Jared Mees takes triumphant Lima Half-Mile win in 2018
Shayna Texter wins AFT Singles Main Event
AFT Twins
Jared Mees rode like he had a point to prove this year at the Lima Half-Mile, with the same event being the only one where he did not place on the podium on his way to the title in 2017, when he had a horror weekend.
This made Saturday’s Lima Half-Mile an especially sweet win for the current championship winner, with 18 Main Event victories now to his name in the past two AFT seasons.
Serving as the race promoter of his home race on exactly the sort of demanding track Mees likes to point to as a measure of a rider’s ability, he failed to even qualify for last year’s Lima Half-Mile Main due to penalties incurred for jumping the start of his semi multiple times.
Being forced to swallow that bitter pill in 2017, Mees took full advantage of his rare opportunity for redemption at the Allen County Fairgrounds this time around. He bolted free from the start and left the pack to sort out the remainder of the positions in his roost around the pea-gravel cushion Half-Mile.
Things became considerably more interesting once the only rider to have beaten Mees in a straight fight all year – Jeffrey Carver Jr. – took over second place and put Mees in his sights. Carver successfully whittled away at the lead, slashing it from around two seconds all the way down to less than eight tenths just past half-distance.
Mees was ready with a response to Carver’s charge, slicing through traffic just as Carver’s desperate bid for a come-from-behind win eventually took its toll on his endurance. Mees not only blunted Carver’s charge but regained his advantage to ultimately claim the checkered flag with a 2.738-second margin of victory.
Jared Mees
“Winning the Lima Half-Mile… this is the baddest race to win. This track is so demanding, and tonight it was really demanding. You just had no time to get off the throttle, and it got really physical with some ruts and bumps. I love winning at this racetrack – it’s awesome.”
Even though Carver was unable to track down and overhaul his rival, earlier in the program he managed to win the last-ever George Roeder Dash-For-Cash. The prize money he was awarded following the four-lap sprint race waged by the top six AFT Twins qualifiers likely made his runner-up result a bit easier to accept.
Henry Wiles continued his remarkably strong and consistent 2018 campaign by finishing third. The result marked his fourth podium and eighth top five of a season.
In order to do so, Wiles was forced to chase down and overtake 2017 Lima Half-Mile winner Briar Bauman. Bauman held on to claim fourth while Brad Baker recovered from a rough start to take home a fifth-place result.
2018 American Flat Track – AFT Twins Main Event
- Jared Mees
- Jeffrey Carver Jr. +2.738
- Henry Wiles +4.642
- Briar Bauman +8.880
- Brad Baker +20.189
- Sammy Halbert +20.827
- Johnny Lewis +21.888
- Jarod Vanderkooi +22.613
- Jeremy Higgins +24.366
- Bryan Smith +25.364
2018 American Flat Track Point Standings – AFT Twins
- Jared Mees 220
- Henry Wiles 153
- Brad Baker 130
- Jeffrey Carver Jr. 120
- Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. 105
- Briar Bauman 104
- Bryan Smith 99
- Chad Cose 96
- Davis Fisher 88
- Sammy Halbert 87
AFT Singles
Fan favorite Shayna Texter made history on Saturday night at the Indian Motorcycle Lima Half-Mile by delivering Husqvarna’s first American Flat Track victory.
Texter, who holds the all-time win record for the AFT Singles class, had been repeatedly knocking on the door of that momentous achievement for weeks now. Coming into Lima she had logged four podiums aboard her rapidly-developing Husqvarna FC 450, including a pair of runner-up finishes.
Those results lent the long-awaited maiden Husqvarna triumph a certain sense of inevitability, but when she finally did break through, she did so with panache. Texter pulled a disappearing act on the opening lap and piled it on from there in an AFT Singles Main Event that was never really in doubt.
After taking the checkered flag with a full 4.765 seconds in hand to become the class’ seventh different winner in 10 races this season.
Shayna Texter
“It’s so cool… It’s so awesome! To get Husqvarna their first win in American Flat Track is a dream come true… Hats off to my entire team and everyone who has been behind me. It’s been a long year, and I’m so happy to finally get this one. It’s incredible to win Lima. Never in a million years would I imagine I’d win this race – it’s such a rough track. But I think spending a whole year with [boyfriend] Briar [Bauman] talking about Lima every single day since he won it last year, it kind of rubbed off on me. I tried to do what he did last year – hold it wide open and hope for the best!”
2016 AFT Singles Champ Ryan Wells finished second on Saturday night. Wells battled for the position with defending class champ Kolby Carlile before Carlile saw his race end early due to a mechanical.
Current AFT Singles points leader Dan Bromley earned the final spot on the podium following Carlile’s premature exit by slashing his way forward throughout the contest. Bromley was mired in tenth off the start but rebounded nicely to claim his eighth podium of 2018.
Reigning Flat Track Canada Champion Brodie Buchan took fourth, followed by last year’s race runner-up Kevin Stollings in fifth. Bromley continues to have a firm grasp on the AFT Singles title fight as it enters its second half. Following tonight’s result Bromley has 178 points to Wells’ 135 and Texter’s 134.
American Flat Track will be back in action next weekend for the Harley-Davidson New York Short Track at Weedsport Speedway, in Weedsport, N.Y., on Saturday, July 7.
2018 American Flat Track – AFT Singles Main Event
- Shayna Texter
- Ryan Wells +4.765
- Dan Bromley +6.449
- Brodie Buchan +7.581
- Kevin Stollings +8.065
- Cameron Smith +9.078
- Morgen Mischler +11.134
- Jeremiah Duffy +12.456
- Tristan Avery +16.470
- Oliver Brindley +16.787
2018 American Flat Track Point Standings – AFT Singles
- Dan Bromley 178
- Ryan Wells 135
- Shayna Texter 134
- Kolby Carlile 114
- Brandon Price 108
- Jesse Janisch 107
- Morgen Mischler 105
- Kevin Stollings 102
- Oliver Brindley 80
- Ben Lowe 66
