AMA/Progre s s iv e Insurance U .S. F la t T r a c k Champ io n sh ip S erie s
Round 14: Vernon Downs Mile
B y D AVE H O ENIG
F ILE P HOTOS BY F LAT T RAK F OTOS
V
ERNON,NY, SEPT. 9
un d 14 of the AMA's Pro gress ive Insurance US F lat
T rac k Ch ampionship Series ca me
to the picturesque Vernon Downs in
up-sta te New York . Overnight rains
that conti nued till m id-day threatened
to wash out the first -time event, but
the ra ins stopped and racing started
right on time.
Co nsidering the pea gravel surface
of th e smooth mile oval, it was surprisin g th at Ha rley -Davidson M oto r
Compan y / Sh o ei -bac k ed Rich King
would dominate, but th e 37 -y ear -old
veteran took th e lead on la p two and
ran aw ay with t he 2 0- la p Natio na l.
The win marked his first AMA Gra nd
_ _ I.. National win for the Harley fa cto ry
t eam .
" It' s k ind of iron ic, I win m y first
AMA N at ion al wi t h Harl ey -Dav id so n, o n a p ea g ravel r ac e t rac k ,
th e ki nd of track no rm all y I hate,"
s a id K i n g . "I don't know if I 'm
changin g them towards me or
t h e y ' r e changing me towards
them . Whatever - it's working ."
Whatever drama was lost on
King's runaway, was made up for by
t h e p o i n t s batt le being wag ed by
Corbin Racing / Dav e Burks Motor sports/l-i-D of Missouri 's Joe Kopp and
Moroney 's H- D/ fasthog .com/Goul d
Erect ors' Will Davis.
Kopp possessed a narrow five -point
lead co ming in a nd both som ew hat
Thanks to what seems like the
zillionth time an airline has caused us
sheer photographic panic this year,
we can do no better t h an to s h ow yo u
Rich K ing in a ction in a p hoto from ou r
files . King won the Vernon Downs
round of the AMA U. S. Fla t Track
Championship, his first AMA w in s ince
j oin i n g the factory Ha rley-Davidson
t eam.
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S EPTEM BER 20, 2000'
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