NEW YORK -- Youth and inexperience have been among the driving forces behind the New York Yankees' early-season success.

They've also, at rare moments, been the source of some of the Yankees' troubles.

So consider the Bronx Bombers' rawness both a blessing and, as they learned in ‪Sunday night‬'s series finale against the Boston Red Sox, a curse.

In the seventh inning Sunday, the curse reared its ugly head.

Clint Frazier, the Yankees' 24-year-old outfielder on the major league roster for most of the year because of the team's rash of injuries, had a couple of late-inning gaffes that even his manager chalked up in part to a lack of big league playing time.

"That's part of continuing to develop as a young player," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "He's working his tail off, and like I've talked about, he's making strides out there, but obviously there's been some mistakes along the way, too."

In a disastrous inning that precipitated ‪Sunday night‬'s 8-5 series-ending loss, Frazier -- who this season is getting his first extended major league experience since his debut in the summer of 2017 -- had the following foibles:

• He committed an error while approaching a ground ball that was hit right at him, letting the ball go bouncing past him to the wall as the Red Sox scored a run.

• He threw wide on another bungled play, trying unsuccessfully to nail a baserunner at home plate.

• He misread a pair of fly balls hit toward him, even laying out and diving at the last minute for one ball he should have caught easily.

"There's going to be days where things kind of seem like they're not going your way. It just always seems like the ball is being hit to you," veteran center fielder Aaron Hicks said. "That's just a time where you learn over time that you've got to slow the game down. Know the situations going into it, what might happen before the play even starts.

"Just kind of control the moment and do your best to get clean innings after that."

As messy as Frazier's performance might have been, it didn't take away from the fact the Yankees earlier this weekend secured their ninth straight series win and now hold a sizable, 8½-game advantage over the rival Red Sox.

The biggest lesson the Yankees learned about themselves coming out of the weekend is that they are indeed a good squad, one that has the ability to rise to the occasion in a tough series. While it is still early, it is fair to expect them to be part of the postseason picture.

If they're going to get there, though, putting together more clean innings must be a top priority.

Following his challenging night, Frazier declined to speak to reporters.

He later spoke to ESPN about his night.

"I've been working really hard every day with [outfield coach] Reggie [Willits] before batting practice starts, and despite what has been happening during the game, I'm still confident in myself to be able to turn this around soon," Frazier said. "It's tough to cost the team runs and a potential win, especially when playing at home against Boston.

"Things keep happening that shouldn't, and I'm acknowledging that with all of the early work I'm doing before games."

This wasn't the first time this season Frazier had some bizarre moments in the field. In Houston earlier this season, a fly ball mysteriously landed between him and center fielder Brett Gardner in a case of miscommunication.

Last week at Kansas City, balls he seemed to be settling underneath turned into errors as the ball ticked out of his glove. The problems he had on that recent road trip pushed him into trying to get some extra, pre-batting practice work polishing his defense. Frazier, along with Willits and fellow outfielders Aaron Judge and Hicks, huddled in Yankee Stadium's right-field patch of grass regularly this week to address the issues.

"My bat is good enough to stay in the lineup, and I've got to make sure my defense is there with it," Frazier, who has 14 home runs, said to ESPN following one pregame workout session. "They know I'm not a bad defender, I'm just kind of going through a little rut right now. So it's just a matter of getting myself out of it and continuing to stay confident."

Apparently, that work wasn't enough. He's still in a rut.

As they continue pushing through this season, the surging Yankees will need dramatically cleaner defense all over the field.

Indeed, they will go only as far as their greatest weakness will allow them. And just as Gary Sanchez's penchant for passed balls was a glaring problem for them last season, Frazier's fly ball foibles have become just as much of an issue.

At this stage, with the Yankees seemingly in every game they play, and with their ability to deliver clutch and timely hits, it's hard to pinpoint other areas that have been as glaringly problematic of late.

