2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Set to Roar-Off Today in Round 1 at the Daytona Short Track

As the saying goes, 'all the bull sh.t stops when the green flag drops' and the green flag is nearly upon us for the 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season.

The riders and teams have had five months to get their ducks in a row for what will be the first of two races in a doubleheader at the Daytona Short Track tonight and tomorrow, and the rest is now up to the competition at hand.

And for the first time ever, fans not in attendance will be able to watch the action at hand as AMA Pro Racing announced the roll out of their FansChoice.TV package, a new venture for the series that will see the action live streamed for free to the fans worldwide who want to follow in even closer to what will be transpiring tonight and tomorrow at the Daytona International Speedway's short track event.

Of course, fans will also be able to follow along with the AMA Pro Flat Track Live Timing & Scoring and the standard Timing Screens also offered by the series. You can also check the official results here (and here for round 2 tomorrow night) available within minutes of each sessions' end. And if you want some pics and at-the-track commentary from another source, Miriam Deitcher's Flat Track Live isn't a bad way to go to keep up with all of the action, know-how and even a little controversy thrown in occasionally.

In the shot above, riders get ready to roll off for the 25-lap National main event at round 7 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season at the Peoria TT on August 11.

Row 1 sees Jeffrey Carver, Jr, on the #23 Mack Daddy Racing/Kiesow Racing Honda CRF450R, Briar Bauman on the #14 Rod Lake Racing/Specialty Fabrication Honda, Shaun Russell #28 on his self-sponsored Honda, Brad Baker on his #12 Fun Mart Cycle/Specialty Fabrication KTM 450 SX-F, Steve Bonsey on the #80 Zanotti Racing/RGR Honda and JD Beach on the #95 TJ Burnett Farms Racing/Red Bull Kawasaki KX450F.

Riders visible on row 2 include Mick Kirkness on the #87 self-sponsored Honda (seen between Bonsey & Beach), Chad Cose on his #49 Chad Cose Racing/Reynolds Bros Honda, Jake Johnson on the #5 Parkinson Brothers Racing/Arai Honda, and first time National main event contestant William Cato on the #35C Floyd Tapp/Woody Kyle Racing Honda.

Riders visible on row 3 include Brandon Robinson on the #44 TJ Burnett Farms/USC Racing Kawasaki (just over Cose' right shoulder), soon to be 9-Time Peoria winner Henry Wiles on the #17 Don's Kawasaki/Rampur Winery Kawasaki/Honda hybrid (fans will remember Wiles came off the back row to pass early leaders Bauman, Russell, Baker and Beach to take his 9th win in a row in Thunder Valley), Justin Hittle on his #81 Bob Weirbach Racing/Alwant Sons Meat Co. Honda, and defending AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees on the #1 Montgomeryville Cycle/National Cycle Honda.

The first shot of the season is set to be fired as riders are expected to roll off for the first practice session of the day at 3:30 PM EDT. FansChoice.TV will be providing at the track coverage beginning this evening at 7:30 PM EDT with opening ceremonies and the first Pro Singles heat scheduled to throttle on at 8:00 PM EDT tonight. Tomorrow's schedule is a carbon copy of today's, which you can view here to keep up with what and when things are going on at Daytona Beach.

You can also check out AMA Pro Flat Track's official release below, and again as they say, the 'bull sh.t stops when the green flag drops' and it's just about green flag time for The Rolling Thunder Show and the cast of boys and girls that make up the greatest racing series on two wheels in the world. Let's go racin' folks, YES!

