Indy Red Bull MotoGP Round 11 May Be Last Chance for North Amer Fans to See Colin Edwards on a MotoGP Bike

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kenny Roberts, Jr. sits on the #25 Wayne Rainey Racing/Otsuka lectronics/Nankai/
Tsubaki/PJ1-backed Yamaha TZ250 ready to roll out for practice at Mid Ohio in late July/early August of 1992. To his right sits--and SMILES--eventual '92 AMA 250GP Champion Colin Edwards on the #45 Southwest Motorsports/Yamaha/Dunlop/OTS/Arai/Vanson-sponsored TZ250. KRJR obviously moved up to the then-500CC World Championship, and won the title for Suzuki in 2000, the second to last before the end of the two strokes.
Edwards moved up to the premier AMA Superbike Championship Series in '93 winning Rookie of the Year honors and winning three races in '94 while riding for the Vance & Hines Yamaha squad, his first of those wins coming at Mid Ohio in the summer of '94. Moving to the World Superbike Championship in the mid-late '90s with Yamaha, he could never attain the championship with them-and it wasn't for lack of trying! With a move to Honda, CE captured the '00 and '02 World Superbike Championships on one of the team's star-fleet RVF-RC51 big twins, winning his AND Honda's initial championship on the all-new 1000CC twin that was brought out to even the score over the big twin Ducatis.
Could the 2011 season in MotoGP see Tech 3 Yamaha without any Texas riders (with Ben Spies most-likely moving up to the Factory Yamaha team) and Colin possibly on a Xerox-sponsored Factory Ducati in WSBK? Time will tell. That's why they call it silly season. But where ever The Texas Tornado may land, hopefully he will be smiling again!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Colin Edwards' Tech 3 Yamaha Monster Energy/Motul/Antonio Lupi-backed YZR-M1 sits outside the paddock garages at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August of 2009 in preparation for the 2nd Annual Indy Red Bull MotoGP round. With the talk-and probable announcement this weekend-that team mate Ben Spies will be moving up to the Factory Yamaha team for the '11 season, and CE considering a move to World Superbike, the France-based Tech 3 team could be looking at starting fresh for the first time in a few years. And the big question would be who would fill the seats on this fine team? Considering they have the direct ties to the Yamaha factory, a rider would just about give his first-born to ride one of these finely prepared machines. I know it's silly season, but with Indy being the 11th of 18 rounds for MotoGP, it's also time to line up the dominos for next game.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the 11th round of the MotoGP calendar about to commence at the 3rd Annual Indianapolis Red Bull MotoGP, the cards are starting to fall as to who will be where, and who won't for the 2011 season. With '07 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner announcing his move to the Repsol Honda squad and multi-time Champion Valentino Rossi making his move to Marlboro Ducati official 10 days ago, the big news that will most likely come out of the World Capital of Racing in Indianapolis this weekend should not only involve Nicky Hayden as discussed earlier today in our previous post, but the riders on the Tech 3 Monster Energy Yamaha squad.

It's pretty much a badly kept secret that Ben 'Elbowz' Spies will be moving up to the Factory Yamaha team for the '11 season, and that announcement will most likely come 'officially' this weekend, so as to help spur on more American fans and with any luck American involvement in the high dollar arena of MotoGP racing. And to be able to capitalize on a U.S.-based round and crowd to help generate more buzz throughout this great land of ours.

For Colin Edwards, the talk has been centered on his possible/probable move to the Factory Ducati squad in World Superbike for next season. CE has been fairly vocal on the lack of speed from this year's YZR-M1, and of course the fact that Honda has the fastest bike, again, in a straight line has pretty much made it miserable for anyone NOT on the Big Red--or Orange as the Repsol sign would be. Except of course Yamaha Fiat Factory Pilot Jorge Lorenzo who can't seem to turn a wheel wrong.

With Ben Spies able to get one on the podium in his first year in the premier class, the frustration with NOT being able to get the bike up to speed has grown with Colin Edwards, thusly the chance he may or could make the move to the series he helped to dominate from '95-'02 and winning two World Superbike Championships in the process a solid reality. That could mean that U.S. fans may be seeing the last appearance by the Texas Tornado at Indy on a MotoGP bike. Not that a move to WSBK would be bad--where ever the man lands, as long as he's smiling and in the mix, bravo. JMOH. But then I've been a fan of CE's for 19 seasons now, dating back to early '92.

So if you ARE a fan of Colin's--and even if you aren't--relish this visit to the World Capital of Racing in Indianapolis by not only the MotoGP circus in general, but of Colin on a multi-million dollar factory prototype as it may be our last chance to see him before he possibly heads over to the World Superbike Championship for the 2011 season.