That's why, even when you own one of the three best records in all of baseball, you'll have people expecting more.

Boone's expectation is that one of his brightest young stars will indeed get his game turned around in a way that will be more beneficial to the club as a whole.

"He knows he's capable of it, and he knows he's the type of athlete that can do it, so we've just got to keep after it," Boone said. "That's on him, on us to continue to grow from the work. That's why you work so hard at it, and when you get really good at something, confidence follows.

"As you gain success and experience at things, the confidence follows."

NEW YORK -- You can't really characterize the 2019 Boston Red Sox as a bad baseball team. Two months in, they sit just outside the wild-card race, trailing the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers for the two playoff spots, and several players on the team are putting together good seasons. But in a city that holds its baseball team to the highest of standards, following up one of the greatest seasons in franchise history by hobbling into third place in the American League East has not been the start many expected out of the defending World Series champions.

Put simply: Things are turning dire fast if the Red Sox want to compete for the division title.

With the calendar flipped from May to June, Boston is looking up in the standings, standing 8½ games behind the first-place New York Yankees after Sunday night's 8-5 victory over the Bronx Bombers, who are currently on pace to win 106 games. The victory provided a silver lining in a series that had characterized the 2019 Red Sox team so far. Inconsistency and inconsistency, with a side of inconsistency. Considering their place in the standings, the current team's track record, the star-studded roster and the coaching staff, the Red Sox aren't a bad team, but they certainly aren't quite a good team.

"Can't really be good if you're inconsistent," Boston outfielder Mookie Betts said after Friday night's loss to the Yankees. "We're definitely that. We have a long way to go to fix it."

The Red Sox do have a lot of bright spots on their roster. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts has taken another step forward, hitting .305/.386/.438 with 12 homers, 18 doubles and 39 RBIs in 56 games, looking like the shortstop many expected him to become when ESPN's Keith Law ranked him the second-best prospect in baseball back in 2014. Bogaerts, who went 2-for-4 with a home run on Sunday, ranks first in baseball among shortstops with 2.9 fWAR.

Among the team's other standouts are third baseman Rafael Devers, who has made large strides at the plate and in the field, and Michael Chavis, who has provided an adrenaline shot of youthful exuberance and light-tower pop at the plate. David Price has a 2.83 ERA in nine starts, and he threw 6⅓ innings on Sunday, allowing two runs, walking one and striking out six in the winning effort. Catcher Christian Vazquez, long considered a defense-first player, has hit .297/.335/.493 with seven homers in 46 games this year.

But manager Alex Cora expected more consistency out of his team going into this season. Boston entered Sunday having scored the fifth-most runs in baseball, with a run differential of plus-31. But Cora said before Sunday's game that the team has been more inconsistent offensively than the numbers suggest.

"Pitching, we're way close to who we are, although the results the first 10 or 11 days of the season, that wasn't us," Cora said. "Defensively, we've been a lot better early in the season. Baserunning, the last 10 days have been sloppy. Offensively, although people don't see it that way, that's where we need to get better."

The team is starting to make changes too. Cora committed this past offseason to hitting left fielder Andrew Benintendi in the leadoff spot and dropping right fielder and reigning MVP Betts to second in the lineup. With Benintendi hitting .257/.357/.416 in 53 games, Cora woke up on Saturday and decided to install Betts back into the leadoff spot for the remainder of the season. That Cora made the switch just two months in after very publicly committing to the lineup change this offseason speaks to the growing urgency within the Red Sox to make changes and break out of the up-and-down swings that have plagued the team.

"We've gotta find a way to win. We like winning. Every day is very important for us," Cora said. "Like I've been saying all along, you gotta forget about who's ahead of you and what's going on around you in the division and start taking care of business within ourselves. The first step is to play better baseball and be consistent. We haven't been consistent throughout the course of the season. The record speaks for itself. We have to keep improving and get into a hot streak."

