Racers hate losing. But it's safe to say that no one in the American Flat Track paddock was upset to see Briar Bauman score his first win on a twin in the Grand National Championship at the Lima Half-Mile.
The Zanotti Racing Kawasaki rider looked to be on form all day, winning his Heat and Semi in convincing fashion. But still, it’s hard to bet against the usual suspects—Indian Motorcycle’s Jared Mees, Bryan Smith and Brad Baker. Both Mees and Smith have been the front runners in the Grand National Championship in recent memory and this season has been no exception. As such, Indian Motorcycle has dominated the championship until lSaturday night when Bauman wowed the crowd with an otherworldly performance.
“It means everything,” Bauman said. “This is what we’ve worked for since we were racing 50’s. Obviously, you want to win a championship, but this is definitely the first step for that. I’ve won some 450 races but it’s not a twins national. A twins national—this is top dog. This is what counts. I honestly can’t even give you words what it feels like right now.”
On the flip side, both Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing’s Mees and Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by All State’s Smith had a less than stellar night. Mees jumped the start twice in his Semi and failed to make the Main, allowing Smith to retake the championship lead. But it was also Smith’s worse finish of the season (sixth), so the pair are separated by just five points at the halfway mark in the season.
With Mees and Smith struggling, it looked like the third member of the Wrecking Crew—Smith's teammate Baker—was poised to spoil Bauman's party. Baker is quite at home on the cushion tracks, but Baker admitted that Bauman was riding like "an animal." After the restart of the AFT Twins Main, Baker had his hands full with Jeffrey Carver, Jr on the Carver's BBQ Kawasaki Ninja 650. Baker was able to best Carver to take second, his sixth podium this year.
In the AFT Singles class, it was another first timer—Goodroe Racing Honda's Parker Norris. The Michigan native has quickly risen to the scene with back-to-back podiums, but this time at Lima, it was the top step. Joining Norris on the podium was Ben Evans Honda's Kevin Stollings and another Parkinson Brothers Racing Honda's Kyle Johnson.
