VOL. 51 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 P91
Briefly...
Stevie Bonsey's night ended ear-
ly after highsiding out of turn two,
knocking himself out and breaking
his collarbone into a few pieces. Be-
ing the end of the season, Bonsey
isn't wasting any time and made the
call to well-known racer surgeon Dr.
Tuan and was scheduled for surgery
on Monday. As of now the plan is to
still ride at the final round in Pomona,
California, in two weeks time and pos-
sibly next week at the purse-paying
non-National at Willow Springs.
Winning again has Brad Baker fired
up for the remaining races on the
schedule – a race at Willow Springs
and then the championship finale at
Pomona. "I was really looking forward
to Willow Springs, a non-National next
weekend – and especially Pomona
for definitely getting my first win of the
season, but we got it out of the way
here at Calistoga," Baker said. "So
I think I can just put the icing on the
cake on the season at Pomona and it
will set us up good for next year."
The general consensus was posi-
tive of the Calistoga Half-Mile's
return to the schedule. There was
a good crowd, especially consider-
ing the venue had to step in about
three months ago. Many were happy
with the track in the main. "They did
a great job here," Kenny Coolbeth
said. "And with the fans. Trying to get
fans here, they did a great job. The
track was great and it was actually
pretty good in the main event. I wish
I could've rode 100 percent."
Ronnie Jones strapped on the steel
shoe and ran the number 74G in honor
of his late brother David Jones. Jones
finished 11
th
in the main ahead of nation-
al number 16 – rookie Wyatt Maguire –
Jones' old national number. It was 35
years ago that Jones was a rookie in the
Grand National Championship.
While Brad Baker
(1) won, Jared Mees
(9) moved closer
to another Grand
National Championship
after Bryan Smith
(not pictured) got
disqualified for failing to
observe the black flag.
STORY BY ANDREA WILSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE HOENIG & ANDREA WILSON
R
acing is all about weathering the highs and lows. And with
the return of the Calistoga Half-Mile to the AMA Grand Na-
tional Championship schedule, there were plenty of those.
For reigning Grand National Champion Brad Baker, putting his
number one factory Harley Davidson on top of the box was not
only a high, but a huge relief. He'd shed the ever-growing monkey
from his back by winning his first race as a member of the factory
team and his first of the season.