Read about it below and check out an old interview with CE as well!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the article by Dean and Co. over at SuperBikePlanet.com that talks with The Texas Tornado about his chances/prospects of moving to the Ducati WSBK team for the 2011 season. Which ever way it goes, Colin will still always be a welcome sight at any race event, being one of the crowd favorites as well as one of the on-track favorites. Where ever he may land for the 2011 season and beyond, the series he runs and the fans that follow it will be better off for it as always! Go get 'em man!

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2010/Jul/100724b17.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And here's a great little article about Colin penned by the always excellent and on the edge Dean Adams over at SuperBikePlanet.com that talks with him back in '03 after he had moved to the MotoGP World Championship after having won the '02 World Superbike Championship.

Check down the right side column and you'll see the cover shot for American RoadRacing in August of '92. It's CE and KRJR on the bikes as shown in the first shot above from the '92 AMA 250GP Championship and Colin's championship-winning season. Good old stuff! Thanks Dean!

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2003-nov/031110edwards1.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nicky Hayden Shows Off New Helmet Design for Indy Red Bull MotoGP Round

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nicky Hayden on the #69 American Honda/Honda Riders Club/Pro Honda Oils/Dunlop-backed RVF-RC51 leads the Vance & Hines/Ducati/Parts Unlimited/Dunlop/PJ-1 Oil-backed Ducati 996 of #46 John Kocinski (and '90 World 250CC Champion and '97 World Superbike Champion), with Nicky's team mate Miguel Duhamel on the #17 Amer. Honda/Dunlop/Jardine/Shoei-backed RC51 bringing up the rear in this fight during early AMA Superbike race two action at Mid Ohio in July of 2000. Miguel went on to bin it not too many laps after this shot was taken, Nicky came home third on the day (after taking second the previous day in round one action), and John Kocinski brought the V&H Duc home in fifth for the day. Aaron Yates won both rounds in Lexington that hot and steamy weekend as a team mate to Mladin on an American Suzuki/Yoshimura/Dunlop/Motorex/Showa/Mikuni-backed GSX-R750.
Nicky ended up ranked 2nd and 3rd in the AMA Superbike Series for the '00 and '01 seasons, and collected the 2002 AMA Superbike Series Championship, beating then-3-Time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin's string for that time at three championships. At the time, #69 was also the youngest-ever champion in the premier U.S.-based series. He added to his '99 AMA 600 Supersport Championship in the process, and went on to win Rookie of the Year in MotoGP in 2003, and garnered the 2006 MotoGP World Championship while riding for the Repsol Honda Team. Nicky has raced the last two years with the Italian-based (and built) Team Marlboro Ducati and is also expected to announce this weekend at Indy that he will continue to get the best out of his Desmosed ici GP10 on into the 2011 season as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nicky Hayden, the 2002 AMA Superbike Champion and the 2006 MotoGP World Champion, unveiled a new lid he will be wearing for the upcoming weekend while riding his Marlboro Ducati Desmosedici GP10 in round eleven of the MotoGP World Championship. And it looks pretty awesome in paying respect to the greatest race course in the world.

Unless you have been living under a rock, this upcoming weekend is the 3rd Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round being held at the World Capital of Racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it's sprawling mecca. Over 100,000 people are expected to walk in and out of the gates of the most famous race course in the world this weekend to come and see the boys get it on the 2.6 mile road course that has hosted the MotoGP circus since the initial 2008 outing at IMS (which also hosted Hurricane Ike remnants for those of you who remember 60+ mph winds blowing up your bum and darn near taking down the big Yamaha tent in the infield housing Yamaha streetbikes, demos, and the Boz Bros Bike Show). The weather outlook is good for the weekend in Indianapolis and the racing should be even better if the last two years have been any indication.

Here's a few pics of Nicky's new lid for the weekend which does a wonderful job of celebrating the Centennial Era at IMS, incorporating the bricks at the start/finish line, the new pagoda built to resemble and pay homage to the original pagoda from the 1950's, as well as the track's now-over 100 year old lineage. If you are a fan of all-things Indianapolis, you won't be dissapointed. And if you aren't, sorry for your rotten luck, cuz this hat is way cool! Go Nicky 69!


Check it out here thanks to Nicky's official website and enjoy:

http://www.nickyhayden.com/index.cfm/p/news#a_9F0775F6C2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henry Wiles Spanks Em Again at AMA Flat Track Peoria TT

