AMA Pro Flat Track Reviews the Season-Opening Rounds of the J&P Cycles Pro Singles Championship

The rising stars of the AMA Pro Flat Track Pro Singles Championship Series head into turn one at the start of their National main in round 9 of the 2012 AMA Pro Singles Championship at the Peoria TT on August 12, in the first of 12 laps around the confines of the Peoria Motorcycle Club facility.

Justin Reed on the #53L Rich King Racing KTM 450 SX-F appears to have a slight lead from the start, going on to finish in 3rd-place to round out the podium.  First-time series winner Dominic Colindres on the #66Y Weirbach Racing Honda CRF450R hugs the inside line in route to taking over the lead to take his first-ever win in the series while in his first ride for the team.

Jason Isennock on the #30S Highs Dairy Stores Honda (7th-place finish) holds it tight on the outside of Colindres, while Rodney Spencer, Jr. on the #74Z 831 Pinnit Honda (4th-place) looks to have the advantage on Nick Mataya on the #12L Shoe Racing Honda (5th-place), with Kurtis Lee on the #78J TCR Honda (14th-place) appearing to have lost his edge on the outside as the pack bunches up.

Coming on strong in the back are Jake Shoemaker on the #55A Montgomeryville Cycle Center Honda (6th-place), Dan Bromley on the #54A Bob Weirbach Race Team Honda (17th-place), and eventual 2012 AMA Pro Singles Champion Steven Vanderkuur just coming into the shot on the #10J Parkinson Brothers Racing Honda (2nd-place) as they lead the rest of the 18-rider main on a 12-lap romp in the hallowed halls of Peoria.

In it's fourth season of competition, the AMA Pro Singles Championship has turned out some spectacular talent from what is the 'feeder' series of the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship.  All of the series' first three champions (Brad Baker '09, Jeffrey Carver, Jr. '10, Mikey Martin '11) are now racing in the big show of The Rolling Thunder Show, and providing some serious competition for their fellow Expert-ranked riders in what is arguably the best racing series on two wheels in the world.

The 2013 AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles Championship season got off to another roaring start at Daytona last week, and saw two new winners in each of the two opening rounds held at the Daytona International Speedway.  And the field of talent is just as deep, if not deeper, for what is the series' fifth-full season of competition.  And the big question now is, who will try to take the crown away from Vanderkuur, or will the series see it's first two-time champion when the season wraps up in Pomona many months from now?

Read on below to see AMA Pro Flat Track's review of the season-openers and see if any of the possible future Grand National Champions finished up at the top where you may have expected them to....or not!

Johnson, Constantine Each Claim Victories in Opening Rounds of AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles Action at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (March 22, 2013) - Michigan's Kyle Johnson (Boughner Racing / Muskegon Motorcycle Gang) got off the line first in the 16 lap AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles first round main event at the DAYTONA Flat Track on March 14, 2013. However, Johnson was quickly passed by a charging Maryland product in Mike Poe (Jason Isennock / CCBC / Blevins).

 

Johnson stayed glued to Poe as he became the meat in a Maryland sandwich, with Jason Isennock, also a native of the "Old Line State," (Highs Dairy Stores / Foard Racing) right on their heels.  On lap eleven, Johnson was able to capitalize on a mistake by Poe to recapture the lead. Once obtaining the top spot, Johnson built his lead and clinched his first ever professional victory.

 

"I was just being patient and waiting for him to make a mistake," Johnson said. "Once I got up on the inside of the leader I got a good drive and took him on the straight away. I couldn't be more satisfied with the way I performed tonight. My bike was unbelievable and everything really came together when it mattered most. I reclaimed the lead late in the race and that was all I needed to close it out."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Wells on the #94B Waters Auto Body Honda appears to have the inside line ahead of Shayna Texter on the #25A Crosley Radio Honda during racing action at rounds 1 & 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles Championship season at the Daytona Short Track last week.  The close, fast racing in the 'feeder' series for the AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship saw two first-time winners at Daytona in Kyle Johnson and Jake Constantine and lays the groundwork for what will surely be another great season of racing for the future stars of the sport.  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.

 

 

Final results 1-10: 1st - Kyle Johnson, 2nd - Jason Isennock, 3rd - Mike Poe, 4th - Brandon Wilhelm, 5th - Rodney Spencer Jr., 6th - Ryan Wells, 7th - Hunter Taylor, 8th - Dan Bromley, 9th - Jake Constantine, 10th - Wyatt Maguire

 

AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles - Round 2

 

Jake Constantine stormed around the outside of fellow New Yorker Ryan Wells at the start of the 16 lap AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles main event and rode to a convincing second round win on his Allphase Masonry & Chimney / Matt's Cycle Center backed Honda. Wells tried to stay close, but the lead grew to over one second by the halfway point and over two seconds by the end of the race.

 

"I can't even explain how I feel right now," said an ecstatic Constantine. "To come down here and win it all is the best feeling in the world. It feels great to be on this podium, let alone be at the top of it! This win was huge for me and my team because of how bad we struggled last night in the opener. I can't thank everyone enough for helping me out; this feeling is so surreal right now."

