The celebrations are in full-swing at round 6 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series at the Springfield Mile on May 29. Event winner Jared Mees had just taken his #9 Rogers Lake/Blue Springs H-D/Lucas Oil/Saddlemen-sponsored Harley-Davidson XR-750 to the win at the legendary Illinois State Fairgrounds oval, for what was his first main event win in almost four years, and his first win at Springfield in close to a decade of racing in the Expert ranks.
The 2009 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Twins Series Champion is in the process of getting a beer-bath by 3rd place finisher (and defending AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion) Jake Johnson, who had just followed Mees and runner-up Sammy Halbert #7 home late in the day at the rain-delayed event. Mees' tuner, Brent Armbruster, can be seen looking over the celebration just behind the winning Rogers Lake Racing XR.
Jammin Jared seems to have gotten on somewhat of a roll after his mile win at Springfield. The next afternoon he came in 2nd to winner Johnson at the Rodeo Arena TT event, and then less then two weeks later cruised home to the win at the first-ever event held at the Hartford Motor Speedway at Hartford, MI. on June 11. His run of great finishes in the last three events has helped him to jump from 5th in the overall point standings to 3rd (141 points), just 17 points in arrears to current championship leader Halbert (158 points), with Johnson in the 2nd position (149 points) after 8 of 22-scheduled rounds on the 2011 calendar.
Mees has been the model of consistency throughout the last several years, and especially so during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Until his win at the Memorial Day Weekend at Springfield, he may not have won a race since July of '07, but his appearances on the podium and strong runs in the top 5 have been steady, ready and smooth. With his current form moving him up to the top step of the box more frequently, the rest of the field will need to bring even more of an 'A'-game to keep him from adding to his '09 Twins Championship.
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Mees Unmatched in Michigan: AMA Pro Flat Track Round 8
HARTFORD, MI (June 13, 2011) - Round 8 of the AMA Pro Racing Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship came to Michigan's beautiful Hartford Motor Speedway-home of the "Wicked Half-Mile"-last weekend, and even powerful rain storms in advance of the event couldn't stop the banked oval from being ready to go come race day.
Rogers Lake Racing/Blue Springs Harley-Davidson's Jared Mees was ready, too, and the former AMA Pro Twins Champion ran away with the 25-lap National, proving he's on a serious hot streak. After struggling early in the year, Mees turned in two wins and a second in just the last three rounds.
"After the California races, I decided I was just going to have fun and win races," said Mees. "I'm not even going to think about points. I was doing pretty good at the Outlaw races, but now it's coming together at the Nationals, too."
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Jared Mees on his #9 Rogers Lake Racing H-D XR-750 en route to his win at the Hartford Motor Speedway Half-Mile on June 11. AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.
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Scott Powersports' Johnny Lewis got the holeshot on his Kawasaki and led the first six laps with Mees glued to his rear wheel. Mees was able to power by on lap seven going into Turn 3, and the race for the lead was over as Mees instantly began to gap the rest of the field. Lewis had Kenny Coolbeth and his Harley-Davidson Motor Company-backed machine to contend with for a few laps, but he couldn't hold off Coolbeth for long, and the latter took possession of second for good on lap eleven.
"When I got into second Jared was about half a straightaway ahead, and I thought I might be able to catch him," said Coolbeth. "But he just kept pulling away." Mees crossed the line with more than a 3-second win margin.
The day's fast qualifier, Fasthog.com/American Harley-Davidson's Bryan Smith, was able to secure the last podium slot on lap thirteen. Lewis, meanwhile, dropped back nearly another three seconds into a six-rider brawl for fourth with Lewis, Matt Weidman (White's Harley-Davidson), Chris Carr (American Motorcyclist/Dallas Fort Worth Honda), Jake Johnson (Zanotti Racing), Sammy Halbert (Kings Kustoms / LZ Racing), and Jimmy Wood (Southland Racing).
At the end it was Carr taking the spot on lap twenty-one. Current series points-leader Halbert worked his way around Johnson and Weidman for a hard-earned sixth. Defending AMA Pro Grand National Champion Johnson and his fading brakes held on for an eighth-place finish, just ahead of Wood.
In a preview of things to come, Mees backed up his fast heat time with the Dash for Cash win and the $1,000, picking up the five points that go with it. Johnny Lewis was second, with Heat 2 winner Jimmy Wood third.
Despite the two points Halbert was able to pick up on Johnson, Mees maxed out on points and gained sixteen on Halbert. Heading into Round 9, only seventeen points separate the top three AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship contenders.
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3rd place finisher Bryan Smith, Hartford event winner Jared Mees, and runner-up Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. celebrate on the podium at round 8 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series at Hartford, MI. AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.
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The Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles main turned into a two-rider war as series points leaders Gerit Callies (Vortex/O'Neal) and Mikey Avila (Digger 57/M.E.H. Corp) fought it out. Callies held the point early on, but gave way to current points leader Avila on lap eleven of the sixteen-lap event.
Weirbach Racing's Mikey Martin, Bell Helmets/Teknic Leathers' Hayden Gillim, and Scott Powersports' Jake Shoemaker had a great race for fourth, finishing in that order.
The AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship next heads for the Lima Half-Mile at Ohio's Allen Country Fairgrounds on Saturday, June 25. For tickets and information, visit www.ohionationalchampionship.net or call 419 991 1491.
To be a part of the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship, visit us at www.amaproracing.com/ft and join us on www.facebook.com/AMAProFlatTrackSeries and www.twitter.com/AMAProFlatTrack.
| AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. For additional information contact: AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com |
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