After winning his first career AMA Grand National Championship in 2000 – by posting only one win, and in the absence of Chris Carr, who skipped several rounds of the series to run for the Formula USA title – you had to wonder if Joe Kopp might ever make another serious run for a second AMA title. That question was punctuated further by his subsequent hand injuries suffered at the 2001 Sedalia Half Mile and his move to a new team in 2002.
But the Jones powersports/KTM-backed Kopp is going a long way to silence doubters these days, and he kicked more pea gravel in their faces when he scored his second win of the season at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio, last night.
Rain delayed the show for some two and a half hours, but when the 18-man main lined up, local favorite Geo Roeder II put his Las Vegas Harley-Davidson/KK Motorcycle Supply entry into the lead, followed by defending series champion Chris Carr on his Quality Checked Certified Pre-owned Ford Racing XR. Kopp, running third, quickly passed Carr and then chased Roeder for seven laps before making a move for the lead in turn two and pulling clear to win the race by some four seconds. Roeder held on for second, with Team Harley-Davidson’s Rich King putting in a good showing on the Lima track by finishing third. Carr would also succumb to Kopp’s Jones Powersports/KTM teammate Kenny Coolbeth and Memphis Shades/Parts Unlimited’s J.R. Schnabel, dropping him to sixth.
Here are the results and points from the Progressive Insurance Grand Nation main and the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series main:
Allen County Fairgrounds
Lima, Ohio
Results: June 28, 2003 (Round 8 of 18)
GRAND NATIONAL (25 laps; 18 riders): 1. Joe Kopp (H-D); 2. Geo Roeder II (H-D); 3. Rich King (H-D); 4. Ken Coolbeth Jr. (H-D); 5. J.R. Schnabel (H-D); 6. Chris Carr (H-D); 7. Jay Springsteen (H-D); 8. Johnny Murphree (H-D); 9. Dominic Beaulac (H-D); 10. Aaron Creamer (H-D); 11. Willie McCoy (H-D); 12. Chris Hart (H-D); 13. Steve Beattie (H-D); 14. Gary Rogers (H-D); 15. Kevin Atherton (H-D); 16. Paul Lynch (H-D); 17. Bryan Smith (H-D); 18. Shawn Clark (H-D).
Time: 10 min., 52.392 sec.
AMA/PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE U.S. FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS (after 8 of 18 rounds): 1. Chris Carr (147/3 wins); 2. Joe Kopp (121/2 wins); 3. Johnny Murphree (119); 4. Ken Coolbeth Jr. (99); 5. Rich King (85); 6. Jay Springsteen (61); 7. Jake Johnson (60); 8. Kevin Atherton (54); 9. Bryan Bigelow (51); 10. J.R. Schnabel (48); 11. Shaun Russell (46); 12. Brett Landes (43/1 win); 13. Willie McCoy (39); 14. Terry Poovey (34); 15. Mike Hacker (31); 16. Raun Wood (29); 17. Paul Lynch (26); 18. Steve Beattie (24); 19. Garth Bastian (23/1 win); 20. Ken Yoder (20).
HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE MAIN (12 laps; 17 riders): 1. Jared Mees; 2. Cory McDermitt; 3. Scott Scherb; 4. Scott Stump; 5. Merle Scherb; 6. Shawn Baer; 7. Andy Springsteen; 8. Corby Scherb; 9. Josh Toungett; 10. Robert Lewis; 11. Stephanie Welch; 12. Todd Perkins; 13. John Faulkner; 14. Shane Fox; 15. Dean Standish; 16. Jake Latimer; 17. Ben Siudara.
Time: 5 min., 29.273 sec.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (after 3 rounds): 1. Cory McDermitt (50); 2. Jared Mees (46/2 wins); 3. (TIE) Scott Stump (42)/Scott Scherb (42); 5. Merle Scherb (30); 6. Shawn Baer (33); 7. Corby Scherb (30); 8. Josh Toungett (29); 9. Brian Thomas (26); 10. Danny Eslick (23/1 win); 11. Andy Springsteen (21); 12. (TIE) Bryan Smith/Brian Kromroy (19); 14. (TIE) Stephanie Welch/Robert Lewis (16); 16. John Faulkner (14); 17. Dan Gedeon (10); 18. (TIE) Shane Fox/Todd Perkins (9); 20. John Nickens (8).
