Cycle News

FLAT TRACK AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 6/JULY 5, 2014 HAGERSTOWN SPEEDWAY, HAGERSTOWN MARYLAND P70 By lap five he got by Doug Law- rence, Stevie Bonsey and Baker and was up to seventh. By lap 10 he'd gotten Halbert and Johnson and was up to fourth. Then on lap 16 he passed Robinson to break into third. He actually managed to close the gap on Smith and Mees in the closing laps and was less than a second behind Mees at the checkered flag. Robinson got a good start and ran solid all night. He got passed by Shoemaker with nine to go, but held off a charging Halbert on the final lap. Halbert, like Shoemaker, progressed through the field to make it to fifth by the end, coming up just short on his efforts to get by Robinson. John- son edged Lawrence for sixth. Henry Wiles was another big mover in the race. After blowing a coolant hose on his Kawasaki in My Own Race: 42 BRYAN SMITH 1ST Bryan Smith's win at Hagerstown was not only the first for a Kawasaki on a half mile, it was also his first win on the track. It also gave him enough points to move from sixth to a tie for third in the series standings and puts him squarely back in the championship chase. "I had to be very, very patient tonight," Smith said. "This is not my style of track. I've been working my whole career to be better on these types of tracks and it's finally paid off. I knew what I had to do – just be patient and get the power to the ground. That thing is faster than anything here down the straightaway. It's a handful in the corners. I had to tiptoe through the cor- ners. My buddy Jared [Mees] gave me everything I could handle. This is his type of track, so to beat him I beat one of the best riders in the world on this type of track. When he showed me a wheel in turns three and four I knew I had to change up my line, because he was going around the out- side. I think I got too excited and was trying to go too fast. I gathered it up and got the wheels in line and thankfully it worked out. It's a happy day for me to give Kawasaki their first half-mile win. I hope they appreciate that." 9 JARED MEES 2ND Jared Mees was red-hot coming into Hagerstown. He'd won Lima the week before and then won a big regional race in Frederick, Maryland, the night before. Mees pulled alongside Smith several times in the final at Hagerstown, but couldn't quite pull off the pass. He was excited about the prospect of winning the race when he saw Kenny Cool- beth's bike quit. The runner-up finish was good enough to put him in the series lead. "When Coolbeth broke I thought, 'Man I have to figure something out here,'" Mees said. "I was searching around and found this killer line in turns three and four and made up all my ground there. Boom. In one and two we were the same or Bryan was better. I didn't even see the five to go [board] and all of a sudden my tire was gone. I just couldn't drive no more. I've got a lot of momentum. It's the team; I owe it all to these guys. You've got to give it to my team – Sammy Sweet, Kenny Tolbert, Craig Rogers, Rusty Studer – those guys are making it happen for me." 55 JAKE SHOEMAKER 3RD Jake Shoemaker was the surprise rider on the podium at Hagerstown. His previous best finish this season was eighth at Lima, but he was second at Lima last year, so he knew he had the capability of doing well here. "I really put my head down and came up from about eighth," Shoe- maker said. "I think I had the fastest laps from about lap 10 on. Coming from the back it kind of made it tough to get up to those guys [Smith and Mees], but once I was into third it was smooth sailing. I just wish I'd been able to get a better start so I could have got up there and battled with them. It would have been a lot more entertaining race. But to come from where I did and get up on the box it's a great feeling." 44 BRANDON ROBINSON 4TH Brandon Robinson wasn't spectacular at Hagerstown, put just put in a solid, consistent race like he has all season. Fourth in the standings, Robinson kept himself squarely in the series battle with his Hagerstown result. "This is a lot better result than last year," said Robinson, who rides for USC Kawasaki. "Last year I was on my head in turn four. "To come out of here in fourth and contend for a podium was pretty awesome. The outside line started going away fast. I think everyone moved up there when they realized the traction was up there and I was there from the get go. It faded on me and I lost traction and was fighting it. I was trying to hold on to third and Jake [Shoemaker] blew by me. I tried to hang with him, but I just couldn't and that was all she wrote. We got closer in the championship, so I'll take it." 7 SAMMY HALBERT 5TH Sammy Halbert moved up several spots after a sub-par start. He ended up nearly chasing down Robinson for fourth, but came up just shy of getting there. "The start wasn't that great for me and the first turn was a little worse, so I got shuffled back a ways," Halbert said. "It took me awhile to get into my groove, but eventually I got rolling pretty good and was able to reel in Jake [Johnson] and pass him. The guys in front of me were quite a ways ahead. I really wanted to improve my position and I kept charging. I eventually caught Brandon [Robinson]. I got up on his rear wheel on the last lap, but fifth was all we had. It seems like I get fifth here every year. We'll try to do better next time."

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