The final round of the 2007 AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Half-mile dirt track this Saturday, Oct. 6, promises to be a wide-open affair.
With the championship already decided any concern about the point standings is out the window. All the riders will be looking for a win so they can head into the off-season on a positive note.
Harley-Davidson factory rider Ken Coolbeth clinched the AMA GNC Twins title last week in Tucson, Ariz., and now comes to Las Vegas hoping to earn his seventh victory of the season.
“I’m going to Las Vegas to win, ” Coolbeth said. “If we can, it will give the team a big boost going into the winter as we look forward to starting it up all over again at Daytona next March. ”
Coolbeth said he thinks the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Half-mile should make for a great race track.
“I’ve raced there twice before and I like the track, ” he said. “It’s probably going to be hot there and the track could get hard-packed and dry and maybe a little slick. It takes a good set-up to do well on that type of a track and it’s a big challenge for everyone. Hopefully we can get a decent crowd there and this will be a successful event. ”
This marks the return of AMA Grand National racing to Las Vegas. The track hosted the championship three times in the late 1990s.
Chris Carr had the most success at the track among the current crop of riders. Carr finished runner-up in the race in 1998 and 1999.
“I’ve heard they brought in some new dirt since we raced there last so it should be a new track for everybody, ” said Carr, the all-time winningest active rider in AMA Grand National Championship racing. “It’s a racy track and has a little banking to it. If it’s prepared well it could be a good race. I’m approaching it as a big test session to get ready for 2008. I’m not giving up on winning, but we got a little behind in our program this year and we want to be ready for ’08. ”
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