VOLUME 56 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 20, 2019 P71
BY DAVE HOENIG
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE HOENIG/FLAT TRAK FOTOS
I
n the days leading up to the 73rd Peoria TT,
all the buzz was whether or not Henry Wiles
would be able to defend his 14-race win streak
at Peoria. Just 13 days ago, Wiles broke his left
fibula at the Rapid City Half-Mile, but he held out
hope that he would still be able to keep the streak
alive. It was not to be. Unable to race, this left the
door open for a new winner for the first time since
Wiles notched his first win here in 2004.
BRIAR
BAUMAN
STORMS
PEORIA TT
Bauman Brothers
Steal the Show
CAT TO THE RESCUE
For the second year in a row, heavy
rains threatened to end the Peoria TT
before it could start. Just before the
race, teams were scheduled to begin
their pit load, but a sudden storm left
the "Thunder Valley" a muddy mess.
Fortunately, Peoria is the home of
the Caterpillar Equipment Company,
and the CAT operators were able to
save the day with a raceable track.
DUELING SINGLES
LEADERS
With four races remaining in the
AFT Singles season, Dan Bromley's
second-place finish moved him into
a tie with Dalton Gauthier with 216
points. Gauthier holds the tie-breaker
right now with two wins to none for
Bromley. Mikey Rush is still in the hunt
with 202 points. The AFT Twins class
has five races remaining, but time is
running out for defending AFT Twins
Champion Jared Mees to repeat.
Briar Bauman now holds a command-
ing 38-point lead, 243-205. Bronson
Bauman solidified his third-place posi-
tion at 183 points.
FINE TUNING
THE JUMP
Peoria's newly redesigned jump was
being altered and adjusted as late
as Friday night. More changes were
made as the CAT operators, PMC
and AFT worked to recover the track.
The result left riders getting more
"air" than the last few years, and AFT
Singles rider Dawson Schieffer was
the only rider to have a problem. A
hard get-off in the first practice left
the South Dakota rider with a wrist
injury. He was able to return to the
track after a trip to the hospital.
Briefly...
