Bryan Smith Takes 4th Win of the Season & Tightens Battle for Championship at AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Charlotte Half-Mile

Bryan Smith made it a clean sweep at the Don Tilley Memorial Charlotte Half-Mile last night taking his #42 Crosley Brands/Howerton Motorsports/Kawasaki-sponsored EX650 to the win last night after setting fast time, fastest heat race win and taking the Dash for Cash win and extra bonus point. In the process, Flyin' Bryan also took Kawasaki to their third half-mile win and won his fourth National main of the season (Springfield Mile I, Sacto Mile, DuQuoin Mile).

Championship points leader Jared Mees was dealt a blow to his huge 29-point championship lead heading into round 10 of the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Harley-Davidson presented by Vance & Hines event when he suffered a mechanical on the penultimate lap of the main, dropping him to 17th-place in the final tally. Mees now leads Smith in the hunt for the 2015 AMA Grand National Championship battle 158-152 points, just six slim points separating the two Michigan rivals with just four round remaining on the season.

In the shot above, Smith puts the #42 Crosley Brands/Howerton Motorsports/Villa-Esparza/Kawasaki-backed EX650-based 750 through it's paces during the second qualifying round at the Lima Half-Mile on June 28, 2015.

Lima was where Mees had taken over the championship lead over early-season leader Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. and had most recently extended that lead at the Peoria TT two weeks ago with a stellar run to 2nd-place over 11-time Peoria champ Henry Wiles, while Smith was relegated to an 11th-place finish in Thunder Valley.

Coolbeth finished in 2nd-place on the night on the #2 Zanotti Racing XR750 at Charlotte, with Sammy Halbert, still wearing the #69 in honor of his recently departed brother, Jethro, rounding out the podium for 3rd-place on the BriggsAuto.com XR. Halbert kept his streak of being the only rider to finish inside the top-10 all season with his run from a 13th-place starting spot on the grid from the third row to his 3rd-place finish, and he stands third in the championship battle with 140 points, 12 in arrears of Smith.

Of note was Henry Wiles on the #17 Zanotti Racing entry. After finishing in the 5th-place spot in the first heat, The Hammer was forced to race semi race #1 in order to qualify for the main and keep his 8th-place spot in the championship standings intact. However, a finish of 6th-place in the semi would have kept him out of the main if not for use of his Twins provisional on the year. Starting from the fourth row in the 19th spot, Wiles carved his way through traffic during the 25-lap National main and wound up finishing in the 7th-place position on the evening, surely earning himself the MotoBatt Hard Charger Award and also putting on one heckuva show for the fans in attendance and watching online via FansChoice.TV. Great run Henry!

Brandon Robinson took the #44 Castrol/Triumph Bonneville to a 4th-place finish, his best effort since his near win and 2nd-place finish at the Sacto Mile in late May, and Rookie of the Year contender/lock Jarod Vanderkooi, riding the #17F Don's Kawasaki, rounded out the top-5 and also earned himself his best finish of the season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway facility with his second top-10 of the year.

For full results, you can click here thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track, and the points championship battle breakdown can be found here also thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track.

Next Sunday the series heads to the Illinois State Fairgrounds for the Labor Day Weekend running of the Springfield Mile II on September 6, the final Midwest round of the year before the series wraps up in Delaware, Calistoga and Las Vegas.

Check out the full press release below thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track, and be sure to keep tuned into the great action in The Rolling Thunder Show as the last four rounds of the year are guaranteed to make for a great horse race between the championship contenders. The greatest racing series on two wheels in the world never disappoints and it will surely only get hotter and faster in the coming rounds!

Bryan Smith revives championship aspirations, wins Don Tilley Memorial Charlotte Half-Mile

