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FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 5 / MAY 20, 2017 CAL EXPO FAIRGROUNDS / SACRAMENTO, CA P98 My Own Race: 9 JARED MEES 2ND AFT TWINS "It was definitely a big improvement from last week, that's for sure. Hats off to my entire team," said Jared Mees. "We really weren't a player all day long. About halfway through the main event we were able to come to terms and went to the front, I felt like I had a really good pace going. On the last corner, Brad kind of spun it up. It killed his drive and it killed my drive. Bryan was able to swoop by both of us going into three. I kind of wanted to run second off of turn four against Brad or whoever, really. I just got shuffled back to third." 6 BRAD BAKER 3RD AFT TWINS With so many variables going on, plans B, C and D often come into play. "I know all the scenarios of what you can do to win a mile race," said Brad Baker. "I've gone through my history books, all the way back to the mid-eighties where Kevin Atherton, Ricky Graham, Scottie Parker and ten or twelve other guys were fast at miles. I saw RG win a lot of miles. My strategy was that we had a harder tire. I had a good pace earlier on and I was just going to put the hammer down. At times I guess I did have some bike lengths on them. They had to push pretty hard to catch back up to me. My plan was going pretty good for a little while. These guys have a lot of years on me. They have a lot of experience on mile racing. For me to be 10 years younger and doing as good as I am, on these types of tracks, I'm proud of that." 69 SAMMY HALBERT 4TH AFT TWINS "It was a tough race for me today. I was always playing catch up, from qualifying on," said Sammy Halbert. "At the end of the day we ended up where we are at right now. "We were looking for a little more, obviously, after Phoenix last weekend, but didn't quite get it. New tracks still present new challenges for us. It's still a new bike for me too. Just doing what I can. Once again, first in the pro- duction-based class. Hopefully Springfield brings us a little better fortune with the way our bike will work out there. I'm optimistic that I can get in the mix with those boys, but we won't know until we get there. I think our bike will be closer on a tackier track. It's a typical modern production bike, when the 'other ones' are a little different." 23 JEFFREY CARVER 5TH AFT TWINS "I had a great race with Sammy; we passed each other about ten times," said Jeffrey Carver. "I was able to hang with the Indians for a little bit. I was with Jared, but I slipped a little and he got away. When he caught the other Indians they were able to get well away. Sammy caught me and we had a good battle. I'm doing my own program this year; it's something I felt I needed to do. I have one bike with Ben Evans doing the engine work. Kevin Stollings gave me a rolling chassis with my engine in it for a back up. I was sick and missed the Woodstock Short Track and then we had electrical issues at Phoenix, so I've basically missed two of the five races. We just looked at the point standings and I'm in sixth, so I think we're doing all right." cont. on page 100

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