 

Wells maintained a solid second place position throughout the race, while Thursday night's third place finisher, Mike Poe, worked his way forward taking third place yet again after passing Wyatt Maguire (Kirkland Racing / Pro1racingheads.com) on lap 12.

 

There is a log jam at the top of the AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles point standings. Jake Constantine holds a single point lead over Mike Poe with Kyle Johnson and Ryan Wells another point back. Jason Isennock remains in fifth, seven points off the lead.

Final results 1-10: 1st - Jake Constantine, 2nd - Ryan Wells, 3rd - Mike Poe, 4th - Wyatt Maguire, 5th - Stephen Vanderkuur, 6th - Dominic Collindres, 7th - Gerit Callies, 8th - Rodney Spencer Jr., 9th - Brandon Wilhelm, 10th - Kyle Johnson
 

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

AMA Flat Track: Henry Wiles Takes Record-Tying 8th Straight Win at Peoria TT, Colindres Wins in First Pro Singles Ride for Weirbach Racing

Round 9 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com at the Peoria TT saw a familiar face at the front of the red flag-delayed National main on both occassions as Henry Wiles kept it up front to lead from flag to flag to take his record-tying 8th win in-a-row.  Wiles rode his #17 Don's Kawasaki/DPC Racing/Nick Nazzisi/Schiller's Tree Svc-sponsored KX450F to a runaway win that was almost without error except for running a few feet wide with just a few laps to go running it into turn one.

Even with that slight error, Hammerin' Hank still took the win by just over 6.6 seconds to overall series points leader Jared Mees on the #9 Montgomeryville Cycle/National Cycle/Lucas Oil/Rogers Racing-backed Honda CRF450R.  Wiles also moved into 5th-place in the championship hunt (100 points). 

Jammin' Jared put in a superb ride throughout the 25-lap main to gain a few extra points over title rival Jake Johnson (185-165) heading into round 10 this coming weekend at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile, and said on the podium that 'one of these days' he's going to 'get a win here' and his flawless lines throughout the day left little doubt as to that happening sometime down the road as he has finished runner-up to Wiles at Peoria for three years straight now.

Johnson, who along with Wiles and Mees won his heat to make the Dash for Cash, took the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Southland Pro Suspension/Arai-sponsored Honda home in the 3rd-place spot, after finishing behind Sammy Halbert, Mees and Wiles in the Dash.  Johnson also rode like a man possessed throughout the National main and improved on his 4th-place finish from last year at the 65th annual event at the Peoria Motorcycle Club facility.

Taking a few weekends off from his full time job of competing in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Series, JD Beach followed Johnson to the checkers in both his heat race and the Dash, and then set off in search of the leaders after getting held up on the re-start to come off 7th after the first go around (the shot above with JD on the outside of Henry was the first lap, original start of the main).  Beach worked his way around Rob Pearson #27, Briar Bauman #10Z and Sammy Halbert #7 to take the #95 USC Racing/Red Bull/Bell Helmets/Alpinestars-backed Kawasaki to rally to a great 4th-place finish.  Beach put on one of the finest riding clinics on the track for the day by methodically working his way around the early front runners.

Slammin' Sammy had a couple of 'oh sh..' moments in both the original start and re-start at Peoria but came through like the championship contender and defending '11 Singles Series Champ he is to take his #7 The South Ass/Fredericktown Yamaha/GYTR/Van's Yamaha-sponsored YZ450F to a strong 5th-place finish.  Halbert also grabbed another point to climb within 9 points of runner-up Johnson in the fight for the 2012 AMA Grand National Championship.

Luke Gough was looking great all day on the #62 Nicely/Eaken Yamaha until his first-lap fall coming off the jump on the back stretch.  At last report just a few minutes before this was written he was undergoing surgery to his broken pelvis.  A very tough break for the likeable and hard-working former Australian flat track champion.

Bryan Smith (pictured outside Johnson #1 on the original start) rode it home to a respectable 9th-place finish after suffering a flat tire at the Castle Rock TT eight days earlier.  Riding his #42 Barry Smith-tuned and self-prepped Honda, Flyin' Bryan got some solid points to help keep him in the 4th spot in the championship with 112 points heading to the next event this weekend at Indy in which he will undoubtedly be the odds-on favorite to take the win on the Crosley/Howerton/Eaken Kawasaki over the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Weekend.



In the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship shoot-out in the valley at Peoria, the story of the day was split into two ends of the spectrum.  The good side saw Dominic Colindres ride the #66Y Weirbach Racing/General Engineering/Barnett/Spectro-sponsored Honda CRF450R to his first-ever win and in his first-ever ride for the defending 2011 Pro Singles Championship-winning team out of Ottumwa, Iowa. 

Signed just before race weekend after Pro Singles Championship runner-up Ryan Wells #94B split from the team early in the week, Colindres hooked-up with the father & son team of Richard and Ted Weirbach to contest their powerhouse bikes at the valley of thunder and never set a foot wrong all day long.  Not only did he win the try-out with the team, he's got a ride now through the end of the season especially taking Richard on the victory lap.  Great job guys!

