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/128644
(Left) Kopp first j oined the serie s In 19 95, ri ding for Do ug D onne lly . Though he finished 12th In the standings, It was a difficult lIear. "I almost thought about qu itting back then," Kopp says. (Rlghtl The crash heard round t he world: Kopp catwalks his wall toward the creek during his Infamous Peoria TT crash of 1996. • two yea rs a nd blam es only himself for what he considers to be spotty performances at bes t. In two hard seasons of racing, the tea m posted a s ingle Grand Nationa l win, Kopp tak ing the cras h-shortened Dallas Mile in '99. "I jus t never really prepa red my mind for a race like I should hav e bac k the n: Kopp sa id. "Now, I rea lly focu s on things when I'm there. I do n't ca re if a good -looking girl comes up [lad ies , he 's married now - edito r] or if a sponsor wants to ta lk to me when I'm c hangi ng a gear. It' s like , 'I ha ve to do th is now.' Befor e this ye a r, I was alway s just trying to keep everyone ha ppy . I was worry ing about to o m an y th ing s . I st ill try to ma ke peopl e ha ppy , tho ugh." He made Burks , longtime backers Ha rley-Da vidson of Misso uri an d new title s ponso r Cor bin Racin g extra happy whe n he wa lke d a way with a ll of his tit les in 2000, especially the Grand Nationa l c rown. Th e team's consist en c y was inc redible, hallmar ked by three high lig ht weekends late in the season. First , Kopp scored his "I feel for Will, e spec ially s ince he has been do ing th is for a long time," Kopp sa id. "And for me to come in an d take it out from undemeath h im after the ba d luck that he had with his ba seba ll injury and so me other things th is sea son , we ll, I guess that's life. It was meant to be , I gue ss. But Will de serves to win the champion ship, and I believ e that he will get one . Th e re a re a lot of people who don 't th ink he eve r will because he ha s been close so many tim e s , bu t e ven th ough h e h as never had the numbe r-on e pla te, he is a number -one guy. I look at him in the s ame way a s I look at Chris Carr or Scotty Pa rke r." The irony in this is tha t, despite ha ving done what he ha d to do , proving what he came to pro ve and win ning the biggest title in dirt tra c k ra cing, Kopp does not loo k at hims e lf that way , nor do es he co nside r it neces sa ry to be reve red in the sa me fashion tha t champions like Springsteen, Park er , Graham and Ca rr a re. That's not mere gra c iousness on his part, as the very idea that he will be the guy tha t the fans ar e coming to see ma kes him uncomforta ble. "I rea lly don 't consi der m yself to be in the sa me rank a s those guys, a nd there a re a lot things th at I Instea d, Kopp is qu ick to rec ogn ize tha t, come Daytona , the race will be on once aga in. And he isn 't looking at himse lf as the guy to beat. That might seem surprising, but that attitude is what keeps him motivated. "Like when I go to Dayt ona, Poovey or Davis or Carr will still be the gu ys to bea t,' Kopp said. "Th en when we 'll go to a nother track, and some oth er gu ys might be the guys to beat at that trac k." S o m uch for h is fai t h in t he c ha m pi o n -b e in g viewed -as-the- ta rget theory . "I don 't believe that at a ll," Kopp sa id. "If ot her guys do , that' s good be cause then it might be a head trip fo r them , thinki ng that the y ha ve to beat m e or else If they th ink that way , then great , but I'm looking at them . I'm loo king to be at them." (Left) The Horse shoe Man: Kopp has made a sid e business out of welding horseshoes Into va rious fi gurine s for sale at area craft fa irs. "I li ke to stall busy, I'm always working on some project or a nother," he says. (Right) Kopp and w ife Dee Dee a lso own two thoroughbred horses, Ca sh (left) and Mojo (ri ght) . (Below) As ide fro m hunting and fi shi ng, Kopp Is an avid snowmobiler. He favors the SkI - D oo brand. third ca reer GNC win at the Sedalia Half Mile, taki ng the lead in the race afte r Will Da vis lost a clut ch while run ning up fron t. The win woul d tum out to be pretty s ym bo lic o f the season, to be s ure , but onl y af ter Kop p refused to be tossed from the box at the Springfield tripleh eade r just a week later , coming home third, th ird a nd second in the short track and twin mile events on Labor Day Weekend, was the ba lance in the points race tilted heavily in his favor. A week later, Kopp finished second to Rich King in Vernon Downs, New Yor k. Da vis c ould do no better tha n 10th, and was forced to head into the se ries finale Du Quoi n Mile with a 15-point gap. Nobod y kne w it at the time, but th at wou ld be the fina l po ints ta lly, a s a rainout at Du Quoin meant that Kopp was the c ha mp . As on e might ex pect, Kopp wou ld rather have raced that final event to sett le a ny doubts a bo ut th e legitimacy of his championship, but nobod y has ever come from 15 po ints ba ck in the final round to win the titl e anyway . If th ere are an y reservations in Kopp's m ind, it is only tha t if he couldn't ha ve won it, he would like to have se en Davis take th e number -one pla te, the notion coming out of respect a nd not guilt. could attribute to tha t: Kopp said. "A lot of times, you c an look a t a poster, and yo u' lI see ' Pa rke r, Carr, Davis.' It ne ve r says 'a nyth ing a bo ut Ko pp, a nd th at rea lly doesn 't bothe r m e. I know who I am , and it's no big dea l. It was funn y beca use whe n I was at Del Mar, Mert Lawwill was wa lking around , a nd he came to me and told me that 40 yea rs from now, people will know who I was and what I d id, so I gue ss it's just th is fraternit y . I k ind of fee l like th e o d d man o u t, though , be cause I never raced motorcycles for the recognition of it a nyway . Th e flash y peopl e are neat, and the fans like them, but th is ch ampion sh ip isn't going to change m e." And so it goes that Joe Kopp, ou r Gra nd National Champion for 2000, is just your average Joe, which m akes him not your average J oe . And for a ll those who take pr ide in the id ea logy that professional dirt -trackers are the sa lt of th e e a rth , it wo uld be easy to s ubmit that guys like J oe Kopp a re the re a l core of that salt, which makes t he m la rger heroes than they ev er p lann ed to be , or tho ught t ha t they could be , even if they never wanted the recognition . When we 'r e do ne, I s h u t t h e t a p e re c o rder o ff, and Kopp goe s over by his com puter , retrieves a laminated piece of paper and sa ys , "I got th is just the othe r day from the AMA. It has kind of made th ings s ink in a little bit." He pa sses the letter to me, and I read it. That this pa rticu la r com m uniq ue ha s go tte n his atte ntion is no s urp rise, as it state s his situation in a way th at J oe Kopp him self would no do ubt fe el most comfortable re la ting it. It says: Cong ratu lati ons Joe Kopp. Based upon y our abil ities d uri ng th e 2000 season, the new Nati on al number list ed below has been assigned to yo u. Just below the text is the number one. cue I e n e _ S • .JANUARY eN 3 ,2001 27