American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 243 October 2019 | Page 18

Mees in Springfield Mile Win Double
Defending AFT Twins presented by
Vance & Hines Champion Jared Mees
(No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) made it four for
four in AFT Mile competition in 2019
when he scooped fiercely contested
wins in both the season's Springfield
Mile Labor Day weekend races at the
Illinois State Fairgrounds on August
31st and September 2nd.
His last-corner 0.239 second victory in
the Springfield Mile I saw him see off
the 2018 Springfield Mile I winner
Jeffrey Carver Jr. (No. 23 Roof Systems
of Dallas/Indian of Metro Milwaukee
FTR750), following a two-rider duel
for the win from the start. The pair
immediately broke free from the pack
at the start and subsequently waged
a 25-mile test of skill and tactics.
Championship leader Briar Bauman
(No. 14 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) finished in third
0.122 seconds ahead of
brother/teammate Bronson Bauman
(No. 37 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) in fourth, and
Bryan Smith (No. 4 Crosley
Brands/Howerton Motorsports
Kawasaki Ninja 650) finished fifth.
In the AFT Production Twins, fresh off
his clutch victory in the previous
night's Springfield Short Track Singles,
Dalton Gauthier (No. 122 Black Hills
Harley-Davidson XG750R Rev X)
steamrolled the competition for a
second successive class win, with
Kolby Carlile (No. 136 Estenson
Racing Yamaha MT-07) second and
Lima Half-Mile winner Chad Cose (No.
49 Parkinson Bros Racing/Ritchie
Reynolds Kawasaki Ninja 650) third.
Second ranked Ryan Varnes (No. 68
Varnes Racing/RoyBuilt Kawasaki
Ninja 650) took fourth by 0.002
seconds from fifth placed Kevin
Stollings (No. 999 Roof
Systems/Motion Pro/Hinson Clutches
Kawasaki Ninja 650).
Two nights later (after a 24-hour
weather delay) Mees won a final lap
dash for the checkered flag in a
Springfield Mile II thriller that saw ten
riders in contention for victory at the
final corner. The multi-time defending
AFT Twins Champion had started in
last position from Row 4 following
bike issues in his Semi and in the end
outlasted title rival Briar Bauman (No.
14 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) by just 0.083
seconds for the 14th Mile win of
Mees, tying him with Jay Springsteen
for sixth all-time on the big tracks. It
also brought him within a single race
of Bauman in the evolving 2019 AFT
Twins championship race, as he's now
just 25 points back (280-255)
heading into the season's final three
18
Photos: Scott Hunter/
American Flat Track
Mees Overcomes Carver in Springfield Mile I shootout
races.
Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Indian
Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance
FTR750) came through in third to lock
out the podium for the Indian
Wrecking Crew for the first time in
2019. In a race that saw the entire top
ten finishing within 0.653 seconds of
the win, Rookie Brandon Price (No.
192 Roof Systems of Dallas TX/DPC
Racing Indian FTR750) took fourth,
with Brandon Robinson (No. 44
Kennedy Racing/Armbruster Racing
Indian FTR750) fifth.
Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Harley-
Davidson Factory Flat Track Team
XG750R Rev X) was sixth, with factory
Harley-Davidson teammate Jarod
Vanderkooi (No. 20 Harley-Davidson
Factory Flat Track Team XG750R Rev
X) eight, with Henry Wiles seventh
(No. 17 Bandit Industries/DPC
Racing/Wilco Racing Indian FTR750).
Davis Fisher (No. 67 Bob Lanphere
Beaverton Motorcycles/Dick Wall 60
Indian FTR750) and Jeffrey Carver Jr.
(No. 23 Roof Systems of Dallas/Indian
of Metro Milwaukee FTR750) rounded
out the top ten.
With three rounds to go, Briar
Bauman (4 wins) heads Jared Mees (6
wins) by 25 points, with Bronson
Bauman (1 win) 40 points behind
Mees, but 31 points ahead of fourth
placed Jeffrey Carver Jr., with Brandon
Robinson currently 5th in the
championship standings to give the
FTR750 a top five lock-out at this
stage, with the Indian Wrecking Crew
teammates populating a potential top
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - OCTOBER 2019
three sweep for Indian Motorcycle
Racing.
Having already wrapped up a third
consecutive
Manufacturer's
Championship this year, team
operations for the Bauman brothers
have been masterminded by S&S
Cycle President Paul Langley, with
Dave Zanotti as their crew chief, Kenny
Tolbert as Mees' crew chief and Dean
Young as Wrecking Crew team
manager.
In the second 15-lap AFT Production
Twins class race of the weekend, Kolby
Carlile (No. 136 Estenson Racing
Yamaha MT-07) materialized from the
pack late to claim his first-career AFT
Production Twins Main Event victory
in dramatic fashion.
In a race that saw a restart for Dalton
Gauthier (No. 122 Black Hills Harley-
Davidson XG750R Rev X), who had to
start on the back row when his bike
expired in his Semi having mechanical
problems again with three laps to go,
teammate James Rispoli (No. 71 Black
Hills Harley-Davidson XG750R Rev X)
took second just 0.111 seconds
behind Carlile.
Cody Johncox (No. 196 Sunnyside
Cycle/Luczak Racin' Yamaha MT-07)
was next in line in a pack of riders that
saw five men take the checkered flag
within 0.554 seconds of the win. He
finished 0.082 seconds behind Rispoli
to complete the podium, with Cory
Texter (No. 65 G&G Racing/Holeshot
Powersports Yamaha MT-07) fourth
and Morgen Mischler (DPC Racing,
Racing Unlimited Kawasaki Ninja
650) fifth. Texter's advantage has now
been reduced to 23 points (148-125)
over Carlile with three races
remaining.
After the Williams Grove Half-Mile
presented by Appalachian Harley-
Davidson in Mechanicsburg, Pa., on
Saturday, September 7, the series
heads for the Minnesota Half-Mile at
Minneapolis on September 21st
before the season's finale a week later
at East Rutherford, NJ., with the
Meadowlands Mile on September 28.
www.americanflattrack.com
Mees stuns in Springfield
Mile II thriller
www.AMDchampionship.com