July 02, 2007

Mees Takes Win - Carr Comes Home in 12th

Screamin' Eagle Wrecking Crew Sweeps Podium

LIMA, Ohio – Jared Mees earned his second consecutive AMA Flat Track victory Saturday, his fifth win overall. Mees rode his Blue Springs/Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson to the Allen Country Fairgrounds win in Lima – his second career win on the pea gravel track.

I still can't believe it, not yet. It was just one of those nights where everything was so great. It was just like Bulls Gap (last victory) where I was waiting for the bottom to drop and the bad luck never came. My team did a great job getting the bike ready for the race and it was as close to perfect as I could have asked for.
-Mees

Well, perfect might not be the exact word a typical racer might have used. Mees did have some technical difficulties during his heat race.

Kenny (Coolbeth, teammate) missed a shift and I actually hit him. I ripped off my foot peg and my brake and I had to go the rest of the race without them. We thought we had some dirt in the motor, but we still won. We ran the George Roeder Memorial Dash for Cash just to make sure the bike was running OK and we won that too. It was a great race day.
- Mees

The main event just as smoothly as Mees's first win of the season (Bulls Gap) as Mees led the race from start to finish for the second consecutive event.

Mees was in good company on the podium as he was surrounded by his Wrecking Crew teammates. Screamin' Eagle factory rider Kenny Coolbeth – the defending AMA Flat Track champion – finished in second place while Pat Moroney's/Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson rider Bryan Smith finished in third place. It was Smith's first podium finish since his Springfield, Ill., win last fall. Wrecking Crew rider Joe Kopp finished in seventh place on his Team Latus Harley-Davidson.

Crowd favorite, Ohio’s own Geo Roeder got the hole shot then ran second to Mees for eight laps before Smith and Coolbeth both got by. Roeder then settled into his fourth place for the remaining seventeen laps.

Mees said Coolbeth's second place was one of the most impressive feats of the weekend.

I got a great start and it just got better from there. But what Kenny did was amazing. He's a teammate and you want to see him do well, but we're also battling for the points lead and wins.
- Mees

Kenny blew up his motor in the heat race and had to use his backup bike and start from the third row of the main event. Honestly, I didn't think I would see him. Lima is such a tough track and it's real difficult to pass. I didn't think he would finish in the top five. He came out of the third row and raced into second place. I crossed the finish line and looked back and saw Kenny. I couldn't believe it. He's such a strong competitor.

It was the first time this season the Wrecking Crew riders swept the podium.

We're thrilled to have a 1-2-3 finish of the Wrecking Crew. We're so happy with the way Kenny bounced back. He started in the back and worked his way up to a podium finish. All of the Wrecking Crew riders did a great job this weekend.
- Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso

A poor start doomed the Quality Checked Certified Pre-Owned Ford backed Chris Carr to a twelfth place finish.

Mees remains the Twins points leader, holding a five-point lead over Coolbeth. Mees took over the top spot for the first time in his career following his win in Bulls Gap, Tenn., June 7.

Jared continues to remind the Harley family why we have him on the Wrecking Crew. He's earned back-to-back wins and that shows what a competitive team the Blue Springs Harley group has put together. Jared is one of the young, up-and-coming guys who is going to provide a competitive edge to every race.
- Paluso

Smith's third place was his first podium finish of the season – something he's been aiming for all season.

It was a good weekend because we had a great motorcycle. We had the fast time, I won the heat and it was looking really good. Jared got a good start and I got a bad start in the main event and it took me a while to get back up to the front. In the end, I just ran out of time. But it's nice being back on the podium and we have something to improve on when Joliet comes around next weekend.
- Bryan Smith and his Moroney’s Harley-Davidson / Screamin’ Eagle backed Harley

Jack Daniels Whisky / Glen’s Auto Body / Greg Crow Racing’s Kevin Varnes had a stellar night bouncing around fifth, fourth and sixth in the early part of the race before inhabiting fifth after Coolbeth passed through. Varnes was trying to coax his Harley home though as the engine began to sour.

For the first time in many years five motorcycle manufactures were represented in the National as Dan Gedeon got his Ed Fatzinger / KK Supply / DZR / Bill Dunlap backed Triumph into thirteenth place and Memphis Shades / Yamaha / Parts Unlimited’s Sammy Halbert turned a lot of heads, earning a direct transfer out of the heats . Unfortunately Halbert’s Yamaha only finished four laps in the main and he was credited with last place.

A great race in the twelve lap Pro Sport Invitational Main between Greg Crow Racing’s Justin Hittle and B&L Racing / Johnny’s Vintage Cycle’s Bobby DesCenna was cut short on lap eight as DesCenna coasted to a stop in turn two.

Hittle was home free as he held over a nine second lead on another great race, now for second. Racine Performance / Buddy Ford’s Shaun Ford and Stevens Cycle / Boulis Racing’s William Emmendorfer battled down to the wire with Ford holding on to the spot. Rhinehart Morris racing / KK Supply’s Ben Evans was fourth as Sun Coast Resources / Utility Trailer Sales’ Sammy Sweet rounded out the top ten.

With his win Mees maintained his points lead which has now grown to five points over Coolbeth (62 to 57). Johnson, Smith and Carr are all bunched right behind at 40, 39 and 38 points.

The next AMA Flat Track event is the rescheduled round in Joliet, Ill. Originally scheduled for June 23, the race was rained out and moved to July 7.

Lima, OH Screamin' Eagle Wrecking Crew Race Summary

Main Event Finish Heat Finish Qualifying

Jared Mees 1 1 1

Kenny Coolbeth 2 11 13

Bryan Smith 3 1 4

Joe Kopp 7 1 3

AMA Twins Top 10 Point Standings

(Following 3 of 13 events. Number of wins in parenthesis)

1. Jared Mees, Blue Springs H-D/ Screamin' Eagle H-D (2) 62

2. Kenny Coolbeth, Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson (1) 57

3. Jake Johnson, Suzuki 40

4. Bryan Smith, Pat Moroney's/Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson 39

5. Chris Carr, Quality Pre-Owned Ford Harley-Davidson (2) 38

6. Glen Schnabel, American Suzuki 31

7. Shaun Russell, Bartels' Harley-Davidson 31

8. Joe Kopp, Team Latus/Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson 31

9. Johnny Murphree, Coziahr Harley-Davidson 29

10. Henry Wiles, Lloyd Bros Motorsports Aprilla 18

July 2, 2007 12:08 PM | send page