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Aug. 29, 2015) - Things got very interesting Saturday night at the Don Tilley Memorial Charlotte Half-Mile, Round 10 of the 2015 AMA Pro Flat Track season, as Bryan Smith put together an extraordinary performance to earn his fourth Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines main event victory of the season. Smith's victory is compelling on many levels, as Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines points leader Jared Mees suffered a costly bike malfunction on the final lap as he was challenging Smith for the lead. The incident forced Mees from the race and left him watching in disgust as he witnessed his rival cross the finish line and swipe the elusive checkered flag.   Kenny Coolbeth was next in line after Mees went down at the beginning of lap 25, and the No. 2 Zanotti Racing Harley-Davidson pilot claimed his second runner-up finish in the last three rounds. Coolbeth's second-place finish was a nice rebound after his struggles last round at the Peoria TT, and the three-time Grand National Champion now sits fourth in the point standings.         Bryan Smith made it a clean sweep at the Charlotte Half-Mile on the #42 Crosley/Howerton Motorsports/Kawasaki-sponsored EX650 and in the process tightened up the championship battle after points leader Jared Mees suffered a mechanical on the last lap of the 25-lap National main at the Charlotte Motor Speedway half-mile. AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.           "That was some intense racing," said Smith. "That's about as fast as a motorcycle can go on a Half-Mile and I'm glad we could put on a great race for all of these Charlotte fans. That was everything my bike had, every ounce I had, that was everything. I didn't realize until after the checkered flag that I had gotten away from Kenny (Coolbeth) a little bit, I almost threw it away but I just kept charging and fortunately it was a good end result."   Smith's win and Mees' 17th-place finish created an earthquake in the Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines point standings, as Mees now sits only six markers ahead of the No. 42 Crosley Radio Kawasaki pilot in the standings, 158-152.   The victory was Smith's fourth of the season, and his first time back on the podium since his second-place Indy Mile finish on July 11.   Rounding out the podium with a third-place effort on Saturday night was Sammy Halbert, who now sits third in the points. Halbert started from 13th on the grid and deftly maneuvered his way through traffic aboard the No. 69 Briggs Auto Harley-Davidson to earn his third podium of the season.   Brandon Robinson, aboard the No. 44 Latus Motors Racing Triumph, finished fourth to earn his first top-five finish since the Sacramento Mile on May 30. Robinson sits fifth in the point standings as he heads into the homestretch of the 2015 AMA Pro Flat Track season.  Saddlemen Rookie of the Year frontrunner, Jarod Vanderkooi, put together his finest performance of 2015 aboard the No. 17F Don's Kawasaki machine. Vanderkooi finished fifth at Charlotte and is turning heads during his rookie campaign in the elite Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines class. The rookie now sits 12th in the points. Jake Johnson finished eighth aboard the No. 5 Factory Harley-Davidson on Saturday night. The veteran put together an impressive Heat performance and finished third in the Dash for Cash.   GNC2   In the GNC2 main event, Bronson Bauman took advantage of a staggered restart with 10 laps to go to earn his first career AMA Pro Flat Track win. Bauman completed the stellar victory aboard his No. 30Z Lombardi's Harley-Davidson machine after starting from second on the grid, passing Andrew Luker on the eighth lap and finishing just in front of Davis Fisher. Luker, riding the No. 11Z Kennedy Racing Harley-Davidson, opened up a large lead on the first lap of the race before he saw the red flags fly on lap eight, allowing his competitors back into the race. Though Luker was able to get the holeshot following the restart, he never could gather his momentum back, and he slid all the way back to an eventual fourth place finish. "It feels awesome to get this win," said Bauman. "There was a lot of tough competition and Davis (Fisher) is always running up front. There's so many more, I got a bad start but I started working my way up. We got the red flag and fortunately I got a good start off of that. When I saw the white flag, I was just ear-to-ear saying 'don't mess up, don't mess up,' and then I came around and got the checkered flag for the first time ever." No. 67M Parkinson Brothers Racing Kawasaki competitor Fisher battled hard with the top five on the way to his runner-up result. He'll leave Charlotte with a stranglehold on the GNC2 points lead. Fisher sits 27 points ahead of Bauman in the standings, 157-125.      Rounding out the podium for his best performance of 2015 was Ryan Varnes. The No. 68A Varnes Racing Kawaskai pilot looked impressive all night and edged out a charging Luker on the final lap by .187 seconds. No. 27U Miller Motorsports pilot Jamison Minor rounded out the top five.   Next Up   The stars of AMA Pro Flat Track head to Springfield, Ill., for the Springfield Mile on Sept. 6 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. For tickets and information regarding Round 11, fans are encouraged to visit http://www.illinoismda.com/.  How to Watch:   FansChoice.tv is the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Flat Track events. The site also provides coverage of IMSA's development and single-make series, and NASCAR's touring and weekly series. Catch all the action at http://www.FansChoice.tv. About AMA Pro Flat Track: AMA Pro Flat Track is the world's premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on AMA Pro Flat Track, please visit www.amaproracing.com/ft/, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or live stream the on-track action on FansChoice.tv.

About AMA Pro Racing:   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