FLAT TRACK
AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 10/AUGUST 8, 2014
INDIANA STATE FAIRGROUND/INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
P72
VANDERKOOI
WINS IN PHOTO
FINISH
Sixteen-year-old Jarod Vanderkooi
is the most highly-touted newcomer to
Pro Singles racing this season, while
Kyle Johnson is the hottest rider in
the series with four race wins in 2014.
The two met in a perfect clash in this
year's Indy Mile Pro Singles final and
the results were exhilarating. It came
down to a last-lap battle, with the teen-
ager Vanderkooi racing like a long-
time veteran and setting up a perfect
slingshot draft move on his Johnny's
Vintage Motorcycle Honda to move
into the lead over Johnson at the last
possible second. The finish was so
close it took a second for officials to
work out just who had crossed the
finish line first.
The victory was the second of the
season for Vanderkooi. The runner-up
finish for Johnson was good enough
to put him in the points lead. Series
contender Davis Fisher, who led the
standings coming into Indy, was also
in the battle for the win, but suffered
a horrific crash on the final lap that
landed him in the hospital. He was
released the next day, but Fisher
dropped to second in the standings
and is likely to miss several rounds
and with it his hopes of winning this
year's title.
For Vanderkooi the win was a thrill.
"I got some good momentum
between three and four and got up
and drafted him,' Vanderkooi said. "To
win the thing by a half a wheel, it was
awesome. I was up in the lead early in
the race and fell back to fourth. It was
a really good race. I wanted to go into
turn three in second place and draft
for the win. He kind of cut down to try
to break the draft and I went on the
low side to get around him."
Coolbeth won
for a 32
nd
time
in his AMA
Grand National
career. It was his
second win in
the Indy Mile.