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henry 'Hammerin' Hank' Wiles watches the competition in heat two during short track action at Gas City in June of 2010 after having won heat one, and eventually going on to the final win at the Gas City/I-69 Speedway.
Wiles rode his Monster Energy/Don's Kawasaki/Shift Racing/Jones Bros. #1 machine to a very convincing sixth-straight victory at Peoria Raceway Park in round 11 of the AMA Pro K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com Grand National Championship yesterday afternoon. Henry had a perfect day in setting fast time (in both qualifying sessions to time in at .361 faster then second fastest man Bryan Smith), winning his heat (the fastest of the day good for pole position), the dash for cash (winning by close to 1.5 seconds) and the GNC Singles final event. The only lap he didn't lead was the first lap of the dash, and he won the main by over 11 seconds on second-place man Jared Mees and takes a very strong 113-92 point lead in the Singles Championship over Joe Kopp to the now-final Singles event at Springfield on September 4th.
Kopp still holds the overall GNC points lead over new second place man Sammy Halbert by 17 points, 208-191. Jake Johnson rounds out the top three with 190 points by virtue of his fourth place finish yesterday. Wiles sits in the fourth spot overall with 188 points after his fourth win of the season, his third singles win on the year.
If anyone can stop Hammerin' Hank, they weren't in the ballpark yesterday at Peoria. Barring any major problems he should walk away with another Singles Championship again in 12 days time. Look for Henry to win again at Springfield in grand style as it sure doesn't look like anyone has anything for him in the Singles Championship this year. Not that they aren't trying! The man has it dialed on the little bikes, and if his program on the twins ever gets to the point as what his singles program is, look out.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peoria TT second place man Jared Mees takes a swig of water while overlooking prep on his bikes in the pits at Gas City back in June. Riding the #21 Rockysonline.com/Lucas Oil/Rogers Lake/Montgomeryville Cycle Center-backed Honda, Jammin' Jared timed in for the day in 9th spot, won the third heat race and also took second in the dash to go along with his runner-up spot in the AMA Flat Track Peoria TT Singles main event.
The defending Twins Champion now sits in the fifth spot in the overall standings with 187 points, and also holds down third in the Singles Championship with 90 points. Look for Jared to put a strong run in at the Springfield rounds over Labor Day weekend in both the short track and the mile events with the season starting to wind down. He has had some good results from both Springfield events in the past, and there is no reason to believe it won't happen again this year. But first up is the Indy Mile this Saturday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AMA Flat Track racing brothers Jethro Halbert/#69 and Sammy Halbert/#7 sit and wait out the red flag break in the running of the Gas City/I-69 short track event earlier this summer.
Jethro made the cut at Peoria yesterday according to qualifying, but didn't actually race the main and as of this writing I haven't heard anything official on that.
Brother Slammin' Sammy, however, rode his Woody Kyle Racing/Fredericktown Yamaha/Kings Kustoms/Fluid Suspension-backed Yamaha to a fine and hard-earned third place finish at the Peoria arena. The '09 'mythical' overall GN Champion qualified in 12th overall for the day and took third in the first heat behind Henry and Jake Johnson to round out the podium. The 'little man' with the iron will and iron throttle hand is making a great show of trying to run down Joe Kopp in overall GNC points standings. After yesterday's event he sits in second place only 17 points down on leader Smokin' Joe. Sammy also sits in the fifth spot in the Singles Championship with 73 points.
With his solid finishes this year, to go along with his season-opening short track win at Daytona, Sammy has been right there in all of the events this season. With four miles, one half mile and one short track left in the series run to the championship, if anyone tips the apple cart it's most likely to be this man. Look for this youngster to just keep on getting better and better, and if something, or someone, goes amiss during the rest of this season, he will be right there to get the better of them should it happen. Indy this Saturday could be where those apples get jostled around. Stay tuned!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henry 'Hammerin' Hank' Wiles simply outclassed the field yesterday in the annual running of the AMA Flat Track Peoria TT, winning his sixth straight event at the famous outdoor arena, and leading just about every lap of the day in the process. Henry won the final by 11+ seconds over second place man Jared Mees, and Sammy Halbert rounded out the podium in round eleven of the AMA Pro K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com Grand National Championship. Wiles is in position now to go after Chris 'The Price of Peoria' Carr's eight straight wins at Peoria Race Park, let alone looking at the overall 13 wins the former 7-Time Champ has there. But that's for another time.

Hammerin Hank couldn't put a wheel wrong yesterday, and in the process of winning it all and leading just ABOUT all of the laps he ran at Peoria, took a commanding lead in the AMA Flat Track Singles Championship over second place man Joe Kopp 113-92. Look for Hank to wrap it up at Springfield in twelve days with not only a win, but another Singles Championship to boot. With the now-canceled/postponed Arizona short track out of the season's equation, Henry could cruise to the Singles title. But don't look for that to happen as he keeps his string intact in winning at Illinois (and Indiana after his June Gas City win) singles events. Four miles, one half mile and one short track are all that is left in the season now, and the title for the singles will come down September 4th in the Capital of the Land of Lincoln. Let alone the Capital of AMA Flat Track racing!

But first up is The Indy Mile this Saturday, August 28th. There should be a big time huge crowd there again in the third running of the legendary pairing of the Red Bull MotoGP Indy round along with the best show on two wheels, the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship.

Stu's Shots will be there to highlight all the action and to take it all in. This is getting better all the time!

