Steve Rapp Finally Wins XR1200 Race in Indianapolis
Larry Lawrence | August 10, 2014
Photography by Brian J Nelson
INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 10, 2014) – Steve Rapp has been trying for four years to get a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He finally broke through in Sunday’s race two of the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XR1200 with a brilliant home stretch draft to get the win over Danny Eslick and Ben Carlson.
It came down to another classic draft contest that over the years has become characteristic of XR1200 races in Indianapolis.
This time it was Carlson leading the way out of the final turn. He darted hard to the inside of the front straight with Eslick shooting out wide to the outside of the track. That left a perfect seam for Rapp to take advantage of and draft by Carlson and moving ahead of Eslick to take the victory by 0.011 seconds. Kyle Wyman and Saturday’s winner Jeremy McWilliams rounded out the top five.
“I’ve been trying to win Indy since they started racing here,” Rapp said. “I always get nipped one way or the other. I really want to thank Suburban Motors for giving me the best bike.”
The race came down to a five-lap dash after a red flag stoppage.
Eslick is leading the championship 16 points over Carlson with just a single race remaining in New Jersey next month. Tyler O’Hara, who finished 22nd in today’s races is still mathematically in the title chase, but his bad day today effectively cost him any real chance of racing for the title in New Jersey.
Results of the Vance & Hines XR1200 race from Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Aug. 10, 2014
1. Steve Rapp
2. Danny Eslick
3. Ben Carlson
4. Kyle Wyman
5. Jeremy McWilliams
6. Hayden Schultz
7. Nick Hansen
8. David Estok
9. Josh Chisum
10. Brice Cooper
Larry Lawrence | Archives Editor
In addition to writing our Archives section on a weekly basis, Lawrence is another who is capable of covering any event we throw his way.
