The first of this season’s two AFT presented by Vance & Hines Springfield Mile races (May 28) saw local hero Jeffrey Carver Jr. (No. 23 Roof-Systems/Indian of Metro Milwaukee Scout FTR750) take the win at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing SDI Scout FTR750) was second, Kenny Coolbeth (No. 2 Nila Racing/Columbia Avionics Indian Scout FTR750) third, rising star Davis Fisher (No. 67 Double D Performance/RMR/Bob Lanphere Indian Scout FTR750) in fourth and Bryan Smith (No. 4 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750) fifth.
The triumph was Carver’s third-ever premier-class win, leaving him just a Short Track victory short of a career Grand Slam. Additionally, he’s only the second rider from Illinois to win the Springfield Mile. The only other Illinois native to win the race was Dave Camlin from Rock Island, Ill., who won both races in 1996 aboard a Harley-Davidson.
Chad Cose (No. 49 Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City Scout FTR750), Henry Wiles (No. 17 Bandit Industries/Wilco Racing/Willing Built Indian Scout FTR750) and Mikey Rush (No. 54 G&G Racing/Machete Energy Yamaha FZ-07) finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
Meanwhile, 57-year-old Ronnie Jones (No. 266 Estenson Racing/Rod Lake Indian Scout FTR750) not only increased his record as the oldest rider to make an AFT Twins Main Event by a week, he finished in ninth place while doing so. Jay Maloney (No. 12 Indian Motorcycle of Springfield/JMC Scout FTR750) rounded out the top-ten.
This race meeting saw the AMA give a debut to its AFT Production Twins class trial - a class specifically designed to provide qualified AFT Singles riders a chance to get some race time on production-based twins with an eye toward easing their eventual graduation into the AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines class.
Michael Inderbitzin (No. 54 Weirbach Racing/Kawasaki USA Kawasaki Ninja 650) backed up a top-ten run in Saturday’s Springfield TT Singles with a victory in the first-ever AFT Productions Twins race, ahead of Tristan Avery (No. 16 Ron Ayers/Mr. Sign Kawasaki Ninja 650) second and Jordan Harris (No. 17 Roy Built Kawasaki Ninja 650) third.
The AFT Production Twins class will be back in action for its second race when the series returns to Springfield for the 100th Harley-Davidson Springfield Mile II on September 2. The next race is the Indian Motorcycle Red Mile presented by Indian Motorcycle of Lexington on June 2 in Lexington, Ky., followed two weeks later (June 16) by the OKC Mile presented by Indian Motorcycle at Oklahoma City and the Lima, Ohio, Half Mile on June 30.