You can read and look at the various race reports below on the action at Peoria from yesterday, and marvel in the mastery that is Henry Wiles!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is Matt Davidson's take from Motorcycle-USA.com on the Peoria event yesterday, with a few pics from the event as well:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/504/7784/Motorcycle-Article/2010-AMA-Flat-Track-Peoria-Results.aspx


AMA Pro Flat Track has this report on the Peoria event as well as the overall and singles points round-up with eleven overall events run, and one singles event remaining in Springfield (with the cancelation/postponement of the Arizona season-ending ST) on Saturday, Sept. 4th:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/news/index.cfm?cid=39290

And here's a nice little gallery of shots from Dave Hoenig over at the AMA Pro Flat Track site:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/multimedia/gallery.cfm?gid=3977

Here is the link to the Peoria event from AMA Pro Flat Track. Some of the results (main/combined points standings) haven't been updated on here as of this post:

http://results.amaproracing.com/pdfresults/ft/2010/12-peoria/

Dave Hoenig at FlatTrakFotos.com has his results up (and will soon have photos from Peoria up as of this writing) right here:

http://www.flattrakfotos.com/2010%20Results/RESULTS%208-22-10.html

Dave also filed this report for the bible of motorcycle racing news, CycleNews.com that includes full results from all the races on Sunday at Peoria:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/flat-track/2010/08/23/sixth-straight-for-wiles-in-peoria-tt


And the great Chew and Mia from over at FlatTrack.com have this great gallery of shots that they put together from Peoria. Great job as always guys and thanks again!

http://picasaweb.google.com/101900423602085486119/Peoria10#
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'89 AMA Superbike Champ Jamie James to Grand Marshall Duke Children's Hospital All Star Ride This W/E

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jamie James flies by on the #2 Vance & Hines Yamaha YZF-750 while qualifying for the AMA Superbike Series Camel Super Cycle Weekend at Mid Ohio in the summer of 1992. Sponsored by V&H/Yamaha/Dunlop/Bel-Ray/Bell Helmets for this event, Jamie won the '89 AMA Superbike Championship while riding as a team mate to Scott Russell on the Team Yoshimura Suzuki squad. He ran for Ferracci's FBF/Ducati squad in '90 (where he won the GP 1/Pro Twins Championship), and then switched to the Vance & Hines team for the next four seasons before Yamaha took the program back in-house starting with the '95 campaign. He won the '94 AMA 600 Supersport Championship while riding for Vance & Hines, in a title fight that went down to the last round at Road Atlanta with Camel Honda's Mike Smith. He was in contention for the '94 AMA Superbike Championship that year as well in a fight that went down to the last lap of the race at Road Atlanta. He ended up suffering an engine malfunction that dropped him several spots in the finish, and Aussie Troy Corser claimed the crown on a Ferracci Ducati.
Always one to have a smile on his face, the Rajun Cajun was one of the easiest-going people in the paddock and at one time was considered the 'elder statesman' for the AMA Superbike Series for his calm demeanor off the track, and his set up and bike knowledge on the track.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jamie 'The Rajun Cajun' James, known better to some as the 1989 AMA Superbike Champion, will be the grand marshall this weekend for the 11th Annual All Star Ride that serves as a fund raiser for the Duke Children's Hospital in Raleigh, N.C.

James, one of the most popular people on and off the track to ever throw a leg over an AMA Superbike rocket, has been involved with several projects over the years with Yamaha and also while running a race school that was based out of Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL. I haven't heard much in the recent past about Jamie, but being as he is one of my all- and long-time favorites from the AMA Superbike Series I wanted to put this up. That and I needed a reason to post one of the boat load of pictures I have of one of the all-time heroes of AMA Superbike and one of the all-time nice guys of the sport.

Here's the official press release on the All Star Ride as posted by the great folks over at RoadRacingWorld.com:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=41653

And here is the basic contact and event info for the All Star ride for Saturday, August 21:=



http://www.allstarride.org/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So if you are in the Raleigh area this Saturday, go check out Jamie and the All Star Ride for Duke Children's Hospital. With Jamie on board it should be a great time, and there is bound to be some good bench racing going on there as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josh Hayes Talks About The Competition in the AMA Superbike Series

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josh Hayes powers out of turn 8 at Road America while qualifying for the AMA Repsol Superstock Series in June of 2006. Riding the Erion Racing/American Honda/Parts Unlimited CBR1000RR, Josh finished the weekend in the fifth position and the year end standings as well. However, he captured his first of two ('06-'07) AMA Formula Xtreme Championships. He's currently leading the premier class AMA Superbike Series over Yoshimura Suzuki's Tommy Hayden, 364-353, with two rounds (New Jersey Motorsports Park/Barber Motorsports Park) and four races to go in the season.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A good little article over at SpeedTV.com to check out has Team Graves Yamaha's Josh Hayes talking with Evan Williams about the current level of competiton in the AMA Superbike Series, and also reflects on the series most recognized champions over the last ten years, Mat Mladin and Ben Spies. Josh talks about how he views the racing now compared to when Mad Mat and Elbowz were around, and how he still wishes he could have raced both of them on equal terms in the premier class.

