In a battle that picked up where the last round in Hagerstown, Maryland, left off, Harley-Davidson of Sacramento/Phoenix Racing’s Chris Carr went at it with Corbin Racing/Harley-Davidson of Missouri’s Joe Kopp at Superior Speedway in Superior, Wisconsin, on, June 23, with Carr taking his second victory in as many rounds.
This one was much closer, as Carr, two-time AMA Grand National Champion, and Kopp, the reigning series number one, checked out on the rest of the field on another slick-but-fast red clay half mile. Unlike last time, however, they traded the lead late in the race, Kopp diving under Carr with seven laps to go to move into first place. Carr dogged Kopp for the remaining circuits, however, and was able to steal away the win with a perfect drive off the last corner when Kopp bobbled ever so slightly. Kopp’s Corbin Racing teammate, Kenny Coolbeth, finished third some distance behind the leaders, thus earning his second podium finish of the season.
In the SuperTrapp SuperTracker main event, Marioneaux Racing’s Greg Teague strapped a huge holeshot on the field right off the start and then pulled away on his Buell to take the win. Kopp finished second aboard his Corbin Racing Suzuki. F&S Harley-Davidson’s Willie McCoy finished third on another Suzuki, but McCoy’s fuel sample failed post-race inspection, and his result has been suspended pending a lab analysis of the fuel sample.
The only real bad news on the night occurred when Memphis Shades Coziahr Harley-Davidson’s Kevin Varnes crashed while running second, behind Carr, in the opening heat. Varnes got up under his own power, but may have suffered a broken foot in the incident.
Here are the results and points standings from the Superior Half Mile:
Superior Speedway
Superior, Wisconsin
Results: June 23, 2001 (Round 8 of 20)
HEAT 1 (10 laps; 11 riders, top three transfer): 1. Chris Carr (H-D); 2. Johnny Murphree (H-D); 3. Steve Beattie (H-D); 4. Mike Hacker (H-D); 5. Roger Lee Hayden (H-D); 6. Robert Lewis (H-D); 7. Bryan Smith (H-D); 8. Jaime Aguilar (H-D); 9. Steve Gill (H-D); 10. Michelle DiSalvo (H-D); 11. Kevin Varnes (H-D).
Time: None, due to red flag.
HEAT 2 (10 laps; 10 riders, top three transfer): 1. Rich King (H-D); 2. Kenny Coolbeth (H-D); 3. J.R. Schnabel (H-D); 4. Nicky Hayden (H-D); 5. Steve Liberty (H-D): 6. Samuel Lowe (H-D); 7. Tom McGrane, Jr. (Hon); 8. Bret Beyer (H-D); 9. Bob Ybema (Duc); 10. Tim Eades (H-D).
Time: 3 min., 30.587 sec.
HEAT 3 (10 laps; 10 riders, top three transfer): 1. Joe Kopp (H-D); 2. Geo Roeder II (H-D); 3. Bryan Bigelow (H-D); 4. Shaun Russell (H-D); 5. Brent Armbruster (H-D); 6. Ken Yoder, Jr. (H-D); 7. Jim Sumner (H-D); 8. Kyle Long (H-D); 9. Eric Rickman (Hon); 10. Jess Roeder (H-D).
Time: 3 min., 29.618 sec.
HEAT 4 (10 laps; 10 riders, top three transfer): 1. Terry Poovey (H-D); 2. Willie McCoy (H-D); 3. Jay Springsteen (H-D); 4. Jason Tyer (H-D); 5. Paul Lynch (H-D); 6. Gary Rogers (H-D); 7. Donnie Steward (H-D); 8. Cory Roth (H-D); 9. Steve Captain (H-D); 10. Will Davis (H-D).
Time: 3 min., 33.516 sec.
SEMI 1 (8 laps; 9 riders, top two transfer): 1. Paul Lynch (H-D); 2. Shaun Russell (H-D); 3. Robert Lewis (H-D); 4. Steve Liberty (H-D); 5. Jess Roeder (H-D); 6. Bret Beyer (H-D); 7. Steve Gill (H-D); 8. Jim Sumner (H-D); 9. Cory Roth (H-D).
