Photography by Larry Lawrence
LIMA, OH (June 28, 2015) – The race was delayed a day, but that was no problem for Harley-Davidson rider Brad Baker. Baker and his factory Harley XR750 were an unbeatable combination Sunday on the dusty and rough Lima Half-Mile at the Allen County Fairgrounds. Baker took over the lead on lap four and bolted away to a 2.658-second victory over Sammy Halbert, also Harley mounted. Briar Bauman broke through to score third on his Kawasaki, his first podium result of the season. Jared Mees and Jeffrey Carver, Jr. rounded out the top five.
There was a big shakeup in the points. Defending champ and No. 1 plate holder Mees took over the points lead after Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., who led coming into Lima, had a miserable race. Coolbeth had to use a provisional start just to get into the main and once there he languished in the back of the pack. He said the dust got so bad that he finally decided to pull off the track.
Mees now leads Halbert by three points (77-74), while Coolbeth is third with 69 points.
Saturday rains pushed the race to today, yet in spite of all the rain the area received, the track quickly turned dusty and track officials chased it all day. By the time of the national the track was also rough and rutted. Riders tried all types of lines trying to find a smoother line.
Henry Wiles took the early lead on his Zanotti Racing Harley-Davidson, but Baker, who was fast all day, chased him down. The two battled briefly, swapping the lead a few times before Baker began to pull away. He predominantly used a high line early in the race, but began racing lower in the corners late in the race.
Halbert ran a steady race to finish second, while Bauman worked his way through the field to third.
Championship contender Bryan Smith had challenges as well, reporting that his factory-backed Kawasaki had a throttle sticking wide open going into the turns a few times (caused possibly by a rock), causing him to nearly pull off the track. It finally worked itself out and Smith only salvaged eighth, this after running much stronger most of the day.
“It was a pretty tough track,” Baker said. “But with all the rain they’ve had here they did a good job just getting us on the track today. I don’t know what it was, but I just felt comfortable out there all day and I knew with the training I’ve been doing that I could run that kind of pace all day. After going through all the injuries and surgeries to repair my elbow, I feel like I’m final getting back to 100 percent.”
The race was twice red flagged after crashes by Kyle Johnson and later Jake Shoemaker.
J.R. Addison won the GNC2 race going away on his Parkinsons Bros. Honda. He controlled the race winning by 5.164 seconds over Davis Fisher. Ryan Well was third. Davis Fisher leads the series.
The championship moves to the Du Quoin (Ill.) Mile next Satruday, July 4.
Lima National Results – June 28, 2015
1. Brad Baker, Harley-Davidson.
2. Sammy Halbert, Harley-Davidson.
3. Briar Bauman, Kawasaki.
4. Jared Mees, Harley-Davidson.
5. Jeffrey Carver, Jr., Kawasaki.
6. Henry Wiles, Harley-Davidson.
7. Robert Pearson, KTM.
8. Bryan Smith, Kawasaki.
9. Brandon Robinson, Triumph.
10. Stevie Bonsey, Harley-Davidson.
Points
1. Mees, 77.
2. Halbert, 74.
3. Coolbeth, 69.
4. Baker, 68.
5. Robinson, 66.
GNC2
1. J.R. Addison, Honda.
2. Davis Fisher, Honda.
3. Ryan Wells, Honda.
4. Hunter Edwards, Honda.
5. Bronson Bauman, Honda.
