With the checkers literally just feet away after 25 hard-charging and rousing laps, Willie McCoy gets ready to celebrate by taking the win at the Springfield Mile I on his #59 Harley-Davidson of Wausau/Independence H-D/Tucker Rocky/Arai-sponsored H-D XR750 at round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.
Wild Willie took the lead when it counted, coming off of turn 4 on the last lap as he split 2nd-place finisher Jake Johnson on the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/Arai-backed XR750 and 3rd-place finisher Bryan Smith on the #42 Howerton Motorsports/Eaken Racing Kawasaki/Midwest Performance Hardware/Guts Wear-sponsored Kawasaki 650R-based mount, in Smith's debut on the Ricky Howerton-built and Howerton and Jeff Gordon-prepped machine.
Smith led 15 of the 25 laps, 5th-place finisher Johnny Lewis on the #10 Scott Powersports Kawasaki led at the stripe for 8 laps, with Johnson and McCoy taking the other go-arounds, and McCoy's being the one that counted at the end of the day. 4th-place finisher Jared Mees follows them to the line on the #9 Rogers Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Saddlemen/National Cycle-backed XR750.
McCoy's margin of victory was .017 seconds over defending 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Johnson, .033 seconds over Smith and .233 seconds over 4th-placed Jammin' Jared, last year's Springfield Mile I winner.
With Lucas Oil/MavTV announcer Kenny Sargent getting ready to do the interviews on the podium after the Springfield Mile I, 3rd-place finisher Bryan Smith looks down at the #59 Harley-Davidson of Wausau XR750 that winner Willie McCoy had just ridden to victory in his second-in-a-row at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval.
And in a show of true sportsmanship and camaraderie that is rarely seen in any other sport other then The Rolling Thunder Show of AMA Pro Flat Track, 2nd-place finisher Jake Johnson gives a big hug and grin to his friend and fellow racer, Willie McCoy.
This picture truly helps to illustrate the family closeness and nature that is found in the greatest sport on wheels in the world and represents the friendly atmosphere that surrounds this great sport. When a 2-Time and defending AMA Grand National Champion can smile from ear-to-ear and hug the guy that just beat him to the win in one of the biggest sporting events of the year in AMA Pro Flat Track racing, it really shows the family-friendly nature that is encountered throughout the pit area and track at these events.
A big congrats to Willie McCoy and to the rest of the great competitors in The Rolling Thunder Show, who again put it on the line to give us all a great event to see on Sunday, May 27. Round 5 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season sees the series head to the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, OH. for one of the best events and longest-standing dates on the calendar on Saturday, June 30.
You can read the full press release below thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track as we look ahead a little over four weeks for the Lima Half-Mile.
McCoy
Pulls Off Second Springfield Mile Win in Thrilling Last Lap
Fashion
AMA Pro Flat Track Celebrates Memorial
Day Weekend With Action Packed On-Track Action
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (May
27, 2012) - The Illinois Motorcycle
Dealers Association (IMDA) welcomed AMA Pro Flat Track as the AMA Pro
Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by
Motorcycle-Superstore.com and Lucas Oil rolled into the Illinois State
Fairground for round four of the 19 race season.
The 90+ degree Memorial Day
Weekend continued with racing just as hot as the bullet-fast Springfield Mile.
When the final checkered flag fell on the 25-lap National, it was flat track
veteran Willie McCoy slipping his Harley-Davidson of Wausau / Independence
Harley-Davidson backed XR750 across the line first.
After waiting "forever" to win
his first National, this win makes it two Springfield Mile wins in a row, as
McCoy used the same strategy last year: Lead the only lap that counts, the last
one. "This is our 'Indy 500,' it's the
race to win," said McCoy. "After I won it last year, I thought about retiring,
but then I thought maybe I could just win it again. I just rode as hard I could
around the outside and was able to pull it off again."
Willie McCoy takes his wife and kids on a victory lap after winning his second Springfield Mile in a row during round 4 of the 2012 season on Sunday, May 27. AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.
McCoy's margin of victory was a
scant 17 hundredths of a second over Zanotti Racing / Schaeffer's
Harley-Davidson's Jake Johnson. The defending AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance
Grand National Champion, Johnson, edged Bryan Smith who was on the maiden voyage
of the Howerton Motorsports / Eaken Racing Kawasaki by another 16 hundredths of
a second.