Check it out:

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ama-sbk-josh-hayes-racing-ghosts/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josh Hayes Runs Away With Race 2 at AMA Superbike VIR and Extends Points Lead

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a drying track at Road America in June of 2008, Josh Hayes drives the #1 Erion Racing Honda/Pro Honda Oils/Parts Unlimited CBR600RR out of turn 11 during practice for the AMA Formula Xtreme Series. Hayes finished second to team mate Jake Zemke in '08 while winning three races and garnering seven podiums. On the way to winning the '06-'07 AMA Formula Xtreme Championships, Josh won nine races over two seasons while riding for the Erion Racing squad.
This was pretty much the view Josh gave his competitors today during the second race running of the AMA Superbike Series Suzuki White Lightning Nationals at VIR. He beat former team mate Ben Bostrom by over 7 seconds, and title rival and third-on-the-day Tommy Hayden by over 15 seconds. Hayes also added to his lead in the championship over Tommy Gun and now leads by 11 points, 364-353, going into the penultimate round at New Jersey Motorsports Park over Labor Day Weekend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1-mounted Josh Hayes romped to victory today in the second of two races at Virginia International Raceway in the AMA Superbike Series and in doing so also added to his points lead in the championship. In route to beating former team mate Ben Bostrom on a Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha R-1 by over 7 seconds, Hayes added ten points to the single-point lead he held in the championship after yesterday's race one action. Yesterday's winner and series points runner-up Tommy Hayden brought the Yoshimura Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 home in the third spot, over 15 seconds back from winner Hayes. It was Hayes' fifth win in the premier class this year, and he now takes a 364-353 lead in the AMA Superbike Championship with him to the next round at New Jersey Motorsports Park over the Labor Day Weekend.

Also of note for today, Aaron Yates sat out the race on his Jordan Suzuki again to alleviate any concerns of tweaking his leg injury on the tight and twisty VIR track. Meanwhile, Canadian sensation Brett McCormick, who was drafted by the Jordan team to help fill-in during Aaron's absence, brought it home in fourth today for his best finish of yet in the premier North American AMA Superbike Series.
Eric Bostrom, on the Cycle World/Attack Performance/Yoshimura Suzuki crashed out early, apparently uninjured. And John Hopkins, who yesterday put up one heck of a fight with the top trip until crashing out on the 19th lap on his M4/RoadRacingWorld/Monster Energy Suzuki,
also sat out today due to minor injuries suffered to his still-healing right wrist that he had surgery on some three months ago. Bravo to John for a great showing yesterday, in spite of the late race crash. Looking like the Hopper of old for sure!

You can check out race notes and results below to see and read more on today's action at VIR.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the bible of motorcycle racing, CycleNews.com has this race report on today's VIR AMA Superbike race two:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/08/15/hayes-turns-the-tables
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Martin has a great report on the race from SpeedTV.com's Moto Racing news section:

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/spoiler-warning-ama-sbk-results-race-2-vir/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And Laurel Allen was on the scene at VIR and put in this race report over at RoadRacerX.com that also has some great quotes from today's-and yesterday's top three:

http://www.roadracerx.com/breaking-news/rrx-race-report-ama-pro-vir-american-superbike-race-2-spoiler-alert/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMA Pro Road Racing results of race two from Virginia International Raceway:

http://amaproracing.com/rr/events/results.cfm?year=2010&eid=2010011040&discipline=RR&class=SB&type=F&rnum=2&class_sort=all -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tommy Hayden Steals AMA Superbike R1 Win at VIR

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tommy Hayden bends the #22 into turn six during qualifying for the AMA Superbike Series at Mid Ohio in the summer of 2000. Riding the Team Yamaha/Dunlop/Sharkskinz/Akrapovic YZF-R7 OW-02 as a team mate with Jamie Hacking, this was Tommy Gun's second of three seasons riding for Team Yamaha before he switched to Team Kawasaki in '02, where he fielded his best overall results in the respective AMA Road Racing Series before this year's great run in the Superbike class.
The former 2-Time AMA 600 Supersport Champion and '97 AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year won his fourth premier class event today, and fourth of his career, to close back to within one point in the championship standings over current leader Josh Hayes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tommy Hayden, who until five months ago had not tasted victory in the premier AMA Superbike Series, won his season, and career, fourth race today by stealing almost-certain victory from the grasp of Pat Clark Motorsports Ben Bostrom in a last lap pass that sealed the deal by just .005 seconds at the checkers. Tommy Gun, who led the first three laps to go along with the last of the 23 lap race, kept it close all day on his Yoshimura/Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki GSX-R1000 along with laps-led leader and current points leader Josh Hayes on the Graves Motorsports YZF-R1 and Bostrom on his PCM R1. Tommy now only lies one point behind Hayes (third place today .303 seconds back from Tommy) in the race for the AMA Superbike Championship after 14 of 19 races, 333-332. Bostrom moves up to fourth in the series standings with 249 points while today's eighth place finisher Jake Zemke on the National Guard/Jordan Suzuki still lies in third in the hunt with 273 points.

