VOL. 55 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 21, 2018 P71
BY DAVE HOENIG
PHOTOGRAPHY BY FLAT TRAK FOTOS
I
n so many ways it was not the typical
Peoria TT, other than the oppres-
sive humidity and the race winner.
American Flat Track came to the
beautiful Peoria Motorcycle Club's
Race Park only to find the half-mile TT
course a sea of mud, after heavy rains
on Thursday night. The Peoria Motor-
cycle Club and AFT, with great help
from Caterpillar Inc., were able to get
the track race ready for the 14th race
of 2018.
Not to disappoint his legion of fans,
Henry Wiles (Bandit Industries/Wilco
Racing/Willy Built, Kawasaki Ninja
650) again proved why he is known
in these parts as "King Henry." He
worked his way to the front of the 25-
lap AFT Twins main and captured his
14th Peoria TT in a row.
It certainly was not an easy task, as
Wiles was forced to overcome a poor
start and work his way to the front. "I
obviously didn't get the start. I think I
was in fourth," said Wiles. "I was able
to make some passes quickly. It was
interesting, I did some things that I
hadn't done all day, probably have
never done, but felt like I needed to
do. I did them and it worked out well."
Briar Bauman (Zanotti Racing/Roof
Systems/Western Powersports, Indian
Scout FTR750) led the 18-rider field
into turn one. "I got a good start," said
Bauman. "Almost too good of a start, I
was freaking out." Bauman held about
a bike-length lead over Jake Johnson
(Estenson Racing/McCandless Truck
Center, Indian Scout FTR750), Mick
Kirkness (Harley-Davidson of Salina/
Young Henry's Brewing, Harley-David-
