AMA
Vernon Downs: Event preview
Carr looking to defend his victory at Vernon Downs. PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- Â Defending AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Champion Chris Carr is closing in on his fourth championship. If Carr defends his 2001 victory on the Mile at Vernon ...
Published: Sep 10, 2002, 6:21 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Carr looking to defend his victory at Vernon Downs.
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- Defending AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Champion Chris Carr is closing in on his fourth championship. If Carr defends his 2001 victory on the Mile at Vernon (N.Y.) Downs this Saturday, Sept. 7, it will go a long way in helping him move a step closer to holding on to his No. 1 plate. Carr heads up a list of top flat track racers in the country who will compete at the Upstate New York circuit.
Carr, of Fleetwood, Pa., is coming off a win last weekend at the Springfield, (Ill.) Mile, which extended his lead in the championship. With just four races remaining, a victory for Carr at Vernon would be a tough pill to swallow for the riders who are chasing the three-time AMA champ.
"It's been a highly competitive year," said Carr, who is just one of the 10 riders who have won on the circuit this season. "I've been able to be a little more consistent and win races when I needed to. I'm happy to have the series lead, but you're never satisfied until the championship is yours. I'm not thinking about protecting my points lead yet. I'll be going into Vernon Downs with the same goal I've had all season, and that's to win."
With three wins this year, Carr, who rides for Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford, has built a 39-point lead in the championship.
Californian-turned-Illinoisan Johnny Murphree is second in the series. Murphree has a podium finish at Vernon under his belt -- he was third in the 2000 race. He'll need to finish in front of Carr to have a realistic chance of catching him in the championship chase.
Bryan Bigelow, of Au Gres, Mich., stands third in the series coming into Saturday's race. Bigelow scored a fourth last year at Vernon. Like Murphree, Bigelow will be looking to improve on his result this year.
Rich King is one of the hottest riders in the championship coming into Vernon. The Harley-Davidson factory rider from Dysart, Iowa, has scored two wins in recent rounds. He won at Vernon in 2000 and will be looking to duplicate that feat this weekend.
Local fans will be pulling for New York riders Chris Hart and Shawn Clark, who are both ranked in the top-20 coming into this Saturday's race. Hart scored his first AMA Grand National win last month in Delaware.
In addition to the main Grand National event, the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series will also hold a round at Vernon Downs. This will be the first visit of the Sportster Performance Series to Vernon. Honey Brook, Pa., rider Jared Mees leads that championship by 52 points over Texas Scott Scherb, by having won five of the ten rounds so far this season. With only three rounds left of the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series and 69 points available, Mees could lock up the championship this weekend in New York. For additional information contact Panda Racing at (315) 829-2201 and visit the Vernon Downs www.vernondowns.com.
For immediate post-race results, points, in-depth series and rider information, regular columnists and much more, log onto www.1800FlatTrack.com, the official website of the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships.
-ama-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article USAR: Motordrome: Northern Division race summary
Next article 2003 Motocross schedule announced
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Chris Carr
Could NNS championship-hunt experience determine champion?
NASCAR O'Reilly
NASCAR O'Reilly
Could NNS championship-hunt experience determine champion?
NASCAR is not budging on RCR team penalties – You fight, you pay
NASCAR O'Reilly
NASCAR O'Reilly
NASCAR is not budging on RCR team penalties – You fight, you pay
Turner Scott Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing teams penalized for Richmond incident
NASCAR O'Reilly
NASCAR O'Reilly
Turner Scott Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing teams penalized for Richmond incident
Latest news
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 1 h
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 1 h
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
13 Autosport retains unchanged lineup for 2027 IMSA campaign, eyes global expansion
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 1 h
13 Autosport retains unchanged lineup for 2027 IMSA campaign, eyes global expansion
Bourdais, Moss headline second batch of Sebring's 75 all-time greatest drivers
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 2 h
Bourdais, Moss headline second batch of Sebring's 75 all-time greatest drivers
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe