NICKY HAYDEN

Transcription

1 NICKY HAYDEN

2 VOL. 54 ISSUE 20 MAY 23, 2017

3 2017 INDIAN MOTORCYCLE INTERNATIONAL, LLC. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR HELMET. NEVER DRINK AND RIDE.

4 ANOTHER RACE. ANOTHER SWEEP. BRYAN, JARED AND BRAD DOMINATE THE SACRAMENTO MILE.

5 IN THE WIND P36 FASNACHT TAKES WMX HANGTOWN WIN Round five of the Onsia Sound Art Women s Motocross Championship swung into action as part of the opening round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Rancho Cordova, California, May The field of riders came from all corners of the country and Canada to take on the legendary Hangtown National track, and, once again, it was two-time and current WMX champion, Kylie Fasnacht, who dominated both motos and took her third overall win of the season. The women were excited to race the Pro Motocross track, and they ended up putting on a great show for the Friday crowd. When the gate dropped for moto one, it was Fasnacht who barely edged out Jamie Astudillo for the Lucas Oil Holeshot. I nailed the holeshot alongside Jamie and was able to throw my bike into the second turn, barely taking the lead, said Fasnacht. From there I just put my head down and started checking off the laps one turn at a time. It was really a fun, challenging track. By the end of lap one, Astudillo was still holding down second with Shelby Rolen right behind her. They were followed Kylie Fasnacht took her third overall win of the year. Shelby Rolen finished second and Eve Brodeur third. by Canada s Eve Brodeur and Maryland s Downtown Amanda Brown in fifth. By the end of lap two, Rolen had worked her way past Astudillo, who was now in a battle with Brodeur for third, which eventually went to Brodeur. I got a bad start and tried to make up for it, but there was only one really good line on the track so it was really hard to get around the others girls, said Brodeur. I definitely gave it all

6 VOL. 54 ISSUE 20 MAY 23, 2017 P37 Kylie Fasnacht grabbed both Lucas Oil holeshot awards and won both motos. Eve Brodeur and Jamie Astudillo pulled out all stops for a few laps battling for third overall. I had and worked as hard as I could so I was happy to finish third. Fasnacht took the win ahead of Rolen, Brodeur, Astudillo and Brown. They were followed by local rider Amber Felicio, Colorado s Samantha Peters and Carrie Killebrew. Jaymie Hajewski and Nicole Gaudern rounded out the top 10. Moto two looked like a repeat with Fasnacht, once again, taking the holesot with Rolen and Astudillo hot on her heels, and Brodeur sitting fourth. Astudillo rocketed into the second spot, holding it for the first lap until Rolen got by. The track got me today and I had to fight through lots of arm pump, said Astudillo. In moto one I got a second place start and dropped to fourth in the second lap. Faded back but stayed in fourth. Moto two kind of went the same, started in second dropped to third, stayed there for most of the race but got passed with three laps to go. I have to give it up to the top three girls they rode amazing! You could see the time Brodeur spent training at Grindstone starting to pay off as she looked stronger lap after lap, moving past Astudillo for the third spot, pushing her back to fourth in front of Brown, who put in two consistent rides on the day. As we got ready for the second moto, we realized that it was getting super hot, almost 90 degrees; mind you, I am from Maryland and we haven t had heat like this in almost six months, said Brown. I did not get a great start. Man, do I need to work on those. Anyway, so we head around the first turn and I believe I am in like sixth or seventh, but somehow managed to pass several people, putting me in fifth again. It was definitely a hot one, and the track was so rough. I m happy with my results though. Moto two finish order was almost identical to the first, with Fasnacht taking the win ahead of Rolen, Brodeur, Astudillo, Brown, Felicio, Killebrew, Peters, Hajewski and Gaudern, which is exactly how they finished on the day with their combined moto scores. CN

