September 30, 2004
Du Quoin, IL - Screamin' Eagle Performance Parts rider Rich King prevailed in a race-long battle for second position in the AMA Grand National main held at the mile track at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. It was the 17th and final event on the 2004 AMA Progressive Insurance Flat Track Championship. King was among seven riders who held second place during the 25-lap race, all trailing Gerencer Harley-Davidson�s/Kerstings Cycle/Saddlemen rider Kevin Atherton, who took the lead on lap two and then cruised to an easy victory�his first of the season.
�What a thrilling way to end the season,� said Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso. �Even though Atherton took the lead early, we saw a classic mile battle for second place among some of the top racers in this series. Rich did what he does best and put the Screamin� Eagle team on the podium one more time this season.�
Quality Checked Pre-Owned Ford/Lancaster Harley-Davidson rider Chris Carr finished third on the Du Quoin Mile. Carr wrapped up a season by claiming his sixth Grand National title on Friday night, when he qualified for the indoor short-track race at Du Quoin. He finished the season with 298 points�38 points clear of KTM USA/Jones Powersports/Mid-America Harley-Davidson rider Joe Kopp. Carr won six races during the 2004 AMA Progressive Insurance Flat Track Championship season.
King started the afternoon with a strong qualifying run, placing second in the first heat behind Atherton, who was already showing the speed that would allow him to dominate at Du Quoin.
At the start of the Grand National main, Kopp led the first lap before Atherton passed for the lead. Atherton went on to build a cushion that, at one point, extended to more than half a straight-away. Meanwhile, King was dicing in a pack that included Kopp and his KTM USA/Jones Powersports/Mid-America Harley-Davidson teammate Kenny Coolbeth, Carr, Coziahr Harley-Davidson/National Cycle rider Johnny Murphree, and Bartels� Harley-Davidson/Corbin rider Jay Springsteen. The riders in the pack gained and lost positions on each lap. King ran as high as second position and dropped back as far as eighth before settling into second on lap 18. King dropped back to third when he was passed by Murphree on lap 22, and then to fourth when Carr got by on lap 23. But the Screamin� Eagle rider pushed his Harley-Davidson XR750 past Carr on lap 24, and played the draft perfectly to come across the finish line second. Murphree was shuffled back to fifth place behind Carr and Springsteen on the last lap.
Second place on the Du Quoin mile earned King 19 points and moved him up to twelfth in final season points. King�s other two podium results included a win in the spring race at the Springfield Mile in Springfield, Ill., and a third at Farley Speedway in Farley, Iowa.
