AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship Series
STORY AND PHOTOS BY
DAVE HOENIG!FLAnRAKFOTOS.COM
unny, clear skies flooded the Illinois State Fairgrounds early
Sunday morning as participants
arrived for round four of the
AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat
Track Championship Series on the
Springfield Mile. Unfortunately, as fast as
the pits filled, the skies also filled with
rain clouds.
With practice and qualifying in the
book, a light rain brought the action to a
halt. After about a three-hour delay, the
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JUNE 8, 2005 •
Illinois Motorcycle Dealers and State
Fairgrounds workers had the track raceready.
Due to the late hour, a short program
was implemented. The four heats would
advance five riders each to the 25-lap
National. The show was delayed for a few
hours, but that didn't stop Screamin' Eagle
Harley-Davidson's Rich King from riding
his factory Harley-Davidson XR750 to his
first win of 2005. In doing so, King has quietly established himself as the man to beat
on the famous mile. This was his fourth
consecutive win on the fabled oval.
"I've been struggling," King said of his
performance of late. "Mentally, it has
CYCLE NEWS
been messing with me. I want to win.
Once you win a National, that's all you
want to do. I was thinking all day, 'If that
storm doesn't come through, I'm going to
do whatever I have to do to get on top of
the box.' I was able to pull it off, and I'm
pretty happy.
"I feel comfortable on the miles," King
said. "I like the miles that you have to use
your head a little bit more, where tire
wear is an issue and it's more of a mind
game and keeping your wheels in line.
Those are the ones I really like because I
feel I really excel at those. Today was an
all-out, 25 laps sprint race - just gas it and
go. To pull this one off, that was a battle."
Twenty of the best rolled to the line to
chase after the first mile win of the season. When the green light flashed, it Was
Chris Carr taking his Quality Checked
Certified Pre-Owned Ford Racing Harley
into the lead. Carr carried his lead long
enough to pick up the holeshot award,
then faded into the lead pack.
"When I got across that line to collect
the $500, I kind of settled in at that
point," Carr said. "Let those other guys
test the big lines and lay the track out."
For the first time in years, the fast line
was up near the middle of the track as
opposed to the rail. It caught many by
surprise, but it was very reminiscent of