Betts, the offensive catalyst for the Boston lineup, finished the series in New York 1-for-12, including an 0-for-5 on Sunday, his third oh-fer with five at-bats this season. Betts is hitting .203/.299/.254 with no home runs in 59 at-bats against left-handers. During his 2018 MVP campaign, the 26-year-old hit .368/.471/.736 against southpaws. Despite his recent struggles, the right fielder still ranks in the top 20 among position players with 2.6 WAR, tied with George Springer, Javier Baez and Marcus Semien. The move back to the leadoff spot means Betts will, once again, be asked to be the offensive tone-setter for the Red Sox's lineup.

"I'm pretty bad [right now], but it is what it is," Betts told ESPN after Sunday's game. "I have to do something, especially at the top of the lineup."

Boston heads to the Kansas City 8½ games behind the first-place Yankees. According to the Elias Sports Bureau research, the only time the Red Sox have overcome a deficit of more than 10 games to win the division was in 1988. Meanwhile, New York continues to trend upward, winning its past nine series while finishing May with a 21-6 record.

The Red Sox talk like a team that hasn't given up on the division title yet. But everyone, from the players to the clubhouse assistants, know something must change soon if they hope to make the playoffs, let alone escape the do-or-die wild-card game that could promptly end their World Series title defense.

"We're something away from being where we need to be," starter Chris Sale said after Friday's loss. "We've just gotta find that something. And whatever it is, a change of socks or frozen pizza, I dunno. We've just gotta find a way."

OKLAHOMA CITY -- At first, it was hard to tell just how far Jocelyn Alo's monster home run traveled.

Alo's two-run blast in the fifth inning helped Oklahoma defeat Alabama 7-3 on Sunday night to advance to the championship series. It cleared the center-field seats, the cameras and a slow-pitch fence that is 300 feet to center to give the Sooners a 4-1 lead.

"That disappeared into the darkness really fast,'' Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said. "I've seen her hit some, but I'd say that's probably right there with some of the furthest I've ever seen from anyone, and she's usually the one that hits it further than I've ever seen.''

Alo said she knew it was a home run right away.

"Sweet," she said. "It felt effortless.''

Oklahoma (57-4) will play UCLA in a best-of-three series starting Monday. Oklahoma seeks its third Women's College World Series title in four years and its fourth championship this decade. UCLA has 12 national titles, but none since 2010.

"We have got to have some crazy fight,'' Gasso said. "I know both teams are a little worn out. You have a chance -- there's two teams that have a chance to win a national championship. There's no such thing as tired, no such thing as hurt. Nothing like that.''

UCLA qualified when Rachel Garcia's walk-off homer in the 10th beat Washington 3-0 on Sunday. Garcia also threw 179 pitches and struck out 16 to earn the win.

Alabama (60-10) would have had to beat Oklahoma twice on Sunday to advance because Oklahoma beat the Crimson Tide on Thursday and the Sooners were unbeaten in the double-elimination format. In the first game, Alabama pinch-hitter Caroline Hardy singled to score Kloyee Anderson in the bottom of the eighth to clinch a 1-0 win for the Crimson Tide.

"That's what you dream about doing,'' Hardy said. "You dream about it as a little kid getting a walk-off hit, your team coming and doing a hug in the middle of the field.''

In the second game, Oklahoma got its offense going early. Caleigh Clifton doubled to score Sydney Romero, then Clifton scored on a wild pitch to give the Sooners a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Oklahoma started Giselle "G'' Juarez, but she was replaced in the second inning shortly after giving up a solo homer to Reagan Dykes. Juarez had pitched 7 2/3 innings in the first game, and Gasso wanted to get just a little bit out of her before going to Mariah Lopez. It worked -- Lopez got the win after giving up two runs in 4⅓ innings.

Alo's homer gave the Sooners a cushion, but Skylar Wallace's two-run homer in the sixth cut Oklahoma's lead to 4-3.

