| MEES EARNS VICTORY IN VIRGINIA FOR
HARLEY-DAVIDSON WRECKING CREW Wrecking Crew Team Holds Four
of Top Five Points Positions
SALUDA, Va. (July 17, 2006) – Jared Mees led Screamin' Eagle
Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew Saturday, earning a place on the top spot
of the podium during an AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Twins
championship competition. Mees – a Clio, Mich., resident – took the Joe
Weatherly Memorial event victory, riding his Texter Harley-Davidson/Screamin'
Eagle entry to the win at Virginia Motor Speedway.
"It was actually the most important win of them all," Mees said of his
first win of the season, third career. "My team is based in Virginia,
and all of (tuner, team owner) Johnny Goad's friends, family and
neighbors were all at the track. To pull off a win there in front of
everyone made Johnny look like the fat cat."
The Lancaster Harley-Davidson supported rider said the win helps ease
the pain of some poor finishes earlier in the season – results the team
couldn't avoid.
"We had the lead in a race a few weeks back and then got a flat tire
with less than five laps to go," Mees said. "We’ve had some bad luck
like that but it's turning around. We have buttoned things up and now we
can move forward. The win is going to just give this team more
confidence. Everything is clicking and we're lucky to have great dealers
and sponsors to help make it all happen."
The win propelled Mees into the top five of the point standings for the
first time this year. Mees is fifth after six Twins events this season
and he's in good company too. Harley-Davidson dealer supported riders
dominate the top 10 in AMA Flat Track point standings. Bryan Smith and
the Pat Moroney's/Screamin' Eagle team are tied for first place with
Chris Carr and the Quality Pre-Owned Ford Harley-Davidson team. Screamin'
Eagle factory supported riders Kenny Coolbeth and Rich King are third
and fourth, respectively.
Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso said this is exactly what the
Motor Company was striving for when they decided to revive the Wrecking
Crew team concept from the 1920s.
"The concept of the wrecking crew is working and we have our
Harley-Davidson supported riders in four of the top five spots," Paluso
said. "From the team standpoint, everyone worked so well together this
weekend. This is our second Wrecking Crew win of the season (Coolbeth
earned the Lake Odessa, Mich. Win) and second in three events."
Smith finished in third place during the main event while Coolbeth was
sixth.
King did not qualify for the main event for the first time this season.
A broken fuel line kept King from moving on to the final race.
"We were the third-fastest in the qualifier and then it went downhill
from there," King said. "We thought we would make a couple of changes to
the bike and go faster and we ended up not making the main event because
of that. Dirt track racing is like being on a roller coaster and every
team has their ups and downs.
"The weekend could have been a lot worse. It's tough watching the main
event instead of racing in the main event but I had three teammates
racing out there. Jared won and Chris Carr finished 16th and both of
those things helped our team. It would have been nice to gain some
ground on Chris, but we just have to put it all behind us, look forward
and try to gain some championship points next weekend."
There are seven GNC Twins events remaining on the schedule before the
champion is crowned at the season finale event at Scioto Downs in
Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 23.
"It's so unfortunate what happened to Rich," Paluso said. "The good news
is that Kenny went out and finished well for the factory team. Without
gaining any points Rich is still in the top five and he's anxious to get
to the next event. Rich is one of the best at staying focused on his
season goals and this won't get him down."
The Mees victory shows the strength of the entire class of competition
this season. Only Carr has earned multiple victories this season. Carr
captured the season opening event win at Springfield, Ill., as well as
the win in Syracuse, N.Y. Three other riders, Coolbeth (Lake Odessa,
Mich., winner) and Dominic Beaulac (Lima, Ohio) and the Lombardi
Harley-Davidson team as well as Mike Hacker and the Doc's
Harley-Davidson team (West Virginia) had posted wins this season before
Mees added to the list on Saturday.
"The competition is great and we always have multiple winners throughout
the season," King said. "But what makes this season different is the
amount of events. They split the series and separated the singles and
the twins categories and now we don't have as many races in each
individual category. That makes each race more and more critical."
Saluda, Va. Screamin' Eagle Wrecking Crew Race Summary
Main Event Finish Heat Finish Qualifying
Jared Mees 1st 1st 4th
Bryan Smith 3rd 2nd 8th
Kenny Coolbeth 6th 2nd 6th
Rich King DNQ 5th
AMA Top 10 Point standings: Flat Track
1. Chris Carr, Quality Pre-Owned Ford Harley-Davidson 70
Bryan Smith, Pat Moroney's/Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson 70
3. Kenny Coolbeth, Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson 65
4. Rich King, Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson 60
5. Jared Mees, Texter HD/ Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson 59
6. Mike Hacker, Doc's Harley-Davidson 51
7. Joe Kopp, Latus Harley-Davidson 48
8. Glen Schnabel, Harley-Davidson 46
9. Johnny Murphree, Coziahr Harley-Davidson 39
10. Jake Johnson, Suzuki 32
The next GNC Twins event for the AMA Flat Track racers is July 22 at the
Darke Country Fairgrounds in Greenville, Ohio.
In addition to the direct team sponsorship, Harley-Davidson will also
provide support through professional flat track contingency and the
Rider Support Verification Program (RSVP). Under the Screamin’ Eagle
banner the support will total more than $140,000 throughout the 2006
season. This includes a contingency program for qualified
Harley-Davidson XR750 riders on the AMA Flat Track series.
Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by and built in the
spirit of the raw adrenaline and power of motorcycle racing. Screamin’
Eagle Pro parts are specifically designed for race-use applications,
while Screamin’ Eagle parts offer street-use performance options for the
Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more
information.
The Screamin' Eagle Flat Track team is sponsored by Matco Tools. |
