September 13, 2010

COOLBETH TAKES FACTORY HARLEY TO WIN AT CANTERBURY MILE

Canterbury Park Mile
Expert Main Event - AMA Pro Grand National Twins Championship
Date: September 11, 2010 Canterbury Park, Minneapolis, MN
Race Time: 16:57.197
Margin of Victory: 3.373
Best Race Lap: Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (0:40.305)

First Win of Season for Coolbeth, Jake Johnson Takes Points Lead from Kopp

SHAKOPEE, Minn. (September 11, 2010) - Harley-Davidson® Screamin' Eagle® factory rider Kenny Coolbeth rode a Harley-Davidson XR-750 to a decisive win in the Grand National Twins main on the Canterbury Park Mile. The victory was the first of the season for Coolbeth in the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com. Zanotti Racing rider Jake Johnson was second on a Harley-Davidson, followed by Blue Springs Harley-Davidson rider Jared Mees.

"This win has been a long time coming," said Coolbeth, who last won on the Indianapolis Mile in August, 2009. "The team has really been working hard and it finally all came together for us tonight. I'm never a fast-starter. I like to let the race settle in for a few laps, kind of see how it's going to go. We were behind a little in the beginning but it didn't matter. I had a really great Harley-Davidson that I knew I could win with."

A poor start left Coolbeth in seventh place following the first lap of the 25-lap main, as Johnson, Mees, White's Harley-Davidson rider Matt Weidman, and Lancaster Harley-Davidson rider Chris Carr roared into the lead and began to open a gap on the pack.

Coolbeth passed Carr and moved up to fourth place on lap four, but was 1.5 seconds behind the leaders, Johnson and Weidman. Coolbeth moved past Mees to claim third position on lap eight, and then began to rapidly close the gap on the leaders. Coolbeth got past Weidman for second place on lap 11, and was immediately on Johnson's wheel.

After shadowing Johnson for three laps, Coolbeth passed for the lead on lap 15 and in just one lap opened a one-second gap on Johnson. That lead grew to more than 3.5 seconds as the laps wound down. Coolbeth crossed the finish line 3.375 seconds ahead of Johnson. Mees finished 7.879 seconds behind Coolbeth.

"This track was more like racing on a half-mile than a mile," said Coolbeth. "The draft did not really matter so much. So after Mees dropped back I just had to put my head down and ride through the bumps to catch Johnson and Weidman. When I caught them, they were sort of messing each other up, getting in each other's line. Weidman went high in turn two and hit the berm and I went by, and then I tangled with Jake for a few laps before I got away."

Carr won the four-lap Dash for Cash bonus sprint held before the Grand National Twins main.

Agip/Lloyd Brothers Ducati rider Joe Kopp completed 19 laps and finished 16th at Canterbury, and lost his lead in the AMA Grand National Championship season points battle to Johnson. With two races left on the schedule, only 37 points separate to the top six riders in the Grand National Championship. Johnson has the lead with 265 points. Kopp is second with 255 points, followed by Mees 246 points and KK Motorcycle Supply/Mike & Eddie Adkins rider Henry Wiles with 239.

Coolbeth moves up to fifth place with 231 points, and King Kustoms/KK Motorcycle Supply rider Sammy Halbert is sixth with 228 points.

The AMA Grand National Twins will next race on September 18 on the Knoxville Raceway half-mile in Knoxville, Iowa.

Screamin' Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by and built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline and power of motorcycle racing. Screamin' Eagle Pro parts are specifically designed for race-use applications, while Screamin' Eagle parts offer street-use performance options for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner.

The Pro Singles Grand National Championship points leader Van's Yamaha / Woody Kyle Racing's #24P Jeffery Carver came away with win number five on the season and now holds a twenty seven point lead over tonight's third place finisher and last year's class Champion Rod Lake / Mike Velasco's #1 Brad Baker.

Mack Daddy Racing / RHC Product's #33E Mike Avila finish second just one second off the lead. Monster Energy Kawasaki / Werner-Springsteen Racing's Chaz Springsteen and Priestley Racing's Corey Crawford filled out the top five.