Of note for some of the other finishers, John Hopkins had a fine race going with the leaders in his return to action on the M4/RoadRacingWorld/Monster Energy Suzuki. The Hopper had kept the leading trio in sight, just over 3 seconds adrift in the fourth spot, when he crashed out (apparently unhurt) on the 19th lap. Larry Pegram brought his Foremost/Pegram Racing Ducati home in the fourth spot after Hopper's misfortunes. Eric Bostrom on the Cycle World/Attack/Yoshimura Suzuki brought it home in the seventh spot, to equal his best result since his return to action at Mid Ohio in mid-July. And Aaron Yates, who returned to the track this weekend after an almost-five month lay off due to injuries, did not start the event due to unknown reasons as of this writing.

Race two action rolls off tomorrow at 2:45 PM EDT at the Suzuki White Lightning Nationals round of the AMA Superbike Series annual VIR stop. Be there as it far from over yet!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMA Superbike Suzuki White Lightning Nationals round one results compliments of AMA Pro Road Racing:

http://amaproracing.com/rr/events/results.cfm?year=2010&eid=2010011040&discipline=rr&class=SB&type=F&rnum=1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the story of the race thanks to the great on-the-scene reporting of Chris Martin from SpeedTV's Moto Racing news:

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/spoiler-warning-ama-sbk-results-race-1-vir1/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ben Bostrom Grabs the Pole On His Pat Clark Yamaha R1 at AMA Superbike Suzuki White Lightning Nationals at VIR

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ben Bostrom heads into turn 10 at Barber Motorsports Park during qualifying for the AMA Superstock Series in April of 2007. Bostrom put the Graves Yamaha/Yamaha Motorsports
YZF-R1 in the second spot in the field for the weekend behind polesitter Aaron Yates on the Jordan Suzuki. BBoz finished the event on the podium in third place behind the winning Jordan Suzuki of Aaron Yates and his team mate Jake Holden, and he finished the year second in the points to Ben Spies on the Yoshimura Suzuki, and then went on to win the AMA Supersport Series Championship in 2008 riding for Graves while amassing six wins and nine podium results in 11 events.
Ben's late season surge in the AMA Superbike Series has really amped up after he won the pole and the show at Laguna at the end of July, and he has been on form all weekend at VIR, leading the provisional pole session yesterday afternoon before being knocked down a spot by former team mate Josh Hayes. Bostrom, on his Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1, took the pole this morning late in the session from Hayes and looks to add to his win tally in the series for the year, let alone overall. Great job Ben! Now let's bag another win my man!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ben 'Captain America' Bostrom stole the pole this morning in the closing minutes of qualifying to outduel his former team mate Josh Hayes in AMA Superbike Series action at Virginia International Raceway. Riding his Pat Clark Motorsports/Palms Resorts/Las Vegas Speedway Yamaha R1, BBoz waited until the last few minutes of second round qualifying to knock Josh Hayes into the second spot on the grid by just .246 seconds, after exchanging the top spot with him through out the session. After winning the pole at Laguna in July, and going on to win the event there as well, Ben's second pole in a row this year has him on a mission as the season winds down. He qualifed at 1:24.527 with an average speed of 95.828 MPH to Hayes' 1:24.773 and 95.550 MPH average. Official results are below.

Also of note for some of the other notables in qualifying this morning, showed little brother Eric Bostrom on the Cycle World/Attack/Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 slotting into the front row in the fourth spot at 1:25.315. This being only his third event back on the grid after a 1 1/2 year layoff, EBoz is obviously getting closer to his form of old before sitting out the series during the 2009 season. And Aaron Yates, in his return to the track for Jordan Suzuki after breaking his leg at the Fontana round in late March, qualified on the second row in the eighth spot at 1:25.961. Look for Aaron to be back in the mix real soon once his leg gets stronger and he gets back into full swing on the bike again. Never count out Double A Ron.
Tommy Hayden continues his quest for the AMA Superbike Championship by qualifying his Yoshimura Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the third spot on the front row with a time of 1:25.247 and returning RoadRacingWorld/Monster Energy pilot John Hopkins, out since the early part of the season after having surgery on his much-altered wrist, qualified his Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the seventh spot at 1:25.748 for the weekend's events.

Race one AMA Superbike action rolls off this afternoon at 3:15 PM EDT and can be seen in the usual tape-delayed version on SpeedTV tonight at 10:00 P.M. EDT. Tomorrow's race two action hits the track at 2:45 PM EDT and can be seen on SpeedTV at Midnight EDT tomorrow night late. Better set the tivo if you're an east coaster!


