[American Motorcyclist Association] - Bryan Smith takes nail-biting Springfield Mile

[Ninjette Newsbot]

The following is an industry press release...


Photo credit: AMA Pro Racing/Dave Hoenig


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May25, 2014) - Bryan Smith overcame four staggered restarts and a last-secondeffort by a surging Kenny Coolbeth to earn the coveted AMA Pro Flat TrackSpringfield Mile victory at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Sunday, May25. Smith beat Coolbeth to the stripe by a mere .041 seconds to claim hisfourth win at the legendary venue, and with the win, he now sits fifth in theoverall point standings.




"I couldn't ask for a betterday," said Smith following his victory. "It's been one heck of aneffort by my team getting this motorcycle ready for this race and I can't thankthem enough. There are a lot of the same features on my bike this year but it'salso very different than last year's at the same time. I'm very excited aboutthis win and I'm excited for what the future holds for the rest of theseason."



After dominating his heat, theDash for Cash, and even setting a new track record along the way, the No. 42Villa-Esparza/Crosley Radio Kawasaki mounted Smith looked as if he'd be well onhis way to destroying the competition after getting out to a fast start in themain event. This wasn't the case at all, as Smith found himself in an oldfashioned dogfight with several riders throughout the course of the race andwas never really able to break away from the pack.



Kenny Coolbeth was Smith'sbiggest threat of the main event aboard his powerful No. 2 Zanotti RacingHarley-Davidson. Coolbeth is off to an exceptional start to the 2014 season,having won at Daytona and scoring a second place finish today at Springfield,the Morris, Conn., native sits atop the overall point standings after threerounds.



Jared Mees, the 2012 GrandNational Champion, harassed Smith all day. Mees, mounted on his No. 9 RogersRacing Harley-Davidson gave himself plenty of excellent opportunities to takethe lead from Smith but was never able to find the edge, as he closed out thepodium with a respectable third place finish.



Jake Johnson, the 2010 and 2011Grand National Champion, earned an impressive fourth place finish aboard hisRamspur Winery Ducati to add a third different brand of motorcycle into themix, while defending Grand National Champion Brad Baker landed his No. 1Factory Harley-Davidson in the fifth spot to round out the top five.



AMA Pro Twins



In his first professional race, JarodVanderkooi broke onto the AMA Pro Flat Track scene on Sunday as he routed thecompetition aboard his 17F Johnny Vintage Motorcycle Kawasaki. Vanderkooi's6.656-second win over second place finisher Davis Fisher was an exceptional wayto start his 2014 season.



"I just knew I had to get areally good start and get out front early," said Vanderkooi. "Once Iwas able to get out front, I just kind of put it on cruise control. I wouldn'thave had this bike ready without my team. We worked on it every night trying toget it ready for this race and all the hard work paid off."



Vanderkooi proved Sunday he isgoing to be a name in the AMA Pro Flat Track ranks for years to come and hisfirst ever professional victory couldn't have come at a better venue - the SpringfieldMile.



Though a second place finish isalways somewhat bittersweet, Fisher's runner-up effort aboard his 67M TJBurnett Farms Kawasaki had to feel good. Like Vanderkooi, it was Fisher's firstcareer AMA Pro Twins race, and the Warren, Ore., product didn't disappoint ashe edged out third place finisher Jamison Minor by less than a second.



Minor closed out the podiumaboard his 27U Roy Miller Kawasaki. DAYTONA Flat Track Round 2 winner BrandonWilhelm earned a fourth place finish on Sunday aboard his 24J Sylvester FarmsHarley-Davidson and Mikeal Strable rounded out the top five aboard his 25LInlakes Sports Center Kawasaki.



Next Up

The stars of AMA Pro Flat Trackwill head to Knoxville, Iowa for the Knoxville Half Mile at Knoxville Racewayon June 15, 2014.






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