Cycle News

FLAT TRACK AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3/MAY 25, 2014 INDIANA STATE FAIRGROUNDS/SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS P62 Smith was fast from the get go. In the first timed qualifying session under perfectly tacky conditions, Smith set a new Springfield Mile track record with a 33.823. That was nearly .4 of a second faster than Jake John- son's Ramspur Winery/Lloyd Bros Motorsports Ducati. Smith then went on to win the fastest heat race of the day to earn the pole and then scored victory in the points-paying Dash for Cash. Smith credited track prep for him being able to set a new lap record. "The track has been prepared better than ever," Smith said. "Riding it in those conditions is just a ton of fun." Surprisingly Smith set the track record without the aid of drafting other riders. "I like going out by myself so you don't get caught up racing somebody," Smith explained. "You get a feel for your bike. Even if you can get into the top five without a draft it means you're doing pretty good. I like to My Own Race: 9 JARED MEES 3RD Harley Wrecking Crew member Jared Mees was in conten- tion all day to win the Springfield Mile, but once past the Ducati of Jake Johnson, he didn't seem to quite have the power to draft by Bryan Smith's Kawasaki. He was forced to make two moves coming out of turn four with Bryan Smith and Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. in front of him on the last lap and ran out of time. Even so, he was happy with how his race went. "Jake [Johnson] was getting me off the start every time," Mees said. "He was going good, but he was a little down on corner speed compared to me. I had to give him such a run to get by him and finally I did. It was good I was going to do the same exact move that Coolbeth went to do on Bryan and that was to swing around the outside. There definitely wasn't room for three of us up there, so as soon as I starting poking around the outside I had to go back to the inside and dammit, it was just one of those races, you know." 2 KENNY COOLBETH JR. 2ND Kenny Coolbeth Jr., having been dropped by the Harley factory team, landed nicely with the powerful Zanotti Rac- ing squad. Coolbeth's Dave Atherton-tuned Harley had great speed and he looked to be the most likely to be able to make moves on Bryan Smith's ultra-powerful Kawasaki. Out of the final corner he was in the slipstream of Smith, but by the time he pulled out to make the slingshot move, they were already at the finish line. "It didn't play out quite the way I planned," Coolbeth said. "My plan was to just stay in tow the whole race and then Banzai on the outside in turn three. I did that and was around him, but he just kind of gassed it up and pushed me wide. It was good racing. That bike is fast, he [Bryan] rode good too - you can't take that away from him." 42 BRYAN SMITH 1ST Byran Smith once again showed his mastery on the miles. His Villa-Esparza/Crosley Radio Kawasaki was very fast, but Smith also ran a strategically perfect race, making de- finitive moves on the last lap to hold off the surge by Kenny Coolbeth Jr. "I grew up coming to this race," Smith said. "I first came here when I was seven years old and watched my heroes go around here fast. I figured if I wanted to be a top guy I'd better figure this place out and for whatever reason it all clicked when I turned Pro. It was just a sprint race there with five to go. I just tried to control it a little bit with my line choice so no one could sneak underneath me. That was their only shot if they could get a wheel under- neath me and run me wide. I just tried to control it because it's a free-for-all with just five to go. Everyone's got a new burst of energy with the red flags. Coolbeth showed me a wheel on that last lap and I just gassed it up, kept it low and it was all good." 44 BRANDON ROBINSON 7TH Brandon Robinson was a double winner of the Springfield Miles last year, but could only manage seventh aboard his USC Kawasaki this time around. "It was a combination of things," Robinson said. "We were a little off today and those restarts were killing us. I think I fried a clutch on that last start and lost six or seven spots and had to climb up a little ways. It was a little frustrating, especially considering last year's results, but we'll come back stronger." 5 JAKE JOHNSON 4TH Jake Johnson had perhaps the fastest motorcycle in his Ramspur Winery/Lloyd Brothers Ducati Hypermotoard 1100-based machine, but with all that power on tap it ex- posed a few handling issues. Johnson was able to over- come those to stay in the lead pack all day and finish fourth. "I think I had the only bike that could consistently draft by Bryan's [Smith] Kawasaki," Johnson said. "It wasn't easy, but I was able to do it pretty consistently. We could get down the straightaway and get in the corner as fast as those guys, but they would kind of kill me from the center [of the corner] off. I had some problem with some head- shake and had to wrestle the thing the whole time. I never had any time to take a break, but we're making progress. The bike is getting better every time. We were in the hunt today."

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