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FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SERIES ROUND 2 / APRIL 7-8, 2018 DIXIE SPEEDWAY / WOODSTOCK, GEORGIA P88 iii My Own Race: 1 JARED MEES 1ST AFT TWINS "It rained and the track got really slippery and we knew it was going to be slippery," said Jared Mees of his team's race-win strategy. "Kenny [Tolbert] worked his magic on engine combination stuff. Jimmy [Wood] had that shock apart a few times. Bubba, what can I say, he just does whatever needs to be done. He's the workhorse. We just had great communication at the end with the whole team. In my opinion those guys won the race for me. The bike started really far off to my liking. I just kept giving them the feedback on what it was doing and a few suggestions on what we could do. It came around so it was good." 2 KENNY COOLBETH 2ND AFT TWINS Kenny Coolbeth was able to maintain his speed all day, but a mediocre start doomed his race. "I got hung up behind Henry [Wiles]," Coolbeth said. "I was just following him. I don't know what my deal was. Jeffrey [Carver] kicked me in the butt when he went around both of us. I wish I would've ridden the first two laps the way I rode the last half of the race. I would like to see lap times compared to Jared's, but he was probably on cruise control. I bet we were pretty close, if not better there at the end. It is what it is, I'm happy with our results. We'll just build on it. Obviously in the day it got a little slicker. The practice was pretty similar to yesterday's times." Coolbeth has stated this will be his last year on the circuit and he is going out with a new team. "I took to the Indian pretty quick. It's only going to get better. Hopefully we will get the number-one guy behind us. It's tough; he's on his game. That one spot better is a big step. We will have to have a perfect day to beat him." 23 JEFFREY CARVER 3RD AFT TWINS All day Jeffrey Carver had been flirting with the high line, but in the main event, he looked at a more conservative line. "I just didn't think my line was going to be there in the main. It was just so far around," said Jeffrey Carver. "I think I ran it the first lap and it wasn't there, so I dropped down and thought I just wasn't moving like I was earlier in the day. Then I just went for it. It's a fine line because it is kind of dusty up there. I had to keep working the edge and be very precise. It was working. I just kept trying to push it. I tried to stay as smooth as possible at the same time." There are inherent problems with run- ning a "different" line. "Our lines would meet halfway down the straightaway and that's just where I would squeeze through. I think when I got by Wiles, we hit bars and my foot got into the wall and pushed the footpeg up. When I got by Kenny I did the same thing. Getting off the corner was okay, but it kind of messed up our lines a little bit. That is the problem with running the high lines sometimes, you've got other peoples' lines and they can kind of get in and move you around a little bit. You know momentum is the key. That's what I've learned in dirt track. If I can roll the top and be faster, then I'm faster. I just have to go around them." 20 JAROD VANDERKOOI 4TH AFT TWINS "I was riding my line. I stuck with it and then Kenny [Coolbeth] got around me. I figured that I needed to change something," said Vanderkooi. "It was like two or three laps to go and he put a couple bike lengths on me. I tried moving up there and it was just too late. Carver rolled around me also. By that time, the white flag was out. I just didn't adapt quick enough myself. The bike was fine. It was just me not adapting in the 25-lap national. It was my best ride on the Harley. I know these guys are putting the work in. I had an issue with the bike in Daytona and unfortunately it happened here in the heat race, but the more we work together and the more we figure out these bikes, the less mechani- cal problems we will have."

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