AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 51 ISSUE 21 MAY 28, 2014 P61
Smith Tops Every Session,
Sets Track Record
While visually and mechanically
very similar to the Ricky How-
erton-built handmade Kawasaki
Smith raced last year, this year's
version of the No. 42 Kawasaki
uses a customized C&J Frame.
Like last year's bike, the fuel
tank was wedged in low between
frame rails, perhaps giving Smith
a slight aerodynamic advantage.
There certainly didn't seem to
be any teething problems for the
new machine, even though it was
just completed the week of the
race.
Briefly...
Sammy Halbert, Johnny Lewis and
Cory Texter all dropped out of the
race due to mechanical problems
with their bikes. Willie McCoy, Mikey
Martin and Stevie Bonsey crashed
out of the race. All three escaped
serious injury.
Pro Twins rider J.R. Addison, 17, of
Bucyrus, Ohio, suffered a vicious
crash on the front straight during
qualifying. Addison's Scott Power
Sports Kawasaki got into a violent
wobble and eyewitnesses said that
he fought to gain control of the
bike and it appeared he started to
slow the bike's wobble, just before
it suddenly broke loose again and
slammed him to the ground. The
bike flipped several times, basically
destroying itself. Case in point: A
piece of the sub-frame was wedged
so deep into the ground on the front
straight that officials had to dig it out
with a shovel. Friends reported that
Addison suffered broken vertebrae
in his neck, a broken arm, a concus-
sion and bruised lungs in the crash.
Local news reports said that sec-
tions of the roof of the Springfield
Mile's grandstands were crumbling,
dropping wood debris on the seats
below. Illinois' dismal finances were
being blamed for the disrepair ac-
cording to a report in The State-Jour-
nal-Register newspaper. Temporary
repairs were made before the race
and no problems were reported.
No official attendance figures were
released, but the crowd for this year's
Memorial Day weekend Springfield
Mile was one of the smallest in re-
Bryan Smith earned his fourth Springfield Mile victory.
Jake Johnson's Ramspur Winery/
Lloyd Brothers Ducati 1100 (5)
had awesome speed, but with
that power came a few handling
issues. Johnson still finished fourth
and was in the lead pack at the
end. Here he passes last year's
Springfield Mile winner Brandon
Robinson (44), who finished
seventh.
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