Smith Takes Second AMA Pro K&N Filters GNC Win for Kawasaki in Springfield Mile SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (September 6, 2010) – A large crowd filled the Illinois State Fairgrounds for round fourteen of the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com The Springfield Mile didn’t disappoint as the action was intense all day long. When the checkered flag fell on the twenty five lap National Kawasaki / Monster Energy / Werner-Springsteen Racing’s #42 Bryan Smith had repeated his Indianapolis results as he edged Lancaster Harley-Davidson / Dallas Fort Worth Honda’s #4 Chris Carr by just 48 thousandths of a second. Defending Grand National Twins Champion Rogers Lake Racing / Blue Springs Harley-Davidson’s #1 Jared Mees was third as the top three finished just over a quarter of a second apart. Harley-Davidson of Wausau’s #59 Willie McCoy made a rare visit to the series pay off with a solid fourth place finish. Harley-Davidson Motor Company’s #2 Kenny Coolbeth and Zanotti Racing’s #5 Jake Johnson filled out the lead pack. Johnson had been forced to a back-up bike and came from the fourth row to the back of the lead draft, but then was stuck right there. “The track was a lot faster for the National,” said Smith. “We were geared too low, it was my call, but I think if we had been geared a little taller I might have been able to get away. That was the idea going in.” Instead it was a twenty five lap war that did eventually fall to Smith. Carr proved himself to be the wily vet, despite losing his brakes mid-race. “I had to change the way I went into the turns to avoid hitting anyone,” said Carr. “It took a while to figure it out, but I just couldn’t draft the Kawasaki.” Smith was able to lead twenty one laps, including the all important twenty fifth. Carr held the point for three laps and McCoy led the tenth lap. Current Series points leader Latus Harley-Davidson / ENI USA’s #3 Joe Kopp had his potent Ducati in the mix early on, but lost contact with the lead draft and dropped into major conflict for seventh place. Kopp barely edged out title contender Kings Kustoms / KK Motorcycle Supply’s #7 Sammy Halbert as they led the last nine riders still running. All nine riders were separated by just over one second. The four lap Dash for Cash once again played a large part of the day. Chris Carr was able to come out on top of this as Jake Johnson and Jared Mees bumped in the last turn of the last lap. Johnson got the worst of it and was forced to his back-up bike for the National. Mees held on for second with Smith suffering his only defeat of the day in third. The Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Grand National Championship main was another nail bitter. The top seven were under one second apart, but somehow Price Truck Line / Kennedy Tire’s #22L Michael Toon came away with his second Springfield Mile win this year and third in a row at Springfield. TLC Racing / Angie Beighle Designs’ #81C Zakk Palmer was just a tick back in second with Defending Series Champion Rod Lake / Mike Velasco’s #1 Brad Baker, Weirbach Racing / General Engineering’s #20T Mike LaBelle, Series points leader Van’s Yamaha / Woody Kyle Racing’s Jeffery Carver, Lancaster Harley-Davidson’s Shayna Texter and Priestly Racing’s Corey Crawford were next as the top eleven riders were within seconds of the win. Joe Kopp’s lead in the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com Overall points race is shrinking as it now stands at ten over Jake Johnson. Defending Twins Champion Jared Mees and Sammy Halbert are tied twenty four points back. In the Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Grand National Championship, Jeffery Carver is cruising along maintaining a twenty point lead over Defending Series Champion Brad Baker with just three races remaining. Mack Daddy Racing’s #33E Mike Avila is in third place, but ninety two point out. ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS SPRINGFIELD, IL RESULTS: September 5, 2010 AMA PRO MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM PRO SINGLES MAIN (12 laps; 18 riders): 1. Michael Toon (Hon); 2. Zakk Palmer (Hon); 3. Brad Baker (Hon); 4. Michael Toon (Hon); 5. Jeffery Carver (Yam); 6. Shayna Texter (Hon); 7. Corey Crawford (Hon); 8. Jeremy Hamilton (Hon); 9. William Cato (Hon); 10. Jake Shoemaker (Suz); 11. Justin Minnaert (Kaw); 12. Chaz Springsteen (Kaw); 13. Mike Martin (Hon); 14. Cody Johncox (Yam); 15. Wyatt Maguire (Yam); 16. Michael Bickerton (Hon); 17. Brian Tapp (Hon); 18. Mike Avila (Hon). Time: 7:25.594 AMA PRO MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM PRO SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 14 of 17 rounds): 1. Jeffery Carver (255 pts / 4 wins); 2. Brad Baker (235 / 4 wins); 3. Mike Avila (163); 4. James Rispoli (160); 5. JD Beach (118 / 4 wins); 6. Mike Martin (117); 7. Mike LaBelle (116); 8. Chaz Springsteen (101); 9. Jake Shoemaker (90); 10. Michael Toon (80 / 2 wins); 11. William Cato (69); 12. Zakk Palmer (66); 13. Jeremy Hamilton (59); 14. Shayna Texter (57); 15. Gerit Callies (55); 16. (TIE) Tyler O’Hara / Wyatt Maguire (47); 18. Corey Crawford (43); 19. Brandon Laursen (35); 20. Ryan Foster (33). GNT DASH FOR CASH (4 laps; 6 riders): 1. Chris Carr (H-D); 2. Jared Mees (H-D); 3. Bryan Smith (Kaw); 