There was never much mystery to Jared Mees. He wasn't the guy who wanted everyone to like him. He wasn't interested in being the paddock philosopher or the sport's ambassador. He showed up to beat you, take your paycheck, collect another No. 1 plate and head home. For nearly two decades that approach made him the defining rider of American flat track. If it occasionally rubbed people the wrong way, Mees probably considered that collateral damage.

Retirement hasn't changed him nearly as much as people expected. Reading through his latest interview with AFT, the same traits that made him such a relentless competitor are still there. He's promoting the Lima Half-Mile for the tenth year, but even talking about the event, his mind drifts immediately toward who has momentum, who has weaknesses, whose motorcycle is chattering, and why Lima's changing surface can make heroes one year and leave them buried in twelfth the next.

Listen to him discuss the championship and it's obvious he's still evaluating riders the way he did when he was trying to beat them.

Briar Bauman? Momentum.

Dallas Daniels? A proven threat.

Kody Kopp? One of the best rookie seasons the sport has ever seen—but Mees immediately notices the chatter in Kopp's motorcycle and predicts Lima may eliminate that weakness.

That's Jared Mees.

He doesn't just watch races. He studies them.

His work with 1st Impressions Racing is much the same. He's writing workout programs, helping with motorcycle setup, talking strategy with mechanic Andrew Butler and coaching Chase Saathoff, Jack Brucks and Jett Katarzy. His description of working with Saathoff is vintage Mees: "There's no more excuses... he's got to make this work." It's not particularly warm. It's not supposed to be. The same demanding standards Mees applied to himself are now being applied to the riders around him.

He even admits coaching is trial and error. Sometimes they miss. Sometimes they don't.

Asked if he'll race again, he leaves the door cracked open for Springfield, although not by much.

And when the interview finally drifts away from racing, the answers are refreshingly simple. Fishing. A Corona Light. Swordfish.

For a man whose entire adult life revolved around winning motorcycle races, that's about as relaxed as Jared Mees gets.

Retirement may have taken Jared Mees off the starting grid.

It hasn't taken the racer out of Jared Mees.AFT: How long have you been promoting Lima at this point?



JM: 2016 was the first one, and then we didn’t have a race in 2020, obviously, because of COVID. So this will be the tenth year, I guess. Wow.



AFT: Has your role on the promotion side of things changed at all since you’ve retired from racing full-time?



JM: Not too much, no. I mean, the day of the race, I guess I’m relied on a little bit more. But in a way, last year, my first year retired, I was kind of trying to find stuff to do and just help the people who were already put in place. We've been doing a pretty good job over the years just putting the right people in place and letting them do their job.
So in a way, I technically don’t have an actual job other than making sure things are running smooth. Last year, was the first time I could see how it all ran from the promoter-side versus the racer side. That way, I can kind of get a gist of where we might be falling short and understand what we can do a little bit better.


AFT: This year you have a tight title fight coming in with three riders separated by just ten points. Obviously, the Lima doubleheader is going to be super important in that respect. What are your thoughts on how things have played out thus far?

JM: Briar (Bauman) had a little bit of a slow start obviously. But I knew he’d get it together fairly quick. He had a new team and started off a little bit off and I just think he started off a little bit off compared to what we’ve seen in years past. But he’s turned that around, winning, what, four in a row? Briar's got a lot of momentum in, and he's coming into a track where he's won in the past.

But the unique thing about Lima is, in my years of racing there, I won it one year and then the next year finished 12th. And then I won it the next time and after that finished eighth. You just never know with the surface how you’ll come in stacked up. Lima is tricky. And you’ve got Dallas (Daniels), who has won here more than once before too. I feel like he’s going to be a threat. And Kody (Kopp)... He’s been riding really, really well as a rookie. He’s definitely been impressive. Lima could be a really good place for him with his style. Watching the last few weeks, I’ve noticed Kody’s bike has been chattering a lot, and I feel like that’s been holding him back. I know he won’t have that problem at Lima.

JM: Yeah, he's having one of the best rookie seasons in the history of our sport, really.

AFT: You’ve also been working with 1st Impressions Racing this season. What’s that experience been like for you?



JM: It's been good. I mean, we haven't got a win yet, and that’s obviously the goal. But we’ve had some really good rides, and then some where we missed the mark a little bit. It’s been good working with Chase (Saathoff) and Jack (Brucks) and Jett (Katarzy). Jack and Jett are super, super young, and they don’t have much experience. So I’m trying to give them as much help as I can to speed them along without overloading them too much. Meanwhile, I can be a little harder on Chase. There's no more excuses with being a rookie or young or whatever. I’m able to let Chase know he can't make this mistake or that mistake. He’s at a time where he’s got to make this work. And it’s been good working with him. Andrew (Butler), who's the head mechanic of the team, has been great to work with as well.

AFT: So are you basically working as a rider coach, just telling them what you’re seeing and giving advice? Or how does it work exactly?

JM: Yeah, I write their workout programs every week, and then on the weekends I’m a rider coach and help with setup with Andrew. I speak to Andrew a couple times during the week, and try to make sure we're all on the same page. At the end of the day, it's Chase and Andrew's final decision – I'm just there for input, good, bad, or indifferent. I mean, sometimes we miss the boat, and sometimes we make some good calls. It's trial and error sometimes.

AFT: We almost got to see you race last year at Springfield. Any chance you line up at some point this season?

JM: Man, if there’s a chance at all, it would be Springfield at the end of the year. I've been kicking around the idea of maybe trying to make an appearance out there, but I don't know if it'll fall in place or not. At this point in time, I'm going to say it’s more likely not than it is, but if it is going to happen, I’d like to do it at Springfield.

AFT: Okay, I’ve got the two bonus questions. The first one is, can you name an interest or hobby of yours that is completely removed from racing, engines, or wheels?



JM: Fishing… I like fishing a lot..

AFT: Last question. What would be your death row-style last meal?



JM: Death-row style last meal… Probably a Corona Light, and, I don't know, man. I'm a big fish guy, so I’m going to say like a swordfish or something.