Cycle News

VOL. 51 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 P95 or leak oil or whatever's going on… but we've had no mechani- cal issues all year so for some- thing like that to happen when it's coming down to the crunch time it's definitely a let down." The black flag came out around lap 12 after his bike started smok- ing. It progressively got worse, but fortunately there was no inci- dent as a result of him staying out there. Why didn't Smith pull in? "My shield's fogging up, you got dirt in your eyes, you got three other guys cutting you off, it's kind of hard to read a num- ber," Smith said. After the race Smith protested his disqualification and said he wanted to see the video to see the smoke. "We protested it," Smith said. "Due to that the race finished, I got second. They said my bike was possibly smoking. I looked back and didn't see what was go- ing on; if it was me? So I just kept going. So I'd like to see the video and see how bad this smoke was and see what they come up with on the protest. But, obviously, everybody finished safe and was fine. That's why I protested. Seems like if 'their' oil was bad I'd have to be the first to know it be- cause it'd have been on my rear tire." While it wasn't obvious to Smith it was obvious to his competitors My Own Race: 1 BRAD BAKER 1 ST Although Brad Baker didn't start the day off how he wanted, he certainly ended it well with his first win of the season. "It didn't start off exactly the day I wanted it to be," Baker said. "Was a little shaky in qualifying, was doing good in the heat race and then had an exhaust break on me that sent me backwards in the heat. But everything came together. The team and I put our heads down and Craig Lager built an awesome motorcycle and Mike Hacker and I got the thing set up really good. Just found a great line there in the main event and passed the best of the best; pretty much every single one on the outside. And came home to a victory." 9 JARED MEES 2 ND "I got a good start," Mees said of his race in the National. "And was pretty much leading it running my own race. And you don't know really where guys are going and what's the fast line. So all the sudden Jake [Johnson] just went smok- ing by me on the outside and so did Brad [Baker]. And it just took me two laps to regroup and move up and find that line. They basically gapped me while I was trying to gather up in two laps. And by that time I finally gathered it in and all of a sudden I was able to match pace and not lose anything anymore. But I just couldn't really gain up on them. Then Jake went to go around Brandon [Bergen], a lapped rider, and got stood up and I went by him." 5 JAKE JOHNSON 3 RD "It started off okay," Jake Johnson said of what would be a third-place finish. "Think I came off the line third or so. Found a line early on up high down in three and four and was able to get by Sammy [Halbert], ran Jared [Mees] down and was able to get by Jared down there and got into the lead and thought everything was good. I had three and four dialed pretty and one and two I was still struggling a little bit and Brad [Baker] ended up getting by me. And I kind of tucked in behind him and followed his lines and kind of started matching his pace. A little past halfway I guess I ran into some lapped traffic and went high when I should've gone low and kind of got ran wide and that's when Jared ended up getting back by me. "I kind of tucked in behind him and was trying to get back but made a couple of mistakes and Bryan [Smith] snuck by then was getting smoked out by Bryan's bike. Wasn't sure if his bike was blowing oil on the track or what was going on. So I was kind of trying not to follow him; had to ride some different lines. I didn't want to hit oil if he was putting oil down." 42 BRYAN SMITH DQ Smith made a charge for the front and crossed the line in second, but it was all for naught. "You know I had a good run going. Got a great start from the second row. Started moving around a little bit, feeling it out; it just was really good if I stayed down low all the way through the corners. Got up there… about halfway I was up to fourth or fifth right there with the guys. And saw Jared [Mees] up front and knew I had to catch him basically to keep the champion- ship points tight. Kind of put my head down about that time he started to come backwards; then Jake [Johnson] got to the lead then I saw the black flag out there and wasn't really sure what was going on there. Saw it out there, but had no clue it was for me. I came in to find out, obviously, after the race. "But so anyhow kept charging, charging, charging… once I got around Halbert, I was right there with Jake and Jared. With a couple laps to go I picked it up a little bit and was able to get Jared; just staying low and just being real easy. My bikes so fast down the straightaway that it would haul ass as long as I could match them through the corners. Just trying to be smooth on these slick clay tracks and it was working; I ended up finishing second, but right now they're saying I'm disqualified."

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