The official results of final qualifying are listed below as are the links to the weekend's events and the AMA Live Timing and Scoring.

Bravo to BBoz and the rest of the AMA Superbike Series regulars. This weekend's events should be wicked killer as the tight and fast VIR track is a great place for some tight competition. Let's go racin', WFO baby..........

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official results of AMA Superbike round two qualifying at VIR this morning courtesy of AMA Pro Road Racing:

http://amaproracing.com/rr/events/results.cfm?year=2010&eid=2010011040&discipline=rr&class=SB&type=Q&rnum=2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMA Pro Road Racing Live Timing and Scoring for AMA Superbike Suzuki White Lightning Nationals at VIR this weekend:

http://laptraxtg.racersites-cluster.com/LapTraxTG/AMA/livescoring.html?LAPTRAXID=2010011040
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMA Superbike Suzuki White Lightning Nationals at Virginia International Raceway event info including updated results and rest-of-weekend schedule:

http://amaproracing.com/rr/events/event.cfm?eid=2010011040
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMA Pro Road Racing VIR round PDF results can be found below (for ALL classes).

This has proven to be a great addition and update to the site. Bravo to the AMA Pro Racing team (thank you Kathy Hoenig!!) for stepping up on these results!

http://results.amaproracing.com/pdfresults/rr/2010/08-vir/default.aspx
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josh Hayes Fires Opening Salvo to Win Provisional Pole For AMA Superbike VIR Suzuki White Lightning Nationals

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josh Hayes brings it out of turn eight at Road America during the running of the AMA Repsol Superstock final in June of 2004. Hayes went on to finish second on the day to eventual winner Tommy Hayden, and finished out the season in the 8th spot on the Attack/Kawasaki Motors/Dunlop-sponsored ZX10R. He was the '03 AMA Superstock Champion and won two races in route to claiming the crown, and is also a former 2-Time AMA Formula Extreme Champion, winning the crowns for Erion's Honda Racing in '06-'07, topping the podium in 10 races along the way.
If he keeps up the fashion and form he has shown this year and last in the premier AMA Superbike Series, he could very well be adding that crown to his title mantle as well. With three rounds and six races left in the season including VIR this weekend, it's definitely show or go time.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josh Hayes, riding the #4 Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1, fired the opening shot this afternoon at Virginia International Raceway in taking the provisional pole for this weekend's doubleheader round of the AMA Superbike Suzuki White Lightning Nationals. Fending off attacks from Ben Bostrom on the Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha R-1 during qualifying, Josh put his head down to top the leaderboard for the afternoon by .492 seconds over BBoz#155. Tommy Hayden on the Yoshimura Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 rounded out the top three just .614 seconds adrift of provisional pole sitter Hayes.

Of interest to start off the weekend was Geoff May again riding the Erik Buell Racing 1125R for the team who qualified 5th on the provisional grid just 1.017 seconds arrears of Hayes. Quite an accomplishment for this young team considering the level of talent they placed ahead of going into tomorrow's second round qualifying at 9:30 EDT. And Aaron Yates put it in the 14th spot on the grid in the provisional round this afternoon in his return to the track after is late March crash at Fontana. Look for Aaron to up the pace as he gets re-introduced to the bike as well as once his leg gets stronger. The first of two races on the weekend in the AMA Superbike premier class rolls off tomorrow afternoon at 3:15 EDT.

You can check out the overall results right here thanks to AMA Pro Road Racing, and below that is the link for AMA Live Timing and Scoring to follow along for the rest of the weekend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMA Pro Road Racing Suzuki White Lightning Nationals Superbike round one qualifying results from VIR:

http://amaproracing.com/rr/events/results.cfm?year=2010&eid=2010011040&discipline=RR&class=SB&type=Q&rnum=1&class_sort=all -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMA Live Timing and Scoring for VIR:

http://laptraxtg.racersites-cluster.com/LapTraxTG/AMA/livescoring.html?LAPTRAXID=2010011040
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMA Superbike VIR round event info:

http://amaproracing.com/rr/events/event.cfm?eid=2010011040
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dovizioso Looking To Stay on Honda Repsol Team as MotoGP Silly Season Comes to A Head at Brno

