I drove over to Saturday evening to photograph motorcycles and Quad Ice racing at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, IL. The main attractions for this event was 5-time I.C.E. Outlaw Quad World Cup Champion Mandy “Wild Child” Brodil from Grandy, NC and 2012 AMA – Pro Grand National Flat Track Champion Jared Mees of Clio, MI. Jared led from the start to win the motorcycle main event, while Mandy led the Unlimited Pro Quad main event for the first six laps, until she crashed into a barrier and she had to settle for second place as Dusty Crouch from Topeka, KS passed her to capture a hard fought victory.
-Bob
Winn, Michigan Expert Pro TT rider Henry Wiles has become the new fan favorite in Peoria, Illinois, as he’s been the clear-cut winner for eight straight years (tying Chris Carr) as he continues his dominance at historic PMC Race Park. Second and third place finishers, Jared Mees and Jake Johnson made several attempts at closing the gap during the race, but unfortunately for them, Wiles never gave an inch and diminished any hope they might have had in catching him. JD Beach and last week’s winner Sammy Halbert rounded out the top five in the Expert Pro main event. Pole sitter Dominic Colindres got off to an incredible start in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles main event, but it was erased as a four-bike pile-up on lap two forced the red flags to come out and demand a restart. However, the restart had no effect on Collindres as he got the holeshot for the second time and never looked back on his way to victory. There was no denying Collindres as he was won by more than a full second over second-place finisher Stephen Vanderkuur. Justin Reed claimed third place with a solid performance on the KTM 450 SX-F.
-Bob
Jared Mees won his third Expert 450 title in the last four years the June race was run at the Peoria Motorcycle Club. It was rained out in 2010. JD Beach from Philpot, KY finished strong to get second. Henry Wiles, who has won seven August Grand National TTs in a row, dominated his heat but had a horrible start in the main and finished third. Matthew Weidman was fourth and Morton rider Rob Pearson finished in fifth place. Adam Bushman took the lead on Lap 5 of the Pro Singles race and hung on to beat Walnut rider Dustin Cassidy and Nick Mataya from Blaine, MN. Alex Felland of Danville, Iowa, won the 450 Amateur race over 15-year-old Galesburg rider Blake Claeys and Molly Terry of Creve Coeur.
-Bob
When the skies cleared Saturday afternoon and the sun came out I gathered up my camera equipment and headed to the Peoria Speedway. They were hosting the AMA Holeshot Series. There were a total of twenty-nine races that included 50cc racers, Open Quads, Seniors and Pro/Expert singles. The event was brought to you by Steve Nace Racing Promotions.
-Bob
It was like a well written Hollywood movie script as Chris Carr won the main event at Peoria Speedway on his Farewell to Flat Track Tour. The 44-year old seven-time AMA Flat Track champion battled Sammy Halbert and edged him at the finish line. Carr, nicknamed the “Prince of Peoria” for his 13 wins at the Peoria Motorcycle Club. Finishing in third placewas Jared Mees from Clio, MI. Chris had not won a race in Peoria since 2001. This is his final season and Sunday at the Grand Nationals will be his Peoria TT race. His wife Pam rode on the back of his bike as he took his victory lap saluting all of the fans who gave him a standing ovation. The two met in Peoria in 1994 and our the proud parents of two young sons.
-Bob
