INTERVIEW
2014 AMA PRO GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPION JARED MEES
P162
generation of flat track bike? I guess
it's hard to justify as long as they're still
winning championships.
I think Harley's new 750 Street has po-
tential. Depending on what kind of horse-
power they can get out of it that could be a
player. Other than that engine there isn't a
whole lot going on that I know of that's go-
ing to make the Harley-Davidson competi-
tive [into the future]. Basically the XR was
maxed out a long time ago and we're rim-
ming the hell out of those things way past
their potential in my eyes and it's amazing
they do as well as they do.
You've assembled one helluva strong
team behind you. Is that something you
intentionally set out to do?
For sure it was the team who earned this
championship. They gave me a great bike
consistently every weekend, and it's just a
great group that you like to hang out with.
It's fun on race weekends and you look
forward to being there. You know Sammy
Sweet; I love the guy to death. He shows
up and has so much energy he keeps us
all going, and he has such a positive at-
titude. Sammy is a big player in our pro-
gram. Kenny's [Tolbert] record speaks for
itself. We became tight, especially this
year. Last year was tough because I got
hurt early and you know you're not go-
ing for the championship. It takes a lot of
wind out of your sails because you don't
have a lot to gain. Craig Rogers is like a
second father to me. I admire the guy a
lot. Steve DeLorenzi came on board as a
sponsor and that worked well, because
Craig's a builder and Steve is in the in-
sulation business, and they were able
to take their sponsorship and friendship
into a business level. It was one of those
years where we had fun and the results
were there, so it made it a very easy year
to gel and move forward. We're looking
forward to next year as a team.
Training has always been a big part
It was a knock-
down-drag-out
fight between
the top three:
Bryan Smith
(left), Mees
(center) and
Jake Johnson
(right).