Oklahoma's Nicole Mendes answered in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run homer that gave the Sooners a 6-3 edge. Grace Lyons tacked on a solo blast that made it 7-3.

"Once Jocelyn hit that home run, it was like a spark was ignited,'' Mendes said. "Once this team gets a spark, it's really hard to stop us. Definitely made us a lot more free, kind of got the ball rolling.''

Alabama felt it proved it was better than its No. 8 seed. The Crimson Tide beat Florida, Arizona and Oklahoma in the tournament -- all teams seeded higher than them.

"Well, I just think with 60 wins, beating the people that we beat here, we definitely proved our No. 8 seed,'' Alabama coach Patrick Murphy quipped. "We were worthy of that, for sure. Possibly a little bit more.''

In the first game on Sunday, Alabama freshman Montana Fouts pitched a shutout against Oklahoma a day after she shut out Arizona. Murphy said she has a bright future.

"I think the sky's the limit because she's just really learning how to pitch,'' Murphy said. "When she gets different movement pitches, really spinning in the right direction, up, down, in and out, she's going to be really, really good."

DETROIT – Scott Dixon had a Royal Sunday as he was honored by the Queen of England with the Order of Merit, followed by the 45th win of his NTT IndyCar Series career in Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Race No. 2.

Dixon was able to successfully rebound from crashing out of Saturday’s first race on lap 24 and finishing last in the 22-car field.

His Chip Ganassi Racing crew repaired his Honda overnight. After starting sixth, he was able to hold on as long as he could on the soft Firestone Red tires, stretching the stint longer than most of drivers. That put him on a three-pit stop strategy while the remainder of the top six drivers had to pit four times.

He was in the lead after a brief red flag stopped the race following a crash by his teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, late in the race. When the green flag waved with three laps to go, Dixon was able to fend off Swedish rookie Marcus Ericsson by 1.9419 seconds. Team Penske driver Will Power was third, followed by two Andretti Autosport drivers – last year’s winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi.

Dixon won last year’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Race No. 1. This year, he won the second race of the doubleheader.

“I felt like a bit of an idiot yesterday, especially clipping that inside wall,” Dixon said of his crash on Saturday. “Honestly, when I hit it, I didn’t think it was going to break the suspension. It did.

“Today was all about redemption. The team nailed the strategy, the car was super-fast. We were able to get the mileage we needed to, which was going to be really tough, with the exception of those last couple cautions.

“It’s pretty interesting how IndyCar right now is stopping the races and making sure they get proper restarts. It’s definitely great for the fans, a bit nerve-wracking for the drivers, I think. You just want it to be done. I would have been happy for it to end under caution.

“It wasn’t going to go that way.”

The key to Dixon’s victory was properly executing the pit stop strategy and getting as many laps as possible on the Firestone Red tires. This weekend’s batch of Reds were so soft, that many drivers complained they were shot after five or six laps. Dixon had to hang on to his set of Red tires for 14 laps before he dove down pit road to get on to the longer-lasting Firestone Black tires.

“The way the whole strategy played out, I saw the whole field pit on Lap 2, and I thought, ‘Oh, dear, I’ve seen this movie before, and it didn’t work out very well,’” Dixon recalled. “We knew we had to try and create the gap. We had to try and go as long as possible on the Reds, so at least we had only one more stop to go. We tried and we tried. They just fell off a cliff.

“I think we started losing almost four seconds a lap. (Spencer) Pigot had the same issue. We came in, dove into the pits, then the caution came out, which was definitely a little bit of a life saver.”

Just as Saturday’s race winner Josef Newgarden benefitted from a perfectly-timed pit stop in his win, moments before a caution, the same happened with Dixon. He had just pitted a few moments before Pigot veered across the track to head down pit road but hit the brakes right in front of Sebastien Bourdais.

The impact was huge, sending Bourdais’ Honda into the air in a giant wheelie. Bourdais had to drive the injured car around the track for a full lap because pit road was closed.

His Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser and Sullivan crew was able to repair the car and keep Bourdais from losing a lap. He finished ninth on the lead lap.

“Still even from that point, to get the fuel mileage, pretty big numbers we had to reach,” Dixon continued. “We knew that the other pack was going to try to stretch it out. They could run as hard as possible if they had some clear air. Never seemed to really go. The pack stayed quite tight.

“We had some issues there with Hinch (James Hinchcliffe) and Pato (Patricio O’Ward), slowing us down. I was kind of worried about that for a point there. He had the issue with his car, which I thought they were going to let go for a while, maybe just pull it in.

“That didn’t happen.”

For complete results, advance to the next page.

OXFORD, Maine – Garrett Hall drove to his second Pro All Stars Series super late model victory of the season Sunday afternoon in the 150-lap main event at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Hall started 12th on the 30-car grid and methodically worked his way into contention with plenty of race car at his disposal when it was time to get the job done.  When it was time to go Hall was ready, and usually able to make progress in the low groove once finally moving into the top five with his Norm’s Used Cars-sponsored machine.

Nick Sweet tried to chase down Hall after getting past Ray Christian III late in the race but came up .47 of a second short under the checkered flag.

Christian led more laps than anyone else in the 150-lapper, at times holding a tremendous lead, but he couldn’t hold back Hall. He settled for third.

Mike Rowe raced with the frontrunners all afternoon and was fourth across the finish line. Reid Lanpher, who was one of the early race leaders, hung on to post a top-five finish.

Spencer Morse raced to his first PASS Mods victory of the season, outrunning Jariet Harrison to the checkered flag.

The finish:

Garrett Hall, Nick Sweet, Ray Christian III, Mike Rowe, Reid Lanpher, Gabe Brown, Curtis Gerry, Eddie MacDonald, Evan Hallstrom, Bobby Therrien, Ben Rowe, Craig Weinstein, Dillon Moltz, Derek Griffith, Alan Tardiff, Ryan Robbins, Brandon Barker, Johnny Clark, Scott McDaniel, Jeremy Davis, Ashton Tucker, Mike Landry, Travis Benjamin, Dan Winter, Michael Scorzelli, T.J. Brackett, Tim Brackett, Tracy Gordon, Scott Robbins, D.J. Shaw.

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour competitors woke up on Sunday morning to a wet track from a series of overnight storms.

While it wouldn’t rain again during daylight hours, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course began the day as a green track with little grip. Conditions would improve as the day went along and 28 winners were crowned Sunday at the event hosted by SCCA’s Ohio Valley Region.

Conditions were difficult at best for the opening of the Group 1 race. Michael Lavigne snuck away steadily to take the overall and Touring 2 class win, but further back in the field saw John Heinricy and James Coughlin battling to the finish.

Heinricy’s rear-wheel drive No. 35 Hoosier/Hawk/Mobil 1 Toyota 86 had Coughlin’s front-wheel drive Honda Civic Si side by side with him through various stages of the race as the pair navigated both the track and the traffic in the large group. At the finish, Heinricy was .740-second ahead for the win.

“It was pretty rough right from the start,” Heinricy said. “I got hit under the bridge in the wet. I was on the outside there, and the car on the inside was going the exact same speed as I was. I said, ‘I don’t think this is going to work,’ and it didn’t. I had a challenge all the time from Coughlin, he did a great job.”

Mike Miserendino drove his No. 11 MBI Racing Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 to a win Sunday in a wild race. The track went full-course yellow early for an extended period, and completed only 15 of the scheduled 21 laps in the 35-minute time period. Miserendino was able to sneak away at the end, finishing a remarkable 1.635 seconds ahead of Sandy Satullo.

The B-Spec field put on a show during the production group race. Tom Coury kept his Mazda2 on the bumper of eventual winner Fritz Wilke throughout the race, and Rob Piearczyk was just behind in his Honda Fit. Wilke’s No. 84 Ford Fiesta shook loose of Coury late. And when the race ended under full-course caution after 18 laps, he was able to cruise for a win.

