American Flat Track has just announced that is has disqualified Jared Mees from the recent Atlanta Short Track race, a race he won. They say...
'Following an American Flat Track post-event tire sampling from the Atlanta Short Track held April 8, 2018 at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga., AFT Twins competitor Jared Mees on the #1 machine has been disqualified for using a chemically altered tire.
'Four tire samples from four different machines were taken after the Main Event in Atlanta, and all were submitted to an independent lab for chemical analysis. Three of the samples were deemed to be in compliance with the benchmark sample provided by Dunlop. The sample from the #1 machine ridden by Jared Mees was not in compliance, however, and indicated the presence of several chemicals known to be used in motorsports to alter tire compounds.'
Mees has been accused of tyre doping before, but not punished for it. It's hard to see it as anything more than a bump in the for the relentless Mees on his march to another title.
The accusation is chemicals are used to treat the spec Dunlop tyres to offer more grip. Mees is on probation for 12 months. Not exactly sure what happens if he gets caught doing anything else.
The disqualification means Kenny Coolbeth gets the Atlanta win, and prize money, the Sideburn-sponsored Jeffrey Carver is awared second and Jarod Vanderkooi scored a podium on the Harley-Davidson XG750R, only the second ever podium for the liquid-cooled 750, after Jake Johnson's 2017 Buffalo Chip TT third place.
It shakes up the standings, of course. They are now:
Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. 36 points
Henry Wiles 32 points
Brad Baker 27 points
Jared Mees 25 points
Jeffrey Carver, Jr. 24 points
Briar Bauman 24 points
Jake Johnson 24 points
Bryan Smith 22 points
JD Beach 20 points
Jarod Vanderkooi 20 points
Kayl Kolkman 16 points
Sammy Halbert 16 points
Johnny Lewis 15 points
Brandon Robinson 13 points
Davis Fisher 12 points
Robert Pearson 11 points
Danny Eslick 7 points
Mikey Rush 5 points
Chad Cose 5 points
Jay Maloney 4 points
Wyatt Anderson 3 points
Bronson Bauman 2 points
The next round is Texas Half-Mile tomorrow, the round that Jeffrey Carver won on his XR750 last year.