Sammy Halbert Grabs 2017 X Games Flat Track Gold Medal

The ESPN X Games moved to Minnesota for 2017. For the third year in a row the Harley-Davidson Flat Track race kicked off the festivities, and when all was said and done, Sammy Halbert claimed the gold medal on his Estenson Racing Harley-Davidson XR750.

Single lap qualifying, heat races and a last chance race trimmed the twenty four invited riders down to a twelve rider, 20-lap main event. Jared Mees (Indian Motorcycle / Rogers Racing Indian Scout FTR750), the 2016 X Games Flat Track gold medalist, has led more X Games laps than anyone and picked that right up when the starting gate dropped.

“I got a fabulous start, and I needed one.” Mees said. “The times showed late in the practice yesterday that Sammy was going to be the biggest player.”

True enough, Halbert was the fastest rider on the track all day, and he was camped right on Mees’ rear wheel. at the start of the main event. As Mees carefully picked his way through the bumps, Halbert was looking for a mistake by the Indian factory rider.

“I got off the line in the main in second, and that was all I needed, ” Halbert said. “I was following Jared there for a little bit, and he was holding such a tight line. It felt like we were going so slowly. I was really worried that the guy in third was going to run into me. I figured the guy in third would get impatient because I was getting impatient being in second.”

Jeffrey Carver (Ben Evans Racing / Goodwin Racing Harley-Davidson XR750) had worked his way into third, but was still a ways back when Halbert took command.

“I just felt like we were going extremely slow,” Halbert said. “I wanted to elbow my way into the lead quickly by him, but I managed to use a little bit of patience. I was able to square it off and get under him [Mees] off of four. He got a little bit sideways, and that just gave me the edge I needed to get up alongside of him down the front stretch. I wasn’t going to let him take it back.”

Halbert, Carver and Mees were on their own, and it looked like the podium was set. But suddenly, as the laps wore down, it all came apart for Carver when his front tire went flat.

“It did it all at once going into corner three going to the white flag,” Carver said. “I looked down and saw the tire all flat and wiggling. It wouldn’t turn. It would go straight, but it wouldn’t turn. On the last corner I was trying to get in on the inside, but still go fast enough that Brad (Baker) wasn’t catching me as quick.”

Baker (Indian Motorcycle / Alllstate Insurance Indian Scout FTR750) had just enough time to pass Carver and grab the Bronze medal, however. Carver finished a disappointing fourth. Henry Wiles (Kawasaki), 2015 X Games Flat Track gold medalist Bryan Smith (Indian), Jarod Vanderkooi (Kawasaki), Danny Eslick (Harley-Davidson), Mikey Rush (Yamaha), Mick Kirkness (Harley-Davidson), Davis Fisher (Kawasaki) and JR Addison (Kawasaki) rounded out the field.

At the end of the day Jared Mees echoed the feelings of most of the participants.

“It’s an honor to be invited to X Games. It’s an honor to be able to medal at X Games, it’s an honor to get gold at X Games, ” Mees said. “I’m happy to be here no matter what the racetrack is. At the end of the day, it is the same for everybody. This event is awesome, and I hope they keep bringing it back.”