VOL. 52 ISSUE 26 JUNE 30, 2015 P125
Briefly...
Brad Baker became the fourth win-
ner in five races so far in 2015. He
joins Stevie Bonsey, Kenny Cool-
beth, Jr. and Bryan Smith as GNC1
winners after five rounds. Brad Bak-
er's Lima win was his first of 2015
and his fourth-career AMA Pro Grand
National victory. The fifth-year expert
from Eatonville, Washington, scored
his last national victory at the Calis-
toga (California) Half-Mile last Sep-
tember. All four of Baker's wins so far
have come on half-miles. This was
his first victory at Lima. There were
six different brands of motorcycles
in this year's Lima Grand National.
Harley-Davidson led the way with
eight riders, five rode Kawasaki, Tri-
umph and Kawasaki had two each in
the main and there was also a Ducati
and Yamaha in the 25-lap national.
Dominic Colindres put the Babe
DeMay/Memphis Shades Yamaha
FZ07 into a main for the first time
this season. It marks the first time a
Yamaha FZ07-based machine has
qualified for an AMA Pro Grand Na-
tional and is thought to be the first
time a Yamaha made a GNC Twins
event since 2008 when Kevin Var-
nes raced a DeMay Yamaha to 13th
at the Labor Day Springfield Mile.
Sammy Halbert elected to run
a Briggs Auto Harley-Davidson
XR750 at Lima instead of a Kawa-
saki EX650-based machine he ran
at the Sacramento Mile. "I'm just a
little more familiar with the Harley on
these cushion tracks," Halbert said.
The decision paid off for the two-time
Lima winner. He finished second,
this after a pretty hard crash in the
Dash for Cash that caused him to
go to a backup bike. Halbert made
an amazing charge from last to first
Brad Baker
won his first
race of 2015
in dominant
fashion.
continued on next page
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARRY LAWRENCE
B
rad Baker was a master. The rough and dusty Lima Half-
Mile had some of the bravest riders on the planet battling to
keep their throttle hands twisted. In spite of the best ef-
forts of Mother Nature and track preparers, the pea-gravel, loamy
clay surface of the Allen County Fairgrounds half-mile oval got
dry, turning the track into a dust bowl. Several riders described
visibility as the worst they'd ever experienced. So imagine if you
