BY CHRIS MARTIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AFT/KRISTEN LASSEN
T
he Chicago Half-Mile had
clear potential to be one of
those critical rounds that
hindsight would later prove to
be the tipping point of the 2021
Grand National Championship,
in whatever direction it's des-
tined to take.
Despite being two-and-half
months removed from the sea-
son opener, the Mission SuperT-
wins title fight was led by a rider
few were ready to take seriously
as a legitimate championship
threat, a two-time defending
champion who hadn't won a
main event in his previous eight
attempts, a pre-season champi-
onship favorite recovering from a
left knee injury, and a pilot who
had won three of the last five
races, yet no one could decide
was a contender or pretender
when it came to the end-of-sea-
son honors.
The series' first stop at Route
66 Speedway's "Dirty O" Half-
Mile in 14 years cleared things
up just a bit, providing addi-
tional support to the wide-held
assumption that JD Beach's
Estenson Yamaha MT-07 DT is
still a finickier machine com-
pared to the standard-bearing
Indian FTR750s when it comes
to setup. That alone makes it a
tall order for Beach to routinely
compete at the front against a
field stacked with Indians, even
if he's already demonstrated
that he's a threat to win on ovals
and TTs alike when everything is
clicking.
That reality check left the real
intrigue to a three-way clash in-
volving factory Indian pilots Briar
Bauman and Jared Mees, along
with Mission Roof Systems'
Brandon Robinson.
All three factored heavily at the
front in a chaotic five-way scrap
for the lead, that also included
holeshotting pole-winner Bron-
son Bauman and Robinson's
teammate, Jarod Vanderkooi.
Their early shootout was intense
as an evolving racetrack saw
numerous lines attempted and
rewarded.
P94
ROUND 4 / MAY 29, 2021
THE DIRT OVAL AT ROUTE 66 SPEEDWAY / JOLIET, ILLINOIS
PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FL AT TRACK
FLAT TRACK
BRIAR BAUMAN
CHALKS UP FIRST
WIN OF 2021
BAUMAN
GETS
ON THE
BOARD
