By Icon RoulSlAU
PHoTos IY DAYS HoINJG/FW1UICF01OS.COM
ter J.R. Schnabel won round 13 of the AMA Ford
Quality Checked Flat Track Championship, the track
announcers were once again seeking to give the Illinois State Rodeo Arena a new nickname. They
opped off monikers such as "Schnabel's Shrine,"
"Schnabel's Sanctuary," "Schnabel's Stomping Grounds" ... But
perhaps one of Schnabel's Memphis Shades/Parts Unlimited
Yamaha team mechanics said it best when he flatly qUipped,
"This is J.R,'s Joint,"
One thing's certain: The racy little track is "Hayden's Hollow"
no more. The 26-year-old Schnabel all but staked his claim when
he won for the fifth time in the last five races to be held at the
Illinois Motorcycle Dealers Association-promoted venue, which
once again hosted a strong and enthusiastic crowd.
"Five in a row," Schnabel said. "We've just got the Yamaha
working good off the corners here, and that's what you need at
this place. I love coming here to Springfield - both the short track
and the mile. The IMDA always has such good tracks,"
And just as with his come-from-behind victory at the 2004 edition of the race, Schnabel had to earn this one. Starting from the
pole after winning the fastest heat race, Schnabel led every lap of
the 2S-lap main event, which seemed to get stuck on lap eight
when first Bryan Bigelow, Chris Carr and Kevin Varnes crashed
and then Shaun Russell crashed on the restart.
After the race got going again, the action got intense when
race-long runner-up Joe Kopp managed to run down Schnabel
A
42 SEPTEMBER 14,2005 • CYCLE NEWS