In the same race group, Eric Vickerman swept the H Production weekend when he made his way around seven-time Runoffs National champion Steve Sargis.

Owen McAllister, at only 14 years old, swept the weekend in Formula Mazda driving the No. 39 machine. Meanwhile, James Libecco made his second podium appearance of the weekend on Sunday after again claiming the Formula Enterprises win in his No. 98.

Jim Drago swept the Spec Miata weekend in his No. 2 Mazda Miata in an epic Spec Miata dogfight. Drago started second and chased down polesitter Jared Thomas in the opening laps. Running side by side, Thomas went wide in the keyhole and off the track on lap five, opening the door for Drago. Thomas fell to fifth, and Drago teamed with Michael Carter to move away from the field.

Once in the clear, the pair watched the laps count down. Carter went to the lead on lap eight before Drago found his way back to the front on the 19th lap. Carter challenged again, but Drago held on for the final three laps and the win.

In GT-2, Pete Peterson fell behind at the start in his No. 98 Toyota Celica, but then used an early yellow flag to mount a steady climb through the field. With the help of some attrition, he made up six spots and took the class win.

Sunday concluded with a wild Formula 500 race. Calvin Stewart, driving a Novakar Blade F600, and the NovaRace Blade of Eric McRee were well in front of the field and battling for the class and overall lead when the pair came together in Turn Four with one-and-a-half laps remaining. Stewart slid into the gravel trap and McRee ended up high-sided on the curb, handing the win to a happy James Weida in his No. 22 Weida Apartments/Formula X-1 Scorpion W1/Rotax sled.

Below are provisional race results from Sunday’s Hoosier Super Tour at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Class: Name, Hometown, Region and Car.
-American Sedan: Bryan Long, Peoria, Ill., Chicago Region, Ford Mustang
-B-Spec: Fritz Wilke, Chelsea, Mich., Detroit Region, Ford Fiesta
-E Production: Breton Williams, Clinton, Iowa, Great River Region, Mazda MX-5
-F Production: Kevin Ruck, Marysville, Ohio, Ohio Valley Region, Acura Integra
-H Production: Eric Vickerman, Howell, Mich., Detroit Region, Austin Healey Sprite
-Formula 500: James Weida, West Lafayette, Ind., Indianapolis Region, Scorpion W-1 Rotax
-Formula Atlantic: Nicho Vardis, Sylvan Lake, Mich., Detroit Region, JDR F1000
-Formula Continental: Chuck Moran, Oaktown, Va., Old Dominion Region, Van Dieman RF99/Ford
-Formula Enterprises: Jim Libecco, Solon, Ohio, NEOhio Region, Formula Enterprises/Mazda
-Formula Enterprises 2: Liam Snyder, Southlake, Texas, Texas Region, Formula Enterprises/Mazda
-Formula F: Alex Scaler, Flemington, N.J., South Jersey Region, Mygale M13/Honda
-Formula Mazda: Owen McAllister, Mooresville, N.C., Texas Region, Formula Mazda
-Formula Vee: Andrew Whitston, Neenah, Wis., Milwaukee Region, Protoform P2/Volkswagen
-GT-1: Jeff Hinkle, Destin, Fla., Atlanta Region, Dodge Challenger
-GT-2: Pete Peterson, Lumberton, N.C., Central Carolinas Region, Toyota Celica
-GT-3: Joe Kristensen, London, Ontario, Detroit Region, Honda Civic
-GT-Lite: Graham Fuller, Martinsburg, W.Va., Washington DC Region, Honda CRX
-GT-X: Larry Funk, Oberlin, Ohio, NEOhio Region, Ford FP350S
-Prototype 1: Glen Cooper, Roswell, Ga., Atlanta Region, LSR2 P1
-Prototype 2: Mike Reupert, Hubertus, Wis., Milwaukee Region, Nostendo 1
-Spec Miata: Jim Drago, Memphis, Tenn., Mid South Region, Mazda Miata
-Spec Racer Ford 3: Mike Miserendino, Bakersfield, Calif., Cal Club Region, Spec Racer Ford
-Super Touring Lite: Garret Dunn, Commerce Township, Mich., Detroit Region, Honda CRX Si
-Super Touring Under: Dinah Weisberg, Webster, N.Y., Glen Region, Mazda MX-5
-Touring 1: Bill Baten, Indianapolis, Ind., Indianapolis Region, Chevrolet Camaro
-Touring 2: Michael Lavigne, Hooksett, N.H., New England Region, Ford Mustang GT
-Touring 3: Daniel Bender, Northbrook, Ill., Chicago Region, Mazda MX-5
-Touring 4: John Heinricy, Clarkston, Mich., Detroit Region, Toyota 86

