In front of his home crowd at the Harley-Davidson Williams Grove Half Mile presented by Appalachian Harley-Davidson at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Jared Mees (No. 9 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing Scout FTR750) put on another masterclass performance to take the win and clinch the American Flat Track AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines crown two races early.
After nearly a quarter-century absence, it was a welcome return to Williams Grove Speedway as fans packed the house to witness the Pennsylvania native score his fourth overall premier class championship.
“Man, it's an honor to be able to come to Williams Grove - I was born and raised 45 minutes from here - and to clinch this championship in front of all my friends and family,” Mees said. “We had a phenomenal year. I had a magnificent team behind me - they work so hard week-in and week-out. The Indian was a phenomenal motorcycle for me from start to finish. It's unbelievable.”
This was the first Grand National Championship title for the Indian brand. “I wanted to be the guy on the Indian, the first to do it,” Mees added. “I wanted to be the guy to do everything on the Indian first. I wanted to dominate, and we did.”
His championship rival Bryan Smith (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750) crashed out of the race and Mees held on to the win and crossed the line 0.232 seconds ahead of Brad Baker (No. 6 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750).
Joining the Indian Wrecking Crew duo on the podium was Briar Bauman (No. 14 Zanotti Racing Kawasaki Ninja 650) - his fourth of the season.
Leading the way for the factory Harley squad was Jake Johnson (No. 5 Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R), who finished a solid fourth at his home race. Completing the top five was Sammy Halbert on the No. 69 Estenson Logistics Yamaha FZ-07.
Brandon Robinson was 8th and Kenny Coolbeth Jr 9th on factory XGR750s, with Robert Pearson 10th on an XR750.
American Flat Track now heads to Fort Worth, Texas, on September 23, for the penultimate round of the 2017 season - the Lone Star Half Mile presented by Indian Motorcycle, before the season finale at Perris, California, on October 7.