Calistoga Results
Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle factory rider Kenny Coolbeth placed sixth in the in the Grand National Twins main at the Calistoga Fairgrounds half-mile, the ninth round of the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com.
The race was won by Dodge Brothers/Johnny Goad rider Steve Bonsey, a northern California native, on a Harley-Davidson XR-750.
Coolbeth qualified for the main through the first semi-final heat, started from the third row for the 25-lap main, and spent the race working his way through the pack to get a top-10 finish.
Kenny Coolbeth says: “We were a little slow off the truck, and this was the first time any of us had seen this track, so it took awhile to find the good lines. The track was really great. I need to work on getting up to speed more quickly for the short sprints in qualifying. In the longer race, I seem to find my rhythm and we are on the pace. Considering where we started, this was not a bad finish.”
Bonsey, a 20-year-old native of Northern California, crossed the finish line 1.176 seconds ahead of King Kustoms/KK Motorcycle Supply rider Sammy Halbert. Zanotti Racing rider Jake Johnson was third, followed by Lancaster Harley-Davidson rider Chris Carr in fourth, and Blue Springs Harley-Davidson rider Jared Mees in fifth. Series points leader and Latus Harley-Davidson rider Joe Kopp was seventh.
Kopp’s results in Calistoga tightened up the season points race for the combined AMA Grand national championship. Kopp has 166 points and still leads the series, but Johnson is just six points back with 160. Halbert, who won the four-lap Dash for Cash bonus sprint in Calistoga, moves up to third place with 159 points, followed by KK Motorcycle Supply/Mike & Eddie Adkins rider Henry Wiles with 149 points. Mees holds fifth place with 143 points, followed by Coolbeth in sixth with 132.
The AMA Grand National Twins will next race August 7 at the Hagerstown Speedway half-mile in Hagerstown, Md.