7 IN THE WIND JASON THOMAS TAMES OMA BEAMAN MONSTER It was a full weekend of racing for Jason Thomas and a pretty successful one, too. The Power Motorsport/ Moose Racing Husqvarna rider started off his weekend by winning round three of the 2017 OMA Series in Sedalia, Missouri. He used the light weight and maneuverability of his 125cc two-stroke Husqvarna on the wet and muddy racecourse to claim the win, holding off FMF RPM KTM s Mike Witkowski at the end. After the race, Thomas headed to Indiana for the X-Factor GNCC, where he won the XC3 class. We were going to the GNCC, and instead of sitting there all day in the rain, we decided to come over here, said Thomas. Duell Murphy wanted to ride over and carpool, so I decided to come over. It turned out good. The track kind of suited the bike. I got a good start, went in to the lead and battled with Mikey (Witkowski) there a little bit, and was able to hold on to the finish Colten Zuidema was the top A rider in eighth overall. Jason Thomas had the throttle on his Husqvarna 125 pinned en route to victory at the Beaman Monster OMA in Missouri. P52 there. It was good. Adam Bonneur nabbed the final Pro 1 podium spot, and third overall, aboard his FunMart Cycles Fly Racing G2 Suzuki RM-Z450. Mark Heresco (SRT KTM) was fourth overall, followed by Alex Witkowski (Beta) in fifth. Slick, muddy, rocky and rooty were the words used by many to describe the old-school OMA Nationals course laid out by Bill Gusse in the woods of the Patrick O Neill property that resulted in close racing. The margin between Thomas and Witkowski at the finish line was less than half of a wheel length after their tight, two-hour battle. John Gasso OVERALL 1. Jason Thomas (Hus) 2. Mike Witkowski (KTM) 3. Adam Bonneur (Suz) 4. Mark Heresco (KTM) Pro 2 5. Alex Witkowski (Beta) Pro 2 6. Duell Murphy (KTM) Pro 2 7. Logan Lowrey (Beta) Pro 2 8. Colten Zuidema (KTM) A 9. Steve Leivan (KTM) 10. Cody Bollinger (Yam) Pro 2 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN GASSO

8 ROUND 1 / MAY 20, 2017 HANGTOWN MX / RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP P84 But you never know until the gate drops. I m happy to be up here. It ll help me sleep easier at night. Plessinger tied on points for the day with Alex Martin, but the second-moto tiebreaker left him third overall. Over the years at Hangtown, I ve gotten sixth two years ago, fourth last year, and then third this year, so I m moving on up! Plessinger said. I had a good start the second moto and just fell behind. I made sure to be smart and not wreck myself early in the moto. It was gnarly out there. And hot. CN 450MX 1. Eli Tomac (Kaw) Marvin Musquin (KTM) Josh Grant (Kaw) Dean Wilson (Hus) Broc Tickle (Suz) Blake Baggett (KTM) Cooper Webb (Yam) Cole Seely (Hon) Justin Barcia (Suz) Justin Bogle (Suz) MX 1. Zach Osborne (Hus) Alex Martin (KTM) Aaron Plessinger (Yam) Adam Cianciarulo (Kaw) Austin Forkner (Kaw) Colt Nichols (Yam) Joey Savatgy (Kaw) Justin Hill (Kaw) Mitchell Oldenburg (KTM) Michell Harrison (Yam) 9-11 RJ Wageman won the FMF 125cc Dream Race. Briefly... After over four months of Supercross, where the races are at night during the winter and spring (leading to cool and even cold temperatures), the start of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship can be a bit shocking for racers, crewmembers, and even photographers and journalists. Hangtown was brutal, and it was made worse by unseasonably cool temperatures in California in the couple of weeks leading up to the MX National opener. Most of the racers have been staying in California for the final swing of the Supercross series and leading into the Nationals, and after the season-finale Las Vegas Supercross, California daytime temperatures hovered in the low-tomid 60s ideal for riding, but not for warm-weather training. The Hangtown MX National featured temps in the low-to-mid 90s, but honestly felt significantly hotter than that. Even the breeze was hot. Add that to the incredibly rough and difficult track conditions, and it goes a long way toward explaining the rash of inconsistent results throughout both classes. It s not often that a guy can go 10-4 for fourth overall like Dean Wilson did in the 450cc class, nor is it a common occurrence for a 4-4 score to land a guy second overall, like it did for Alex Martin in the 250cc class. Glen Helen, as of now, is supposed to be somewhat cooler in terms of temperature, but things can change before then. The craziest thing might be that the site of round three in Lakewood, Colorado, which is scheduled to take place the weekend after Glen Helen, is currently under a blanket of snow! Anybody have a line on about 100 of those snow-bike kits? With the much higher temperatures, many of the teams were running additional cooling devices on their motorcycles, such as electric radiator fans. Last year, the Monster Energy Kawasaki team ran an engine-oil cooler behind the left-side radiator to help keep their engines cool, and this year they added some trick carbon-fiber shrouds to direct air from the back of the leftside radiators to the oil coolers. Some pundits actually blamed some of the new electronics for quite a few of the malfunctions we saw in the 250MX class. As usual, the teams themselves were hushed about what

