Jared Mees earns third Grand National Championship in four years

Jared Mees finished third in the AMA Pro Flat Track Season Finale on Friday night at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, but it didn’t matter, as he had already clinched the 2015 Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines championship before the main event had even started.

Mees was able to secure his third Grand National Championship in four seasons on Friday night a lot easier than he had expected going into the event. He held a mere seven-point lead over rival Bryan Smith and the two have been the center of attention leading up to the Flat Track Season Finale in Las Vegas. However, Smith failed to secure a spot in the main event through his heat race and then he crashed during his Semi, which resulted in him missing the final race altogether.

Although he missed his chance at winning his first Grand National Championship, Smith still put together a stellar 2015 campaign. He finished with 181 points, 23 shy of Mees.

Consistency has always been the name of the game for Mees, and this season proved to be no different. The Clio, Mich., native notched nine podiums and a single victory this season, which are numbers that reflect his previous champion-winning seasons almost to a tee.

“It’s awesome to get this championship,” said Mees. “Last year when I won it, I remember saying that that one meant the most to me. But now here I am and it just gets sweeter and sweeter every year. There was a lot of pressure coming into this race tonight. It’s a short track and what ended up happening to Bryan was my biggest fear of happening to me. Anything can happen in this type of race. I’ve run a lot of these types of races and I’ve felt what it’s like to run into some bad luck. I’m just glad I was able to come away with this championship, it feels awesome.”