Can Bryan Smith Make it 5 Wins In-a-Row at the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Sacramento Mile on May 30?

The 2015 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship gets into full swing in just 15 days with round 3 of the season set to roll off at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on May 24 with the Springfield Mile I, one of the most, if not THE most popular events on the series' calendar. But just less then 6 days later, round 4 will fire up on the Left Coast as the boys and girls of The Rolling Thunder Show head west to duke it out and try and knock the reigning four-time winner, Bryan Smith, off of the proverbial chopping block at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds-hosted mile oval.

Flyin' Bryan, who for the last four seasons has won the event in Sacramento four times in-a-row on a combination of Kawasakis (Howerton Motorsports 2012-13, Villa-Esparza 2014) and Harley-Davidson XR750s (Moroney's H-D 2011) and has been the one to stand on the top step of the podium after each of those 25-lap Grand National mains. But will the Michigan native be able to make it five in-a-row, an almost unheard of feat in today's ultra competitive Grand National series?

In the shot above, Smith acknowledges the crowd after taking the #42 Villa-Esparza/Crosley Radio/Howerton Products-backed Kawasaki EX650-based parallel twin to the win in the Dash for Cash event at the Springfield Mile I on May 25, 2014 while AMA Pro Flat Track announcer Barry Boone gets the crowd fired up and one of the Harley-Davidson trophy ladies holds the $1K ceremonial check that will be presented to Smith for winning the Dash at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mecca of speed.

Smith, who has more then proved his dominance not only on the mile tracks on the Howerton/Villa-Esparza/Crosley Radio-backed Kawasaki over the course of the last three seasons, and was also able to card Kawasaki's first-ever half-mile win at Hagerstown last July. And betting against him to win a fifth Sacto Mile event could be a Vegas odds makers long shot. Smith has also won two of the last three Twins Series championships, and all but had last year's overall title sewed up before a DQ towards the end of the season due to a slight oil leak caused him to miss out on the championship by a scant three points against fellow Michigan man Jared Mees.

Here's a big tip for all of you flat track heads out west--you DON'T want to miss this one (not like you ever want to miss any of the events in the greatest motorcycle racing series on two wheels in the world), but this event will surely further cement Smith's overall dominance on the mile ovals as well as crowning him the King of Cal Expo. I'm not a betting man, but I wouldn't bet against this one!

Check out the full release below, thanks to the great group of folks out west at SMI Promotions, who will be bringing you all of the action in just three week's time that is guaranteed to keep you on your feet all day and night as the riders bang bars, throw monster roosts of dirt and just plain out race away into the evening trying to do their best to keep Flyin' Bryan Smith off of the top of the box on Saturday, May 30.

Press release courtesy of SMI Promotions, the promoters of the Sacramento Mile.

Bryan Smith Hoping to Extend Sacramento Mile Winning Streak to Five

Already the holder of the longest winning streak Smith looks for more on May 30

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (April 29, 2015) – The Sacramento Mile has been the domain of one rider for nearly half a decade, and that rider is Bryan Smith. Last year the racer from Flint, Michigan, became the first ever to win four-straight AMA Pro Grand Nationals on the famous mile at Cal Expo. Next month, on Saturday, May 30, 2015, Smith will attempt to push his record-setting winning streak to five during the milestone 50^th running of the Sacramento Mile.

Since the return of the historic event to the AMA Pro Grand National Championship calendar in 2011, the race has been dominated by Smith.  But while he’s won four-consecutive Sacramento Miles that doesn’t mean it came easily.

Smith said last year’s victory was his toughest one yet.  In the 2014 edition any one of six riders looked to have a good shot at taking the win, but in spite of enduring relentless pressure all the way to the finish, Smith managed to win yet again on his Villa-Esparza/Crosley Radio Kawasaki. Smith battled with as many as five other riders in the lead pack throughout the 25-lap main, in the end the race came down to a drafting war with Smith just holding off a surging Jake Johnson by 3-100ths of a second. Jared Mees and Brandon Robinson were in the hunt as well, the top four separated by just 4-10ths of a second in one of the closest finishes in the long history of the race.

The win not only gave Smith a record of consecutive wins at Sacramento, it also moved him to the series lead at the halfway mark in the season. Unfortunately Smith could not quite hold on to that lead. In a heartbreaker a two dollar part failed (an oil sight glass) on Smith’s Kawasaki in the penultimate round of the series costing him the championship. Jared Mees went on to clinch the title.

Bryan Smith, of Flint, Michigan, will attempt to win a fifth consecutive Sacramento Mile on Saturday, May 30 at Cal Expo. (Photo courtesy AMA Pro Racing.)

So Smith will have more than enough incentive this year to try to earn the title he and many others felt he deserved to have last season and a record fifth win at Sacramento would help him move towards that goal.

“What we’ve been doing the past couple of seasons seems to have worked pretty well at Sacramento,” Smith said, stating the obvious. “Last year we got some serious competition at Sacramento and I think it’s even going to be tougher to win this year. There are several teams who have stepped up their programs for 2015, but our team has improved as well, so hopefully we’ll present a moving target to our competition.”

Smith said the sting he and his team felt after losing last year’s title over a something as inconsequential as a broken oil sight glass didn’t last long.

“Obviously it was disappointing,” he said. “But we knew that the championship should have been ours and I think all the fans saw that as well. But things like that happen in racing and we know we left nothing on the table. We went to the final round at Pomona (Calif.) last year and won that race and I think that left us with a positive outlook as we looked ahead to this season.”

Smith has some ground to make up after a difficult opening to 2015 at the Daytona Short Track in March.

“Obviously after the bad week I had down at Daytona I need all the wins I can get to put myself back in the championship picture,” he admitted. “Sacramento will be a big race for us and to be able to win a fifth straight there would be amazing.”

In addition to watching Smith attempt a “five-peat” in the premier GNC1 event at the Sacramento Mile this year, fans will also get the opportunity to see three-time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss racing a Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati in his run at AMA Pro Grand National racing. They’ll also see the stars of tomorrow in the GNC2 class and watch legendary AMA Grand National Champions Jay Springsteen and Chris Carr renew their friendly rivalry in the “Clash of the Titans II”. Springsteen took victory in last year’s inaugural Clash by the slightest of margins. He’ll be looking to repeat at this year’s event, but look for Carr to go all out to try to even the score.

Red Lion Woodlake Hotel Sacramento will once again be the Official Hotel for the 2015 Sacramento Mile. Make your reservations today by calling 1-916-922-2020 and mention AMA Pro to secure your fan rate. Limited space is available.

The AMA Pro Grand National Championship series is one of the longest running motorcycle racing championships in the world. On the long straights of the Sacramento Mile top speeds can reach 130 miles per hour. Flat track racing has produced many of America’s Motorcycle Grand Prix Champions such as Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kenny Roberts, Jr. and Nicky Hayden. Visit www.sactomile.com to keep up with all the latest on the event.

Practice for the 50th Sacramento Mile begins on Saturday, May 30 at 2:00 p.m. and opening ceremonies for the evening program kick off at 6:00 p.m.

Visit us at: http://www.sactomile.com/
Via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SactoMile
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sactomile
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sactomile

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*** 2015 Ticket Information: Ticket information is available for the May 30, 2015 Sacramento Mile at www.sactomile.com.

Fans can order tickets online  at https://secure.interactiveticketing.com/b/ae283e, by calling 1-844 SAC MILE (1-844- 722-6453).

Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are available. Contact the Cal Expo Group Sales Department at boxoffice@calexpo.com for more information.