VOL. 52 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 P57
even though he didn't come
away with the win.
"My goal was to get through
Springfield with the series lead
and we got that done," Mees
said. "There was just a little lane
going into turn three on the final
lap and I took it, but that allowed
Jake [Johnson] to fly around the
Briefly...
Harley-Davidson's factory substi-
tute rider Jake Johnson showed
amazing speed in qualifying; earn-
ing the fastest time in the combined
timed qualifying sessions on Sunday
morning. Johnson hustled the fac-
tory Harley-Davidson XR750 around
Springfield in a time of 34.981 sec-
onds, making him the only rider to
break into the 34-second bracket in
the two sessions. "The last round I
just went out by myself to get a feel
for the bike and track," Johnson
said. "I thought it possibly might hurt
my time since I didn't have anyone to
draft with, but I felt good right from
the get-go. We made quite a few
changes to the bike this week, from
suspension, brakes, handlebars, ev-
erything. I was a little surprised that
I topped qualifying. I felt good out
there, but last week [in Charlotte] I
felt good, too, and I came in and saw
that I was way in the back, so I didn't
want to judge how I felt with my lap
times."
Nichole Mees may be in her final full
season of competition, but she's not
slowing down one bit. In fact Mees
accomplished a major feat when she
took her first heat race win at Spring-
field. Nichole raced Willie McCoy's
Harley-Davidson, after McCoy, a
SEASON
fourth row.
Earning his second runner-up finish
of 2015 on Sunday was Tristan Avery.
The No. 16S Rod Ayers Motorsports
Kawasaki pilot has proven to be
lethal on the twin this year, as he also
recorded a Du Quoin Mile win back
in July. Avery now sits seventh in the
GNC2 point standings.
Rounding out the Springfield Mile
podium on Sunday was Suzuki pilot
Ryan Wells. Wells now has three third-
place finishes under his belt in 2015
and he now sits 10th in the standings.
Smith Racing Kawasaki rider J.R.
Addison and Bruce Lowe Excavating
Suzuki pilot Ben Lowe rounded out
the top-five finishers, respectively.
A great crowd showed up for Sunday's race in
spite of temperatures in the mid-90s.
continued on next page
