A huge swath of riders across
all three classes brandished
Varnes' trademark number 68
during practice and qualifying.
And then, just before opening
ceremonies, the combined field
made a reverse tribute lap in Var-
nes' honor, led by the late rider's
family and girlfriend.
After securing the win later
that evening, Bauman unchar-
acteristically did a burnout while
pointing to the heavens above.
He said, "It was an emotional
past few days with Ryan's family.
The whole flat-track family is so
close. There was a weird kind
of stigma today. I never got too
excited or too down on anything
because we're fortunate to be
here, right?
"I felt good on the bike and
knew we could do it, but that
spark wasn't there yet. It finally
came in the Dash for Cash. The
bike felt incredible, and I got the
holeshot and won. And then the
main was really good, too.
"I want to say thank you to ev-
eryone who makes this possible:
The fans and the families who
race in this series, who aren't
making money. Some of us get
paid a lot to do it, but we all
search for the same feeling, and
I'm starting to learn that pretty
quickly."
While Bauman rediscovered
that spark under difficult cir-
cumstances, it's now Mees who
looks somewhat less than invin-
cible. For the second consecu-
tive race, the defending champ
was reeled in and ultimately
pushed down to the final step
on the podium by the resurgent
Vanderkooi, who did his good
friend Bauman another favor by
finishing between the two for a
second consecutive round.
Mees still leads the champion-
ship fight, but following a third-
straight third-place finish and
two-straight Bauman wins, that
advantage has been reduced to
just eight points (173-165), with the
momentum having shifted as the
ROUND 9 / JULY 16, 2022
PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY / PORT ROYAL, PENNSYLVANIA
P82
FLAT TRACK I PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
Jarod Vanderkooi was second on the night for the second race in a row. He is currently sixth in points.