Time: 2 min., 51.870 sec.
SEMI 2 (8 laps; 10 riders, top two transfer): 1. Brent Armbruster (H-D); 2. Nicky Hayden (H-D); 3. Gary Rogers (H-D); 4. Tim Eades (H-D); 5. Tom McGrane, Jr. (Hon); 6. Jaime Aguilar (H-D); 7. Kyle Long (H-D); 8. Steve Captian (H-D); 9. Roger Lee Hayden (H-D); 10. Kevin Varnes (H-D). Time: 2 min., 51.359 sec.
SEMI 3 (8 laps; 10 riders, top two transfer): 1. Will Davis (H-D); 2. Mike Hacker (H-D); 3. Jason Tyer (H-D); 4. Donnie Steward (H-D); 5. Bryan Smith (H-D); 6. Samuel Lowe (H-D); 7. Ken Yoder, Jr. (H-D); 8. Eric Rickman (Hon); 9. Michelle DiSalvo (H-D); 10. Bob Ybema (Duc).
Time: 2 min., 48.483 sec.
GRAND NATIONAL (25 laps; 18 riders): 1. Chris Carr (H-D); 2. Joe Kopp (H-D); 3. Kenny Coolbeth (H-D); 4. Johnny Murphree (H-D); 5. Geo Roeder II (H-D); 6. Terry Poovey (H-D); 7. Bryan Bigelow (H-D); 8. Steve Beattie (H-D); 9. Rich King (H-D); 10. Willie McCoy (H-D); 11. Jay Springsteen (H-D); 12. Mike Hacker (H-D); 13. J.R. Schnabel (H-D); 14. Will Davis (H-D); 15. Nicky Hayden (H-D); 16. Paul Lynch (H-D); 17. Shaun Russell (H-D); 18. Brent Armbruster (H-D).
Time: None, due to red flag.
PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE U.S. FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 8 of 20 rounds): 1. Joe Kopp (129/1 win); 2. Chris Carr (128/3 wins); 3. (TIE) Will Davis (80/1 win)/Rich King (80); 5. Mike Hacker (67); 7. J.R. Schnabel (64); 8. (TIE) Bryan Bigelow (59)/Johnny Murphree (59); 10. Kevin Varnes (49); 11. Jay Springsteen (47); 12. Terry Poovey (44); 13. Geo Roeder II (41); 14. Nicky Hayden (38); 15. Willie McCoy (36); 16. Steve Beattie (28); 17. Brett Landes (25); 18. (TIE) Shaun Russell (23)/Shawn Clark (23)/Tommy Hayden (23/1 win).
SUERTRAPP SUPERTRACKER NATIONAL: 1. Greg Teague (Bue); 2. Joe Kopp (Suz); 3. Willie McCoy (Suz); 4. Bryan Bigelow (Bue); 5. Samuel Lower (Suz); 6. Steve Liberty (H-D); 7. Mike Hacker (Bue); 8. Brian Kromroy (Bue); 9. Kenny Coolbeth (Suz); 10. Bryan Smith (Suz); 11. J.R. Schnabel (Suz); 12. Brian Thomas (BUE); 13. Scott Scherb (H-D); 14. Gary Rogers (Suz); 15. Michael Hinds (Yam); 16. Steven Kasten (Nor); 17. Roy Miller (Suz).
Time: 4 min., 19.375 sec.
AMA/SUPERTRAPP SUPERTRACKER SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 7 rounds): 1. Greg Teague (46/1 win); 2. J.R. Schnabel (43); 3. (TIE) Kenny Coolbeth (38/1 win) Bryan Bigelow (38/1 win); 5. (TIE) Scott Scherb (34)/ Brian Thomas (34) 7. Samuel Lowe (33); 8. (TIE) Willie McCoy (31)/Joe Kopp (31); 10. Steve Liberty (25) 11. (TIE) Roy Miller (24)/Jason Tyer (24); 13. Bryan Smith (21); 14. (TIE) Gary Rogers (18)/Mike Hacker (18)/Joe Duvall (18) 17. Brian Kromroy (16); 18. George Richtmeyer (11) 19. John Faulkner (8); 20. Robert Buffington (7).
