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FLAT TRACK AMA PRO FLAT TRACK SERIES ROUND 6 / JULY 5, 2015 DU QUOIN STATE FAIRGROUNDS / DU QUOIN, ILLINOIS P106 Smith in third. To the naked eye in real time, for all intents and purposes it looked like a three- way tie. Magic Mile indeed. SMITH FINDS SPEED EARLY The series was visiting Du Quoin for the first time in in 10 years, so it was a new experience for many of the riders. Bryan Smith was fast out of the declared the winner over Jared Mees and Kenny Coolbeth Jr. The trio crossed the line three abreast. The high-speed video was needed to reveal the results, since the scoring transponders showed margin of victory at 0.000, which meant there was less than a thousandth of a second between the top two. Coolbeth crossed the line 13-1000ths of a second behind AMA Pro Flat Track racing to the Magic Mile in Du Quoin, Illinois— were it not for modern-day timing and scoring equipment and the use of a high-speed video cam- era, officials might have had to declare a three-way tie for first. It was that close. In what very well may have been the closest three-way finish in AMA Grand National racing history, Bryan Smith was My Own Race: 2 KENNY COOLBETH JR. 3RD Zanotti Racing Harley-Davidson's Kenny Coolbeth Jr. was back on the podium for the first time since Daytona. The finish helps stabilize Coolbeth in the standings after a free- fall at Lima. The one time series leader is now tied for third and is just 10 points out of the lead. "After the restart I was out front for quite a while," Coolbeth said. "I just put my head down and wanted to get away from all chaos and ride my own race. I looked back and I was like, 'Man, I'm pulling away!' I just keep pushing, but it wasn't enough. Pushing the wind out there by yourself is just tough. On the last lap I should have stayed back from Jared a little bit so I could have gotten a better run on him and gotten a better sling- shot to the line, but I was worried Bryan was going to be right there and his bike was pretty fast." 42 BRYAN SMITH 1ST Bryan Smith took the victory in one of the closest races in AMA Pro Grand National history. It was his third win of the season and pushed him from sixth to third in the standings, but moments after the race he still wasn't sure just how he accomplished the feat. "I don't know, I don't know," he said when asked how he won the race. "I swung off Coolbeth and got a little bit of a draft and I was like, 'Man, I needed to get it a little bit better.' The draft is not as exaggerated here as it is on some of the Miles because you carry so much momentum through the corners. I thought I pulled out too early. Coolbeth pulled out early and I pulled out right after him. It was tight. It was a drag race between me and Jared. I was inching up, inching up and we crossed the line and I didn't know who'd won. I know the transponder couldn't tell us apart." 7 SAMMY HALBERT 5TH After riding a Harley at Lima, Halbert was back on his Briggs Auto/Scott Powersports Kawasaki at Du Quoin. His fifth was good enough to keep him second in the series going into Indy. "I didn't make it easy on myself tonight," Halbert said. "I had an issue in my heat race and switched bikes. I came through the semi into the main event. The restart looked like it was going to benefit me. I got a good start and was up to third briefly, but I made some mistakes and lost some time and went all the way back to eighth maybe. I gathered it back up and made my way forward. I almost got fourth, but Johnny got me at the line. I'm still learning this Kawasaki. I just need to adapt a little bit more." 10 JOHNNY LEWIS 4TH It was a very good night for Johnny Lewis and for Lloyd Brothers Ducati. A solid fourth was the best for Lewis and the team this year. He raced a backup bike after his pri- mary had issues earlier in the program. "Luckily I'd taken the B bike out for practice just to get a feel for it," Lewis explained. "I was able to win the semi and came up in the main from the third row. The AMA already told me I won the Hard Charger award, so it's always nice to be the guy who made up the most distance. The top four were just at the next step. They were riding up towards the bales. One time I thought Baker was going to hit the fence. I think that played a little part in me backing it down a bit to stay out of trouble. It was our best AMA result of the year; we got fourth at X Games. I'm just happy to be racing this year. They put this team together for Troy Bayliss and I lucked out and got to go racing." 1 JARED MEES 2ND The defending series champ was forced to improvise after missing a shift on the restart and falling way down the field. He figured out some unique lines to get around traffic. Even though he got nipped at the line by maybe an inch, he still leads the series leaving Du Quoin. "I was forced to ride where everybody else wasn't riding," Mees said of his comeback to the front. "I was able to find some things out and move forward fast. We blistered the heck out of my [rear] tire. I think it was maybe because I pushed it pretty hard, pretty early."

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