Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/804174
FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 / MARCH 25, 2017 DIXIE SPEEDWAY / WOODSTOCK, GEORGIA P90 My Own Race: 6 BRAD BAKER 2ND AFT TWINS After Baker's heavy get-off in Daytona, he had to go through AFT's concussion protocol to be able to ride in Georgia, but came through with flying colors. "Great results; it's pretty gratifying after last week. I was just getting back from the hospital when the main event was ending," said Baker. "To get second and being a part of an Indian three-way sweep that's backed by Allstate Motorcycle Insurance is really cool. Hats off to Jared, he finished the grand slam tonight. He rode flawlessly the last two weekends. I think Jared and Bryan, my two teammates, are going to be my hardest guys to race all year long and I've got some ground to make up after last weekend. Anything is possible and I'm just happy to be here and having some success again." 1 BRYAN SMITH 3RD AFT TWINS When the 2017 schedule came out, defending Grand National champion Bryan Smith had to be looking at the first two rounds as a huge challenge, but Smith has been very competitive thus far, with a second last week and a close third this week. "You had to run the same line. When you got to him [Baker], I would want to pass him, so I would venture off that fast line and mess up and lose all the time I made up," said Smith. "The track is a circle. It's short and one big corner. You would try to set somebody up, but you would never get a run down the straightaway to go by him. It was just tough. I didn't get to see the wrestling match there. I did see Halbert skidding across the ground. I knew what happened when I saw him sliding. I've been on the short end of Jared's stick before." 14 BRIAR BAUMAN 4TH AFT TWINS Briar Bauman continues to settle in with his new team and had his Harley-Davidson XR750 challenging the Indian Factory effort. "It was really, really good right out of the box tonight. I know why they [XR750] have been so dominant for so many years, especially with Dave Atherton turning the wrenches," said Bauman. "It makes it a little easier on myself. I felt really good right out of the gate. I got a horrible start, but I kind of got in a rhythm trying to catch the next guy. I was trying to pick my way through. If you get a good rhythm going you forget about the laps. You're watching the other guy and trying to hit your marks. You don't really focus about the laps too much. It went by pretty quick. When I hit two to go, I had just gotten to Bryan and Brad. I was thinking I could use about 10 more of these. Unfortunately we had the red flag with whatever happened with Sammy and Jared and I didn't get the best restart. I was able to come home fourth. I can't complain about that after last weekend." 20 JAROD VANDERKOOI 5TH AFT TWINS Former Rookie of the Year Jarod Vanderkooi had another impressive night with a solid fifth- place finish. "We ended up fifth tonight. It was a short track for twins, but it felt pretty big," said Vanderkooi. "It was a pretty fast track, but it was technical. It was a setup track for sure and fifth was the best we had today. The track isn't that big but the turns are big. You can really get moving around them. I felt pretty good early in the day and as the track changed and the moisture came up at night, I was struggling a little bit. I got in a good groove in the main event. Bauman ended up getting past me. I think we went with the wrong tire choice. It got pretty hot and slippery in the back. After that I was kind of searching until the red flag. We kind of settled into fifth and I felt good." 69 SAMMY HALBERT 6TH AFT TWINS The Halbert/Mees battle was great until it wasn't. Both riders were giving their all chasing the win. "I had a great night going and was obviously watching Jared," said Halbert. "He looked strong all day, so it was really cool to be able to pass him in the main event. I got the lead and was running good. It was so unfortunate. I really wanted to win or even a podium for my team. Luckily my team did a great job getting the bike straightened out. I remounted back in last place. I put on a charge to get up to sixth. I wasn't really satisfied with that either because I almost got fifth. With five laps to go, to come from last to sixth was decent."