4. Kenny Coolbeth (H-D); 5. Willie McCoy (H-D); 6. Jake Johnson (H-D). Time: 1:53.979. AMA PRO K&N GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED by MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM MAIN (25 laps; 18 riders): 1. Bryan Smith (Kaw); 2. Chris Carr (H-D); 3. Jared Mees (H-D); 4. Willie McCoy (H-D); 5. Kenny Coolbeth (H-D); 6. Jake Johnson (H-D); 7. Joe Kopp (Duc); 8. Sammy Halbert (H-D); 9. Johnny Lewis (Kaw); 10. Stevie Bonsey (H-D); 11. Henry Wiles (H-D); 12. JD Beach (H-D); 13. Shaun Russell (H-D); 14. Jethro Halbert (H-D); 15. Rob Pearson (H-D); 16. Logan Myers (H-D); 17. JR Schnabel (H-D); 18. Brandon Robinson (H-D). Time: 14:32.205. AMA PRO K&N GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED by MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM POINT STANDINGS (After 14 of 17rounds): 1. Joe Kopp (252 pts / 3 wins); 2. Jake Johnson (242 / 2 wins); 3. (TIE) Sammy Halbert (1 win) / Jared Mees (228); 5. Henry Wiles (224 / 5 wins); 6. Kenny Coolbeth (207); 7. Chris Carr (173); 8. Bryan Smith (164 / 2 wins); 9. Johnny Lewis (92); 10. Matt Weidman (91); 11. Rob Pearson (88); 12. Mick Kirkness (74); 13. Stevie Bonsey (69 / 1 win); 14. Jethro Halbert (68); 15. Brandon Robinson (42); 16. JR Schnabel (41); 17. Shaun Russell (39); 18. Luke Gough (38); 19. Willie McCoy (35); 20. PJ Jacobsen (31). AMA PRO K&N GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED by MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM TWINS POINT STANDINGS (After 8 of 11 rounds): 1. Sammy Halbert (147 pts); 2. Jake Johnson (144 / 1 win); 3. Joe Kopp (141 / 3 wins); 4. Kenny Coolbeth (129); 5. Jared Mees (128); 6. Chris Carr (123); 7. Bryan Smith (112 / 2 wins); 8. Henry Wiles (83 / 1 win); 9. Matt Weidman (56); 10. (TIE) Stevie Bonsey (1 win) / Rob Pearson (55); 12. Mick Kirkness (34); 13. Willie McCoy (33); 14. (TIE) Luke Gough / PJ Jacobsen (31); 16. (TIE) Johnny Lewis / Brandon Robinson (24); 18. JR Schnabel (22); 19. Jethro Halbert (20); 20. Larry Pegram (17). AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Harley-Davidson: COOLBETH IS FIFTH ON FACTORY HARLEY AT SPRINGFIELD MILE Harley Riders Chris Carr and Jared Mees Finish Second and Third SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle® factory rider Kenny Coolbeth rode a Harley-Davidson XR-750 to a fifth-place finish in the Grand National Twins main on the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Bryan Smith rode a Kawasaki to win the 14th round of the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com. Lancaster Harley-Davidson rider Chris Carr was second, followed by Blue Springs Harley-Davidson rider Jared Mees in third place. Coolbeth finished second in his heat race and started on the front row for the 25-lap main. From the start, a pack of riders led by Carr and including Smith, Coolbeth, Mees, Zanotti Racing rider Jake Johnson, and Harley-Davidson rider Willie McCoy pulled away from the pack and stayed together for the entire race, as the top-six riders were never separated by more than a second. In the first half of the race, Carr and Smith swapped the official lead five times, and McCoy led lap 10. Smith passed McCoy for the lead on lap 11, and then held the point for the rest of the race, though never by much more than a few tenths of a second, as Carr, McCoy and Mees battled for second place. Coolbeth ran as high as fourth position but never broke into the top three. On the last lap, Carr passed McCoy and Mees to jump from fourth to second place, but could not catch Smith, who crossed the finish line with a lead of 0.047 seconds over Carr. Mees was third, just 0.048 seconds behind Carr. McCoy was fourth, followed by Coolbeth and Johnson. “We had a bike that could run up front today, and I made a couple of good passes on the outside in the first laps to get with the leaders, but I just never had an opportunity to move up,” said Coolbeth. “For some reason the draft just wasn’t working for me today. It’s kind of windy here, so maybe that had something to do with it. It was a good effort by the team. I just wish I could have pushed past a few more bikes.” Before the Grand National Twins main, Carr won the four-lap Dash for Cash bonus sprint. After 14 events in the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship, American Agip/Lloyd Brothers Ducati rider Joe Kopp, who finished seventh at Springfield, holds a 10-point lead in the season points race with 252 points. Johnson moves from third to second place with 242 points. Mees and King Kustoms/KK Motorcycle Supply rider Sammy Halbert are tied for third with 228 points. KK Motorcycle Supply/Mike & Eddie Adkins rider Henry Wiles is fifth with 224 points, and Coolbeth is in sixth with 207 points. The AMA Grand National Twins will next race September 11 on the Minnesota Mile at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn. Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by and built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline and power of motorcycle racing. Screamin’ Eagle Pro parts are specifically designed for race-use applications, while Screamin’ Eagle parts offer street-use performance options for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information. The Screamin’ Eagle Flat Track team is sponsored by Matco Tools.