Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

er Kevin Va rnes for the rest of the way, puttin g in anoth er incred ib le p erforma nce that is ra pidly becom ing com mon pla ce for the red ed ic at ed Poovey. "Six th p la c e was pr ett y good for m e her e to d a y ," Poovey dr a wle d . "I wa nted to get int o the top five, but nex t year I'm going to get into the top th ree . I ne ed to get ove r the jump bett e r a nd I n eed t o b e a litt le m or e a g g re s s ive, a nd then I' ll b e o k ay. Kevin a nd I were ha ving fun . I don't kn ow why I've be en doing s o good lat e ly , Well, I do to o. I've be en trai ning hard , and I rea lly want to win." Th e C o zia h r Hari e y -Da v ids o n / Memph is Shade s tea m stru ck gold at Pe o ria as we ll, the s trugg ling Varne s re c ording a n inth -pla c e sta rt a nd a seventh-pla ce finish, one spot a hea d of tea mmate J ohnny " S ho wti me" Murphree , the la tte r onc e again being one o f the fa ste st ride rs o n the tra ck in the la te goi ng , as he c a m e all th e wa y forw a rd after a ] 6th-pla ce sta rt. Varn e s s hado w- boxed Poov ey wit h a bo ut five la ps to go , wh ile Murph re e had a lready beg un to file his wa y pa s t a star-studde d gro up of battling ba ck m a rkers th a t inc luded Lync h Rac ing 's Pa ul Lynch , Las Ve ga s H-D/ Fa tzinge r Ra c in g ' s Ge o Roed e r II, US C Ra c ing /L a n cas t er Ha rl e y - Da v id s o n ' s Br y a n Bi g el o w and F &S Ha rley Da vid son / KK Ra c ing 's Willie McC oy . For Va rnes, Pe oria m a y well mark a turni n g p o in t in w h a t ha s b e en a rat h er trying s ea s on , "We definitely ne ede d thi s to boost o ur confide nce ," Varn e s said. "I'm a little o ut of s hape, so I need to ea t m ore Wheaties o r so mething . I had a good ra c e with Poo ve y o ut th e re . I couldn' t g et by him , so I tr ied to k ick h im ove r, a nd he jus t lo o ked a t m e a nd la ughe d . We were hav ing a good tim e out there . He kn ew th at I wasn't go ing to get by him down the fro nt s t ra ig htaway no m a tt er wh at I di d . I jus t ha d a bike that worked grea t a ll d a y. Rig h t from t h e beg inning we never c ha nged a thin g . We ju st felt good righ t a way and went from the re . I'm rea lly look ing fo rwa rd to Hage rs town n ow beca use t h a t is a good tra c k fo r m e. " F o r Mu rphr e e , Pe oria was pro of positive that ther e is a no ther hot -ha nd ed yo ungs te r who is m aturing to the poin t th a t th e m ore ve ter an ride rs on the ci rc uit m a y ha ve ca use to wo rry , es pec ia lly co ns idering t ha t he ha d to on c e aga in come from the bac k. "I've been tra in ing re a lly ha rd th is ye a r - probably harder tha n I ne ed to be - but it is re a lly starting to s how," Mu rphre e sa id. "I rea lly wish th at I co u ld g et s om ething g oi ng o ff o f th o s e seco nd - a nd third- ro w s t a rts . When I come from th e first row , I get gr e at starts , a n d wh en I come from the second or third ro w, I'm horrib le. Once agai n, I had to come from a lit t le wa y s ba c k , but it ju s t go es to show that we put in o ur ti me and we ' re here