9 ROUND 1 / MAY 20, 2017 HANGTOWN MX / RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA MOTOCROSS Briefly... LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP P86 caused these issues, but at least three 250cc riders had at least four major malfunctions at Hangtown. The worst hit was JGR Suzuki s Kyle Cunningham, who charged forward from a so-so start to move into the top 10 in the first moto before his bike died on him after he completed 10 out of 16 laps. In the second moto, again, he moved forward into the top 10 early in the race, only for his bike to die yet again, this time only three laps into the moto. Geico Honda s Jeremy Martin also suffered a similar mechanical on lap 11 of the first 250MX moto, causing him to score a DNF after moving forward from ninth up to sixth in the race. And Pro Circuit Kawasaki s Austin Forkner actually only made it about 1/3 of a lap in the opening moto before he was seen coasting down the hill toward the mechanics area. He repeatedly revved his bike, and it sounded sick like a two-stroke with a fouled plug. His crew picked the bike up, threw it on a stand and fumbled with something under the tank on the left side of the bike (without any tools) for a few seconds before restarting the bike, at which point it sounded completely normal again. He rejoined the race and finished 11th, then backed that up with a second in moto two. The first moto, I had some electrical problems on the first lap, and there was nothing the team could do or anything, but they [the AMA] made me wait until everybody passed before I could go, so I was dead last, Forkner said. But I came back through and got 11th, and I felt good at the end... The Hangtown Motocross Classic hosted the FMF 125cc Dream Race before opening ceremonies, and it was a fun one to behold. The racers paraded their stinky tiddlers through the pits on their way to the track, rode a practice, and then lined up for the moto. Robbie Wageman led much of the moto and battled it out for a while with guys like Josh Hansen, but it was KTM s tester extraordinaire Mike Sleeter who worked his way through the field like a man possessed, and then took the lead on the final lap only to toss it all away about 50 feet from the checkered flag when he swapped out on the Mechanics Straight. Sleeter went down, handing the win to Wageman. It was a bit weird to see both Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen in the pits at Hangtown, knowing they aren t racing. Dungey is retired now, obviously, but there was hopeful news coming from Ken Roczen in regard to his terrible left-arm injury he suffered at Anaheim II this year after winning the first two rounds of the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. The reigning 450MX National Champion was perhaps more direct and positive than ever about his potential to recover from this injury, which many have speculated could actually be a career-ending injury: It could be a lot worse! Roczen said. I m happy to be here, walking on two legs, and I feel great! I m working out, I m eating good, and I m positive I ll be back next year. You can bet money on that. I ll be back winning, and winning championships especially. It s a rider s torture to just watch everybody race and stuff. But it comes with it. I love hanging out with the team, and seeing the fans. I m in good spirits, and I ll be back! Rockstar Energy Husqvarna s Jason Anderson had a pretty gnarly get-off on the opening lap of the first 450cc moto. He went down awkwardly and had a wooden stake which holds up the repeater banner well off the outside edge of the track punch through his goggle and nearly gouge him in the eye. It cut his face open below his left eye, and he was immediately rushed to the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit. Remarkably, he still came out and lined up for moto two and ended up starting nearly mid-pack from the outside of the gate, but fought his way up to sixth place at the finish, salvaging some decent points on the day. Star Racing Yamaha s Dylan Ferrandis has had a few podium finishes in the MX2 World Championships over the past few years, and with his strong showings near the end of the 2017 Supercross Championship, many expected big things of him at Hangtown. He qualified a very solid second overall in timed qualifying behind Zach Osborne, and then in the first moto he fought his way from outside the top 10 on the start to snatch fourth place from teammate Colt Nichols around the halfway point, only to go down awkwardly over a tabletop and hit his head hard enough to land himself in the AMA s concussion protocol. He was out for the day. He s expected to return to action at Glen Helen, but it depends on passing his concussion protocol tests with the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit.

