2010 AMA Flat Track Gas City Insider

Only one second separates pole position from 40th, blink and you miss the top 15 riders, pull a couple of bucks out of your pocket for a hot dog and you’re a lap down. It's fast, it's intense, its Flat Track!

Round 6 of the AMA Pro K&N Grand National Championship was rescheduled due to heavy rains on June 5th. Two weeks passed and everyone was itching for a race. AMA Pro Flat Track decided to slot Gas City into a vacant spot on the schedule after the Red Mile in Lexington, KY, was canceled several months ago. The sun poked through Saturday morning, to the delight of fans, teams and organizers alike. The 1/4 mile short track was a brand new venue for almost everyone. Dark Indiana clay lined a steeply banked, and very wide, oval track. The speedway was so wide, in fact, that organizers decided not to place Airfencing around the circuit, surprising some of the riders.

If you've ever made a batch of brownies in a mixing bowl, you have a fair idea of what this track looks like. Standing in the infield you could not see over the outside rim of the circuit. With the top motorcycle racers in the country, spinning the rear tire up, four wide in every corner and cooking it down the short straights, they would've whipped up a batch of brownies large enough to feed the entire state of Indiana. Who doesn't like a little Goodyear rubber and some tear-off sprinkles on their brownies?

Brownie fantasies aside, we were in for good racing. The steep banking allowed experimentation from the riders. Some chose set their bikes up for a higher line, using momentum from the top of the banking to shoot them through the apex and out onto the straight at higher overall speeds. Others ran a high-low line, riding high and deep into the corner entry, before dropping down to the lowest point of the track mid-corner and using the torque of their single cylinder 450s to pull them out onto the straight. The track provided enough room for the various race strategies, yet there was no clear indication as to which one would be the fastest throughout the night. Bikes on the highest line went down a tooth on their rear sprockets to gain as much speed as possible for the "long way around", while those on the low line went up a tooth to maximize torque and grunt their way out of the corners.

Jeffrey Carver (#24P) rolled his Van's Yamaha YZF 450 off the truck with soft suspension settings to cope with the lower speeds associated with short tracks. Throughout practice and qualifying the Pro Singles points leader found that the centrifugal force of the banked corners required much stiffer settings. He cranked down the compression as stiff as it would go to find a fast setup, eventually finishing second to pole setter James Rispoli (#71B) in qualifying. Carver checked out in the Pro Singles Main as Rispoli, aboard his Cycle Dynamics CRF450, diced with defending Champion Brad Baker (#1). The pair passed each other nearly 30 times during the 16 lap race, putting on the best show of the night for the crowd. Baker's front wheel touched the rear of Rispoli's Honda causing him to crash in the final turn. "He may have touched my wheel, but I didn't feel anything. I really don't see Baker as a threat, I am chasing Carver right now, he is the guy to beat this year," Rispoli remarked after he was questioned about the racing incident.

Jared Mees (#21) used the exact same settings from his dominating win at the Dairyland Classic two weeks prior. His Rocky Online/ Lucas Oil Honda was setup to run a low line, but Mees opted to change his gearing and run the high line after practice and qualifying. 2009 Expert Singles Champion Henry Wiles (#1) found the high line by accident. A mistake in turns 1 and 2 put him at the back of his heat race, so Wiles was forced to gamble on a the high line and made it work, passing 12 riders to take the win.

Wiles kept his Monster Energy Kawasaki on the high line for the main, taking the checkered flag. Jared Mees and Joe Kopp (#3) slotted into second and third. This trio of front runners has been remarkably consistent. Both Wiles and Mees have been on the podium in three out of four Expert Singles rounds, and Kopp has not finished lower than 7th this season. Their consistency has paid off in the overall points chase to determine the Grand National Champion. Kopp is leading with 118 points, Wiles moves to third (101 points) with his win at Gas City and Mees is currently fourth with 100 points.

Henry Wiles is establishing a name for himself on the stock-framed Singles bikes, and is capitalizing on the recent growth Flat Track is experiencing. Every time he steps in front of a camera or addresses the crowd he employs his marketing savvy. Prior to the Main in Gas City on Father's Day weekend, he thanked all the fathers in the stands for being there. Wiles admitted he would not be a professional motorcycle rider, had it not been for the sacrifices of his own father. In a fitting tribute all motorcycle fans appreciate, Henry celebrated the win with a monster burnout, and rode behind the wall to hand his Dad the checkered flag for the victory lap.

Jared Mees is an intelligent rider, who knows what it takes to win a championship. He is the defending GNC Twins Champion, despite not winning a race since July 2007. Jared commented on an often overlooked aspect of the points race, "The Dash for Cash is almost as important as the Main right now. You have the potential to earn 65pts in the Dash alone for the remaining 13 GNC rounds. That's almost three race wins. It is a huge factor in the Championship right now, putting a lot of pressure on you to qualify well and win your heat race." When asked what it would take to catch Joe Kopp, "Joe is on a roll right now. The guy is 41 years old and he is in great shape. He is one of those riders, once he builds momentum and confidence, watch out."

Kopp entered the season saying he would run the American AGIP/Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati in the Miles, and ride his Team Latus Harley-Davidson in the Half-Miles. Key members of the Flat Track community believe the Lloyd Brothers have done enough development on the Hypermotard-based dirt tracker to tame the Half-Mile circuits. David Lloyd insists the team only has enough funding to race the Ducati in the Miles, but the marketing advantages associated with running the Italian Twin may prove to be too tempting to resist.

The stage is set for Round 7 of the K&N Grand National Championship series in Lima, OH. Jeffrey Carver (#24P) is aiming to build on his 35-point lead in the Pro Singles class. Henry Wiles is fast on cushion tracks, nearly winning Lima in 2008, only to be edged at the line by Kopp. Who will muscle their bikes through the limestone cushion with ease? Will we feel the earth-shaking American V-Twins cross the line first, see the green flash of Bryan Smith's Kawasaki (#42) or the distinct, staccato exhaust note of a certain Italian Twin?

Join fellow motorcycle enthusiasts and experience the excitement as the stars of AMA Pro Flat Track battle wheel to wheel Saturday, June 26th at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, OH!