CALISTOGA, CA, SEPT. 27 – Defending Grand National Champion Brad Baker got back to his winning ways at Calistoga Speedway on Saturday night, scoring his first win of the year at the Ramspur Winery Calistoga Half Mile. And the 21-year old on the Factory Harley-Davidson was not only happy, but relieved to get momentum rolling in his favor after a rough season.
“It’s been an up-and-down season for both me and the team,” Baker said. “We knew we had what it took. It was just lining all the pieces together.”
While it was a great of a night for Baker, it was the opposite for Villa-Esparza/Crosley Radio Kawasaki’s Bryan Smith who crossed the line in second, but was then disqualified for failing to acknowledge a black flag after his bike started smoking. The disqualification was a major shake up in the fight for the Grand National Championship as Smith, who went into Calistoga leading the championship over Jared Mees by nine points, now trails the Rogers Racing Harley-Davidson rider by 13 points with only one round to go.
Smith’s disqualification moved Mees to second and Jake Johnson to third on his Ramspur Winery Harley-Davidson. Johnson remains third in the championship trailing Mees by 16 points.
In fourth was South East Harley-Davidson’s Sammy Halbert. Halbert was the night’s Dash for Cash winner, but the win was overshadowed by concern for his brother Jethro Halbert, who was involved in bad crash on the exit of turn two in is heat race that also involved Aaron Lindfors.
Zanotti Racing Harley-Davidson’s Kenny Coolbeth finished fifth despite a very swollen and injured right hand that he suffered after coming together with Halbert in the Dash for Cash.
Doug Lawrence was sixth on the Lawrence Racing Harley-Davidson followed by USC Kawasaki’s Jake Shoemaker. Privateer Jeffrey Carver Jr. put his Harley-Davidson in eighth ahead of TJ Burnett Farms Kawasaki’s Brandon Robinson. Rounding out the top 10 was Don’s Kawasaki’s Henry Wiles, who had to switch to his backup bike and start from the back row and work his way through the pack.
In the Pro Singles class, Davis Fisher went on to take the first win of his career in a twice red-flagged race and put himself back into title contention, just six points behind Kyle Johnson who was involved in the first lap crash that saw him and Molly Terry transported to the hospital for further evaluation.
Joining Fisher on the podium was Jarod Vanderkooi in second and Ryan Foster in third.
Fisher moved into second in the title chase and sits six points back of Johnson. Ryan Wells – who was also involved in the first-lap crash – finished 13th and trails Johnson by 16 points going into Pomona.
2014 Calistoga Half Mile
AMA Pro Flat Track
Expert Main Results:
1. Brad Baker (Harley-Davidson)
2. Jared Mees (Harley-Davidson)
3. Jake Johnson (Harley-Davidson)
4. Sammy Halbert (Harley-Davidson)
5. Kenny Coolbeth (Harley-Davidson)
6. Doug Lawrence (Harley-Davidson)
7. Jake Shoemaker (Kawasaki)
8. Jeffrey Carver Jr. (Harley-Davidson)
9. Brandon Robinson (Kawasaki)
10. Henry Wiles (Kawasaki)
Pro Singles Results:
1. Davis Fisher (Honda)
2. Jarod Vanderkooi (Honda)
3. Ryan Foster (Honda)
4. Ryan Kearns (Yamaha)
5. Bronson Bauman (Honda)
6. Dan Bromley (KTM)
7. Jeffrey Lowery (Honda)
8. Nick Armstrong (Honda)
9. Kolby Carlile (KTM)
10. Cole Fredrickson (Honda)
