Photography by Larry Lawrence
DELMAR, DE (Sept. 19, 2015) — Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. had a stellar outing at the Delaware International Speedway Half-Mile on Saturday night, winning the AMA Pro Flat Track event dubbed the ‘Roar on the Shore’. Coolbeth raced his Zanotti Racing Harley-Davidson XR750 to a convincing 1.661-second margin of victory over Don’s Kawasaki’s Jeffrey Carver, Jr. and Jake Johnson on the factory Harley.
Coolbeth essentially had to win the race twice, after it was red flagged about halfway through due to a Sammy Halbert crash, which Halbert walked away from unhurt. Coolbeth had a comfortable lead at the red flag, and he was able to duplicate gapping the field after the restart.
It marked Coolbeth’s second win of the season.
“I was thinking, ‘Why, why does this always seem to happen when I have a big lead?’” Coolbeth said of his thoughts when the red flag came out. “But fortunately the Zanotti team gave me a great motorcycle tonight and I didn’t have too much trouble building back the lead again.”
Carver finished a lonely second, his best result of the season. And Johnson held off hard-charging rookie Dominic Colindres for the final podium spot.
Series leader Jared Mees jumped the start and had to move his Las Vegas H-D/Rogers Racing Harley-Davidson back to the penalty line. Alongside him in the back was his nearest rival Bryan Smith, who had to switch bikes before the Main, when the bike he was slated to ride began to misfire.
Mees eventually worked his way up to eighth on the hard-to-pass track, while the shift linkage broke on Smith’s Crosley Brands/Howerton Motorsports Kawasaki forcing him to ride around in second gear for several laps, before finally getting it into third. He finished 14th.
The end result is Mees added to his lead over Smith, which now stands at seven with just two rounds remaining 188-181, while Coolbeth, who also won the point for the Dash for Cash win, made a big jump in points and is third with 168. With his crash and 18th-place finish, Halbert dropped to fourth in the series with 157. Those four are the only riders still in contention for the championship.
Davis Fisher earned the Roar on the Shore GNC2 main event victory on Saturday night and clinched the GNC2 championship with the win. Fisher’s dominance in 2015 has been a record-setting year and the entire flat track world is eager to see what he can do when he graduates to the premier Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines class, which many expect will happen next season.
“I don’t know what to think right now, I am just so excited,” said Fisher. “This was a great rebound season after losing out to Kyle Johnson by one point in the GNC2 championship chase last season. To be on top with two rounds to go still feels quite amazing. I have to thank all of my sponsors for giving me this opportunity and also all of the fans for coming out.”
Bronson Bauman and Dan Bromley rounded out the GNC2 podium finishers.
There was bad news at the race. Nichole Mees, who did so well in timed qualifying, crashed hard in turn two during her heat race and had to be taken to the hospital with what was described as an eye injury. No other information was available at this time.
The Ramspur Winery Calistoga Half-Mile presented by Triumph, previously scheduled on Sept. 26 as Round 13 of the 2015 AMA Pro Flat Track schedule, has been postponed due to the California wildfires. Calistoga Speedway is located at the Napa County Fairgrounds, which are being used as an evacuation center for those displaced by the fires. Additional information on the rescheduling of the event will be released as soon as it is available.
AMA Pro Flat Track Results from the Delaware International Speedway Half-Mile in Delmar, DE – Sept. 19, 2015
1 2 Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. Harley-Davidson 25 Laps
2 23 Jeffrey Carver Jr. Kawasaki EX650 1.661
3 5 Jake Johnson Harley-Davidson 750 2.209
4 66Y Dominic Colindres Yamaha FZ07 2.787
5 17F Jarod Vanderkooi Kawasaki EX650 3.401
6 17 Henry Wiles Harley-Davidson 4.872
7 65 Cory Texter Kawasaki EX650 5.852
8 1 Jared Mees Harley-Davidson 6.200
9 14 Briar Bauman Kawasaki EX650 7.274
10 49 Chad Cose Kawasaki EX650 7.437
GNC2
1 67M Davis Fisher Kawasaki EX650 16 Laps
2 30Z Bronson Bauman Harley-Davidson 750 5.171
3 54A Dan Bromley Kawasaki EX650 5.906
4 94B Ryan Wells Kawasaki EX650 6.291
5 16S Tristan Avery Kawasaki EX650 7.057
