Photography by Larry Lawrence
SPRINGFIELD, IL (May 24, 2015) – Bryan Smith knows how to play the drafting game at the Springfield Mile, and aided by the power of his Kawasaki-backed Crosley Brands/Howerton Motosports Kawasaki EX650, Smith made the perfect last-lap front straightaway slingshot move around Jared Mees to win the third round of the Harley-Davidson GNC1 Series presented by Vance & Hines. The margin of victory was maybe three-quarters of a bike length. The official margin was 0.136 seconds over Mees. Brad Baker and Sammy Halbert were right there in the lead pack as well, the leading quartet separated by a scant 0.276 seconds.
Smith controlled the final for nearly the entire way. He led 21 of the 25-lap Main. Mees, Sammy Halbert and Willie McCoy were the other official race leaders.
The race was run in winds gusting as high as 35 mile per hour, creating a tremendous headwind coming up the front straight.
“I knew with the wind I would be able to draft back into the lead pretty easily if anyone led me off of four,” said a confident Smith, who won three out of five Miles last year and was second to Coolbeth in the other two. “It just worked out that Jared started to dive off to the inside coming out of four and I just swept around the outside of him.”
Former World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss made his highly-anticipated AMA Pro Grand National debut at Springfield, and even though he didn’t make the Main. Bayliss looked strong with each lap in qualifying and the preliminary races. He finished 12th in his Semi, just edging out fellow road racer Danny Eslick.
“To expect to come out and kick these guys’ asses was totally unrealistic,” Bayliss admitted. “At first I definitely felt out of my element, but I got a lot more comfortable as the day went on and I’ll take this experience with me next week to Sacramento and try to build on what I learned.”
Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., who finished seventh, continues to lead the series standings by seven points over Mees (53-46). Halbert is third with 44 points. With the victory Smith jumped all the way up to seventh in the standings, 25-points down to Coolbeth.
Racing Unlimited/Parkinson Brothers Racing Kawasaki’s Davis Fisher edged Jamison Mino in the GNC2 final. Fisher leads the series over Justin Jones, who was 16th today.
The series next goes cross country to the prestigious Sacramento Mile on this coming Saturday, May 30.
Springfield Mile Results, May 24, 2015
1 42 Bryan Smith Crosley Brands,Howerton… Kawasaki EX650 25 Laps
2 1 Jared Mees Las Vegas H-D,Rogers Racing,Harley Davidson Motor… Harley-Davidson 0.136
3 6 Brad Baker Harley-Davidson Motor Co.,Screaming Eagle… Harley-Davidson 0.137
4 7 Sammy Halbert Briggs Auto,Scott Powersports,Martin… Kawasaki EX650 0.276
5 59 Willie McCoy H-D of Wausau,Independence H-D,Redline… Harley-Davidson 6.841
6 17 Henry Wiles Zanotti Racing,Motion Pro,Bell Helmets,Pinit… Harley-Davidson 7.436
7 2 Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. Zanotti Racing,H-D Motor Company,Gator H-D … Harley-Davidson 7.477
8 91 Mikey Martin Pro Plates,Rackley Trailers,Weirbach… Kawasaki EX650 11.192
9 73 Doug Lawrence Glidden Racing,Dreyer Motorsports,Tucker… Kawasaki EX650 11.217
10 77 Kyle Johnson Parkinson Brothers Racing,Hot Rod… Kawasaki EX650 11.218
Points
1. Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., 53
2. Jared Mees, 46
3. Sammy Halbert, 44
4. Brandon Robinson, 37
5. Briar Bauman, 33