AMA Pro Flat Track Kicks off 2014 Season with DAYTONA Flat Track Doubleheader

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March, 12, 2014) - DAYTONA Flat Track will once again play host to the AMA Pro Flat Track season opener as the series kicks off the 2014 season with a doubleheader on the quarter-mile lime rock track located outside Daytona International Speedway's west banking on March 13-14, 2014.  This season marks the fourth consecutive year that AMA Pro Flat Track begins the circuit at Daytona International Speedway, known as the "World Center of Racing."   So far, the Grand National Championship entry lists for both events contain over 40 pre-entered riders, while both AMA Pro Singles entry lists exceed 50 pre-entered riders with more riders from both classes expected to enter leading up to the day of the race.   At the 2013 season opener, fans witnessed four riders claim their first career victories at the professional level in dramatic fashion. Mike Rush and Brandon Robinson each earned close wins in Grand National Expert Singles competition while Kyle Johnson and Jake Constantine captured the first checkered flags of their careers at the Pro Singles level.     Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. #2, Henry Wiles #17, Brandon Robinson #44 and Brad Baker #12 battle during round 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship at the Daytona Short Track II, and would see Robinson pull off his first Grand National win of the season, and Baker later in the season capture his first AMA Grand National Championship. The battle for the 2014 crown begins today at Daytona International Speedway in round 1 at the Daytona Short Track. AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.       Going into 2014, fans can expect a strong talent pool for all classes. Brad Baker will look to defend his No. 1 plate aboard his Factory Harley-Davidson XR750 for all 12 AMA Pro Expert Twins events scheduled for 2014. The defending champ inked a deal with the heavily sought-after race team this offseason and will surely be a top candidate to make a run at the title again this season. However, for the season opening doubleheader at Daytona later this week, Baker will be mounted on his No. 1 FMC Dyno Center backed KTM 450 SX-F.     Female sensation Shayna Texter made waves this offseason as she elected to graduate to the Grand National Championship. Texter signed a deal with Latus Motors Racing this offseason for all 12 AMA Pro Expert Twins events but will ride a No. 25A DFW Honda CRF450R for both AMA Pro Expert Singles events at Daytona. The Willow Street, Penn. product won four total races last season and will look to carry over that momentum into 2014. Brandon Robinson made his mark at DAYTONA Flat Track roughly a year ago when he earned his first victory at the professional level after an impressive Race 2 performance. The win catapulted him in the standings and he eventually finished third in the overall points. At just 23 years old, the Oxford, Penn. native is already considered one of the finest dirt track racing talents in the world and a clear-cut favorite to contend for the overall championship this season. Robinson will compete aboard a No. 44 USC Kawasaki KX450F later this week when the season kicks off at Daytona.     Another threat to go the distance later this week and contend throughout the duration of the 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track season is Jared Mees. The 2012 Grand National Champion and Clio, Mich. product will ride a No. 9 Montgomeryville Cycle backed Honda CRF450R this Thursday and Friday as he intends to get back to his winning ways. An injury-free Sammy Halbert will be amongst the front-end competitors this weekend when the lights go green at Daytona. Halbert battled through an injury-plagued 2013 season which left him unable to compete in several races. However, the Graham, Wash. native has declared himself healthy for the season opener and will surely be a competitor to keep an eye on. Halbert will ride a No. 7 Vans Yamaha YZ 450F this weekend.   The AMA Pro Flat Track season opener begins this Thursday, March 13, 2014 with live streaming of the opening ceremonies scheduled to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET. Round 2 will follow on Friday, March 14, 2014 with the same time and live streaming schedule.   For tickets and more information regarding the events, please visit http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/.   How to Watch: FansChoice.tv will be the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Flat Track and AMA Pro Road Racing events in 2014. The site will also provide coverage of IMSA's development and single-make series, and NASCAR's touring and weekly series. Complete details about FansChoice.tv will be released in the coming days.   About AMA Pro Flat Track:   AMA Pro Flat Track is a national motorcycle racing series in North America and is considered one of the oldest forms of motorcycle racing. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, the Series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track racing in the world. The 2014 schedule consists of 16 rounds on the country's finest flat track courses. For more information on AMA Pro Flat Track, please visit www.amaproracing.com/ft.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines.  Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.   For additional information contact:   AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com