Team Harley-Davidson’s Rich King paid another visit to the Formula USA/Wrenchead.com National Dirt Track Series, and once again, he made it pay.
In an event that represented a marked improvement over the previous two PACE Motor Sports/Formula USA dirt track events held already this season, King led all 25 laps at Oklahoma State Fair Speedway on Saturday night to claim his second Formula USA victory in as many rounds (and this time he got the points) and post his third major National win on the track since becoming a full-time touring pro in 1995.
King fended off a serious charge from current National Champion Chris Carr early in the race, with a passing attempt by Carr in the middle stages of the main event resulting in a crash which knocked the champ out of the running. It was an incident that was not immune to a little post-race controversy, but more on that in our same-week coverage in Issue #29 of Cycle News.
Down the stretch, King clung tightly to the narrow groove that had developed on the fast State Fair Half Mile, prevailing against a late-race charge by none other than Jay Springsteen, with Joe Kopp finishing third. Springer’s runner-up finish, combined with the much talked about absence of Will Davis, gives the three-time Grand National Champion the points lead in the Wrenchead.com National Dirt Track Championship standings.
Wrenchead.com Pro Singles action was hot and heavy on the half mile, with no less than four riders dicing for the top spot the whole way. Just before the finish, F&S Harley-Davidson/KK Racing’s Willie McCoy put a move on rookie upstart Bryan Smith to score the win. Early leader Dan Stanley was third.
Here are the main event results from both classes at the Oklahoma City Half Mile:
NATL: 1. Rich King (H-D); 2. Jay Springsteen (H-D); 3. Joe Kopp (H-D); 4. Terry Poovey (Rtx); 5. Kenny Coolbeth (H-D); 6. Charlie Orr (ATK); 7. Johnny Murphree (H-D); 8. J.R. Schnabel (H-D); 9. Mike Hacker (H-D); 10. Michael Varnes (H-D); 11. Dan Stanley (Rtx); 12. Brett Landes (H-D); 13. Dale Jenneman (Rtx); 14. Willie McCoy (H-D); 15. Jason Tyer (H-D); 16. Kevin Varnes (H-D); 17. Chris Carr (ATK); 18. Greg Tysor (Rtx).
PRO SGL: 1. Willie McCoy (ATK); 2. Bryan Smith (ATK); 3. Dan Stanley (Rtx); 4. Kenny Noyes (Hbg); 5. J.R. Schnabel (W-R); 6. Jaime Aguilar (Rtx); 7. Jason Tyer (Rtx); 8. Victor MacAnally (Rtx); 9. Tim Eades (Rtx); 10. A.J. Eslick (KTM); 11. Alan Eadie (Rtx); 12. Jennifer Snyder (Rtx); 13. Gordon Schopieray (W-R); 14. Brandon Cartwright (Rtx); 15. Mark Witham (Rtx); 16. Glenn McNamara (Rtx); 17. Rod Sterling (Rtx); 18. Beau Brown (CCM).
