KOPP WINS GRAND NATIONAL HALF-MILE AT BEDFORD SPEEDWAY

Afternoon rains delayed the start of the first Grand National event ever held on the clay track at Bedford Speedway, but the surface was put into good shape and practice began about 8 p.m., with qualifying held under a shortened program. Kopp jumped to the front on a re-start of the 25-lap main after Suzuki rider Jake Johnson crashed on the first lap of the original start. Glassman/LZ Racing rider Sammy Halbert followed Kopp in second place, followed by Suzuki rider JR Schnabel, Coolbeth and Smith. Those four riders spaced out ahead of the pack with Kopp holding a comfortable lead. Halbert’s strong ride came to an end when he pulled off the track on lap 10. Coolbeth and Smith, who charged back into contention after almost crashing early in the race, blew past Schanbel together on lap 20, and that order held to the finish.

“My bike was so good tonight I was able to pretty much do whatever I wanted out there,” Kopp said. “I never looked back and didn’t realize I had a straightaway lead until I took the checkered flag.”

A strong race by Coolbeth preserved his points lead in the 2008 AMA Grand National Twins series, but Kopp moves from third to second and is now just 14 points behind the defending champion. After three events, Coolbeth has 65 points, followed by Kopp with 51, Smith with 50 and Chris Carr with 42.

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