Wiles Wins Springfield TT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (May 24, 2009) - AMA Pro Racing Flat Track is back under way with Round three of the 2009 Grand National Singles Championship being held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Rodeo Arena. Once again the Illinois Motorcycle Dealers Association built a unique TT track to test the skills of the AMA Pro stars.

Since September 2007 they have not been able to come up with a configuration to stop Henry Wiles as he powered his Kawasaki USA / Lance & Ronnie Jones backed Kawasaki to his fourth consecutive win, two short tracks and now two TT's.

Wiles had to be the pre race favorite as he set fast time in qualifying and followed that up with a dominating heat race win posting a time over six seconds faster than the other two heats.

When the green light flashed for the start of the twenty five lap National Wiles charged to the front. But Memphis Shades / Parts Unlimited's JR Schnabel was hot on his trail and when Wiles slipped wide in turn two Schnabel pounced on the slight miscue.

Defending Singles Champion Jake Johnson, making his first ride aboard the SuperTrapp's / Tucker Rocky Honda was in third with Pro Honda Oil / Rogers Lake Racing's Jared Mees and the Halbert brothers Jethro (Zanotti Racing / Motorex) and Sammy (Halbert Family Race Team) dueling over fourth.

At the start of lap five Jethro Halbert bit the dust in turn two, bringing out the red flag. When the race restarted Wiles grabbed the lead back and it looked like he would take full advantage of his second chance, bit Schnabel was not done and he retook the lead on lap nine.

Schnabel looked like he was ready to take control and notch his seventh win at this facility, but on lap seventeen Wiles reached into his bag of tricks and retook the lead. Sammy Halbert had made the most of the restart, settling into third a position he would hold all the way to the end. Jake Johnson did likewise in fourth.

Chris Carr Racing / Dallas Fort Worth Honda's Chris Carr worked his way up to fifth as he passed Mees on lap nineteen. Scott Powersports / Troy Lee Designs' Johnny Lewis kept up his strong year with a solid seventh place finish.

R&J Racing / Snedeker / Espy Motorsports' Rob Pearson was eighth over Fox Valley Cycles / Rogers Lake Racing's Shaun Russell with MotoGP defector Stevie Bonsey earning his way into his first Grand National main event on his Alpinestar / Vemar Helmets / Mack Daddy Racing backed Honda.

The Pro class National was a major crash fest. The first start collected John Long and Lucas Scherb bringing out the red flag immediately. Shaken by their hard fall, both riders returned to the pits. The now sixteen rider field blasted off for their twelve lap race with Van's Yamaha / Stevens Racing's Jeff Carver out front and pulling away. Mom & Dad / Greenland's backed Mike Poe was second with Team 95 / Red Bull / American Honda's JD Beach held down third when another red flag stopped the action.

This restart found Carver picking up where he left off, but with Beach in second over Poe and Sammy Sweet Racing / Chico Racing's Corby Scherb. One more red flag on lap nine would prove pivotal as the restart saw the leader, Carver get tangled up in yet another crash. He would make the last restart from the back of the pack.

Under AMA Pro Racing rules five laps must be run to the checkered flag so the race became a thirteen lap event. Beach inherited the lead and took control to the end over Weirbach Racing / Barnett's James Rispoli and Corby Scherb. Carver made a mad five lap dash through the field to finish fourth over Poe.

Brothers Powersports' Brad Baker, who brought out one of the red flags when he fell on the small front straight jump, still has the Pro Singles points lead over James Rispoli and Jeff Carver, who are tied for second just four points behind.

Going into the long break in the Grand National Singles schedule Henry Wiles holds a nine point lead over JR Schnabel with Sammy Halbert another ten points back.

RESULTS:

PRO SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP MAIN EVENT (18 riders, 12 laps): 1. JD Beach (Hon); 2. James Rispoli (Suz); 3. Corby Scherb (Hon); 4. Jeff Carver (Yam); 5. Mike Poe (Hon); 6. Mickey Fay (Hon); 7. Nigel Heggarty (Kaw); 8. Kenny Malaguarnero (Hon); 9. Colin Heggarty (Kaw); 10. Jacob Shoemaker (Suz); 11. Andrew Smith (Hon); 12. Chaz Parker (Hon); 13. Colt Chebultz (Hon); 14. Hunter King (Hon); 15. Brad Baker (Hon); 16. DJ Slosser (Suz); 17. Lucas Scherb (Hus); 18. John Long (Suz).

RESULTS:

GRAND NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP MAIN EVENT (19 riders, 25 laps): 1. Henry Wiles (Kaw); 2. JR Schnabel (Yam); 3. Sammy Halbert (Yam); 4. Jake Johnson (Hon); 5. Chris Carr (Hon); 6. Jared Mees (Hon); 7. Johnny Lewis (Kaw); 8. Rob Pearson (Yam); 9. Shaun Russell (Hon); 10. Stevie Bonsey (Hon); 11. Joe Kopp (Hon); 12. Kenny Coolbeth (Hon); 13. Mike Rush (Yam); 14. Jesse Janisch (Kaw); 15. Nick Cummings (Hon); 16. Don Mullen (Suz); 17. Josh Butler (Hon); 18. Luke Gough (Hon); 19. Jethro Halbert (Hon).

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