(NEWS RELEASE)

After a long winter, finally we were heading South, leaving the freezing cold weather of Michigan. Mike Cheza, Nichole’s uncle, and I left on Tuesday, March 12th, early in the morning, heading for Neeses SC, a short track a lot of us test on. It’s really nothing like Daytona, but there isn’t anything comparable to Daytona, so more than anything it is just a place to shake down the bikes. That prior Sunday I had been riding on ice, so it was pretty crazy to be on dirt three days later. When we arrived Tuesday night Kenny Tolbert was already there.

We got rolling in the morning, putting a lot of time on my new 2013 Honda. It wasn’t the greatest at first, but kept getting better and better as we kept tuning it. I liked my other bike a lot, just as it was right out of the box. We rode a lot of laps and at the end put on some Golden Tyres to test for Chris Carr. They were worth a full l.5 tenths, same track, bike and everything. We were surprised. They were also brand new and buffed in a lap and were solid. We rode over 100 laps and felt good. Afterwards we washed the bikes down, loaded up and headed to Savannah.

The next day I was able to get in with Harley Davidson and do some testing. I was excited to finally jump on the Harley and go—just Kenny and me on the track. It was a good time to test, making a lot of laps and after the Harley Test was over, Dave Kiesow let me burn some laps as well. Thanks to both of these teams for letting me spin some laps. I again ran the Golden Tyres at the end of the day, and again they were worth a full l.5 tenths with these conditions.

The All-Star Series Race in Savannah was the following day. I was riding both classes. In practice we felt great, had some good lap times and felt really good for the night program. I won my Heat on the 450 and the bike felt good. On the 750 I also won my Heat but Jeffrey Carver was breathing down my neck. I knew we were a little off on the 750 for lap times, especially after watching Brandon Robinson. In the 450 Main I went out to do a practice start and split a chain. We got it repaired and I worked my way up to 3rd from the 4th row. However, after the race was over I was informed that the repair had taken more than the two minutes allowed and was placed last, per the rule book. I understand, rules are rules. In the 750 Main, I grabbed the hole shot but Brandon Robinson came right on by on his Kawasaki. On the last lap I was trying to protect the bottom and Jake Johnson came by. I ended up 4th. Overall it was not what we were looking for but learned from it and moved on.

Volusia Speedway has been one we have come to for years as well. The track has had its downs more than ups, but, hey, I came to Daytona to race. It was its normal slippery dry groove, kinda bumpy race track. There weren’t too many riders there so it was only one Heat race for each class. I won the 450 Heat and got 3rd in the 750 Heat behind Robbie Pearson and Robinson. It’s a tough track to pass on for sure. They had a Dash for Cash and I was able to win this and make a couple of extra bucks. In the 450 Main Event I got a terrible start and had to work my way up. Once I got to 2nd I could not move forward any more, so 2nd it was. In the 750 Main I got the hole shot and was able to lead all laps, bringing home the win.

Daytona is the type of race track where the night before was the night before and the year before was the year before—it is different every time and you never know what can happen. Qualifying was good, I ended up 5th overall and was in the 2nd Heat race. I grabbed the hole shot in the Heat and was looking good until Jethro Halbert went by and started to pull a gap. I ended up 2nd which was good enough to get in the Dash and the Main Event. For the Dash we made a couple of small changes to see if it was the right direction, got the hole shot and put in some solid laps, winning the Dash for Cash. For the Main Event we did not touch much. I got the hole shot but Brad Baker came by pretty soon and then Mikey Rush went by. Mikey was hauling and I knew he was going to catch Brad and put it on him. He put it on the whole field that night and I couldn’t be happier for him. I ended up a 3rd by the skin of my teeth. It was a good way to start the season.

The next day, disaster struck. Qualified 14th, putting me in the 2nd Heat. I got the hole shot but Henry Wiles was all over me and got by. I was able to hold on to 2nd place. Things didn’t feel the greatest today. For the Dash I decided to switch bikes to see if I could get something to feel better. It felt worse. We went back to the other bike and changed some pretty big things. In the Main I got a great jump but going into turn 3 I got run-into and lost of a bunch of positions. From there I tried to gather up what I could

but could not keep the front end planted underneath me. I struggled the whole race, going backward. It certainly wasn’t what we wanted. With the exception of Brad Baker, nobody had two solid nights in Daytona and later we learned about his problem. The next day I unloaded the bikes to wash them and noticed that the front tire was off the bead, wobbling. I am certain this had not helped my situation the night before.

Looking forward to the racing season. Right now we have some time off but after Springfield it will be every weekend. We have started the season off with some good solid points.

Thanks to all the fans and supporters. Jammin’ Jared Mees #1

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