But for one of the challeng-
ers to usurp the throne from the
reigning king, their hopes and
plans hinged on a substandard
weekend performance on the
part of Mees.
Instead, he did the opposite,
all but extinguishing his oppo-
nents' hopes in Friday night's
Mission Volusia Half-Mile Finale I
with an exclamation point. Mees
rode around the outside of Bau-
man in the race's final corner
to steal away second place and
further extend his points margin
over his three title rivals.
The only rider to outclass him
on that night was Mission Roof
Systems' Jarod Vanderkooi, who
at last earned his maiden premier-
class win after coming up just
short in several previous attempts.
That development placed
Mees in a position where he
pretty much only had to avoid
complete disaster on Saturday.
If he only managed to keep
himself healthy enough to throw
a leg over his machine to start
the night's main, yet another title
was all but assured.
That disaster was teased in his
semifinal, when Mees hit a bump
and went airborne Peoria-style,
front wheel high in the air and
his bike returning to the ground
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 18, 2022 P63
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