VOL. 51 ISSUE 30 JULY 29, 2014 P79
BY ANDREA WILSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREA WILSON AND
LARRY LAWRENCE
I
t wasn't looking good for
Kenny Coolbeth Jr. when he
finished the 2013 AMA Grand
National Championship without
a podium finish. Add to that the
fact that he hadn't won a cham-
pionship of any kind since 2008
and you could see the writing on
the wall. Clear as day. And at the
end of the season Coolbeth was
let go by the factory Screamin'
Eagle Harley-Davidson team af-
ter holding that coveted factory
seat for seven seasons.
In his first season – 2006
- Coolbeth secured the AMA
Grand National Twins title and he
kept that title for three consecu-
tive seasons. He also earned
the AMA Grand National Singles
Championship in 2007.
Although Coolbeth has been
in a championship drought since
then, he's always been in the
hunt. It's just the last few sea-
sons where Coolbeth's results
have dropped off a bit. In 2012
his season was interrupted with
injury - a broken leg at Lima that
had him sitting out races in the
middle of the season. He ended
that season with a win, however,
at the Pomona Half Mile. But, un-
fortunately for Coolbeth, that was
his last win and podium for the
Screamin' Eagle team.
So factory Harley-Davidson
switched to the young new AMA
Grand National Champion Brad
Baker. And with Coolbeth out of
the factory ride, many wondered
Kenny Coolbeth is
back and is driven
to add another
championship to
his resume.
T H R E V I V A L
Good
