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/128613
Form u la USA,lWr e n c h e ad .c o m National D irt Track S erie s S TO RY AND P HOT OS B y S COTT R OUSSEA U FORTWORTH, TX, MAY 6 u s t exactly how we ll the Wrenc h e a d .com Na t ional Dirt T ra c k Series' debut ev ent went off a t Texas Motor Speedwa y is a m a tt er of perspective. It all depends on wh at yo ur expecta tio ns were. Fo r exa mple, if yo u thought t hat the new PACE Motor Sports-pro mot e d , Fo rm ula USA -sanctioned se rie s was going to be launched on it s m a iden voyage, run absolutely flaw les s ly and si nk any of its perceived rivals with a si ng le torpedo, th en you m ight ha ve bee n disappointed . Th en aga in , if you thought that - despite the fact th at so me improvements will have to be made along the wa y - the s eries has th e potenti a l t o becom e on e of the best in motorcycle racing , the n you wou ld have probably liked what you saw. And if you were Fasthog.com/Moroney's Ha rley -Da vidson/ Gould Erectors' Will Da vis , a nd yo ur m iss ion was to come to Texa s in order to kick ass and take na mes before a ra bid crowd that never 12 MAY 17, 2000 ' c ue ' ... seemed to get off the ir fee t all evening , . then th e Wren chead.com National Dirt Track Series debut was a ll that and a bu ck et of c hic ken. F a cing a field o f AMA Gran d Nation a l regulars as well as a tal en tladen cro p of ne wcomers , Da vis not only won the National class at Texa s Motor Speedway, he won the Pro Sing les cl ass as well , t hus adding a q uic k g-note to the $ 7 500 in pri ze m oney that he earned after surviving a late-race restart in the marquis 25lap ma in event. All in a night's work . "This is so sweet that I really c a n't e xpla in it, " Davis said. "I' ve reall y be en b eh ind th is PA C E d eal t h e wh ol e tim e . I just fee l like thes e a re th e people that do professional rac ing , a nd t o nigh t was a professional event. We defin itely had som e gl itches in the progra m tonig ht, but what I like , what yo u saw, we re those people in the sta nds, sc reaming . That is th e most important th ing right the re . Th e track wasn 't that great, bu t the show went off great, a nd the people wer e happ y. T here a re definitely things that th ey have to work on , but th e n II!! vv S thing that e xc ites m e a bout this s erie s is th at they've got so me stuff to work out, and I kn ow they will work it out. The thi ng tha t th ey 've got fig ured out already is th at th e re wer e s ome peo ple in the stands , and th e y were on their fee t a ll night. It wa s lou de r than a ny foot b all g a m e I' ve eve r h ea rd . Yo u g et p eople s crea m ing like tha t, th er e a in 't nobody left here that wa s n 't h ap p y wit h what th e y saw . Th e y'll all be back ." Corb in Ra c ing 's Kenny Coo lbeth fina lly got a great start on his Bu rks Motorsports Ha rley-Davidson XR750, a nd he made it pa y, leading the early laps before finish ing second, ahead of longtime friend and rival , Mike Hack er on the Saddlemen Racing/Lancaste r H-D/D odge Brothers Rota x. "I ju st rode my heart out," Cool beth said. "I got good starts a ll night, a n d th at's what it took h er e . I' m happy. I'd just like to t hank Cor b in a nd Dave Burks, and all the peop le that helped me he re. It was a onegroover , a nd I was having trou ble getting into three and o ut of four. After the restart, in my mind I just kin d of A whole new ballgame: Kenny Coolbeth (31) jumps int o the lead, ahead of eventual w inner Will Davi s (2 1) , Steve Beattie (2 6) , Jay Sp ringsteen (9) and M ik e Hacker (6 7) at Texas Motor Speedway duri ng t he o pening round of the Formula USAlWrenchead.com National Dirt Track Series. Look closely and you can see t h at Hacker i s m ount ed on a Rotax single. got o ver-excited , and Mike caug ht me , but I'm happy. It's a good start to the season." Fo r Hac ker, who seems to be placing more pressure on himself to suc ceed in the 20 00 season , third pla ce was both satisfying and disappointing. "T h e bike was ru n ni ng good all night," Ha cke r s ai d . "It' s just a little disappoint ing. I should have run bet ter , but lwas having a hard tim e . I'm happy with third . It's a podium , a nd I ha ve n't been on the pod ium in a long time. I feel rea l good about the whole season in wha te ve r s e ries we 're ru n n ing in . Johnny and me are getting a lo ng real good . He ' s a g rea t m e c ha n ic a nd a great motivator. He