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It required two event postponements and an additional day’s delay on top of that, but American Flat Track finally got in its first mile of the season with Sunday’s Indian Motorcycle of Lexington Red Mile.

It was worth the wait.

Defending AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines Champion Jared Mees remained the only rider to ever win an AFT Twins Main Event at the Red Mile after narrowly overcoming the relentless challenge of Briar Bauman.

Mees threatened to turn this year’s edition into a walkaway early, but Bauman dug deep and tracked the reigning champ down. He closed onto Mees’ rear wheel with ten laps remaining in the once-stopped 25-lap main, at which point the two promptly went to work.

Bauman leveraged his incredible confidence with the high line to drive around the outside of Mees on multiple occasions, but Mees was always quick to respond with an inside dive or superior drive of his own.

Bauman attempted to draft by at the checkered flag, but couldn’t quite match Mees’ launch, allowing the reigning series king to grab the checkered flag by a .056-second margin.

Mees has now won eight of the last 12 Miles dating back to 2017’s Red Mile.

“I started to get a little worried about tires,” Mees said. “When we had that red flag, it looked like we were buzzing the tires down pretty good, so I wanted to slow the pace down a little bit and try to ease it off in the corners and keep it inline. I knew if I did that (Briar) was going to catch me. But the Indian Motorcycle has worked so good all day… it’s been so good here the last three years.”

While he couldn’t defeat his rival on this day, Bauman did extend his perfect run of podium results for the year.

“I can’t even put this into words,” said Bauman. “We’re leading the championship, but at the same time, I’m probably more excited than Jared is right now. This is actually my first Mile podium, and I was able to reel him in and make a race of it for the fans who stuck out the weather. I’m really excited.”

Bryan Smith almost turned it into a three-way scrap on the final lap. Smith proved the time away spent working on his ‘19 package was time well invested as he finished third, just more than a second off the victory.

Another 0.186 seconds back was the most impressive Stephen Vanderkuur. Vanderkuur, who only had two prior premier class main event starts to his name and a best finish of 15th, tagged along with Smith and put himself in podium contention at the end. He ultimately finished fourth and proved himself capable of running with the best of the best.

Henry Wiles completed the top five.

Mikey Rush scored his first victory since joining the Roof Systems AFT Singles presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys class following a showdown with the category’s established mile expert, Shayna Texter.

“I feel great,” Rush said. “I was really, really hungry for this win; I was getting tired of second. My team worked their tails off for me. It’s a great group of people and we’re having a great time doing this. And when you’re having a great time, you’re going to win races.”

Cory Texter continued his unbeaten start to the AFT Production Twins championship with his third victory in as many tries this season.

“It feels great,” Texter said. “I’m glad the fans stuck it out and came back out today. We really appreciate their support. It turned out to be a good race. Earlier on today I was struggling so bad, and we went back to a setup I was familiar with. I just tried to trust my instincts more and not overthink things.”