FLAT TRACK
2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 12 / AUGUST 6, 2017
BUFFALO CHIP CAMPGROUND / STURGIS, SOUTH DAKOTA
P68
Current series points leader Jared Mees (Indian
Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/Indian Scout FTR750)
was third, just ahead of the factory Harley-Davidson
XG750Rs of Jake Johnson and Kenny Coolbeth.
JR Addison held down sixth over a hard-charging
Sammy Halbert, Danny Eslick, Brad Baker, and
Jarod Vanderkooi rounding out the top 10.
Ten laps into the race, the red lights flashed on
because one of the hay bales marking the inside of
a tight hairpin had been hit and hay was scattered
all over the turn. The restart saw Halbert able to
drop Coolbeth one position, but little else changed.
On lap 15, Vanderkooi landed hard off the jump;
hard enough to flatten his rear tire and dislodge the
battery off his Kawasaki. With the battery laying in
the middle of the track, the red lights flashed on
once again.
This led to the last and most devastating red.
Wiles was unfazed by the restarts and led the field
over the jump, but another hard landing left oil
