Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~I AMA/Progressive Insurance U .S. Flat Track Cha m pions h ips Round 3 : Heartland Pa r k Bu ell /C offm an -Th omas Racing ' s Brian Tho mas . Th o m a s a lm ost match ed Carr ' s GNC performance with his Sportste r. T ho mas se t s ec ond fast qu ali fying time before burn ing th e faste st he at. Othe r heat winne rs wer e S cott Stump a nd John Fa ulkn e r III. But the night belonged to Thoma s a s he s urv eyed three sta rts to come away with th e first Na tional win of his career. "Awe som e, " sa id Th omas after his wire to wire win . "Whe n yo u get out fro nt like tha t , it' s easy. I d idn 't ha ve to go tooth a nd na il with anyb od y, so it was gr eat. It was uneventfu l. It's not like whe n you r g rind in g a wa y with two o r thre e guys." (Top) King was running in third when he cras hed late in the race, b ringing out t h e red f lag. Re starting f rom the back, he w orke d his way up to seventh in the remaining laps. [Above right) Not what he had hoped for: Daytona Sh ort Track winner Terry Po ovey failed t o score a repeat Grand Na t ional short track win in Kansas. Th e veteran from Texas finished n inth. [Above) Brian Thomas eamed his first career Na tional win in the HarleyDa vidson Spo rtster Performan c e main event. Th at's ri ght, the 883s took to the short t rack too. the tire or the br a ke hanging up, but aft e r t he resta rt it was like riding on ice. I g ot a ll si deways and went so hig h int o t urn one th a t a bu nch of gu y s get u nd er me. Be fore t he re d flag e verythi ng wa s fine , a ll we di d wa s trim the tire a little bit. The bra ke rot or is all wa rped . You could ha rd ly sp in the wheel after the race." Va rne s d ropped fro m a solid sixth to 10th. ' Dale J ennema n wa s a ble to pus h th e Ad am s Raci ng ATK in to t h e main , a nd ca me awa y with 11th. " Everyt hi ng we nt goo d all day, th en on t h e starti ng lin e fo r the Nat ion a l," J enne m an said . "My clutch wa s dr agging , a nd the bike was wanting to take off. I ha d it pulled a ll the way in, and it wa s bogging the e ngi ne when t he lig ht wen t g ree n . T he brake s we re n ' t wo rki ng too good e ither , so du r in g th e red fl a g we adju st ed them . On the resta rt we came up a little. It was a tough track to pass on . Adams Racing' s motorcy - 32 JUNE 21 , 2 000 ' cue I e c les are runn ing pretty good . We ' re having a good tim e ." Geo Roeder seemingly surprised e v e n himself by as h e put h is Fatzinger's Auto/Schaeffer's Ha rle y Dav idson /Las Vegas Harley -David son-spo nsored Rotax into the Na tion a l and finis hed 12th. "It m ust be luc k," Roeder sa id. "I picked up a penny up -s id e -down this morn ing - they tell you to never do that. I was just han g ing out. I came here t o have a good ti me , and I picked up a few po ints. The bike was work ing g o od . It ' s b e en 10 yea rs since I was in a short track m a in ." White's Harley-Davidson/ Scha effer's Harley-Davidson 's Mike Vames rounded out the finishers . Schnabel was credi ted wi t h 13t h. TCR / Aud lovox /Ouaker Stat e 's Brett La ndes fe ll on lap three, wh ile runni ng in e ighth . La ndes reen tered the race !l la p do wn, but pulled off just p a s t th e h al fwa y m a rk . Rookie Trenton Ba iley made his first Nat ional appearance aboard the RJ Victory/Kin Fo lks- backed AT K, but was sidelined with mech anical prob lems afte r one lap. HAR L EV-DAVI D S DN SPDRTSTER PERFDRMANCE SERIES It was a huge nigh t for Jim Wa qn e r/Wi d ma n's Ha rle y -D a v id s on n eVIl's Th omas got th e hol eshot the first tim e but was passed by Stump at th e start/fin ish line just as John Faulkner and J ohn Grant got off in turn three . T h e restart d idn ' t last lon g , as Michelle Disalvo go t ta ng led up going into turn one. Her Spo rtste r flip ped high in t o t he ai r a n d s he wa s slammed v iole n t ly t o t h e gro u nd . After some quick repa irs Dis a lvo returned for the third s tart. T h is time the race would go th e full 12 laps . "The th ird time I go t th e holeshot, a nd it was jus t from there to the flag ," Th oma s said . "I lo o ked b a ck a fe w times and knew I didn't need to pus h it too ha rd and crash it , but you don't want to los e yo ur rhy thm . That 's only the second time I've been in the top 10 . Two weeks ago in S pringfie ld wa s the first. I won m y heat th er e too , a nd got eig hth in the main. I did n't know if m y he at was the fastest, a nd wh en I saw that it was I felt pre tty good a bo ut that. I ha d the holeshot in every race , I knew th at if I could again, I'd ha ve a pretty good chance a t th e win ." Ga ry Ro g ers p us hed h is Ro g ers Lake Racing/Mitchell's Mod esto HarleyDa vi d s on m ount into sec o n d ove r Fr ieze 's Harl e y -Da v ids on /Wim er 's backed Scott S tump . S t um p had to ho ld off yo ung A.J. Eslick on the Stub- b lef ield Cyc le / A I Ra c ing Spo rtste r while Thomas' te ammat e Brian Kromroy was a lso a close fifth. Faulkner got up off the grou nd to finish s ixth. J ames Hart, Tom McGran e Jr., AI Eadie a nd J ason Tyer rounded out the top 10. CN Heartland Park Topeka,Kansas Results: June 10,2000 [Round 3 of 181 HEAT 1 ( 10 laps: 11 riders, top t wo tra nsfer): 1. Chris Carr (AT K); 2. J .R. Schnabel (W·R); 3. Marc Gifford (W-R) ; 4 . Mike Hack er (Rtx ); 5. Tim Eades (Rtx) ; 6 . Chris Boone (Rtx); 7. Sam Lowe (Rtx ); 8 . Mark Gruber (Rtx) ; 9 . Gary Rogers (Rtx) ; 10. Ja ime Aguila r (Rtx): 11. Gerry Booher (Rtx ). Tim e: 3 m in., 34.557 sec . HEAT 2 ( 10 laps ; 10 riders. top two tr ansfer): 1. Joe Kopp { Rtx} : 2. Terry Poo vey (Rtx) : 3 . Mike Varnes (Rtx); 4. Roy Miller (Rtx) : 5. Victor McAn ally (Rtx) : 6. Kris Armentrout (Han); 7. Steve Pruczinski (Rtx) ; 8. Ben Knight (Rtx) : 9. Ja son Sentell (Rtx) : 10. Clayton Hull (ATK) . Tim e: 3 min.• 37.76 6 sec. HEAT 3 ( 10 laps; 10 ri ders . to p tw o tr ansfer): 1. Will Davis (ATK); 2. Dan Stanley (Rtx); 3. Charli e Orr (AT K); 4 . Johnny Mur phree (ATK); 5. Greg Tysor (ATK); 6. Paul Lynch (Rue) ; 7. Brand on Hancock (W. R); 8. Paul Normandin (Rtx); 9 . Mark Witham (Rtx) ; 10. Jerry Marrs (Rtx}. Time: 3 mi n.. 38.171 sec. HEAT 4 ( 10 laps ; 10 riders , top two tr ansfer): 1. Rich King (H-D ); 2. Geo Roeder II (Rtx); 3. Trenton Bailey (ATK) ; 4. Steve Liberty (Rtx); 5. James Hart (Rtx) ; 6. Chris Fitzhugh (Rtx); 7. Eric Rickman (Han) ; 8. Joe Duvall (W-R); 9. Willie McCoy (AT K) ; 10. Rex Fisher (W·R). Time: 3 min ., 35.789 sec. HEAT 5 ( 10 laps; 10 ri ders . top t wo transfer): 1. Ken Coolbeth Jr. (Rtx); 2. Kevin Varnes (ATK); 3. Bryan Bi gelow ( AT K); 4. Brian Th oma s (A TK); 5. Br en t Armb ru st er ( A T K ); 6 . B randon Ca rt wrig ht (Rtx); 7. Bob Ybema (Rtx); 8. Mark Burch (Rtx); 9. Richard Marrs (Rtx ); 10. Donn ie Steward (ATK) . Time: 3 min .. 