fo r re al. If we h ad be en BRI EF L Y••• Will Davis didn 't tak e lon g to test th e integrity of his noggi n , as the Fasth og .c o m rid er dumped it har d af te r landi ng from the j um p on th e op en ing lap of the second prac tic e session. D avis got up im medi at ely bu t th en slumped to a hay bale on t he side of the track as the emergency crew gave him the once over. " I don't know ," Davis said w hen as ked if he was okay. "I just go t into that littl e embankment and it picke d the rear wheel up . I hit my left arm pretty good ." D avi s' bike seemed to fare a bit better , and his tu ner Mike Wheeler eas ily go t it ready fo r the next prac tic e session. A ft er talking it over, the team elected to w ithdraw from th e race . "It's just com mo n sense to me ," Davis said . "I had reservations about goin g over th at jump be fore, and I reall y have 'e m now," D avis said. " That's not good fo r everybody else ." The decisio n no t to co mpete sat just fine with W heeler, " I didn't eve nt want to co me here , but W ill we nt to Rapid City and did just fine as far as showing th at he had his reflexes back, I think that the bike wa s running really good, and he just go t a litt le overzealous , I thin k that sitt ing out is the smart thi ng to do . We know that every point counts, but I care more about his well -be ing than I do abou t the damned champio ns hip ." D ale .Jenneman cou ld be fo und aboa rd one of the Ga rdne r Racing 600s during the Peoria event. The low -buck privateer from N ebrask a was s u b bing for the inju red Steve Beatti e aboard o ne of the Canadian's Greg Crow-prepped singles . " M y first ride on it felt pre tty co mfy, " Jennema n said . " I think the bik e can keep up just fine. We ' ll see if the rider c an get it do ne tod ay . " According to Je nneman, he and C row have bee n good friends fo r yea rs , stemmi ng bac k to the days w hen C row was a Grand N ati on al Expert . " A s a matt er of fact." Crow said, "T hat sucke r knocked me down out here one year. " J en neman recalls the incident differently. U o, I think G reg ran int o me ," he said . Jenne man didn't fare so we ll o n N the day , failing t o earn a direct tra nsfer from the heat s and running fourth in the se mi, thus missing the Grand Na tiona l final. D an Sta nley se t a new four-lap record of o ne mi nut e, 46.436 seconds during th e sc rat ch qua lifyi ng heat s . Com ing into the event. Joe Kopp had held th e pr eviou s four-lap rec ord of 1:4 7.688 , and th e Washington rider further toward th e fron t to begin with , we wou ld ha ve be en furth er towa rd t he fro nt a t t h e e nd . Th at littl e b it the y gain o n yo u at the beginn ing is a lot. Of co u rse, that one tha t C h ris [Ca rr] ha d is a differ ent story ," Roe der p ut tog et her a solid ride on h is Ed d ie Fatzing er- own ed 600 to land ninth p lac e at Peor ia , a p lac e he ha s n ot visited si n ce ] 99 ] , Roed e r a ctually sta rted ] ] th , but with Steward dro ppi ng back and Hlebo drop pi ng o u t d uri n g the course of t h e main, the O hio cu sh ion master soon found him se lf in the top ] O. It didn't com e easy , a