Wiles Wins AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Peoria TT DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 24, 2009) – Round four of the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Singles Championship came to the fabled Peoria Motorcycle Club’s Race Park in Peoria, Ill., for the 61st running of the Peoria TT. AMA Pro Grand National Singles points leader Henry Wiles (No. 17 Jones Brothers / DPC Racing Kawasaki) has missed a large portion of the season because of off-track injuries, but has won the last four Grand Nationals at Peoria and was ready for a big return to action Sunday. “I went to the doctor last week and he said my wrists were about 85 percent. I said ‘That should be enough let’s go racing,'” Wiles said. “I looked at that jump when I first got here and I don’t remember it being that big. My wrists really hurt, not so much on the landing, but there was just a lot of pain.” However, most of the pain was inflicted on the other riders, as the Michigan rider once again dominated the 25-lap National. JR Schnabel (No. 33 Memphis Shades / Parts Unlimited Yamaha) grabbed the hole shot and led into Turn 1, but his lead was short lived as Wiles shot between Schnabel and fast qualifier Joe Kopp (No. 3 Lanpheres Beaverton Renton Honda) to take the lead out of Turn 2. The first lap found Kopp in second with Mick Kirkness (No, 87 Yeager Cycles / Dave Burks Motorsports Suzuki) right on his heels. A major slip by Kopp dropped him to sixth as Schnabel, Kirkness, Shaun Russell (No. 28 Fox Valley Cycles / Rogers Lake Racing Honda) and defending GNC Singles Champion Jake Johnson (No. 1 SuperTrapp / F&S / Saddlemen Honda) were all able to get by. As Wiles pulled away, Schnabel and Kirkness went to war. Kopp worked his way back up and challenged Russell for fourth, exchanging the position several times before Russell took over for good on Lap 15. The Schnabel/Kirkness battle allowed Russell to close in, and as Kirkness looked for a way around Schnabel, Russell slipped by on Lap 22 and nailed down his first podium finish of the season. Kirkness, who hails from Australia, held on for a close fourth-place finish. Kopp dropped four seconds back of that battle and three seconds ahead of Chris Carr (No. 4 Chris Carr Racing / Dallas Fort Worth Honda), the riders taking fifth and sixth, respectively. Sammy Halbert (No. 43 Woody Kyle Racing / Fredericktown Yamaha) made a late-race pass on Johnson for seventh. Bryan Smith (No. 42 Bill Werner Racing Kawasaki) and Brandan Bergen (No. 26 National Cycle / Reiman’s H-D Honda) rounded out the top ten. Wiles points lead stands at 14 markers with only the Springfield Short Track, scheduled for September 5, remaining on the schedule. Round 10 of the Pro Singles Championship was also included in the day’s action and JD Beach (No. 95C Red Bull / Team 95 / America Honda) led the race wire to wire. Beach’s win didn’t come easy as Jeff Carver (No. 24P Vans / Stevens Racing Yamaha) was all over the multi-discipline racer. Carver was able to get by Beach on several occasions throughout the race, but Beach always regained the lead by the line. The final margin of victory was just 0.181 of a second. Pro Singles points leader Brad Baker (No. 17M Mike Velasco / Brothers Motorsports Honda) was a solid third, maintaining a five-point lead in the championship hunt over James Rispoli (No. 71B Weirbach Racing Suzuki), who finished fifth behind Kurtis Lee (No. 78J Mom & Dad / George Woods Honda). Unfortunately, several on-track incidents occurred on the beautiful Sunday afternoon, almost happening in Turn 1. During qualifying, Levi Mayer (No. 33P Bull’s Eye Racing Honda) and Grand National Twins Championship points leader Jared Mees (No. 21 Pro Honda Oils Chemicals Honda) were pitched off in their respective sessions. Adam Bushman (No. 19L Mom & Dad / Redline Cycle / Diamond Industries Honda) also took a spill in a tangle during the start of a heat race. The day of Jesse Janisch (No. 45 Woody Kyle Racing / Mid-Cities Motorsports Honda) also ended in a Turn 1 get together that collected several riders. Mayer, Bushman and Janisch were transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Mees took himself to the hospital to get checked out, the slow-moving rider returning before the races were over with no injuries. RESULTS PMC Race Park Peoria, Ill. August 23 AMA Pro Flat Track Pro Singles Championship: (18 riders / 12 laps) 1. JD Beach (Hon); 2. Jeff Carver (Yam); 3. Brad baker (Hon); 4. Kurtis Lee (Hon); 5. James Rispoli (Suz); 6. Chaz Parker (Hon); 7. Nigel Heggarty (Kaw); 8. Kayl Kolkman (Hon); 9. Lucas Scherb (Hsq); 10. Andrew Smith (Hon); 11. Jacob Hollenbeck (Hon); 12. Corby Scherb (Hon); 13. Brody Miller (Suz); 14. Stephen Vanderkuur (Hon); 15. Kyle Snyder (Kaw); 16. Zach Cassidy (Hon); 17. Randy Kidd (Hon); 18. Andrew Hobson (Hon). Time: 5:25.963 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Singles Championship: (18 riders / 25 laps) 1. Henry Wiles (Kaw); 2. JR Schnabel (Yam); 3. Shaun Russell (Hon); 4. Mick Kirkness (Suz); 5. Joe Kopp (Hon); 6. Chris Carr (Hon); 7. Sammy Halbert (Yam); 8. Jake Johnson (Hon); 9. Bryan Smith (Kaw); 10. Brandan Bergen (Hon); 11. Luke Gough (Hon); 12. Kevin Vance (Hon); 13. Jake Mataya (Hon); 14. Kenny Coolbeth (Hon); 15. Aaron King (KTM); 16. Dan Gedeon (Hon); 17. Bryan Bigelow (Hon); 18. Josh Butler (Hon). Time: 11:04.293 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. From its Daytona Beach headquarters, the organization operates and manages AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT. AMA Pro Racing also manages and works closely with the day-to-day operational organizations of the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship and the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship Series in addition to other two-wheel and ATV series. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.