Recently on Cyclingnews.com |
 Mt Hood Classic Photo ©: Swift |
Introduction to Track Racing - What's a Wheelrace? - Introduction to Six Day racing - UCI codes
Results and Reports for the USA
Promoters wishing to submit results should send them to cyclingnews
NAS-TRACK Championship
Rochester Hills, Michigan, September 3, 2004
Team Neon lights up
Unrelenting and indisputably the best, Team Neon of Dave Koesel and Rippin' Ronnie Sink earned Iron Men status by dominating the boards at the Velodrome at Bloomer Park to win The Championship of NAS-TRACK Team Racing held Friday Sept. 3 at the facility in Rochester Hills. The race will be broadcast at 10:30 pm, Friday, Sept. 10 on PBS-DPTV.
The Championship is based on points collected in four events - 1 Mile Sprint, Miss & Out, 50 Lap Team Race and 100 Lap Team Race.
Also at stake was the title of NAS-TRACK's Overall Points Winner of the Friday Night PBS Series.
Powerhouse Team Neon began amassing points at the opening bell, with Koesel winning the 1 mile sprint. Sink added more in the miss-and-out, picking up the points of a first place finish. Ahead, but not yet winners, they controlled the first 50 lap Madison by aggressively starting jam after jam, lapping a "near the edge" field and ending that event with an almost unbeatable lead.
The pair, teamed together for the first time all season, seemed invincible and were certainly intimidating but an admirable fight came from Team Purple, a combination that put veteran Madison racer -- Rick Denman with NAS-Track whiz kid 16-year-old Luke Cavendar.
Like glue, Team Purple stuck on Team Neon's wheel all through the final 100 lap event, even boldly making a move to get away from the leaders and gain back some of the points lost in the first 50 lapper. Cavendar's speed and fearlessness and Denman's tactics, learned over a lifetime of track racing, challenged Team Neon's ride and riled up an enthusiastic crowd. But every time Team Purple got a gap, Team Neon refocused to reel them back. Neon ultimately sewed it up by winning the intermediate sprint of the final event. After that they had 60 points and simply needed to finish near the top for the title.. Instead, they sprinted to the line, winning the final sprint, The Championships title and a new reputation as Iron Men, a moniker revived from the golden days of team racing in the early 1900s.
Koesel's performance also earned him the title of Overall Points Winner of the Friday Night PBS Series, a blow to Andre Champoux, the leader by 21 point going into the final night of racing. Saddled with an ailing partner, Champoux was forced to settle for second place in the season long competition after having to carry most of the race load by himself. Partner Ray Dybowski, normally a strong endurance racer, blew up in the miss and out and barely made it through the 50 lap Madison. Dybowski withdrew and Champoux was re-teamed with Jim Houston for the final Madison. Houston was an asset but by then, Champoux was running out of muscle to bounce back. Then, too, there was Koesel, who had every intention of continuing the pressure to guarantee winning the Overall title -- which he did with 418 points compared to Champoux's 355 for second. Rippin Ronnie Sink came in third with 341.
Indeed, both Koesel and Sink were pumped and prepared for the race, held after a two week Olympic hiatus. During the downtime, the teammates followed a serious regiment that showed its results in Friday's race. "I think that was the fastest I've ever raced on the track," Koesel said.
The Championship event is the ONLY event during the season when racers pick their own partners. Throughout the season, teams are determined by previous results with the pairings finalized by NAS-TRACK Chairman Dale Hughes.
One race day remains in the 2004 NAS-TRACK season -- SOUPerBOWL Sunday, Sept. 19.
Racing begins at 1 p.m. with timed events. At 3 p.m., team racing begins with pairings determined by riders pulling their partner's name out of a soup bowl. The resulting mix is an interesting combination and the usual, thrills of fast racing at the fastest velodrome in the U.S. The Velodrome at Bloomer Park, located at the north end of John R in Rochester Hills. Admission to the race is $3 per person, 18 and under free.
Results
Final standings 1 Team Neon (Dave Koesel/Rippin Ronnie) 95 pts 2 Team Purple (Luke Cavendar/Rick Denman) 74 3 Team Black (Nick Laughton/Steve Geerligs) 45 4 Team Red (Taylor Martin/Rob Good) 41 5 Team Green (Matt Walp/Cullen Watkins) 40 6 Team White (Rob Akers/Terry Palmer) 30 7 Team Orange (Andre Champoux/Jim Houston) 21 8 Team Gold (Julia Bradley/Dave Teall) 1 Event pts 1 Mile Sprint 1 Team Neon 10 pts 2 Team Black 8 3 Team Red 7 4 Team White 6 5 Team Blue 5 6 Team Purple 4 7 Team Green 3 8 Team Pink 2 9 Team Gold 1 Miss & Out 1 Team Neon 10 pts 2 Team Purple 8 3 Team White 7 4 Team Pink 6 5 Team Black 5 6 Team Gold 4 7 Team Blue 3 8 Team Red 2 9 Team Green 1 50 Lap Team Race 1 Team Neon 20 pts 2 Team Purple 18 3 Team Black 16 4 Team Blue 15 5 Team White 14 6 Team Pink 13 7 Team Green 12 8 Team Red 11 9 Team Gold 10 *Team Blue's Andre Champoux was paired with Jim Houston of Team Pink and they became Team Orange. 100 Lap Team Race 1 sprint 1 Team Neon 20 pts 2 Team Purple 18 3 Team Red 16 4 Team White 15 5 Team Orange 14 6 Team Black 13 7 Team Green 12 8 Team Gold 11 Final Sprint 1 Team Neon 20 pts 2 Team Purple 18 3 Team Red 16 4 Team White 15 5 Team Orange 14 6 Team Black 13 7 Team Green 12 8 Team Gold 11 NAS-TRACK individual 2004 season standings 1 Dave Koesel 418 pts 2 Andre Champoux 355 3 Rippin Ronnie Sink 341 4 Pio Apostoli 331 5 Rob Good 321 6 Tony Bruley 318 7 Ray Dybowski 299 8 Nick Laughton 292 9 Cullen Watkins 283 10 Taylor Martin 279 11 Luke Cavendar 273 12 Jim Houston 250 13 Steve Geerligs 177 14 Rob Akers 172 15 Terry Palmer 171 16 Dave Teall 170 17 Steve Mlujeak 138 18 Eric Chase 90 19 Matt Walp 86 20 Rick Denman 74 21 Paul Jaqua 63 22 Chris Hughes 46 23 Julia Bradley 32 24 Louis Bernhardt 28
