Say what you will about Terry Poovey, just don’t say that he can’t win the Daytona Short Track.
The 41-year-old Texan who won the 1997 edition of the race showed once again why he is always considered a force to be reckoned with at the Daytona Short Track, as he set fast time to earn the pole, then passed early race leader Joe Kopp on lap six. From there, Poovey seemed to kick it up a notch, and he flat pulled away from the field to claim his 11th career Grand National win during the Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships before packed grandstands at Daytona Municipal Stadium. The win marked his 20th victory in flat track races that have been run during Daytona Bike Week.
“I’m so happy, I just don’t know what to say,” Poovey said. “We knew that we were fast tonight, and I was really prepared for this race. It takes about six months to prepare just for this one race.”
Kopp held on for second place to make him the most consistent rider over the course of the two Municipal Stadium events, as he had also runner-upped on Saturday night. Brett Landes, who won the Daytona Short Track in 1995, finished third to keep his streak of eight consecutive top-five Daytona Short Track finishes intact.
The finishing order for the 2000 Daytona Short Track is as follows:
GRAND NATIONAL (25 laps; 16 riders): 1. Terry Poovey (Rtx); 2. Joe Kopp (Rtx); 3. Brett Landes (ATK); 4. Jay Springsteen (Rtx); 5. Chris Carr (Rtx); 6. J.R. Schnabel (W-R); 7. Will Davis (ATK); 8. Kenny Coolbeth (W-R); 9. Bryan Bigelow (Rtx); 10. Willie McCoy (ATK); 11. Michael Varnes (H-D); 12. Roy Miller (Rtx); 13. Dan Stanley (ATK); 14. Paul Lynch (H-D); 15. Steve Beattie (ATK); 16. Greg Tysor (Rtx).
