Cycle News

ROUND 7/AUGUST 11, 2013 PMC RACE PARK/PEORIA, ILLINOIS FLAT TRACK P60 AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP four-rider pack that included Bauman, Stevie Bonsey and Robert Pearson. Defending Grand National champ Jared Mees came home eighth; Castle Rock TT winner Jeffrey Carver, Jr. was ninth; and series contender Smith rounded out the top 10. Six races remain in the series, five of which are Miles. The series next moves to the Indy Mile next week (Saturday, August 17) as part of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP weekend. CN National 1. Henry Wiles (Honda) 2. Brad Baker (KTM) 3. JD Beach (Honda) 4. Shaun Russell (Honda) 5. Briar Bauman (Honda) 6. Stevie Bonsey (Honda) 7. Robert Pearson (Honda) 8. Jared Mees (Honda) 9. Jeffrey Carver Jr. (Honda) 10. Bryan Smith (Honda) My Own Race: 27 ROBERT PEARSON 7TH Robert Pearson has long been a front-runner at Peoria and this year he took seventh on his Weirbach Racing Honda. He was at the tail end of a tight four-rider battle for fourth headed by Shaun Russell. "I didn't get the best starting position," Pearson said. "I made it hard on myself from the second row. We were a little bit better in the main event than we were in the heat race when it was slippery, but still it was pretty tough to pass. I got a couple of guys. At the end I was running with a group, but didn't manage to get any more spots. We came out of here with some points so things could have been worse. Now I look forward to Indy." 23 JEFFREY CARVER, JR. 9TH Jeffrey Carver Jr. couldn't keep the magic going at Peoria after winning his first National at Castle Rock the week before. Still has was pleased with his result on his Mack Daddy Racing entry. "It seemed like the whole front row was side by side going into the first corner," Carver said. "I was on the far outside and was just hanging it out and just getting blasted up high. I didn't really make too many passes and didn't get passed much. Everybody was rolling fast and it was just about the start. I just didn't get that little bit of a jump, but we're so much closer this year than we have been any other year and I think my chances of winning here are really, really good. Every year it's getting better and better." 42 BRYAN SMITH 10TH Bryan Smith figures to be the man to beat in the group of mile races coming up on the schedule. He needed a solid result at Peoria to keep himself in the championship hunt. He didn't do as well as he'd hoped and as a result lost second place in the standings. "I survived that's about it," Briefly... up to seventh," Lowery explained. "That put me on the third row in the main. After a couple of restarts I finished sixth. I couldn't have done it without Thomas Englehart supplying a great bike, and all of the support from Rob Hassay, NGK Spark Plugs, Fly Racing, Advanced Auto Parts, Wimer's Cycle and my family and friends that came out to watch. I'm looking forward to next weekend and the Indy Mile." Smith said. "It was alright, but not what I was looking for. I would have liked to have been in the top five, but I survived and a lot of guys didn't today. I have a lot of fun riding here, but today I just wasn't feeling it. The third lap I had a pretty scary moment over the jump so that kind of freaked me out. I got going pretty good about halfway through and made a couple of passes, but it was just too late. I'm ready for the miles for sure." 14 BRIAR BAUMAN 5TH 28 SHAUN RUSSELL 4TH Briar Bauman scored a top-five result in only his second Peoria Grand National. It marked his best result of the season so far. "I shot underneath Shaun Russell and led two or three laps," Bauman said. "I was trying to push the pace too hard and I started wearing myself out. I let Brad go by and I tried staying with him, but wasn't able to do so. Henry passed me on the outside of the jump and I'm like, 'I'm probably not going to keep this guy's pace,' (laughs). It was a long race it felt like. My bike was really fast, but hard to ride. It was an overall good race. This is my second time here as an expert and I broke last year, so I consider this my first real race here." Shaun Russell shocked everyone when he broke out into the lead of the National and held it for three laps. It was all a bonus for Russell who hadn't raced a National in nearly a year and was just coming to race Peoria for fun. "I love racing Peoria," Russell said. "The track is fun, the people are great. I came out here and had a good bike and had a pretty good day. It's about two weeks short of a year since I raced. I got the holeshot there and had a good thing going. I was maybe looking for a podium. I had a big moment off turn four somewhere around five laps in and lost like three more spots. I pulled the rubber off my left foot peg so that was kind of tough landing off the jump. I was able to pass a few guys back and finished fourth. Just to get a holeshot and lead some laps felt good."

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