Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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CHAMPION JARED MEES VOL. 54 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 19, 2017 P111 In addition to S&S's support, there's the whole team behind Mees and Tolbert as well, a team that's more like family. "The cool thing about our team is—I really, really look forward to seeing them every weekend, ev- ery one of them: Craig [Rogers], Jimmy [Wood], Kenny [Tolbert], Bubba [Bently]. We really look forward to seeing each other ev- ery weekend and spending that time together, like family. It's al- most like family time for us when we go there. Steve Delorenzi, from SDI Racing, has been part of our program for a while, too. "When Indian wanted to sup- port us, they wanted to support our whole team, including myself, which was really beneficial for me to have the people around me that I wanted to have and to go forward with. I wouldn't be any- where and I wouldn't be anyone right now without that team." THE TEAM AT HOME Besides a solid team at the track, the other thing champions have in common is a solid team at home. His wife Nichole, is a former racer herself—arguably the best female flat track racer in the twins class to date—and he gives her a lot of credit for their success. "Nichole, obviously being an ex-racer, she gets it. She under- stands that what I do during the week is a big part of why we're successful on the weekends. That's awesome to have that kind of support. The last thing you II MEES' TOP 3 OF 2017 II >>DAYTONA "Besides having my first daugh- ter—my first child—Daytona was pretty special. Being the very first win for Indian, all the hype. Being that we were first time ever inside the big Daytona stadium, inside the speedway there for the first time ever. I would say that one is going to be pretty hard to beat, that very moment." >>OKC MILE "The atmosphere of Daytona was great, but the actual race itself— Oklahoma was pretty badass just because we were so far back. I think if there was anybody in the stands that was a gambler and if you were to say, 'I got 100 bucks on Mees on lap five,' the odds were probably going to be 100 to 1. So, I think that one was cool, just the way we did it." >>SPRINGFIELD MILE II "It's always cool to win Springfield, but more than anything it was cool just to go and win it. Smith won the very first three miles and I won the last three miles. I think that win was probably the make-or-break point for the championship. I think going into Springfield, it was going to be pretty tough for me to lose it [the title], unless I broke or crashed. I think for Bryan, mentally, when we beat them at Springfield, that was it." want to do is going riding or going bicycling with your wife mad at you at home. She's an awesome mom. She's another one that de- serves a big thank you because she works really hard at being a good mother." And that's the other thing, Mees wasn't just out there break- ing records on the track, but he and Nichole were also expand- ing their family by one when they welcomed their daughter into the world earlier this spring. "We had our very first child and we named her Hayden after Nicky Hayden," he said. "Nicky Hayden lost his life May 22 and our daughter was born May 24. We had a name picked out, and then when everything happened, we just thought it would be a fit- PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J. NELSON