Former and current road racers finished well at the Indy Mile held Saturday night at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Chris Carr winning in the AMA Grand National class with Henry Wiles seventh, Nick Cummings eighth and Jon Cornwell 17th. In the AMA Expert class, young gun James Rispoli finished second with Kyle Wyman fifth. More, from a press release issued by Team Coolskunk: WERA and MOTO-ST road racer James “The Rocket” Rispoli diced it up front and scored a second-place finish at the legendary Indy Mile dirt track race Saturday. The 17-year-old young gun rode the wheels off his stock-framed and stock-motored ApriliaUSA/Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/American AGIP SXV550 against a mixed grid of Harley-Davidson XR750, Kawasaki 650R, KTM 950 and Suzuki 650 motorcycles. Rispoli ran his bike into the corners deeper and rode it harder through the turns against his higher-powered competition showing that it takes more than just a fast bike to get on the podium. The sold-out event at the famed Indianapolis Fairgrounds was attended by an international crowd, many of whom were seeing dirt track racing at its best for the very first time. For more information about James Rispoli, visit his web site at www.jamestherocket.com More, from a press release issued by Chris Carr’s publicist: Chris Carr Calls Indy Mile “Epic” For The Sport From the top shelf organization of the event by the staff at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, including communication with the AMA on logistics, 20,000 see Carr win Indy Mile FLEETWOOD, Pa., Seven-time AMA Flat Track Championship champion Chris Carr said that this past weekend’s Indy Mile round of the 2008 AMA Flat Track Championship did more for the sport of flat track racing than just about anything since “On Any Sunday.” With one of the biggest crowds in AMA Flat Track history (estimated in the area of 20,000) many of which came over to the Indiana State Fairgrounds after the MotoGP qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Carr was at his best, pulling out of his draft on his privateer Lancaster HD behind series points leader and rival Kenny Coolbeth and topping the factory rider at the finish line by .029 seconds (or roughly three feet) in certainly one of the biggest wins of a racing career that’s spanned nearly a quarter of a century. “Just an absolutely epic event,” said Carr. “Everyone from the staff at the fairgrounds to the AMA pulled together and helped make this one heck of show for not only our most core fans, but also many international race fans that had never seen a classic American flat track event before.” With Hurricane Ike rapidly approaching and eager race fans clogging the entrances to the fairgrounds, race officials delayed the start of the event then hurried up the qualifying (four heats, five to the finals). In his heat race Carr got off the line in 2nd place (behind Rob Pearson), then chased down Pearson, caught and passed him with two laps to go and brought ‘er home for the win. In the final, which Carr called “your typical mile race,” Bryan Smith who’s ahead of Carr for 2nd place in the overall Twins division by one point pulled out to an early lead by close to 20 bike lengths. A red flag would gather the guys back up (on lap 20) and in the ensuing dash for the front off the re-start Carr came out on top. “I took off, ran it as hard as I could, and had Kenny (Coolbeth) catch me on turn three,” said Carr. But the cagy veteran had Coolbeth right where he wanted him, pulled tight into Coolbeth’s draft and cracking the throttle on his Kenny Tolbert-tuned ride sling-shotted his way past Coolbeth and into 1st place at the finish line. The place went bananas. “Twenty thousand people were on their feet,” said Carr. “They sure saw a heck of a show!” Next up for Carr will be a duel with Smith for 2nd place overall in the Twins class, Oct. 4, at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan. Carr trails Smith 178-177 after 15 rounds of Twins class racing this summer. Seven-time AMA Flat Track Championship champion with 78 National wins – and fastest man in the world on two wheels at 350.884 miles per hour, the Chris Carr legend continues. For more information on Chris Carr, visit his website at www.chriscarr.com. For more information on the AMA Flat Track Championships and the upcoming Topeka round, link to: www.amaflattrack.com More, from a press release issued by Harley-Davidson: COOLBETH TAKES SECOND PLACE AT INDY MILE GRAND NATIONAL Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew Rider Smith is Third INDIANAPOLIS Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle factory rider Kenny Coolbeth finished second by inches as the AMA Grand National Twins flat track series made a dramatic return to the Indiana State Fairgrounds mile. Racing in Indianapolis for the first time since 1999, before a crowd estimated at 15,000, Coolbeth chased down Chris Carr for five laps after a restart for a red flag. Coolbeth passed Carr as the pair entered turn three on the final lap, but Carr was able to draft past the factory Harley and beat Coolbeth to the finish line by just 0.030 seconds. “It was another great battle with Carr, and I learn something every time I race him on these miles,” said Coolbeth, who clinched his third consecutive 2008 AMA Grand National Twins championship with a win last weekend in Monticello, N.Y. “While it’s disappointing to lose it was sure exciting to be racing this hard in front of this huge of a crowd.” Before racing for the win, Coolbeth had to recover from a last-row starting position, a penalty for being late to grid for the beginning of the race. At the start it was Carr, Latus Harley-Davidson/Screamin’ Eagle rider Joe Kopp, and fast-qualifier Jake Johnson on the American Suzuki entry fighting for the lead. Johnson dropped out on lap 12. Coolbeth picked his way through the field, and with five laps remaining, Moroney’s Harley-Davidson/Screamin’ Eagle rider Bryan Smith, Carr and Coolbeth had pulled away from the pack and were trading the lead. The final red flag stopped the race after a crash on lap 21 of the 25-lap main. The race was then extended to 26 laps to finish with five complete laps per AMA rules. Coolbeth and Carr got a jump on the field on the re-start, as Smith missed a shift and dropped back to seventh place. Blue Springs Screamin’ Eagle rider Jared Mees and Bartel’s Harley-Davidson rider Shaun Russell slotted into third and fourth, but Coolbeth and Carr pulled away. Smith regained his momentum and passed Mees and Russell on the last lap to take third. Kopp finished in 16th position. After 12 of 13 events on the 2008 AMA Grand National Twins schedule, Coolbeth has clinched the championship with 233 points. With 178 points, Smith holds second place by just one point over Carr. Kopp is fourth with 158 points. Mees moves up from seventh to fifth with 117 points. The final race of the 2008 AMA Grand National Twins Championship season is Oct. 4 at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kansas. 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. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information.