s Roeder s c rapped with Murp hr e e o n la ps ] ] - ] 5 a nd th e n had to ho ld off a dogg ed Mike Hacke r, the latter a board t h e Sa dd lemen Rac ing /Lancaster Harl ey-Davidson to finis h ninth . It was a s atisfying finish for Roeder, who had o nly hoped to make the ma in e vent a nd thus im p ro ve his points tally with a coup le marks . Miss ion accom p lishe d . "I di d a lot better than I expected to tod a y, and I ha d a lot of fun, so I'm g lad I s howed up ," Roeder said . "We were pullin g in he re this m orning a nd it was ra in in g , a n d I s a id , 'Ma n , it a in 't go ing to bot he r me on e bit if thi s ra c e ra ins o ut .' But I'm s u re g lad it didn't now . It was a great d a y, a nd we had s o m e g re a t rac ing . I'll b e ba c k n e xt y ea r fo r s ure n o w . I h a ve to th ank Edd ie F a t zing e r fo r putti ng together th is bike for m e to run here . It was a fast bike and it hand led great, and tha t was 90 pe rc ent of th e dea l for m e ." Aft er co n s t a nt ly a t tempti ng t o bang his wa y to the front of the line in the preliminary ev ents thro ug hout the day , Ha c k e r , who fin is he d s ixt h a t lowered th at to 1:47 .686 in the opening sc ratc h heal. S tanley' s rec ord run came in the thi rd sc ratc h heal. Chri s Carr still owns the 25 -lap Grand N ational record at 10 :58 .38 7, wh ich he se t on Au gust 14 , 1988 . '. Sp eaki ng of Chris C arr, rollin g into Peori a Raceway Park wi th 11 w ins ce rtai nly gave th e re ig ning AMA G rand N atio nal Champi on a confidence that cou ld hardly be m isplac ed . Wh en as ke d who he thought cou ld beat him in th e main eve nt, C arr rep lied , "Joe Kop p ." When it w as sug gested that a w in by Kopp was im proba ble , Ca rr the n replied , " I know , I don't think that he can beat me here either. Bu t the pressure is all o n th e rest of th e guy s to beat me. Wh ether I finish fir st or 15th tod ay , I thin k th at I've proved eve rythi ng that 1need to pro ve at this racetrack." Ceo Roede r II see med to be hav ing a good tim e at the Peori a Tl. the event markin g his first v isit to the tr ac k since 199 1. " I' m havin g a good time so far, " said Roeder, w ho co uldn 't quite hold off Brett Landes, and finished second in the fifth scratch heal. " I'm just go ing to take it easy out he re to day . I pushed it a little hard in the scra tc h heat and the bike got a littl e loo se , but it's working real good , and that make s it eas ier. 1like it here, but I'd like it even more if th ere was n't a ju mp in the middle of the bac k straightaway." Roed er' s only real ten se mo ment came whe n he poppe d ove r the j ump in th e second pra c tic e ses sio n and fou nd Wi ll D av is t um bl ing in fro nt of him . " I saw W ill laying dow n there , and I thou ght , " I hop e I don' t run over him because I have n't been here fo r so long I do n't know w here to go to avoid him ." Josh But ler was th e unoff icial quickest of the non -qualifiers o n the day , w inning the five-la p Pep si M emori al Da sh , w hich was held in ho no r of the late D avey Camlin and th e late Toby Jo rgen sen . The Illinois ride r, w