King Reigns at Oklahoma Moto TT

| June 24, 2002
Team Harley-Davidson’s Rich King grabbed his first National win of the year in the unique Oklahoma City Moto TT at State Fair Speedway in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on June 22.

The factory Harley rider pulled a holeshot after the race had to be restarted for a massive first-turn pile-up and pulled out to a comfortable advantage aboard his Bill Werner-tuned factory machine. Team WE/West Bend H-D/Fieldsheer Leathers’ J.R. Schnabel of Wisconsin chased King down and made a pass for the lead on lap 17, only to be re-passed by the Iowan, who then remained in control for the rest of the 25-lap main event. The two finshed well ahead of Gardner Racing/Walters Brothers H-D rider Bryan Bigelow, who was third.

With his runner-up finish, Schnabel has taken over the points lead in both the Formula USA National Dirt Track Series and the Formula USA Grand National Series, which combines points from the sanctioning body’s National Dirt Track and National Road Race series. Schnabel leads reigning National Dirt Track Champion Terry Poovey 162-158 in the dirt portion, and is ahead of Matt Wait, 38-33, in the Grand National.

The event featured a twist in the form of a motocross-style starting gate which placed all 18 riders on one row. After safety concerns were raised, Formula USA officials elected to start the field off the gate in two rows of nine.

1. Rich King (H-D)

2. J.R. Schnabel (Hon)

3. Bryan Bigelow (Hon)

4. Brett Landes (Suz)

5. Dan Stanley (Hon)

6. Danny Eslick (Yam)

7. Matt Wait (Hon)

8. Joe Kopp (KTM)

9. John Hlebo III (Hon)

10. Brandon Cartwright (Hon)

By Scott Rousseau