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| After winning his semi-final round and clinching
second place in points, Carl Baker said he told fellow finalist
Jeff Dobbins that he didn't even care who won. "He told me, 'You
won't be thinking that in 45 minutes'," Baker said after his second
event win of the year. "He was right." |
COX FINISHES ON TOP
A long season of testing, and racing, and testing -- and
sometimes wondering -- finally paid off for IHRA rookie Mark Cox at
Rockingham when he won his first ever Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley final
on a bike that some observers dismissed from the start.
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| Winning his first race should make things
a little easier for Mark Cox when it comes to re-signing primary
sponsor Bojangles Fried Chicken in negotiations this November. |
Cox, a Harley-Davidson dealership owner in Wilkesboro,
NC, rides the only transmission-free, direct-drive bike in the class.
"It's a real challenge to keep the motor loaded with this
combination," he admitted. "But it's been very consistent for us. Running
.40s to .60s is incredible and they said we wouldn't be able to do that,
so that makes winning even better."
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Cox, 43, qualified fourth in the eight-bike field with
a 6.440-second pass at 209.39 mph. He slowed considerably in quarter-
and semi-final wins over teammates Johnny Mancuso and Steve Stordeur,
then faced off against fellow North Carolinian and Harley dealer Ray
Price in the final round.
Both riders left with identical .440 reaction times, but
Cox pulled out to a .208-sec advantage by half-track. The 65-year-old
Price mounted a strong top-end charge, but his engine went sour before
the finish line, allowing Cox to win with a 6.691 at 167.05 mph.
"The weather changes were very challenging for us this
weekend," Cox said afterwards. "To be honest, we ran for the 1/8th mile
and hoped Ray would stumble, and that's exactly what happened."
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