AMA: Five former winners to contest the New Indy Mile
1 June 1999
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The field for the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Grand National Dirt Track Series race on the Indiana State Fairgrounds' renowned Indy Mile, Saturday, July 3, will be one of the best in the 31-year history of the event. Among the riders already entered are five former winners who have combined to capture no less than 16 victories in Indy.The talented quintet of Kevin Atherton, Chris Carr, Scott Parker, Terry Poovey and Jay Springsteen have all mastered the challenging Indy Mile during their careers, and they'll be back this summer battling for another win at one of the most prestigious and historic venues in the AMA Grand National Dirt Track Series presented by Drag Specialties.
The seemingly ageless Jay Springsteen has been racing at the Indy Mile since his third-place finish in 1975. He went on to win the AMA Rookie of the Year Award that year, and came back in 1976 to win his first Indy Mile en route to the first of his three AMA Grand National Championships. Since that first victory at Indianapolis 23 years ago, Springsteen has repeated the feat twice while amassing 42 career wins, second on the AMA all-time win list.
At age 42, Springsteen, of Lapeer, Mich., is still a top contender and crowd favorite on the Grand National circuit, winning as recently as May 8 at Hagerstown (Maryland) Speedway.
Terry Poovey is another racing veteran who defies aging, and he is still a top AMA dirt-tracker at 40. Riding only selected events in recent seasons, the speedy Texan, a Grand National winner as recently as 1997, will try to recapture the magic of his youth and win the Indy Mile for a third time, adding to his wins in 1980 and 1981.
Chris Carr, a California native now living in Fleetwood, Penn., and second-generation dirt-tracker Kevin Atherton of White Pigeon, Mich., are also former Indy winners.
Carr, a former AMA Grand National Champion who has returned to full-time dirt-track racing after several seasons of road racing, won the Indy Mile in 1992 and 1994. Atherton, whose dad Dave is a former Grand National rider who still occasionally pulls his leathers out of the closet, won the 1995 Indy Mile.
The undisputed king of the Indy Mile, however, is Scott Parker, a Michigan veteran with Richard Petty-style statistics. He's a nine-time AMA Grand National Champion and winner of 92 Grand National races, stats which more than double those of his nearest rivals in both categories.
Eight of Parker's career victories have come in Indianapolis, including one scored 20 years ago during his 1979 rookie season. Parker has announced that he will retire at the end of this season, and he hopes go out with an unprecedented 10th AMA Grand National Championship title.
Another great of Indy Mile history, Texan Bubba Shobert, will also be on hand, although not as an active rider. The three-time Grand National Champion will be the AMA Honoree at this year's Indy Mile and the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships for amateur riders that begins on Sunday, July 4. Shobert's stellar career, cut short by injuries, included three Indy Mile victories in the 1980s.
The 1999 New Indy Mile marks the AMA pro riders' return to the venue after a year's absence. Among improvements in store for fans are the addition of a bike show and vendor midway from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on July 3, and improved sight lines for grandstand spectators made possible through an alteration in track preparation.
Advance sale tickets to the New Indy Mile are available by phone or in person at any TicketMaster outlet. For further information, or to order tickets by mail, contact the Indiana State Fair Ticket Office at (317) 927-1482