VOL. 51 ISSUE 35 SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 P75
here. To get a win is huge. We had an up-and-
down year, but when we're good, we're good.
So I'll take it. These guys built me a horse today.
We had an up-and-down day. In the Dash, we
had a little mishap, but we turned it around, and
this feels good."
Smith seemed to take the defeat in stride. It
didn't hurt that his second place finish actually
increased his lead in the championship to nine
points over Mees with just two California rounds
remaining.
"That's typical Springfield right there," Smith
said. "I thought I could get by Kenny coming up
to the line, but I ended up about a wheel short."
Henry Wiles held off Jake Johnson in a tough
contest for fifth. The Wiles/Johnson battle was
only .8 of a second back from the leading four.
Johnson's sixth cost him a bit in his quest to win
another Grand National Championship. Win-
ning the points-paying Dash earlier in the day
minimized the damage though and he leaves
Springfield third in the standings, 23 points be-
Briefly...
wasaki. Johnson won the Dash for
Cash over Jared Mees and Bryan
Smith and finished sixth, just .8 of a
second out of the lead at the check-
ered flag.
Harley-Davidson factory rider Brad
Baker said he's finally beginning to
feel 100 percent after his arm sur-
gery earlier in the season. "It's hard
to believe how much better I feel now
than I did at this race in May," Bak-
er said. "It's been a tough year, but
hope I can end the season on a high
note." Baker was the fastest rider in
timed qualifying. He made the main
by winning a semi and finished ninth
in the main.
Shayna Texter put the Latus Mo-
tors/Castrol Triumph in the main in
spite of a speed wobble that again
showed up at the end of the straight-
aways. The wobble was greatly im-
proved from what it was in the May
race, but it continued to make run-
ning the Triumph at its maximum an
exercise in courage for Texter. Texter
charged late in her semi to make the
main. It marked the fourth time this
season she's made a Grand National
main. She finished the race in 16th.
Molly Terry is following in the foot-
steps of Nichole Mees and Shayna
Texter as another speedy female
racer. Terry won her Pro Twins heat
race, taking over the lead on the
running sixth to 10th most of the time.
We were just off the point where
we'd build our own stuff because we
thought I was going to get a ride. I've
just not been fast enough to secure a
ride with one of the top teams."
Carver, who is 14th in the points
and has two-career Grand National
podiums to his credit, said he thinks
he has good momentum going into
next year.
"I've had some good finishes and I
have a lot more people who are want-
ing to help me," Carver concluded.
"I think they see how hard I run on
different equipment every week and I
think some people are going to step
up and I should have a good ride for
next year."
Jeffrey Carver Jr. has ridden a
variety of different motorcycles
in the 2014 AMA Grand National
Championship.
Defending AMA Grand National Champion
Brad Baker (1), shown here in his semi, was
the fastest qualifier on the factory Harley,
but finished the main in ninth.
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