Grand National Champion Jared Mees brought his epic 2017 American Flat Track presented by Vance & Hines season to a close with one last flawless performance at the Cycle Gear American Flat Track Finals presented by Indian Motorcycle at Perris, California, on October 7.
In an AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines main event that perfectly encapsulated the season as a whole, Mees once again made it apparent that he was simply in a class of his own. With a packed house at the SoCal State Fair cheering him on, Mees put the No. 9 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing Scout FTR750 at the front from the start and relentlessly built up an unassailable advantage from there, before easing up late on as he sailed toward victory around the Perris Auto Speedway's clay Half Mile.
The final numbers confirm that Mees' 2017 campaign was of historic excellence. His season finale win saw Mees establish the new single-season podium record, surpassing the previous mark held jointly by American Flat Track icons Scott Parker and Ricky Graham. Mees ended the year with 17 top three finishes in 18 attempts, but perhaps even more impressive than the sheer number was the manner of those podiums - 10 came as victories, six were runner-ups, and just one was a third.
"I just had a phenomenal night," Mees said. "The Indian Motorcycle Scout was really good, like it's been all year long. It was a solid day to end a solid, solid year. I don't know what else to say…it's fantastic…it was a record-breaking career year for me. I'm happy to have the Indian Motorcycle guys on my side.”
Mees was joined in his celebration of domination by Indian Motorcycle - the Indian Wrecking Crew combined to earn 14 of 18 wins and locked down six podium sweeps.
The four victories beyond Mees' 10 were obtained by 2017 championship runner-up Bryan Smith (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750). Additionally, Brad Baker (No. 6 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750) held on to third place in the title fight to sweep the championship top three for Indian despite Baker missing the final two rounds due to injury.
Jeffrey Carver Jr. (No. 23 Ben Evan's Racing/Carver’s BBQ Harley-Davidson XR750) completed his storming late season charge with an impressive second place finish at Perris.
American Flat Track kicks off again at the Daytona International Speedway during Bike Week for the second annual Daytona TT on Thursday, March 15, 2018.