Smith led most of the laps after
taking the lead on lap 10. He led 15 laps with a five-rider pack on his heels.
"A rookie mistake I guess," said Smith. "I tried to go to the bottom off four on
that last lap and it just didn't work." Smith had assumed the lead on lap
10 when he passed the dueling brothers-in-law, Johnny Lewis on the Scott
Powersports / Saddlemen Seats backed Kawasaki and Jake Johnson.
Also in the mix was the Factory
Harley-Davison of Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. and the Rogers Racing / Blue Springs
Harley-Davidson of Jared Mees. The mad dash to the finish line was McCoy,
Johnson, Smith, Mees and Lewis all within 25 hundredths of the lead. Coolbeth
was just outside after being bumped off the groove on the last lap.
A day after the red flag-marred
TT race, today saw only one. Unfortunately it came in the AMA Pro
Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Expert Main Event, as four
riders fell in the first turn of the race. South East Harley-Davidson-backed
Sammy Halbert, Global Products / Harley-Davidson Motor Company's Nichole Cheza,
Memphis Shades' Robbie Pearson and Werner-Springsteen Racing's Brandon Robinson
all hit the ground.
Halbert and Cheza were done for
the day with Robinson and Pearson restarting, although neither would finish the
race. Jethro Halbert (Goodwin Racing /
Drew-Massa Trans), Shawn Baer (Baer Racing Products / KB5), Jeff Carver (Kiesow
Racing / Hall's Cycles) and Stevie Bonsey (Dodge Brothers / Alpinstars) rounded
out the top ten.
AMA Pro
Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles
The highly competitive AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles 16-lap main was another barn burner and once again the victor led only the last lap. Team Cunningham Racing / Schillers Tree Service's Jake Cunningham had been in fifth place on the white flag lap, but shot his Yamaha to the front and edged Zakk Palmer (Double Dick Bandits / Western Hills Honda) by 5 thousandths of a second. Crowd favorite Shayna Texter and her DFW Honda / RLT Racing / Herr's backed Honda, Performance Cycle & Dyno / Mack Daddy Racing's Stephan Vanderkuur and Montgomeryville Cycle Center's Jake Shoemaker rounded out the top five all within 15 hundredths of a second of the leader.
Coy Mathews (King's Kustoms),
John Long (Powered by Clark) and Eric Stump (Markbilt Race Bikes) filled out the
lead pack, all with a shot at the win.
Point Standings and
Year-End Award Updates
In the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles point standings, Gerit Callies retains his lead despite not qualifying for the main event. Cunningham's win pushes him into second over Ryan Wells and the absent Hayden Gillim, who won today's AMA Pro Road Racing race final in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport class at Miller Motorsports Park. Jason Isennock moves into fifth over Hunter Taylor.
The AMA Pro Harley-Davidson
Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com and
Lucas Oil point standings are now led by Jared Mees, as he holds a 14 point
advantage over Matt Weidman. Johnny Lewis and Jake Johnson are tied just one
point behind Weidman. Kenny Coolbeth sits in fifth, seven points behind Johnson
and Lewis.
The MotoBatt "Hard
Charger" Award for the Springfield Mile went to Stevie Bonsey, who
started in 18th position and battled his way to finish 10th in the Expert Main
Event.
Johnny Lewis now takes the lead
in the Cortech "Performance Edge Award" year-end points fund
chase over Sammy Halbert and Henry Wiles.
Kenny Coolbeth continues to lead
the Sunoco "Go the Distance Award" year-end points fund chase
by having logged 208 laps for 103 miles. Bryan Smith sits in second place with
203 laps and 101.5 miles and Jared Mees in third at 202 laps and 100 miles. The
"Go the Distance Award" is given to the Expert rider that covers the most
distance during the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track season.
In AMA Pro
Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles, Wyatt Maguire leads the Sunoco "Go the Distance Award" with 139 laps,
accumulating 65 miles. Jason Isennock is in second with 134 laps and 64.25 miles
and Eric Stump in third with 109 laps and 64
miles.
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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.
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