10 ROUND 5 / MAY 20, 2017 CAL EXPO FAIRGROUNDS / SACRAMENTO, CA FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P88 SMITH ROLLS ON BRYAN SMITH MAKES IT THREE IN A ROW Bryan Smith (1) edged out Jared Mees (9) for the win at the Sacramento Mile. Brad Baker (6) was a close third.

11 VOL. 54 ISSUE 20 MAY 23, 2017 P89 BY DAVE HOENIG PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE HOENIG FLAT TRACK PHOTOS The American Flat Track Championship concluded its first West Coast swing with a trip to the Cal Expo Fairgrounds in Sacramento. Defending Grand National Champion Bryan Smith added to his legend as the master of the Sacramento Mile. Since coming back on the Grand National schedule in 2011, Bryan Smith has been the only winner and 2017 would prove to be no different. As has been the case so many times, it took skill, perfect track positioning and luck, but the result was the same. Mounted on a Harley-Davidson XR750, a Kawasaki 650 Ninja and now an Indian Scout, Smith continues to solidify his Mile Master credentials. It ended just like I planned. I won, said Smith. Really, the plan was to cruise for most of the race and then make something happen on the last couple laps. That s exactly how it all played out.

12 ROUND 5 / MAY 20, 2017 CAL EXPO FAIRGROUNDS / SACRAMENTO, CA FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P90 Mees spent some time out in front. The 25-lap, 18-rider main event quickly became a threerider war for the win as the modern-day Indian Wrecking Crew was in control from the flash of the green light. Smith led the way over his Indian Motorcycle/All State Insurance-backed teammate Brad Baker and Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing s Jared Mees. All three riders took turns leading, but at the halfway point, Baker seemed to have a little advantage, but were the veterans just trying to sucker in the young gun? I led most of the laps. The times they did pass me were just squeaking into one or going into three, said Baker. I had a really good setup so I could pass them to the start/finish line as well. I tried that out a couple times when Jared and Bryan got by me. Every time I had the lead off of four I felt like I was getting to the start/finish line before them. I didn t know if I was actually controlling the race. If I was able to get through three and four better than them, or if I was just the mouse being chased

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14 ROUND 5 / MAY 20, 2017 CAL EXPO FAIRGROUNDS / SACRAMENTO, CA FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P92 Smith looks back and sees Baker right behind him. around, added Baker. It turns out that I was the mouse being chased around. Those guys definitely had that in mind, but it s like if they just slipped up a little bit and didn t have that run, then they wouldn t have gotten by me. You ve got to pick one or the other. I chose the wrong one. Bryan had that strategy. For a few laps, it appeared there might be a challenge to the Indian team, as Jeffrey Carver (Ben Evans Racing/Carver s BBQ Kawasaki), Briar Bauman (Zanotti Racing/Bill Werner Kawasaki) and Sammy Halbert (Estenson Logistics Racing Yamaha) were all close behind. A slip by Carver coupled by a flat tire for Bauman let the lead trio get away and the remainder of the field was left to race for fourth. When the race entered its final stages the 130 mph chess game was in full swing. Around halfway through I think me and Bryan were thinking we are just going to roll around here and let Brad take the lead, push the pace, said Mees. He was pushing the pace hard. I was thinking maybe that tires were going to be a problem, then when five to go came we started shuffling around. On the miles you ve just got to react. When you re out front you are kind of a sitting duck, said Smith. I was up there for a minute and realized that I needed to hang back. I wasn t sure if tire wear was going to be a problem with the 10s, but Brad was going hard. I thought it was easier to just cruise for a little while. I played it safe and fortunately it worked out. Tire wear didn t look like it was an issue. His [Baker] might have been a little hotter than the rest of ours. I could tell that Bryan did not want to lead because he would let off going into turn one, with two laps to go, just wanting us to go on by, said Baker. Eventu-

