coming through from the back and battling ailthose guys just wears me out . Every guy you catch on a racetrack like this, you had to wait for, like two laps, to pass. I just want to thank SjSand james Hart. We'i1 move on to Rapid City,and hopefuily1'i1 get a front row start . IfI could have gotten up there a little sooner... But that's the way things work out. I would pass anywhere I could. The bike was working so good, inside or outside . I was pretty much running the same line. So I pretty much waited for someone to bobble. I was setting up a lot of guys on the outside, then squar- joe Kopp 11th "I had a problem with my brakes for the National," Kopp said. "We had swapped ail the parts off the other bike for the National, the caliper and everything. I pumped the brakes in the pits, and it felt good. Then I went to staging for the National, and when I took off, no brakes: we must have gotten some air in the lines. I had to keep pumping them . It took my confidence away. On a track that you ride the low line, maybe it wouldn't have made a difference , but you "I couldn't buy a holeshot tonight," Pearson said. "I used mine up in the qualifying heat. james [Hartl had 20 AUGUST 18, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS 8th long way from where we started. " 6th "I don't know what we would do different ifwe had it to do over." Murphree said. "It's frustrating. Before the race , I thought the bike was as good as it could be. After the race, I don't know what we could of done different. It was another night to go along with what's been happening ail year. I got good starts ail night. I was taking care of that . We just went reaily backwards . It was like everything we did we went backwards . I had a couple of hairraising moments during the main event . Igot up close to the hay bales a couple times. When Schnabel and Atherton got together, I had to go high, and that reaily messed me up." 27 jake johnson "I definitely should have picked up the pace a little earlier," johnson said. "I do think I was fast enough . Chr is was pretty fast , but hey, I was definitely fast enough to be on the box tonight. I felt good in the main. I came from way back and passed a bunch of guys . I'm happy with eighth. I had to come from the third row. That lime j.R., johnny and Atherton were ail running together, I saw j .R. going into three and just about high-sided. It took ail three of them up to the wall. I made up a bunch of time there. Then I got a little hammer happy, and spun it off and feil back a couple spots. We definitely came a want to know the brakes are there when you ride close to the hay bales - you don't want to have to pump them . I felt good the first couple laps. I thought I would charge up through there. I just kept teiling myself, 'Settle down, settle down.' I felt like I was riding pretty smooth. I just couldn't make that bike work, I guess . The back end was wanting to come out from under me a bunch of times . I kept slowing down, and I actuaily think I was going faster when I was slowing down . On the first lap we got tangled up down the back straight · I was with jake [ohnson and Shaun Russeiland maybe six other guys. I was beside jake, and there was nowhere for Shaun to go. I got pushed into the wail, my handlebar and foot peg both got into the wail. Somehow I saved it, but a couple guys passed me going into the corner." 40th Anniversary