American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 223 February 2018 | Page 8

Congratulations Jared Mees - 2017 Cycle News Rider of the Year

It doesn ’ t happen often that Cycle News chooses a dirt track racer as its Rider of the Year , but they have given Jared Mees the nod for 2017 . It has only occurred twice in the last 24 years : Legendary Scotty Parker back in 1996 , and the late , great Ricky Graham in 1993 , when RG won a dramatic
Grand National title on a Johnny Goad-tuned Honda after being written off as a has-been . Aided and abetted by tuner , Kenny Tolbert ( Chris Carr ’ s longtime tuner ), owner of 11 Grand National Championship titles Jared Mees posted a number of firsts in 2017 - he won the very first Daytona TT ; won 10 of 18 races ; was the first to win on the new Indian , and the first to capture a Championship for them . Mees became one of the few to win a Grand Slam - winning a TT , short track , half mile and mile in one season , and Mees recorded the most podiums in a season - 17 out of 18 .

Daytona TT to be “ Bigger , Better , Faster ”

A thorough track redesign made possible by utilizing the NASCAR pit road at Daytona International Speedway as part of the racing surface means the 2018 DAYTONA TT race track will be “ bigger , better and significantly faster ” when American Flat Track launches the 2018 season there on March 15 , 2018 . “ By extending the track design from the tri-oval and taking
over pitlane , seven-time Grand National Champion Chris Carr and his design team gained over 40 feet of width and were able to double the radiuses of the two book-end corners . The result will be faster cornering speeds , more passing opportunities for competitors , and more excitement for fans . “ The higher cornering speeds will obviously result in faster
straightaway speeds , which means negotiating the 6-foothigh jump incorporated into the second straightaway will be pivotal to the success of the racers that night . Carr ’ s redesign of the jump
section will make it the largest jump the competitors will face all season long .”
8 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - FEBRUARY 2018 www . AMDchampionship . com