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ROUND 8/AUGUST 17, 2013 INDIANA STATE FAIRGROUNDS/INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA FLAT TRACK P64 AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP second. I thought it was a battle between me and him and then all of a sudden Brandon poked it off in there going into three. I wasn't able to get by him before the start-finish line like I was Jared." Robinson said Indy this year was a wild race that ended up somehow falling in his favor at the end. "The whole race was crazy for me," said the early season points leader. "I got such a bad start and found myself ninth or tenth on the first lap. I knew that if I had any shot of getting on the podium I would have to push. I pushed so hard those first ten laps, by the time I got to second Bryan had pretty much checked out and was gone. "I pushed so hard I kind of heated up my tires and was squirming around in the corners. I settled down behind Jared and Brad there for a little bit. When I saw the five-laps to go board I was just trying to see where I could make passes and if I could do it. I kind of figured going into turn three THE CHAMPIONSHIP PICTURE The stage is set for what could be a thrilling finish to the 2013 AMA Pro Grand National Championship. Bryan Smith maxed out the number of points he could earn at Indy by winning the Dash for Cash and then scoring victory in the main event. Compiling 29 points in a single night's racing moved Smith back past Henry Wiles in their tight battle for second in the standings – with just two points separating them. As it stands going into this coming Saturday's (August 24) race at Colonial Downs Mile in New Kent, Virginia, Smith is 33 points behind series leader Brad Baker. Smith is going to have to make up an average of about seven points per race on Baker in the remaining five races – a difficult, but not impossible chore, especially considering four of the five races left on the schedule are on miles. That's right up Smith's alley and his Crosley Radio/Howertown Kawasaki is perfectly suited for the big tracks. Even if Smith won out the remaining five races and all the Dashes, Baker could win the championship by finishing second the rest of the way. So Smith likely will need some help along the way. He got some in the form of Brandon Robinson at Indy, who snuck up and scored second with a last-lap pass on Baker. on the last lap was my best shot. I was getting really good runs off of turn two all night and it just played out in my favor. After my horrible crash here, Indy's coming around to be one of my favorite tracks." N C Grand National 1. Bryan Smith (Kawasaki) 2. Brandon Robinson (Kawasaki) 3. Brad Baker (Harley-Davidson) 4. Jared Mees (Harley-Davidson) 5. JD Beach (Kawasaki) 6. Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (Harley-Davidson) 7. Henry Wiles (Ducati) 8. Stevie Bonsey (Harley-Davidson) 9. Jake Shoemaker (Kawasaki) 10. Robert Pearson (Harley-Davidson) For Smith, Indy was a race where he checked off all the marks on his to do list. But even with the perfect night in Indy, he keeps a constant eye on Baker's progress and his spirits can rise or fall depending on his results as well. "It would have been nice if Baker wasn't second in the Dash and third [in the main]," Smith said. "I'm happy he was third in the main and not second for sure. That's a couple more points, so I appreciate Brandon [Robinson] getting up there on that. It's just typical racing – you want him to finish the worst he can and me to finish the best I can. All I can control is what I do. From here on out my head's down to win everything I can." Smith concluded by saying he raced once at Colonial Downs in a Formula USA Dirt Track race. "It's big, it's wide open. I should do pretty good there," he said. Baker shook his head at his luck of being passed for second on the final lap. "We came home third," Baker shrugged. "I don't know how many points we lost to Bryan tonight, but he has to consistently get seven at every race to make the championship [points] back up on me, so I'm going to make it tough for him, that's for sure."

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