Coolbeth Wins Hagerstown Half Mile
Cycle News Staff | July 10, 2011
Harley-Davidson’s Kenny Coolbeth won his first AMA Grand National Flat Track of the season last night at the Hagerstown Half Mile – the third time the former Grand National Champion has won at the Maryland racetrack.
Coolbeth took control of the race early and looked to have it in the bag, but Doug Lawrence crashed in turn two, bringing out a red flag that changed everything. An eight-lap sprint to the finish from a single-file restart would determine the outcome. With Coolbeth again getting off the line cleanly, the red lights flashed again with Chris Carr getting hit off the start and crashing.
The third time was the charm for Coolbeth as he held on to score the win.
Second place went to Kawasaki-mounted Johnny Lewis, the former Supermoto racer leading home a battle between Jared Mees and Jake Johnson. Meanwhile, Jethro Halbert ended up fifth over Bryan Smith. Matt Weidman, Rob Pearson, Jimmy Wood and Shaun Russell and rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Points leader Sammy Halbert had a tough night. The Kings Kustoms rider struggled with rear grip and ultimately ended up finishing 14th. That allowed Johnson to cut into Halbert’s points lead and now the two are separated by just 15 points. Mees, meanwhile, is just another point behind in third place.
Hagerstown Half Mile
1. Kenny Coolberth (H-D)
2. Johnny Lewis (Kaw)
3. Jared Mees (H-D)
4. Jake Johnson (H-D)
5. Jethro Halbert (H-D)
6. Bryan Smith (H-D)
7. Matt Weidman (H-D)
8. Rob Pearson (H-D)
9. Jimmy Wood (H-D)
10. Shaun Russell (Kaw)
