Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 13, 2013 was working compared to everybody else, then when he went by me, he went on the inside and just two-wheeled it right through the middle, kept up his momentum and got right back on the gas. I was like, 'Man, that's how he's making that happen?' I let him do his thing for a couple of laps and then I started copying what he was doing. Regardless, he's probably a little faster over the jump, but in the corners I was doing the same thing he was doing and I found that we just stood there. So he actually taught me a little bit about Peoria today." Full-time road racer, part-time flat tracker JD Beach turned in his best career Peoria finish with a third. It marked only his second career Grand National podium. "I got a bad start and had to work my way up to third," Beach explained. "I actually saw Henry the whole race, which is pretty awesome. Brad was right in front of me and I was trying to catch him a little bit, but to walk away in third place is not too bad." After his stellar start, Russell eventually finished fourth. It was his best Grand National finish in three years. Russell held off a SPENCER GETS HIS FIRST Rodney Spencer Jr., won the twice red-flagged Pro Singles final aboard his Mack Daddy Racing Honda. It marked Spencer's first Pro Singles win. Spencer held off an amazing charge through the field by Dan Bromley. Bromley earlier crashed over the jump while leading the race, and had to start from the back of the field after the red flag. He made a mad dash through traffic on the hard-to-pass track to second. All of this after suffering what appeared to be a broken pinky on his left hand and broken thumb on his right in his crash. Justin Jones finished third in only his second Pro Singles appearance. "The bike was working great all day," Spencer said. "So going out to the main event I had a lot of confidence. I knew if we could get a good start and get out front that Stephen Vanderkuur (1) leads eventual winner Rodney Spencer Jr (74z), Justin Jones (19B) and the rest of the Pro Singles pack. we'd definitely be tough. I didn't get a great start at first; I made some moves. When Dan got off there that was a scary one. I just got into second. Once I got the lead I was ready for the checkered flag to come out." With his victory Spencer moved up to third in the Pro Singles standings with 80 points. Wyatt Maguire and Ryan Wells are tied atop the class standings with 93. P59 Briefly... Wiles on the Lloyd Brothers squad. "I think it's going to be a benefit for us," Lloyd said. "To not have Jake in these races is a bad thing for the series and we accessed out resources and I think we have just enough to finish the year with two riders. Henry's doing fantastic, but we're hoping that with Jake we get a little more track time with the Ducati and get it sorted a little faster. Jake will be on the Ducatis and Henry will have his choice of the Ducati or Harley." Peoria's famous jump was especially rough on riders this year. Some riders were vocal saying that ruts and grooves on the runup to the jump upset the bikes and caused a lot of crashes. "There's a high ridge that runs all the way up the launch," Jeffrey Carver, Jr. said. "It's causing the bikes to launch a little early I think and making it tough to figure out your line." Sammy Halbert was the most notable rider knocked out by a crash over the jump, but several others ended their day after a bad landing. Jon Goodwin's weekend came to an end with a bad crash there. Friends reported he suffered a concussion in his crash. Pro Singles riders CJ Lowder and Kolby Carlile were injured on the jump as well. Jeffery Lowery, who recently won the AMA Horizon Award, made his Pro Singles debut at Peoria and scored a very respectable sixth on his Englehart Racing Honda. "I jumped the start in my heat race, then from the fourth row made it continued on next page

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