DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 21, 2013) – With three rounds of AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles in the books, defending Grand National Champion Jared Mees (Rogers Racing/Harley-Davidson) finds himself farther back in the point standings than he’s grown accustomed to in previous seasons. Mees notched a Round 1 third place finish at DAYTONA Flat Track to kick off the 2013 season. However, a 15th place effort during Round 2 and a bad break during Round 3 at the Stockton Half-Mile that caused him to slide off the grid and finish in 16th has landed him in 7th in the overall point standings heading into the legendary Springfield Mile this weekend.

Mees seemed to have all of his ducks in a row last weekend at the Stockton Half-Mile. The Michigan product has dominated half-mile tracks over the duration of his impressive career and it looked like he was on his way to yet another strong performance. Mees won his heat race and also claimed victory in the evening’s Dash for Cash. However, all it took was one slip up in the Expert Main Event and Mees saw everything he’d worked so hard for leading up to that race get swept away as he went flying off the groove of turn four and was unable to recover for the remainder of the contest, eventually falling off the lead lap.

Despite being in unfamiliar territory heading into Round 4, Mees remains optimistic about his success in 2013, and has good reason to be. As a proven winner, Mees is a rider that should never be ruled out of contention.

“I caught a bad break at Stockton but I still feel that I have just as much of a chance to win as anyone,” said Mees. “The goal is to go out there and win, that’s it. I’m very excited to go out and compete at Springfield. There are some guys that are really stepping up this year which makes the competition that much better.”

The legendary Springfield Mile is scheduled for May 26, 2013 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and expects to be a miraculous display of flat track talent as the legendary course has played host to some of the most memorable dirt track races in the sport’s rich history. Like Stockton, fans will have the ability to view the event LIVE at http://www.amaprolive.com/ft/. For tickets and more information regarding the Springfield Mile, fans are encouraged to visit http://www.illinoismda.com/ or call (217)-753-8866 or (888)-468-1622.