ROUND 10 / JULY 6, 2024
DUQUOIN STATE FAIRGROUNDS / DUQUOIN, ILLINOIS
FLAT TRACK I PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
P104
fourth aboard his Estenson
Racing Yamaha, just fraction-
ally ahead of impressive rookie
Evan
Kelleher on the Schaeffer's
Motorsports' KTM, who earned
his first career top five.
Kopp came up one-thou
-
sandths of a second short of
overhauling
Saathoff at the line,
the turnabout Saathoff had long
been seeking after coming up
on the losing end of these sorts
of finishes far too many times in
the past.
Kopp said, "Man, that was
heartbreak on the sight lap. I
shifted up to fourth, and she
revved to the moon. You've got
to be kidding me; I looked down
and there was no chain. I ran it
The pack he battled with
slimmed down from 12 to nine
and finally five when Turner
Racing Honda's Trent Lowe
encountered mechanical issues
seconds after taking the two-to-
go flags in the lead.
Kopp took Drane's line away
as they negotiated turns three
and four for the final time and
attempted to chase down JPG
Motorsports' Chase Saathoff in
the sprint to the checkered flag.
That spoiled the Aussie's
hopes, relegating him to a close
reducing Kopp's advantage from
more than 30 to less than 10.
Kopp's Rick Ware Racing
crew frantically struggled to get
Kopp's KTM back in working
order as the field stormed by to
complete their opening lap. But
just as he got rolling a lap down,
the champ was saved by a red
flag that was flown because an
exhaust header had come loose
and fallen onto the racing line.
A complete restart put Kopp
back onto the lead lap, even
though he was forced to start
from the back of the field. No
matter; he leapfrogged his way
up to the lead before the race
hit halfway and was a contender
for victory from that point on.
Defending Singles champ Kody
Kopp had to start at the back
of the pack after his chain came
off on the sighting lap. He still
finished second.
