Hayden Gillim won his second King of the Baggers Championship after splitting wins with Bradley Smith at Circuit of the Americas. Gillim also won the **** le in 2023 riding for the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson team, and after the team switched to Indian this season, he became the first rider to win the **** le for two different manufacturers.
Gillim arrived at COTA with a 23-point lead over teammate Troy Herfoss and a 54-point gap over Harley-Davidson x Dynojet rider Smith. Gillim took Race 1 ahead of Smith and teammate Rocco Landers, while Herfoss retired after a crash on his third lap.
That result set up Race 2 on Sunday, where all Gillim needed to do was manage the gap rather than win outright. Gillim passed Herfoss on the opening lap but ceded the lead to Smith on the fourth lap. Smith held on to win by 4.717 seconds while Gillim held off SDI Racing's Tyler O'Hara to finish second. Herfoss finished off the podium in fifth, behind Harley-Davidson's James Rispoli.
With only a maximum of 50 points remaining across the two-race New Jersey finale, Gillim's 54-point cushion over Smith was enough to secure his second King of the Baggers crown.
"We didn't get the bikes until late and got one test in before the season started, and we came out winning," said Gillim, who won 8 of 12 races heading into New Jersey. "To be able to finish it early is pretty special, especially against the guys that we're racing against."
#smith #harley #king #baggers
Gillim arrived at COTA with a 23-point lead over teammate Troy Herfoss and a 54-point gap over Harley-Davidson x Dynojet rider Smith. Gillim took Race 1 ahead of Smith and teammate Rocco Landers, while Herfoss retired after a crash on his third lap.
That result set up Race 2 on Sunday, where all Gillim needed to do was manage the gap rather than win outright. Gillim passed Herfoss on the opening lap but ceded the lead to Smith on the fourth lap. Smith held on to win by 4.717 seconds while Gillim held off SDI Racing's Tyler O'Hara to finish second. Herfoss finished off the podium in fifth, behind Harley-Davidson's James Rispoli.
With only a maximum of 50 points remaining across the two-race New Jersey finale, Gillim's 54-point cushion over Smith was enough to secure his second King of the Baggers crown.
"We didn't get the bikes until late and got one test in before the season started, and we came out winning," said Gillim, who won 8 of 12 races heading into New Jersey. "To be able to finish it early is pretty special, especially against the guys that we're racing against."
#smith #harley #king #baggers
11 hours ago