ho earne d his fir st Grand N at ional sta rt at the Tf, pick ed up $800 fo r his w in. Pacific N orthw est riders Rex Fisher and Eli Price finished second and th ird , res pec tively . Husaberg rider Kenny Noyes didn 't have th e best of time s at his first Peo ria n . The promising young Cal ifomia n, w ho is currently leadi ng the Form ula USA Pro Singles Series, made it as far as tum one wh ile in co mpetit ion , high-siding hard wh ile atte mpting to av oid being pinched off on the inside of the comer, N oyes wa s clearly shaken up and wa s ultimately taken to the hospital wi th a pos sible bro ken or dislocated clav icle o r sho ulder. Peori a la s t year , co uld d o no bett er th an ] Oth . He would be fol lo w ed across t he lin e by Big el ow , Lync h , S teward a nd McC oy, with J as o n Tye r, Ga ry Rogers, Hle bo and Brett Landes round ing out the field . Th e finish left th e 24-year-o ld Vi rgi ni an a b it bumm ed o ut, a lt ho ug h h is vetera n tune r, Johnny Goad , expressed more relief tha t th e IT wa s over with tha n disgus t over his ride r's finish. "I didn 't ge t a rh yth m until late in the ra ce ," Hac ker s aid . "I ran down a lot of guys , bu t th e first coup le la p s we we re a ll so bu nc he d up - a lmost h itt in g eac h ot her o ff the jump an d stuff like tha t. Finally we got spa c ed o ut eno ug h to we a r we co u ld sta rt going at ea ch other o ne by o ne a nd I moved by a cou ple peop le , but it just took m e too lon g to get going to day . I gave 'e m t o o b ig a h e adsta rt. No t tra nsferring thro ug h m y heat race hurt me a lot . Next ye a r we'll do better ." It wo u ld seem th at the only p er son who wo n 't be a ble to do any bette r is Ca rr, who o nce a g a in co u ld d o no wro ng a t the Pe oria IT, ev e n when it a p pea re d as th o ug h h e h a d d on e wrong. "It was a pr etty e ve n tfu l d a y fo r me ," C a rr said. "All in all it was a g ood day a t Peoria. Th is place is so mu ch fun . I reall y love it here. " CN Trenton Bailey (AT K); 11. Brandon Cartwright (W-R); 12. Steve Gill (W-R). Time: 4 mlns.. 19. 651 sees. HEAT 3 (1 0 lap s; 11 riders , top 3 transfer ) : 1. J oe Kop p (Rt x } : 2. Brett Landes ( A T K) ; 3 . John Hlebo III (CCM) ; 4 . J o sh Bu tl er ( Rt x) ; 5 . Kenny Coolbeth (W· R); 6 . Paul Lynch (Rtx); 7. Gary Roge rs (Rtx ): 8. Michelle DiSalvo (Rtx): 9. TIm Eades (Rtx): 10. Gerry Booher (Rtx); J 1. J oe Duvall (Rtx) . Tim e: 4 m ins.. 29.77 6 sees. HEAT 4 ( 10 la ps; 12 ride rs . t op 3 t ra ns fer) : l.Terry Poovey (Rtx) ; 2 . Kevin Varnes (ATK) ; 3. Geo Roed er II ( Rtx} ; 4. Mik e Hack er ( Rtx) ; 5 . Br yan Bige low (ATK ); 6. Nate Wait (Rtx) ; 7. Frank Kai ser (W- R); 8 . Br ian Shi rley Jr. (Rtx); 9 . Chris Boo ne (Rtx): 10. Yuhiko Hirao (Rtx): 1I. Ben Knight (Rtx): 12. Sam Lowe (Rtx) . Time : 4 mins.. 33.373 sees. SEMI 1 (8 laps ; 11 riders , top 2 transfer): 1. J ohnn y M urph ree (A T K); 2 . J ason T y er (Rtx ) ; 3. K enn y Coo l beth ( W·R) ; 4 . N at e Wait ( Rt x ) ; 5. Trenton Bailey (A TK); 6. Michelle DiSal vo (Rtx); 7. Don Wil son (Rt x); 8 . Bry an Sm it h (A T K) : 9. J oe Du vall (Rtx) : 10 . Sha un Russell (Rt x ); 11. Ch ris Boone (Rtx) . Time : 3 mi ns.