Photography by Larry Lawrence
SACRAMENTO (May 30, 2015) — They may have to consider renaming the Sacramento Mile the Bryan Smith Mile if he keeps this up. Smith, from Flint, Mich., riding a Kawasaki, made a perfect slingshot pass past Triumph rider Brandon Robinson as they sped to the finish line to win the 50th running of Sacramento Mile by a slim margin of 0.020 seconds. For Smith it marked a record fifth consecutive win at the mile-long horse track inside Cal Expo.
Defending series champ Jared Mees finished third on his Harley-Davidson.
Smith called this victory the most difficult of the five he’s won here.
“I didn’t know if it was going to happen tonight,” Smith said. “All the top guys had tire-wear issues and I decided to just lay back and try to preserve my tires until the end. I came around on the final lap and Brandon (Robinson) was so fast on that Triumph, but I caught his draft just in the nick of time and was able to get by him at the finish.
“It’s a real honor to win this race five straight. I don’t know how long I can keep this going, but I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.
The race saw multiple lead changes throughout the 25-lap event. Acampo, California’s Mikey Martin led the first lap. Brandon Robinson, Jared Mees, Brad Baker and winner Smith all led portions of the race.
Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., who finished fifth tonight, continues to lead the Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines points standings by five points (67-62) over Mees after four of 16 rounds.
Former World Superbike Champion crashed in his Semi in turn three and ended up hitting the protective air fence lignin the wall on the outside of the turn. He was transported to the hospital with a possible broken right leg, according to his team.
Nick Armstrong, of Norco, Calif., won the GNC2 race on a Honda over Tristan Avery, of Chesterfield, Va., and Brandon Wilhelm, of Aurora, Ind. With the win Armstrong takes over the GNC2 points lead. Davis Fisher, leader coming into the race, suffered a hard crash and finished 17th. Fisher injured his left wrist in the fall.
Sacramento Mile AMA Pro Grand National top-10 results – Saturday, May 30, 2015
1. 42 Bryan Smith, Kawasaki EX650
2. 44 Brandon Robinson, Triumph Bonneville
3. 1 Jared Mees, Harley-Davidson XR750
4. 6 Brad Baker, Harley-Davidson XR750
5. 2 Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., Harley-Davidson XR750
6. 23 Jeffrey Carver, Jr. Kawasaki EX650
7. 59 Willie McCoy, Harley-Davidson XR750
8. 7 Sammy Halbert, Kawasaki EX650
9. 15 Nichole Mees, Harley Davidson XR750
10. 91 Mikey Martin, Kawasaki EX650
