Wiles Goes Wire to Wire at AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship Gas City Round
GAS CITY, IN – After rain washed away the first attempt, Round Six of the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com came to the beautiful Gas City I-69 Speedway in Gas City, IN, this time under clear skies and summer like conditions.
The defending K&N Filters Singles Grand National Champion made it two “Singles” wins in a row as he led the 25 lap National all the way despite a red flag on lap 12 when Canadian Don Taylor fell hard in turn one.
Wiles kept his focus on the restart and his # 1 Monster Energy Kawasaki was never seriously challenged. “It was kind of a cat and mouse game,” said Wiles. “I was looking for a good line and every time I thought I had one, I’d slip. Fortunately they were following me and were never able to take advantage.”
Joe Kopp was Wiles’ first challenger on his # 3 Latus Harley-Davidson / Moto Concepts Honda, but the restart did him in. # 21 Rocky online / Lucas oils’ Jared Mees got the better of Kopp and looked for a way around Wiles that never came.
Kopp settled into third as the lead trio pulled away. About a half second separated them as a great battle developed over fourth. Stratton Racing / Snedeker Racing’s # 27 Rob Pearson was able to hold off the Woody Kyle Racing / Fredericktown Yamaha backed Halbert Brothers as # 69 Jethro finished fifth and # 7 Sammy was sixth. # 44 Brandon Robinson was also right in the mix on his Action Motorsports / Lancaster Harley-Davidson backed Suzuki. All four finished within four tenths of a second.
Bettencourt Honda’s Kenny Coolbeth pushed his # 2 Honda into eighth with Dave Burks Motorsports / Yeager’s Cycle’s # 87 Mick Kirkness right on his heels. Chris Carr Racing / Dallas Fort Worth Honda’s # 4 Chris Carr rounded out the top ten after avoiding the fallen Taylor in the first half of the race.
In a preview of things to come in the K&N Filters Singles GNC Main, Wiles captured the four-lap, six-rider Dash for Cash, winning the 5 points and $1000 that go with it. Joe Kopp and Rob Pearson were second and third.
2000 Grand National Champion Joe Kopp gained 14 points on Jake Johnson and his # 5 Zanotti Racing Honda. Kopp now hold a 14 point lead heading into next weeks Lima, OH Half Mile National.
Vans Yamaha / GYTR’s Jeffery Carver on his # 24P Yamaha was almost as dominant in the Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Main.
Carver took over the lead from Defending Pro Singles Champion Brad Baker (# 1 Rod Lake Racing / Mike Velasco Honda) on lap three of the 16 lap main and never looked back, building a commanding lead in a few short laps.
Baker was quickly caught by fast qualifier James Rispoli and his # 71B Cycle Dynamics / ANT-Racing Honda. Baker and Rispoli exchanged second throughout the race. Unfortunately, the race didn’t make it all the way to the checkers as Baker lost the front end in turn three of the last lap and fell. This handed third to Woody Kyle Racing / West Coast Hot Shoes’ # 37C Honda of Brian Tapp. Tapp had just slipped by the # 55A Jake Shoemaker (Montgomeryville Cycle Suzuki). TLC Racing’s # 81C Zakk Palmer rounded out the top five.
Jeffery Carver is starting to run away with the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Grand National Championship Points Standings as he holds a commanding 34 point lead over James Rispoli with Brad Baker just one more point back.
Full PDF results from every session of this event can be found on the web at ~http://results.amaproracing.com/pdfresults/ft/2010/06-gascity/~
Earlier in the night, the first ever Bultaco Astro Cup took place, featuring the famous purpose-built flat track racers from the 1970’s. Manhattan, KS rider Bill Snyder came out on top when Nathan Long’s Bultaco expired half way through the race. Preston Dorfmeyer and Ken Sallant filled out the first Bultaco Astro Cup Podium.