7/20/02

Victorious Ford QCCPOV/H-D of Sacto Team Kicks Off Toughest Part of 2002 Season on a High Note.

The AMA Grand National Circuit's first visit to Kentucky since the 1991 Louisville Half-Mile (Carr won at Louisville in 1990) saw the dirt track crew at Prestonsburg's Thunder Ridge Raceway, another half-mile oval. This track was once again composed of pea gravel, the third cushion track in four races.

Chris Carr and the Ford QCCPOV team struggled early, but as the sun went down and the track changed, experience with variable conditions brought the experienced duo of Tolbert and Carr to the front of the pack for their second win of 2002, passing nearly half the field in the first ten laps, and then holding off a charging Kenny Coolbeth on a five-lap restart after Dominic Beaulac's fall brought out a red flag on lap 21.

Now the season swings into it's grinding conclusion, with nary a weekend off until the last race in late September at DuQuoin. Carr leads by 21 points and looks destined to capture his fourth Grand National title.

This Saturday night sees the series return to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC, site of the final victory of the late Will Davis' illustrious career. Davis will be inducted into Charlotte Motor Speedway's Hall of Fame during the evening, and Carr will undoubtedly lead the emotional tributes to his friend and former competitor.

"We had a pretty good night. We struggled a little bit early on, although we wen okay in the scratch heat. Then the trackchanged a little bit for the heat race, and I guess I got off the line about third behind Kevin Atherton and Kevin Varnes. The two Kevins proceeded to split from me. I struggled a bit and just barely held off Jake Johnson for the last ransfer spot to the main event.

"So I kinda went back to the drawing board and watched the racetrack to see how it was changing, and made a few changes for the main event.

"That seemed to work out pretty good. We got a decent start, maybe ninth or tenth after lap one, and proceeded to pick guys off one at a time and move toward the front. By about lap ten, we had the lead.

"We got a gap on the guys a little bit. I guess Kenny Coolbeth - somewhere along the way - had moved into second and was running my pace and maybe gaining a little bit. Then we had a red flag on lap 21.

"As soon as they got that all sorted out, we (had a) single file restart. Coolbeth got back by me on the restart, and I got back by him the next lap and got away a little bit. Springer worked his way up into second, so it was a good night.

"Varnes was second in points going into the race (ed: Varnes finished in 13th place), and I think I have a 21-point lead now, something like that, so things are looking better than what they have been."

I saw some photos with what looked like a new paint job on the gas tank. Do you have new sponsor paint?

"No, it's a pea-gravel track, lots of limestone, so it's actually a black leather bra with a Ford Quality-Checked logo on it that's on the tank, and we have the rest of the paint covered in clear tape just so we don't ruin our paint job on that track. It's been working so far - we haven't had to repaint 'em yet!"


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