15 ROUND 5 / MAY 20, 2017 CAL EXPO FAIRGROUNDS / SACRAMENTO, CA FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P94 ally you just have to take the bait and go on by or we are all just going slow. I didn t want to be in third. I had never been in that situation the whole race. Second was the worst it was and it wasn t very often. I just got a false reading of where I needed to be. I m definitely learning. I knew it was going to be hard to get away from both of those guys, said Smith. I knew it was going to come down to strategy in the last couple laps and not running off the groove, which I almost did a couple times. I didn t feel like I could just run away from everybody, I never have here. With the long straightaways, the draft plays such a big role in the race. The groove was smaller. I don t know why, maybe it was because we are running the harder tires and didn t lay down as much rubber or what, but it was narrow. You had to hit your mark or you were going off the groove. About five seconds back Carver and Halbert were having a great race for fourth. Although they were swapping the position all around the track Halbert was able to hold it at the finish line the last five laps. I had a great race with Jeffrey. Early on in the race I lost a little time when Bauman was blowing up or whatever, said Halbert. I was just playing catch up to catch up to Jeffrey. I was pushing hard to catch him and just slipped a little bit and lost a ton of time. I just kept push- It was another all-indian podium. ing and he kind of backed up towards me. Once we got to each other, we had a great race. We put some good close passes on each other and kept it clean, and was able to edge him out at the line. It was nice to at least win that battle. After a poor start, Shawn Baer was able to work his McNews Automotive/ Schaeffer s Motorsports KTM through traffic from 10th place and finish a solid sixth. Baer s solid race backed up his heat race win and a second-place finish in his semi. Davis Fisher (Bob Lanphere Beaverton Motorcycles Kawasaki) was another rider working his way up from a slow start. Finishing lap one in 14th place, Davis worked his way up to a hard earned seventh-place finish. Jake Shoemaker (Weirbach

16 VOL. 54 ISSUE 20 MAY 23, 2017 P95 Racing/Kawasaki USA Kawasaki) came out on top of a 25-lap war with Brandon Robinson (Harley-Davidson Motor Company/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson) for eighth place, with the two riders exchanging positions repeatedly. Rounding out the top 10 was Jarod Vanderkooi (Richie Morris Racing/McElroy Packaging Kawasaki) after slipping off the pace early and dropping to thirteenth Vanderkooi was able to struggle back to 10th some two seconds behind Robinson. AFT SINGLES As usual the, 15-lap, AFT Singles main produced some great racing. Parker Norris (Goodroe Racing Honda), Kevin Stollings (Ben Evans Racing/Dave s Cycles Honda) and fast qualifier, Cameron Smith (Carroll Motor Fuels Honda) led the field into the first turn. Stollings had the lead at the end of the first lap and it looked like he might be able to take control. Smith grabbed second over Norris and Kolby Carlile (Parkinson Brothers Honda). But last week s winner Shayna Texter (Richie Morris Racing Honda) was recovering from a slow start and by lap six had moved into second place right on Stollings rear wheel. You try and visualize mile racing all the time. Unfortunately it never goes how you visualized it, said Texter. I got off to a pretty bad start. I kind of struggled all night with starts actually, but the main event start was really bad. I just tried to pace myself. I knew it was fifteen laps and I tried to pick them off quickly. All of a sudden I got to Stollings, and it just felt like I was stalling, trying to catch him. All the while Texter was stalking Stollings, Tristan Avery (Ron Ayers Racing Honda) was carving his way to the front. After being as low as seventh on lap six Avery was in the mix by lap 10. I put it into three one lap and kind of got a little sniff of his [Stollings] draft. The five-togo board came out, and I was thinking that I ve just got to hit these markers right, said Texter. I finally caught him and Tristan Avery came out of nowhere. Avery took the lead on the last lap, but Texter was not to be

17 ROUND 5 / MAY 20, 2017 CAL EXPO FAIRGROUNDS / SACRAMENTO, CA FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P96 denied. I just tried to play my cards right on the last lap. I saw Tristan spun it up coming off of four. I just tried to get a great drive on him and just tried to hold on, said Texter. I was able to pass on the back stretch mostly. Going into three seemed like my strong point all day. I was struggling a little bit, after they watered the track before the main, coming off of four. I was trying to make up for it going into three. That s where it seemed I was strongest and able to make my passes, down the straightaways. Texter was able to hold off Avery at the line by of a second with Stollings a close of a second back. Parker Norris was by himself in fourth, but the race for fifth was a six-rider battle. Kolby Carlile was able to edge Cameron Smith while Brandon Price (Don s Kawasaki/DPC Racing Kawasaki), John Vanderlaan (Southland Racing Products Honda), Ben Lowe (Bruce Lowe Excavating Honda) and Wyatt Anderson (Waters Autobody Racing KTM) rounded out the top 10. CN Shayna Texter captured her third victory in a row in the AFT Singles class. AFT 1. Bryan Smith (Ind) 2. Jared Mees (Ind) 3. Brad Baker (Ind) 4. Sammy Halbert (Yam) 5. Jeffrey Carver Jr. (Kaw) 6. Shawn Baer (KTM) 7. Davis Fisher (Kaw) 8. Jake Shoemaker (Kaw) 9. Brandon Robinson (HD) 10. Jarod Vanderkooi (Kaw) AFT SINGLES 1. Shayna Texter (Hon) 2. Tristan Avery (Hon) 3. Kevin Stollings (Hon) 4. Parker Norris (Hon) 5. Kolby Carlile (Hon) 6. Cameron Smith (Hon) 7. Brandon Price (Kaw) 8. John Vanderlaan (Hon) 9. Ben Lowe (Hon) 10. Wyatt Anderson (KTM) cont. on page 98

