Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Oeyt:one Beech, FL· Mef"'Ch 11. 20CXJ AMA/Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships Round 1 : Daytona Municipal Stadium By SCOTT ROUSSEAU PHOTOS BY FLAT TRAK FOTOS AND KINNEY JONES ould have been the rider, could have been ·the bike. Whatever. The combination of the two became the worst nightmare for the rest of the 16-rider field as 41-year-old Terry Poovey flat put it on 'em for the second time in four years when the AMA/U.S. Flat Track Championships season opener played to a packed house at Daytona Municipal Stadium on the eve of the Daytona 200. Just like he did in '97, Poovey rode the USC Racing/Global/Hap Jones-backed Rotax built by his brother Teddy. And just like he did in '97, Poovey left the rest of the field scrambling in his wake as he stayed hooked up to the narrow black groove that had developed on the sandy quarter mile at Larry Kelly Field to score a dominant 11 th career Grand National victory, his fourth in Grand National short track competition and his 20th in the events that have been run during Daytona Bike Week. It wasn't as easy this time, as Poovey failed to get the holeshot in the 25-lap feature and was forced to bide his time for about six laps while Corbin Racing/Burks Motorsports rider Joe Kopp did his damndest to give his new title sponsor and his 600cc bike owner, Denny Lopp, a Daytona win. Then it was time to go, as Poovey feinted a couple of moves at Kopp in turns three and four and one and two before pulling the trigger and rocketing up the inside line to put a clean pass on the Washington rider. That was all she wrote, as Poovey was vastly superior off the corners and easily extended his lead with each passing lap. When it was all over, Kopp, third-place finisher Brett Landes and a multitude of others could do nothing but watch as Poovey rode off into the night, taking the Poochie Cox checkered flag by over a straightaway. And then as if to silence critics such as trackside announcer Larry Maiers, who had hinted that Poovey might not be in good enough shape to hold on for 25 C 20 MARCH 22, 2000' cue I e n- e "" s Victory! Terry Poovey decimated the field en route to scoring his second Daytona Short Track win in four years. Poovey finished half-a-lap ahead of his nearest competitor. laps, the Texan took his victory lap, jumped off his motorcycle and then sprinted through the infield to take his place atop the victory rostrum. "Everything just worked good tonight,' Poovey said. "I know what I can do in my heart, and I don't push it, but when things are right for me, , feel like' can beat anyone in the country. This is the same combination , used before, the same motorcycle. , didn't ride it last year. , rode it when Scott [parker] just barely beat me in '98. I knew what this race track was going to do tonight, and I was ready for it when it came to me. I watched when they graded it, and I knew it was a little bit loose. I wanted to ride down on the bottom and let everyone else brush it off. When it came to me, that's when I was going to go, and that's what I did. I want to dedicate this win to Bart Wallstrom, my parts manager at DFW Honda. He broke his legs last Saturday night motocrossing. " Kopp appeared to be dumbfounded, as he tried every line in the book to catch the fleeing Poovey. Nothing worked. And so it was that despite having qualified number one in the early-morning scratch heats, the 30year-old former Peoria TT and Dallas Mile winner had to settle for second place after fending off '95 Daytona winner Landes. '" was talking to Poovey up on the podium, and' said, 'When you retire, will you tell me your secrets for here?" Kopp said. "He said, 'When I retire, will you ride my motorcycle here?' 1 said, 'You bet!' That's what it's going to take, , think, because he has got some sort of setup that really works here. I was spinning like a son of a gun, and he was just going. This is real huge for the new team. I've never gotten on the podium here before. We just ran great all week, and this just tops it off. , was set up more for a cushion tonight, and it was more slick stuff. The cushion kept getting pushed out more and more, and it just wasn't there tonight. After Terry started getting away, I heard someone behind me, but I didn't know it was Brett. He wasn't taking any chances, so , just kept it low on the groove for the rest of the way." Landes was the man on the move in the feature, as he methodically low-lined his way from a sixth-place start to pass some heavy company in the form of USC Racing/Lancaster Harley-Davidson's Bryan Bigelow, reigning Grand National Champion Chris Carr and '99 Daytona winner Will Davis for third place, thus keeping his win streak of seven-straight Daytona podium appearances alive. But just as he had last year, the Californian contemplated what might have been if he had gotten a frontrow start, gotten off the line, and gotten going just a little bit sooner. Even so, Landes appears to be a sure bet for the podium every year at Daytona. "I'd like to think so, but that just keeps putting more pressure on me for next year," Landes said. "You know, Joe did a great job out there. I just wish that I had gotten by him earlier because I think I had something for Poovey. , got a couple of runs on Joe, but then I'd have to back off,

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