Any number of excellent riders have enjoyed strong professional careers without having actually won a Progressive American Flat Track Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Event.

Those skilled and fortunate to have secured even one have earned a lifetime of credibility and a right to claim that – at least for one evening – they were the very best motorcycle dirt tracker on the planet.

Those who carried that level of excellence over an entire season and earned a Grand National Championship are by definition legends of motorsport, a proud member of a truly elite cadre.

And that’s sort of perspective is what makes it difficult to effectively communicate the overwhelming degree of success garnered by Jared Mees, he of 78 premier-class victories and ten Grand National Championships – the latter feat accomplished by him alone even as the series enters its eighth decade.

To even begin to appreciate what he’s achieved requires that we break it down into smaller segments. And as such, we asked the champion who chose to walk away on top if he could identify some of the standout moments from his unforgettable career.

Amateur Career

• 2001 AMA Nicky Hayden Flat Track Horizon Award Winner

The signs of greatness were evident before Mees even embarked upon his professional career. In 2001, he became the flat track discipline’s sixth recipient of the AMA Horizon Award, joining the likes of Nicky Hayden – who the award would later be named after – and future rival Bryan Smith, and preceding more recent foils Briar Bauman and Dallas Daniels.

Despite claiming nearly countless amateur wins, culminating in what Mees describes as the equivalent of the Grand National Championship for amateurs in the Horizon Award, the race that immediately springs to mind from this early era wasn’t even a victory.

 “There was one specific race in Daytona as an amateur at Daytona Municipal Stadium,” Mees said. “I came off the back row and ran through the field. But halfway through I fell down while going for the lead. I had to pick my bike up and run back to the front again. I almost won that race.

“That’s one I’ll always remember – just the scenery and the setting and what happened – everything.”

Early Pro Career (2002-2008)

• Six Premier Class Victories
• 2002 Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Champion
• 2004 Rookie of the Year
• 2005 450 Expert Hot Shoe Champion
• 2005 750/1000 Expert Hot Shoe Champion
• 2007 450 Expert Hot Shoe Champion

After turning pro, Mees proved himself a race winner and a champion in the secondary classes right from the start. And soon enough, he was going bar-to-bar with the reigning kings of the sport in the premier class.

Asked how long it took for him to believe that he belonged with the best of the best, Mees said, “I think it was right away, honestly. I mean, I came in pretty strong as an amateur, and I raced a lot of non-national pro races and some of the pros were there, and I was pretty close.

“Obviously, when you get on the XR, it’s a different beast. So you kind of need some time on it before you can show up and win. But I had a really good successful amateur career, and I had a really successful pro career early. I was pretty successful right out of the gate on the 883 – won the championship the first year. And then here I was, on the XR750 and up against the big guys.

“I was pretty optimistic that I could be competitive pretty early. Obviously, I didn’t think I could just show up and win the championship, but I thought I could win some races.”

In 2004, Mees was named Rookie of the Year, and in 2005 he earned his first victory in epic fashion at Lima, riding a Johnny Goad-tuned Harley-Davidson XR750.

“The very first one was pretty cool. I beat Chris Carr in the heat race. And then in the Main, I came from a little bit behind and ran down Joe Kopp to beat him.

“It was kind of one of those wins and moments and tracks you always remember. You go to every track and want to win; that's the goal. But going into Lima that day, if you would have put money on me winning that day, I don't know if I would have believed it.

“I would have figured myself that I would have gotten my first win at a clay track or maybe at a Short Track on a Rotax or something. But at a cushion track, coming from behind and beating Kopp and Carr and everybody? That was pretty uncommon in my mind.

“And Lima, to this day, it’s the coolest track, in my opinion. The fans are always locked in and you're trying changes throughout the whole day and figuring out the bike. You’ve got to dig down deep to win there, and when you get done you feel like you just got through a war.

“Most people would probably think that Springfield is the ultimate place to win. But to me, if I could start my racing career all over again and get that first win, I’d want it to be at Lima.”