• 37 .7 13 sees. S EM.I 2 ( 8 lap s; 12 rid er s . t op 2 tran sfer) : I.Bryan Bigelow (ATK): 2. Paul Lynch (Rtx): 3. Eli Price (W· R); 4 . Rex Fisher (W-R): 5. Brian Shirley J r. (Rtx) : 6. Patrick Behrle (Rtx) ; 7. Ja ime Agui lar (Rtx) ; 8. Roy Mil ler (Rtx): 9. Sam Lowe (Rtx) ; 10 . Brandon Ca rtwr ig ht (W -R ); 1 1. T im Eaes (Rtx }: 12 . Ben Knight (Rtx}. Time : 3 min s.. 42.3 15 sees. SEMI 3 (8 laps ; 12 riders. top 2 t ransfer) : 1. Mik e Hack er (Rtx); 2. Gary Roger s (Rtx) ; 3. J o sh Butl er (Rtx ); 4 . Frank Kaiser (W-R); 5. Tom Trou dt (W · R); 6 . Dale J ennem an (Rtx): 7. Mike Hind s (Rtx); 8 . Eri c Rick man (Rtx ); 9. Ste ve G ill ( W -R) ; 10 . Yuhik o Hirao (Rtx }; 11. Gerry Booher (Rtx); 12. Ken Yoder Jr. (AT K), Ti me : 3 mi ns., 4 1.086 sees PEPSI MEMORIA L DFC (5 laps. 6 riders): 1. Jo sh Butl er (Rtx) : 2. Rex Fisher (W-R) ; 3. Eli Price (W·R); 4 . Nate Wait (Rtx); 5. Frank Kaiser (W· R); 6. Kenny Coo lbeth Jr. (W· R). Time : 2 rnins.. 20.916 sees. GRAND NATIONAL (25 laps, 18 rider s) : 1. Chris Carr (Rtx): 2. Joe Kopp (Rtx ): 3. Rich King (H· D): 4. Dan Stanley (Rtx) : 5. J.R. Schnabel (W-R): 6. T er r y Poov ey ( Rtx ) ; 7 . Kev i n Varnes (A T K); 8 . J ohnny Murphree (AT K) ; 9. Geo Roeder II (Rtx): 10. Mik e Hack er (Rtx) ; 1 1. Bryan Bigelo w ( AT K ); 12. Paul Ly nch (Rtx); 13. Donnie Ste ward ( AT K) ; 14. Willie McCoy ( Rtx); 15. J ason Tyer (Rtx); 16 . Gary Rogers (Rtx) : 17. John Hlebo III (CCM): 18, Brett Landes (ATK), TIm e: 11 m ins., 15.648 sees. AMA/ PROGRESSIVE IN SURA NCE U, S. FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS SE RI ES POI NTS STA NDINGS (A fte r 8 o f 15 rou nds ) : 1. Chris Carr ( 133/ 3 wins): 2. (TIE) Joe Kopp ( 102) / Will Davis (102/ 2) 4, Mike Hacker (98/1 ); 5. Bryan Bigelow (94): 6. Rich King (86): 7, Jay Springsteen (84/1 ): 8. Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (81): 9. Terry Poovey (75/1) : 10. Dan Stanley (70): 11. J.R, Schnabel (60): 12. Gee Roeder II (5 1): 13. Johnny Murphree (43): 14, Willie Peoria Raceway Park Peoria. Illinois Res ults: August 13, ZOOO [Round 8 of 151 HEAT 1 ( 10 lap s; t 2 ride rs, top 3 transfer): I. Dan Stanley (Rtx ); 2. J .R. Schnabel (W·R ); 3. Donni e Steward (A T K) ; 4 . Eli Pri ce (W ·R) ; 5 . J ason Ty er (Rtx ); 6 . Tom Troudt (W-R) ; 7. J aime Ag uilar (Rtx) ; 8. Don Wilson (Rtx); 9 . Eric Rickman (Rtx) ; 10. Roy M iller (Rtx ); 11. Shaun Russell (Rtx) ; 12. Kenn eth McC oy (42) ; 15. Paul Lynch (4 1); 16. Kevin Varnes Yoder Jr. (ATK) lime : 4 min s., 25 .806 sees. HEAT 2 ( 10 lap s ; 12 rider s , top 3 transfer): 1. 19. Brett Landes (21 ); 20 . Mik e Varnes ( 19). (40): 17, Nicky Hayden (27); 18, Chris Evans (23): Chris Carr (Rtx} ; 2. Rich King (H-O); 3. Will ie McCoy (Rtx) 4. J ohnny Mu rphree (A TK) ; 5. Rex Fisher (W· Upc om ing Ro unds: Round 9 - H agerstow n , Ma ryl and , August 19 Rou nd 10 - Sedali a , Missouri, August 26 R): 6. Dale Jenneman (Rtx): 7. Bryan Smith (ATK): 8 . Patric k Behrl e (Rtx) ; 9 . Mi k e Hind s ( Rtx} : 10 . ey e' e n e _ S • A UGUST 23 ,2000 17

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