AMA PRO SINGLES MAIN (12 laps; 18 riders): 1. Jeffery Carver (Yam); 2. Mike Martin (Hon); 3. Brad Baker (Hon); 4. Chaz Springsteen (Kaw); 5. Corey Crawford (Hon); 6. Conner Anderson (Hon); 7. Gerit Callies (Hon); 8. Michael Toon (Hon); 9. William Cato (Hon); 10. Jake Cunningham (Suz); 11. Wyatt Maguire (Yam); 12. Kurtis Lee (Hon); 13. Justin Minnaert (Kaw); 14. Kevin Walter (KTM); 15. Adam Bushman (Hon); 16. Scott Barrett (Hon); 17. Nicholas Mataya (Yam); 18. Mike Martin (Hon).
Time: 8:30.341

AMA PRO SINGLES POINTS STANDINGS (After 15 of 17 rounds): 1. Jeffery carver (278 pts / 5 wins); 2. Brad Baker (251 / 4 wins); 3. Mike Avila (182); 4. James Rispoli (160); 5. (TIE) JD Beach (4 wins) / Mike Martin (118); 7. (TIE) Chas Springsteen / Mike LaBelle (116); 9. Michael Toon (91 / 2 wins); 10. Jake Shoemaker (90); 11. William Cato (79); 12. Gerit Callies (67); 13. Zakk Palmer (66); 14. Jeremy Hamilton (59); 15. (TIE) Corey Crawford / Shayna Texter (57); 17. Wyatt Maguire (55); 18. Tyler O'Hara (47); 19. Kurtis Lee (38); 20. Brandon Laursen (35).

GNT DASH FOR CASH (4 laps; 6 riders): 1. Chris Carr (H-D); 2. Jake Johnson (H-D); 3. Matt Weidman (H-D); 4. Jared Mees (H-D); 5. Kenny Coolbeth (H-D); 6. Rob Pearson (H-D).
Time: 2:45.440

AMA PRO K&N GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MAIN (25 laps; 18 riders): 1. Kenny Coolbeth (H-D); 2. Jake Johnson (H-D); 3. Jared Mees (H-D); 4. Henry Wiles (H-D); 5. Matt Weidman (H-D); 6. Bryan Smith (Kaw); 7. Chris Carr (H-D); 8. Johnny Lewis (Kaw); 9. Shawn Baer (Tri); 10. Jethro Halbert (H-D); 11. Luke Gough (H-D); 12. Jeremy Higgins (KTM); 13. Nichole Cheza (H-D); 14. Mick Kirkness (Suz); 15. Dustin Crow (H-D); 16. Joe Kopp (Duc); 17. Rob Pearson (H-D); 18. Chad Cose (Suz).
Time: 16:57.197

AMA PRO GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 15 of 17rounds): 1. Jake Johnson (265 pts / 2 wins); 2. Joe Kopp (255 / 3 wins); 3. Jared Mees (246); 4. Henry Wiles (239 / 5 wins); 5. Kenny Coolbeth (231 / 1 win); 6. Sammy Halbert (228 / 1 win); 7. Chris Carr (190); 8. Bryan Smith (177 / 2 wins); 9. Matt Weidman (108); 10. Johnny Lewis (103); 11. Rob Pearson (90); 12. Mick Kirkness (79); 13. Jethro Halbert (77); 14. Stevie Bonsey (69 / 1 win); 15. Luke Gough (46); 16. Brandon Robinson (42); 17. JR Schnabel (41); 18. Shaun Russell (39); 19. Willie McCoy (35); 20. PJ Jacobsen (31).

AMA PRO GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TWINS POINTS STANDINGS (After 9 of 11 rounds): 1. Jake Johnson (167 pts / 1 win); 2. Kenny Coolbeth (153 / 1 win); 3. Sammy Halbert (147); 4. Jared Mees (146); 5. Joe Kopp (144 / 2 wins); 6. Chris Carr (140); 7. Bryan Smith (125 / 2 wins); 8. Henry Wiles (98 / 1 win); 9. Matt Weidman (73); 10. Rob Pearson (57); 11. Stevie Bonsey (55 / 1 win); 12. (TIE) Mick Kirkness / Luke Gough (39); 14. Johnny Lewis (35); 15. Willie McCoy (33); 16. PJ Jacobsen (31); 17. Jethro Halbert (29); 18. Brandon Robinson (24); 19. JR Schnabel (22); 20. Larry Pegram (17).

September 13, 2010 2:51 PM | send page