Wells finished 8th on his Wells Racing Honda to move to within one point of Pro Singles Championship leader Garit Callies.  And this is where the bad end starts.

During heat two Callies, Robbie Treinen and Adam Bushman were all involved in a pile up off of the jump.  Bushman suffered hip injuries (he was operated on this evening per latest updates picked up from Flat Track Live and Flattrack.com on Facebook) and Treinen was held overnight and was dazed and confused (also according to above sources) and was subsequently released from the Peoria hospital earlier tonight and joking about how he was going to get to Indy this weekend.

Points leader Callies unfortunately suffered much worse in the melee.  He's currently on a breathing tube but suffered some bleeding on the brain, though by last report that has stopped and he has movement in all of his extremities and does recognize his family.

Lastly, Jake Constantine suffered a major bell ring in the Pro Singles final and a broken wrist.

Our prayers go out to ALL of the riders and families involved and hope for a speedy recovery for all!

Pictured below after the re-start, Colindres on the #66Y leads eventual 2nd-place finisher Stephen Vanderkuur on the #10J Parkinson Brothers Racing Honda, 3rd-place finisher Justin Reed on the #53L Rich King Racing KTM450SX-F and 4th-place finisher Rodney Spencer, Jr. on the #74Z 831 Pinnit Honda.  Colindres won by just over 1 second.

Full results here thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track (PDF version):

http://results.amaproracing.com/live/results/pdfresults/ft/2012/F1245/default.aspx

Full results (standard version with drop-down box):

http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/results.cfm?year=2012&eid=2012021245&discipline=FT&class=FL&type=F&rnum=1&class_sort=all


Check out the press release below from AMA Pro Flat Track and get your ticket now as The Rolling Thunder Show heads to the Indiana State Fairgrounds-hosted Lucas Oil Indy Mile in what will be one of the fastest and best-attended events of the season on Saturday, August 18.

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Wiles Continues AMA Pro Flat Track Dominance at PMC Race Park With Eighth Consecutive Peoria TT Win

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PEORIA, Ill. (August 12, 2012) - Henry Wiles could have taken his girlfriend out to dinner and a movie during this year's Peoria TT and still would have managed to come away with another AMA Pro Flat Track victory. With over half the season in the books, Wiles took no prisoners Sunday afternoon as he stole the show and ran away with the checkered flag for the eighth straight year at PMC Race Park. 

It was a great day for racing as thousands of passionate fans wrapped around the premises only feet from the track as they witnessed the true power that the bikes of AMA Pro Flat Track produce. Feeding off the crowd's roar, Wiles was in a different area code right from the get-go during the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com and Lucas Oil main event and found himself pumping his fist as he crossed the finish line.

Henry Wiles on the #17 Don's Kawasaki KX450F led both starts in the National main and never looked back yesterday in taking his record-tying 8th straight win at the Peoria TT in round 9 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.

"It feels really good," Wiles said. "I just want to thank my sponsors, these guys don't mess around. I want to thank my family and my girlfriend. I'm thankful that I was able to come out on top. I went hard from the get-go and was fortunate to pull the holeshot and run a clean race. I'm just so happy right now. The Peoria fans are great, I love coming to race here."

Henry Wiles (Don's Kawasaki) has become a household name here in Peoria, Illinois, as he's been the clear-cut winner for eight straight years as he continues his dominance at the historic venue. Second and third place finishers, Jared Mees and Jake Johnson made several attempts at closing the gap during the race, but unfortunately for them, Wiles never gave an inch and diminished any hope they might have had in catching him. JD Beach and last week's winner Sammy Halbert rounded out the top five, although it was no easy task as they had to fend off fierce competitors to claim their spots.

With the win, Wiles now sits in fifth place among the standings, poised to make a run at the title. He stands behind the likes of elite competitors such as; Jared Mees (Montgomeryville Cycle), Jake Johnson (Zanotti Racing), Sammy Halbert (Fredericktown Yamaha) and Bryan Smith (Oasis Homes).

AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles

Pole sitter Dominic Colindres (Weirbach Racing) got off to an incredible start in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles main event, but it was erased as a four-bike pile-up on lap two forced the red flags to come out and demand a restart. However, the restart had no effect on Collindres as he got the holeshot for the second time and never looked back on his way to victory. 

There was no denying Collindres as he was on a different planet winning by more than a full second over second-place finisher Stephen Vanderkuur (Parkinson Brothers Racing Honda). Justin Reed (Rich King Racing) claimed third place with a solid performance on the KTM 450 SX-F. 

The most exciting battle was the race for the fourth and fifth slots where the margin between six riders was less than a second. Rodney Spencer Jr. (831 Pinnit) and Nick Mataya (Shoe Racing) snuck in to round out the top five, respectively.

"I got the holeshot after the restart, usually something goes wrong in a situation like that but it actually helped me," Collindres said. "I really liked the track and I just want to congratulate Stephen (Vanderkuur), he was on me the whole way and really gave me a good run. I also want to thank the fans and everyone who came out and cheered me on."

Next Up  

The stars of AMA Pro Flat Track will return to Indianapolis, Indiana on August 18, 2012. Visit http://indymile.com/ for tickets.

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