Home Sweet Home for Jared Mees

The pea-gravel surface makes the Lima Half-Mile particularly tricky, which Mees adores. He knows it is a racer’s track, where maintaining control of the bike through corners littered with ruts and bumps is the key to success. After a much smoother path to the Main Event this time around, Mees got a stellar jump off the start and left the field behind to start the 25-lap race. He continued to build a lead until just before halfway, when Jeffrey Carver Jr. whittled away the deficit to just under a second. Like the champion he is, Mees withstood the challenge, navigated through traffic with ease, and ultimately pulled back out to a multi-second advantage.

Mees led every lap of the Main Event and cruised to yet another checkered flag, crossing the line 2.7 seconds ahead of Carver.

“Winning the Lima Half-Mile…this is the baddest race to win. This track is so demanding, and tonight it was really demanding. You just had no time to get off the throttle, and it got really physical with some ruts and bumps. I love winning at this racetrack – it’s awesome.”

Mees’ Indian Motorcycle Racing teammate and fellow Monster Energy rider Brad Baker followed in fifth, rebounding from a bad start.

The dominance in Ohio is just the latest instance of what has been a dream season for Mees. A tire controversy early in the championship not only took away a victory at Dixie Speedway in Georgia, it also threatened to leave a black cloud over the team due to the questionable tactics. Rather than get mired in the potential drama, Mees and his team responded by winning the next four races, all in pretty convincing fashion. Now the early season penalty is nothing but a distant memory, and Mees’ focus has now shifted to the very real potential of winning 16 of 18 races this season, which would of course result in yet another American Flat Track title.

Mees enjoys a commanding 67-point lead over Henry Wiles in the AFT Twins standings with eight rounds remaining. Baker sits third, 23 points out of second.