Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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FLAT TRACK PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS 11-12 / OCTOBER 3-4, 2020 DIXIE SPEEDWAY / WOODSTOCK, GEORGIA P66 WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ANDREA WILSON A nyone who knows the sport of American Flat Track knows that Jared Mees is a fierce competitor. But just in case anyone was questioning whether or not the multi-time champ was in it to win it, Mees answered with an emphatic yes at the Atlanta Short Track doubleheader in Woodstock, Georgia. The five-time premier class champion fought tooth and nail to come out on top in two very fierce battles in the AFT SuperT- wins mains. His rival Briar Bauman on the other Indian Motorcycle Progres- sive Insurance FTR750 not only swept the past two doubleheader weekends, he absolutely domi- nated the competition. That stung a bit for Mees. Not only because Bauman started to build a nice lead in the championship, but because Mees had what he considers two bad weekends with third- and fourth-place finishes in his home state at Williams Grove and a pair of fourths last weekend in Texas. "I'm all right with a third every once in a while, but I just feel like for myself and my team and ev- erything, we're expected to be on the podium every race weekend," Mees said. "I always say third place for me is a bad night, and a fourth place for me is terrible, especially two in a row on a track that I know we could be dominant at. Briar rallied off some really good race wins there. So, I wanted to come in and basically shake his tree and get the job done." So far this season, most of the AFT SuperTwins mains have been pretty anticlimactic, but not at Dixie Speedway. Friday's main event had multiple challengers and plenty of fireworks. Happy Trails Racing's Jeffrey Carver, Jr. grabbed the holeshot from the second row, but a little over a lap later Coolbeth- Nila Racing's Sammy Halbert took the lead. A few laps later and it was a showdown between Halbert and Mees, reminiscent of their 2017 battle that ended with Halbert on the ground on the front straight. This time no one went down, but Mees was run up the track and knocked into the hale bales. That didn't deter Mees, who kept fight- ing, but then there were three. The defending AFT SuperTwins Cham- pion caught up to the frontrunners. When Mees made his pass for the lead with seven minutes on the clock, Bauman slipped under both of them in the next corner. Jared Mees (9) found his mojo at the Atlanta Short Track doubleheader. He won both nights and put himself right back into title contention. PHOTO: SCOTT HUNTER