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19 ROUND 5 / MAY 20, 2017 CAL EXPO FAIRGROUNDS / SACRAMENTO, CA FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP 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 production-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

20 ROUND 5 / MAY 20, 2017 CAL EXPO FAIRGROUNDS / SACRAMENTO, CA FLAT TRACK Briefly AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P100 Opening ceremonies for the near capacity crowd that was on hand for the Harley-Davidson Sacramento Mile presented by Cycle Gear featured the legendary Kenny Roberts and Kenny Roberts Jr. as the Grand Marshalls of the event. The pair are the only father-son duo to win premier Grand Prix World Championships and be inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame. Also making a special appearance was a legendary machine the infamous Yamaha TZ750. The legend of the TZ750 was spurred by Roberts Sr. s epic win at the 1975 Indy Mile. Ray Abrams (A&A Racing), a longtime supporter of Roberts Sr. and instrumental in the TZ750 project, was on hand with his famous motorcycle. Former Grand National Champion Joe Kopp, turned a few laps on one of flat track racing s most legendary builds. There was a special four-lap race, the Joe Leonard Memorial Dash for Cash, honoring the sport s first Grand National Champion who recently passed at the age of 84. Roberts Sr., a two-time Grand National Champion himself, threw the green flag Old School to start the race. Brad Baker just edged out his Indian Motorcycle teammate Jared Mees for the win. Shawn Baer was able to just hold off the other Indian rider Bryan Smith for third. Jeffrey Carver and Briar Bauman rounded out the field on their Kawasakis. Consecutive wins on mile racetracks are moving Bryan Smith up the in the record book and the next three races on the schedule are all mile racetracks. With all the miles in a row my guys are on top of it. We ve done what we could to conserve engines, said Smith. We re heading back to the shop now, so I m sure whatever we need to rebuild we will rebuild. I love Springfield; Kenny [Coolbeth] got me last fall there, so I feel like I need redemption. I need to win that one this spring. I ll be going for the win, of course. The win moves Bryan Smith out of a tie with Bart Markel and Henry Wiles into sole possession of ninth place in the all-time GNC total wins with 29 and just two behind Ricky Graham for fourth place in mile victories with 16, still a far cry from the all-time mile winner Scott Parker (55 wins). A certain level of frustration is starting to set into the other half of Smith s team however. I m definitely tired of getting second and third, said Brad Baker. I m ready to get to a couple race tracks like Lima where they have a cushion and some roughness, said Brad Baker. You can go up high, those are my types of racetracks, where you can really get creative. If I m doing this well on these racetracks, I m really looking forward to the races where I feel like I will shine. You could push hard here, but you couldn t push that hard. If you really tried to put the hammer down, especially mid corner, you would end up breaking loose. It was such a narrow groove. You had to ride right on the very bottom of it, because you wanted to give yourself enough wiggle room to where if the thing did break loose, you didn t get off the groove. After posting three consecutive wins, Bryan Smith holds a five-point lead over Jared Mees (112 to 107) in the AFT Twins championship. Sammy Halbert has managed to hold onto third, but Brad Baker is closing (72 to 60). Jarod Vanderkooi rounded out the top five. Shayna Texter stretched her lead to 16 over Kolby Carlile (87 to 71). Brandon Price, Ben Lowe and b are just back with 65, 58 and 55 points respectfully. Although the competition on the track was fierce, in the back of everyone s mind was the struggle former dirt tracker Nicky Hayden was going through. Stickers, hats and signs were everywhere. The flat track community was praying for his recovery.