First of all, I want to offer my condolences to the family of Gary Nixon. He was a great man and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him and by the whole flat track “family.”

After being on and off the schedule for the last three or four years, this time Castle Rock was a go. I was somewhat concerned about how this race would go as the track is really tough to pass on and some of the local riders know it so well. It was hard to know what to expect. The Halbert and Baker brothers would be tough, having ridden it from their 50 cc days to now professionals.

I struggled a little through qualifying, but getting better each time I got on the track. In the 1st Heat I had Henry Wiles, Joe Kopp, Johnny Lewis, Jake Johnson, Jimmy Wood and Scott Baker. I got by Kopp and was working on Wiles, got by him and started to make ground. I won the Heat, placing me on the front row for the Main Event and the Dash for Cash. Watching Sammy Halbert closely in his Heat I could t ell he was the guy to beat today.

In the Dash for Cash Sammy got the hole shot and led it from start to finish as I finished 2nd. Still, I felt I could run his pace.

For the Main Event we lined up from inside to outside. Sammy got the hole shot and I was 3rd off the line but red flags came out right away as there was a big pile up on the jump. After a complete restart I was 2nd off this time, again behind Sammy. I was making time on him through the infield section but he was killing me off turn 4. Then there was another red flag at about the half-way point. This time it was a staggered restart with me in 2nd place. I tried to get around Sammy in turns 3 and 4 but went sideways, losing my drive and he stretched it out, putting a gap between us. I ended up in 2nd place, Sammy winning, and Brad Baker in 3rd.

I am now 10 points off the lead. This was the one race I was worried about and I feel it was a good night for me. There are 8 races left on the schedule.

We have this next weekend off, then it is Peoria. I Can’t wait. Hope to see you all out there. Until then, thanks for your support.

Jammin’ Jared Mees # 9.


Singles Series Sponsors 2011:
Lucas Oil, National Cycle, Rogers Lake Racing, Montgomeryville Cycle Center, Twisted Beverage CompanyTM, Saddlemen, Digger 57, M.E.H. Corp, Rod Lake, Goodwin Racing, Rockysonline .com, Arai Helmets, Speed Strength Leathers, KK Motorcycle Supply, A&A Racing, Steve & Cindy Vizzo, Battley Cycles, MRT Racing, Kelly's, MTA, JE Pistons, Cometic Gaskets, VP Racing Fuels,Tsubaki, Motion Pro, TCX Boots, Troy Lee Designs, K&N Filters, Millennium Technologies, Vortex, Craig Pickett, Goodridge, Works Connection, RekluseClutches, Gene & Gail Cummings, Eddie Mulder, NGK, Z Gallerie, Dick Winters, Oakley, WestCoast Hot Shoes, Jupiter Wheels, Supertrapp, ARC Levers, Moto Tassinari, EBC, Mikuni, Web Cam, Ancra, J&M Racing Frames, Pro Plates, Kold Kutter, Turn 1 Distributing. Crank Works Crank Shafts, Ez-up, Suburban H-D, Twenty Six Suspension, Flash, G2, Penske Racing, Chicken Hawk, Ferrea Valves, J2 Motorsports, Royal Publishing Co., Applied Diamond Coatings, M&Z Anodizing, Brent Armbruster, CV4, Bristol Core, Universal Coatings, Hammer Head, Hot Rods, TSS Graphics, Dyno Jet, DVS Shoes, Xtremely Fit,