Motorcycles and news

Coolbeth Earns Podium Finish For Screamin’ Eagle At Springfield May 31, 2006

Kenny Coolbeth is perfectly fine not having all the information about what happened during Sunday’s season opening AMA Grand National Twins event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. There were several crashes. Red flags stopped the race twice. Coolbeth didn’t see any of it and that’s just how he likes it.

Coolbeth rode his Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle entry to third place while factory teammate Rich King finished sixth after a crash and Wrecking Crew teammates Jared Mees and Bryan Smith finished eighth and 11th, respectively.

“I didn’t see any of the crashes,” Coolbeth, a Connecticut native said. “I was riding up front, in the top four for the entire race and I avoided all the accidents. I didn’t see any of it and I’m very happy about that.”

King crashed in the 14th lap of the 25-lap main event. His bike flipped end-over-end, throwing King off the bike just after Turn Three. The team scrambled to get the bike back in racing order as quickly as possible and King returned to the race. He was 18th with 11 laps remaining and fought his way back up to sixth.

“I feel pretty good about the results because I’ve been to Springfield and finished sixth before without flipping the bike at 130 mph,” King said. “So having the same result after crashing and having to leave the race more than halfway through the event only to thrash on the bike and get back out there isn’t so bad.”

Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso said King’s performance on Sunday was a great example of what King is best known for being tough and never giving up.

“Rich is the King of the Mile and this was a tough race for him to walk away from without a podium finish,” Paluso said. “Without the accident, he would have had a great chance to win that race.

“We’re very happy that Kenny finished in the top three and overall the Wrecking Crew debut went well. There were a lot of crashes in qualifying and in the main event and we’re glad our guys are OK.”

Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford’s Chris Carr won the event with Supertrapp’s Jay Springteen taking second place.

It was the first race that Coolbeth and King shared a pit as teammates. Coolbeth said the Screamin’ Eagle team learned a lot even with the wild, crashed-filled event.

“It was an awesome weekend because everyone clicked,” he said. “What we needed fixed, got fixed and it feels great being back in the racing season again. I was pulling my hair out for the last two months waiting for this weekend. I’m happy everyone did their jobs and I think this is a great team to be part of.”

Coolbeth and King finished first in their qualifying heat races while Mees was second in his qualifying heat and Smith finished third.

“Everyone had to deal with the weather (temperatures well into the 90s) and the new team setup and I think the guys did a good job preparing for the event,” Paluso said. “The long-waited season opener is over and now we can focus on the rest of the season.”

In addition to the direct team sponsorship, Harley-Davidson will also provide support through professional flat track contingency and the Rider Support Verification Program (RSVP). Under the Screamin’ Eagle banner the support will total more than $140,000 throughout the 2006 season. This includes a contingency program for qualified Harley-Davidson XR750 riders on the AMA Flat Track series.

The Screamin’ Eagle Flat Track team is sponsored by Matco Tools.