Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship his prime and riding better than he ever has. That makes me feel younger in a sense, because I am pushing him and still beating him, and I'm going to continue to work hard and stay where I am. It makes every championship valid when you have somebody pushing you that long during the series." HDSP NATIONAL Still Springin': Jay Springsteen (9) had Bill Werner horsepower at Springfield, but a chassis wobble in the main event slowed the ageless veteran. Springer finished sixth in the main. rut out there, and I cross-rutted and got really sideways. I'm sure Shaun had to check up, and Chris just had all his momentum." At that crucial moment, Russell wrongly chose to follow King, and he was forced to back off the gas momentarily. "I thought I had it planned pretty good," Russell said. "That definitely screwed me up, and I had to get out of the throttle. I don't know if it would have changed the outcome, but I should have followed Chris, because he had a little more momentum. But I went low, and Chris went high, and what I was left with was all I had to work with. It was close. I thought it was going to be my day, but they didn't play along with that." With the draft effectively broken up, Carr took full advantage of the faster, broader outside edge of the line. "Rich busted it really, really sideways," Carr said. "He was trying to get a good drive, and he lit all that Harley-Davidson factory horsepower up, and it stepped pretty far sideways. At that point, he was pointed toward the low side of the straightaway, and I was just far enough back to where I caught a little bit of a draft and didn't have to check my momentum up. I just went straight to the wall. I figured if they were going to have to come and get me, they were going to have to hit the wall, too. Shaun chose to go with Rich, and my momentum not being blocked just carried me to the finish line." It gave him the drive to pull off the win by half a bikelength, and it clinched Carr's seventh title, the first coming all the way back in 1992. Carr added his second in 1999, and he has held the number-one 40 SEPTEMBER 14,2005 • plate consecutively since the 200 I season. "They do get sweeter," Carr said. "People always ask, 'What do you think of these young guys pushing you?' Well, you know Kenny Coolbeth is second in points, and he's not such a young guy anymore. He's in his late 20s, and he's coming into My 3 With the cancellation of the Granite City Half Mile, reigning AMA Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series Champion Chris Hart is probably cursing his luck, while 1994 Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series Champion Scott Stump is thanking his lucky stars that the AMA has added one more round of the series to the GNC finale event at the Du Quoin Mile. After a ferocious 12-lap, three-rider lead draft war that included Harv's Harley-Davidson-backed Hart, lima Harley-Davidson/Jeff Eibling-backed Stump and Hall's Harley-Davidson's Merle Scherb, Hart squeaked out the HDSP main-event victory on the Springfield Mile. It was the first victory of his career at the fabled venue. "That was one of the biggest races of my life, and that was a hard-fought win," Hart said. "I can't say enough about Scott and Merle. They were right there, racing with me. I've never won Springfield before. I had a chance to win it last year, 4th After not appearing to be in the race for the lead for most of the race, Kopp somehow caught back on to the tail of the front-runners after the fIVe-lap sign was shown to the field, and the 2000 AMA Grand National Champion forged into the lead on lap 23, attempting to establish a breakaway of his own. It didn't work, and Kopp was swallowed back up by King, Carr and Russell. "I didn't have that good of a line early in the day, but I finally found one In the main event," Kopp said. "I figured out that I was trying to hug the pole too tight, so they broke away from me for a couple laps. I looked back because I figured I needed someone to help me draft back up to them, but when I moved my line up to the edge of the groove, I noticed I was catching them little by little. That fired me up even more, and I think I just burned up the tire too much. But I was happy to catch them. It's tough to catch a lead draft like that when you are by yourself." 59 Willie McCoy 5th McCoy was once again a real factor in the lead draft, just as he was at the same race one year ago. McCoy only officially led lap 13, but he was a strong contender down the back straightaway and did most of his leading there. In the end, McCoy said that small mistakes cost him his shot at the win. "I was there, and 1was comfortable, but little mistakes at the end 01 the race are big mistakes:' McCoy said. "Little bobbles, little slip-ups are huge at the end. I just tried to stay with Chris, but then it seemed like every time I'd do that, somebody would pass me. I just thought, 'Man, I just gona go.'" McCoy said that he was still happy with fifth place. "Last year I was fourth here, and this year I was fifth, but that's the best I've done this year:' he said. "I didn't bang my hand today, and I had a lot of family and friends and sponsors here today that had a good time. CYCLE NEWS IWNOIS STAn FAIRGROUNDS SPRINGFIELD, IWNOIS RESULTS: SEPTEMBER 4, 2005 (ROUND 14 OF lSI HEAT I (10 laps; 12 riders, top) transfer): I. Chris Carr (H-D); 2. Jay Springsteen (H·D); 3. Willie McCoy (H· D); 4. Kevin Varnes (Suz); 5. Jethro Halbert (H-D); 6. Josh Toongett (H-D); 7. Chris Hart (H·D); 8. Gary Roge", (H·D); 9. Kenny Yoder (H-D); 10. Tim Eades (H-D); II. Matt Burton (H·D); 12. Michael Meyer (H-D). Time: S min., 50.875 sec. HEAT 2 (10 laps; 12 riders, top 3 transfer): I. Joe Kopp (H· D); 2. Boyan Smith (H-D); J. Steve Be..ttie (H·D); 1. Goo RDede, II (H-D); 5. Nkhole Chez> (H·D); 6. J"" Roeder (H-D): 7. Dominic Beaulac (H·D); B. Charlie ltalia (H·D);9. Kevin Snyde, (Suz); 10. lee Johmon (Suz); II. AJ. Eslick (H-D); 12. Robert Buffington (Suz). Time: 5 min., 54.863 sec. HEAT ] (10 laps; 12 riders, top 3 transfer): I. Kenny CooIbeth (H-D); 2. Shaun Russell (H-D); J. Boyan Bigelow (H·D); 1. Johnny Mucphcee (H· D); 5. Paul lynch (H·D); 6. Scott Stump (Ap<-); 7. Steve Murray (H· D); 8. Jimmy Wood (Suz); 9. Jeremy DeRuyt..- (H·D); 10. Clint EriOOoo (H· D); II. Ben Knight (Yam); 12. Dan Gedeon (HD). Time: 5 min., 49 A85 sec. HEAT 4 <10 laps; 12 riden. top] transfer): I. Rich King (H·D); 2. Teny Poovey (H·D); J. J..-ed Mees (H-D); 1. Raun Wood (H-D); 5. J.R. Schnabel (H·D); 6. Sam Halbert (H-D); 7. Heney Wiles (H·D); 8. Rubert f'ea<=n (H·D); 9. Shawn Ba..- (H·D); 10. Ricky M....haIl (H-D); II. Ruy Mme' (H·D); 12. Garth Bastian (H-D). Time: 5 min., 52.193 sec. SEMI I (8 laps; 12 riden, top 2 transfer): I. johnny Mu,phcee (H·D); 2. J"" Ruede, (H·D); J. J.R. Schnabel (H. D); 4. Jethro Halbert (H-D); S. Rob Pearson (H-D); 6. Steve We'll be ready for Du Quoin. I felt good today, but I could be in a little bit better shape and a lot better prepared mentally. I know the things I need to do. I just need to do them." OWN RACE Joe Kopp but I had a mechanical problem. But this is unreal today." The win gave Hart a one-point lead over Stump - who finished third, behind Scherb - in the series standings, with the final showdown taking place at Du Quoin. "It's going to be crazy at Du Quoin, for sure," Hart said. "We've just got to do what we did today - be fast out of the box." CN 9 Jay Springsteen 6th While Springer was able to enjoy the magical synergy of having former factory Harley-Davidson mechanic Bill Werner in his corner for the Mile, that magic wobbled out of sync right along with his chassis during the main event. Number nine quickly dropped back to ninth, then spent the rest of his race trying to work his way back toward the front. "I kind of got tangled up for the first couple laps, and my bike was wiggling all the way down the straightaway," Springer said. "For some reason, in the maln event, it just got worse. It was shaking and Wiggling so bad that Bryan Smith caught me and got by me. Then he was giving me the signal to just fall in line, because two can go faster than one. We tried that, and I was keeping an eye on the leaders, and they were getting away, so it was like, 'Hey dude, you follow me!' The bike just never got better. It just kept wiggling. I was just trying to hang on. A couple times I had to back right out of it going down the straightaway, but I still had a good time. It's just one of them things." 89 Kevin Varnes 7th "That's not bad, considering the kind of day we were having," the Team Suzuki Flat Track/Parts Unlimited-backed Varnes said. "We were struggling in practice, and we were trying to calm down the power of the engine. We ended up going with a wider wheel in back, and that was a lot 01 it - just getting more rubber down on the track. I think if we'd had that combination to begin with, we could have been out of the heat race and had a front-row starting spot That was the best the bike has ever handled in the main event. The leaders just gapped us so hard at the beginning that there was no way I could get with them. Last year, seventh here was great. This year, seventh was seventh. I was expecting a top-fIVe for sure."

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