New kid does good at Daytona short track
Anything can happen at the Daytona short-track. Nothing is out of the question.
And this year, Mike Rush, an American Suzuki factory support rider out of Gilroy, California, was the answer.
The 19-year-old beat a field of veterans to claim his first win in an AMA Grand National Championship main on the second night of the event double-header.
Rush's biggest move of the race came on the first lap, as he powered out of turn 2 between pole-sitter Kenny Coolbeth and his Suzuki teammate, and second fastest qualifier, Jake Johnson.
"I was up along the groove a little bit, and got some room," Rush said. "Then I caught traction and took off like a rocket."
After that, Rush kept putting down fast laps to keep the pack behind them, and by the mid-point of the race, he had built a sizeable lead.
The only racing left at that point, was for second and fourth. Johnson was trying to get close enough to make a move on Coolbeth, and a bit farther back in fourth and fifth, Chris Carr had his hands full with the third American Suzuki rider J.R. Schnabel.
Although Schnabel ultimately made the pass stick on Carr, Johnson couldn't reel in Coolbeth and had to settle for third.
For Rush, the win wrapped up an incredible start to the season.
"This is a dream come true," Rush said. "This has been my dream since I started racing at four years old."
Perhaps more important, though, Rush's win combined with his second place in Wednesday's night main event gives him the points lead in the AMA Ford Quality Checked GNC Singles series. Johnson, the defending AMA GNC Singles champion, is second in the point standings.
For team manager Dave Burkes, the Daytona performance helped affirm Suzuki's AMA Flat-Track program, which paired Johnson with veteran Schnabel this year and Rush in a factory support role.
"Sweeping this is unbelievable. The whole team did a great job," Burkes said after his support rider gave him another win at Daytona. "I've been keeping an eye on [Rush] since last year. He's the one. He's the next one."
Also running was a B Main, which features riders who didn't qualify for the night program. It saw Joe Eades get out front and hold off a late charge by Doug Lawrence and Aaron King.
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© 2007, American Motorcyclist Association