37.629 sec. HEAT 6 ( 10 laps; 10 riders , t op two transfer): 1. Brett Landes (A TK); 2. Dale Je nneman ( AT K); 3. Ja son T yer (Hon ) ; 4 . Scott Stum p (Han) ; 5. Tom McGrane Jr. (Rtx) ; 6. Mike Hinds (AT K); 7. Al Eadie (Rtx); 8 . Pat Behr le (Rtx ); 9. Dic k Wall (Han) ; 10. Jeff Landru m (Rtx). TIme: 3 mln ., 36.3 16 sec. SEMI 1 (8 laps; 12 rid er s. one t ransf er s) : 1. Mik e Hacker (Rtx); 2. Marc Giffor d (W-R); 3. Johnny Murphree (ATK) ; 4. Victo r McAnally (Rtx) : 5. Paul Normandin (Rtx) ; 6. Sam Lowe (Rue) ; 7. Mark Gruber (Rtx} ; 8. Jason Sentell (Rtx ); 9. Mark Wit ham (Rtx) : 10 . Greg Ty sor (AT K); 11. Kri s Arment rout (Han); 12. Jerry Marrs (Rtx}. TIme: 2 min.. 56 .148 sec. SEMI 2 (8 laps ; 13 ri ders. one t rans fer s) : 1. Mi k e Varn es ( Rtx) ; 2 . Char lie Or r (A T K) ; 3. Paul Lynch (Rtx) : 4 . Tim Eades (Rtx); 5. Roy Mille r (Rtx); 6. Brandon Hancock (W-R); 7. Ja im e Aguilar (Rtx ); 8. Steve Pruczinski (Rtx ); 9. Chri s Boone (Rtx) ; 10. Gary Rogers (Rtx): 11. Ben Knight (Rtx ); 12. Clayton Hull (A TK ); 13. Gerry Booher (Rtx) . Tim e: No Time - RED FL\G. SEMI 3 (8 laps; 12 riders. one t ransfe rs): 1. Tr enton Bail ey ( AT K) ; 2 . Stev e Libe rt y (Rtx ) ; 3. Donnie Steward (A TK ); 4 . Tom McGrane Jr. (Rtx) ; 5. Brent Armbruster ( ATK); 6. Joe Duvall (Rtx) ; 7. Scott Stump (Hon ) ; 8 . Brandon Hancock (W- R); 9 . Eri c Rickm an (Han): ] 0. Dick Wall (Hon) ; 11. Pat Behrle (Rtx); 12. Richard Marrs (Rtx) . TIme : 2 min .. 59 .800 sec. SEMI 4 (8 laps ; 12 ri der s. one transfe rs ) : 1. Brya n Bigelow (AT K); 2. Jas on Tye r (Hon) ; 3. Rex Fisher ( W~ R); 4 . Mik e Hinds (ATK ); 5. Jam es Hart ( Rtx); 6 . Chris Fitzhu gh (Rtx} : 7. Br ian Th om as (ATK) ; 8. Bob Ybema (Rtx ) ; 9. Mark Burch (Rtx ); 10. Al Eadie (Rtx) ; 11. Wi ll ie McCoy (A TK ); 12. J eff Landrum (Rtx ). lime: 2 min .• 54.429 sec. GRA ND NATIONAL (2 5 lap s; 16 rid er s) ; L Chri s Carr (ATK); 2. Joe Kopp (Rtx) ; 3 . Will Davis (AT K ); 4 . Ken Coo lbeth (W- R); 5. Bry an Big elow (ATK); 6. Mike Hacker (Rtx); 7. Rich King (H· D); 8. Dan Stanley (Rtx) ; 9 . Terry Poovey (Rtx ); 10. Kevin Varnes (AT K); 11. Dale Jennema n (AT K); 12. Geo Roeder II ( Rtx) ; 13. Mik e Varne s ( Rtx) ; 14. J .R. Schnabel (W-R) ; 15 . Brett Landes (A TK) ; .16. Trenton Bailey (ATK). Time: No Tim e - Red Flag. A M A /PR O GR ES S I VE I N S UR ANCE US F LAT TRACK C'SHIP SERIES POINT ST AND INGS (After 3 of 18 rounds) : 1. Chris Carr (56 pts /1 win ); 2. Terry Poovey (45/1 ); 3. Joe Kopp (42) ; 4. Will Davis (4 1); 5. Jay Springsteen (38/1); 6. Ken Coolbeth Jr. (36) ; 7. Bryan Big elow (35 ); 8. (TIE) Rich King/Mike Hacker (28 ); 10. J .R. Schn abel (26) ; 11. Dan Stanley (24 ); 12. Brett Landes (20); 13 . Willi e McCoy ( 15); 14. (TIE); Mik e Varnes/Nick y Hayden ( 14); 16. (TIE) Kevin Varnes/Ga ry Rogers (9) ; 18. Dale Jenneman (8); 18. (TIE) Geo Roeder II/ Roy Mi ller(7) . HARlEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE SERIES NATIONAL (12 laps: 17 rid ers) : 1. Br i an Th om as; 2. Gary Rogers; 3 . Sco tt Stump; 4 . A .J . Esli ck ; 5. Bri an Kromroy; 6 . John Faulkner III; 7. Jam es Hart; 8. Tom McGrane Jr .; 9. AI Eadie; 10. Jason Tyer; 11. Chris Fitzhugh ; 12. Michelle Disalvo; 13. Di ck Wall ; 14 . Joh n Grant: 15. Jeff Hiers; 16 . Gerry Booher; 17. Gerald Ray. lime: 4 min ., 37 .44 1 sec. HA RLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE SERIES POI/'ITS STANDINGS (Aft er 2 of 8 rounds ): 1. Brian Thom as (34 pts/l win) ; 2. Scott Stump (3 1); 3. James Hart (25) ; 4 . Paul Morga n (23 /1 ); 5 . Br ian Kromroy (22) ; 6 . J ason Tyer (2 1) ; 7. (TI E) Will ie McCoy/ AI Eadie/J ohn Faulkn er III/Gary Rogers (19 ); 11. (TIE ) Michelle D isal vo/ A .J . Esli ck (17) : 13. Roger Lee Hayden (16); 14. Brent Armbruster (14) ; 15. Tom McGrane Jr. (11 ); 16. John Grant ( 10); 17. (TIE) Jeff Hiers/C hris Fitzh ugh (8) : 19 . Chris Hart (7); 20 . Dick Wall (6) .

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