Harley-Davidson XR750/Honda CRF450R Grand National Champion Era (2009-2016)

• Four Grand National Championships (2009, 2012, 2014, 2015)
• 14 Premier Class Victories
• 2009 450 Expert Hot Shoe Champion
• 2011 GNC1 Twins Champion
• 2012 GNC1 Singles Champion

Mees initial run of Grand National Championships was largely earned in a manner foreign to our more recent and vivid memories of outright domination. They were pieced together on stacks of thirds and fourths, a relentless accumulation of whatever points he could reel in on any given night. Despite combining for just four victories in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2015, he still managed to collect four H-D powered Grand National Championships across those seasons.

“2009 – my first one – you know, I won the championship without winning a single race that year – it was just all consistency.

“But thinking of some important races for me on the XR – I won some on the XR for Johnny Goad, some with Brent Armbruster, and also some with Kenny Tolbert.

“We already talked about Lima with Goad. But riding for Armbruster, I say when we came from behind to win I-96, that was pretty cool. And then one year riding Tolbert’s XR, we won at Oklahoma City, which was also pretty cool.”

“Those are the ones that stand out.”

Indian FTR750 Grand National Championship Era (2017-2024)

• Six Grand National Championships (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• 58 Premier Class Victories

Mees’ time as an Indian factory pilot – despite representing just over a third of his professional career when measured in years – was unquestionably the definitive era of Mees’ career.

From 2017 to 2024, he overhauled the record books, transforming a Hall of Fame worthy career into a legitimate GOAT campaign with an incredible 58 victories and six titles during an eight-year span.

By the end, Mees stood alone in terms of Grand National Championships and Half-Mile victories, was tied for first all-time in Short Track wins, and ranked second in overall GNC Main Event and Mile victories.

Asked to pick one among those many triumphs, Mees did well to narrow it down to two.

“The 2017 Daytona TT. That was the first win of the new era of flat track. No one knew what to expect with Indian versus Harley and the twins on the TTs. That’s my first pick – winning the very first TT event inside the big mecca, Daytona International Speedway.”

“And then for my second, I’m going with Lima in 2019.

“I had a huge battle with Briar down there until he had a flat tire. And then the race got restarted and Jeffrey Carver entered the mix. Me and Carver went at it big time. I mean, just blasting it the last five laps, we probably traded the lead like 15 times. I got the win and it was just epic.

“When we were done, my heart rate was through the freaking roof. It was epic. That one will always stand out.

“But, I mean, there's a bunch to choose from. I’d put some of the wins at Springfield up there as well. Springfield is such a legendary track and winning there by a huge margin after breaking the draft, being dominant all day long, that was so cool.

“But you know, I love the tight battles, especially at Lima. So I had to pick that one.”

The Era to Come

At 38, Mees may be considered a bit long in the tooth as far as racers go, but he’s still a relatively young man. Even in retirement, he’s got plenty to keep him busy, including his family, his rental property business, and the continued promotion of the Lima Half-Mile and Springfield Mile.

Despite clearly retaining the skills to chase after more victories, Mees dispelled any notions that he might suit up on occasion in hopes of padding his already gaudy statistics.

“At one point, I thought I might still compete at some of the tracks I really enjoy being at and racing. But with the way I ended my career, winning the last three races and the championship – you know, walking away on top – that’s super iconic. Everybody remembers you for your last race, and being able to leave in the most dominant fashion you could ever do it… I would rather have that than just trying to get on the podium or maybe win on someone else’s Yamaha or Kawasaki or whatever.

“My relationship with Indian is super strong. I love that the same way (Scott) Parker was a Harley guy, I’ll be seen as the Indian guy.”

However, Mees didn’t completely shut the door on the possibility of chasing after more Grand National Championship Main Event wins and titles – albeit in a different capacity.

While uninterested in owning his own team with the associated financial requirements and sponsor-hunting obligations, Mees admitted that he might be convinced to serve in a managerial role.

“Yeah, I would run a team for somebody, if it was under the right circumstances. Basically, if I could have a position similar to Tommy Hayden’s with Tim Estenson’s team, that would be something that I probably would be interested in doing. Tommy does a great job, and I could see myself doing something like that.”

And one would think that Mees’ résumé would be pretty difficult for any well-heeled and serious owner in search of a team manager to overlook.

Ten Grand National Championships, 78 wins, and the sport’s annals completely remade – for the present concluded by a blank page in anticipation of whatever chapter is to be written next.