VOL. 54 ISSUE 28 JULY 18, 2017 P45
It felt like we were going so slowly," said Halbert. "I was
really worried that the guy in third was going to run into
me. I figured the guy in third would get impatient be-
cause I was getting impatient being in second. I just felt
like we were going extremely slow. I wanted to elbow
my way into the lead quickly by him, but I managed to
use a little bit of patience.
"I started rolling along the outside of him entering
the turn to try and get some momentum to shoot off
underneath him. I tried it a couple times and finally it
worked. I was able to square it off and get under him off
of four. He got a little bit sideways and that just gave me
the edge I needed to get up alongside of him down the
front stretch. I wasn't going to let him take it back."
While Halbert and Mees fought over the lead, Jeffrey
Carver powered his Carver's BBQ/Goodwin Racing/
Ben Evans Racing Harley-Davidson XR750 into third.
Halbert started to cruise away and suddenly Carver
was also by Mees and pulling away.
Halbert's lead continued to grow with Carver now
in second and also pulling away from Mees. "I had no
idea that I had such a huge lead," said Halbert. "With
the way the heat race went, I thought I could get a huge
lead, but I didn't want to look back. I just kept my head
down, put in solid laps, and got it done."
Just as it appeared the podium was set, there was
heartbreak for Carver. With his front tire down on the
rim, Carver went from an easy second to a disappoint-
ing fourth.
takes a lot of technique to get the XR off the
line. I've struggled with it over the years when
there is no grip, but I've been able to perfect
the technique a bit and get me to where I
was competitive. I got off the line in the main
in second and that was all I needed."
Mees and Halbert were able to separate
themselves from the madness going on be-
hind them. "I was following Jared there for a
little bit and he was holding such a tight line.