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of the Repsol Honda team techs checks out the RC212V MotoGP rocket ship of Andrea 'Dovi' Dovizioso during the Indy Red Bull MotoGP round in August of 2009. Dovi signed with the Official Honda Factory squad to team with Dani Pedrosa in the 2009 season after having a stellar year on a Team Scot Honda satellite ride in 2008, placing fifth in the overall championship. He is hoping to stay on the factory squad and rumors have run rampant the last several months that he had a contract option that if he were to be 5th or better in the championship by Laguna-which he is and was-that his option would be automatically picked up with the team for the 2011 season.
But with Casey Stoner's signing to the team earlier in the summer, running three factory Honda bikes on the grid could prove to be too much even for Honda in 2011, especially considering the overall world economy being what it still is, and the amount of sponsor dollars to go around the high dollar MotoGP paddock and grid-or lack there of. Here's hoping for everyone, and especially 'Dovi,' that things start to turn around in the economy so he can get a chance to take the next step on the factory squad for a third season.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David Emmett of the always excellent MotoMatters.com has a short interview over on his site about the current perils of the Repsol Honda MotoGP team in being able to run, or not, three full factory teams for the 2011 season.
With the recent signing of '07 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner away from Ducati, and Dani Pedrosa having another year on his contract with the Repsol factory squad, Honda is left in a perilous position (in today's economy) of having to run three full factory squads for next season. Not that the 17 bike grid couldn't use some extra company, but the economics of running as many as seven total bikes in the series is pretty daunting in the least (including the satellite teams.) Even with the deep pockets that Honda has always been known to use over the decades, this isn't your father's economy. And for the millions that it takes to run a squad for a 17-18 race season that traverses the glove several times throughout the course of the season, is it or could it still be worth the investment? Only the Shadow knows.........check it out below to see what Dovi's position is before the MotoGP Silly Season rings the bell in Brno late Sunday afternoon.

http://motomatters.com/news/2010/08/13/andrea_dovizioso_my_target_is_to_stay_in.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron Yates Set to Return to Action at AMA Superbike VIR Round This W/E

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron Yates sets it up for turn 10 at Barber Motorsports Park during race two action of the Honda Superbike Classic round of the AMA Superbike series in April of 2007. Yates qualified the #20 Jordan Suzuki/Gatorade/Hanes/Oakley-sponsored GSX-R1000 in the fifth spot on the grid for the weekend and raced to a 4/5 tally for the weekend's races. Yates finished the year ranked fourth in the AMA Superbike Championship, his first year racing for the Jordan team after having been with the Yoshimura Suzuki team since the start of the decade.
Aaron also raced the AMA Superstock class in '07, and won the fourth-year team it's first pole in the class as well as the win for the weekend at Barber. He finished the year ranked third behind the two Ben's--Spies, the '07 Superstock Champion and Bostrom, the '98 Superbike Champion. He won the 2008 AMA Superstock Championship for the team in his second year riding for Jordan and Co. This is his fourth year with Jordan, although he lost the better part of the year with his leg break accident at Fontana in late March.
Double A Ron will be a welcome site on his return in the paddock as well as on the track. Good luck on your return, Aaron. Great to see you back and ready to spin it up again!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great news came acrossed the AMA Road Racing pike last night in that Aaron Yates will be returning to action at Virginia International Raceway this weekend to contest the #23 Jordan Suzuki at the AMA Superbike White Lightning Nationals that kick off Friday with practice rounds for all classes. Yates, who suffered a severe leg break in morning practice for the Fontana round back in late March and has been on the injured list since, will return to head up the team along with team mate Jake Zemke on the #54 Jordan/National Guard Suzuki for the weekend. And it looks like Canadian Brett McCormick, who has filled in for Aaron, will also see action for the weekend on another team bike.
The Jordan boys should be well equipped now that fourth-year member Aaron is coming back to the saddle. With first-year team mate Zemke sitting third in the overall AMA Superbike Championship after winning the squad it's initial wins in Superbike action back in early March, the final three rounds and six races in the series should be hot as lightning for not only the Jordan team, but the other race contenders as well.
You can read the official and unofficial versions of Aaron's return below. Good luck to Aaron on his return, and to the team overall for the weekend as well as the rest of the season!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's the official release from Michael Jordan Motorsports thanks to the fine folks over at RoadRacingWorld.com:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=41554
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greg White started a new 'Paddock Chatter' blog over on the official site of AMA Pro Road Racing recently, and here is his unofficial release concerning Aaron returning to action on Friday at the AMA Superbike round at the VIR White Lightning National:

http://amaproracing.com/rr/paddockchatter/index.cfm?cid=39061
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remembering Randy Renfrow, Former 3-Time AMA Road Racing Champion

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1983 AMA 250 GP Champion Randy Renfrow comes into turn 6 at Mid Ohio during a practice session in July of 1998 for the AMA 250 GP event. Riding for Erion Racing on the Honda RS250, Renfrow was sponsored by Erion/American Honda/Dunlop while contesting the class that year. He scored his first points in AMA 250 GP competition in 1981.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Randy Renfrow talks with team manager Rueben McMurter (and the '88 Canadian Superbike Champion) of the Honda Canada effort that put together a ride for Renfrow at Mid Ohio in the summer of '92. Sponsored by Honda Canada/Dunlop/Shoei/Castrol/RK Chain, the RC30 sits just to the outside of the garage (r-side of shot) that Randy contested the AMA Superbike class in, and the Two Brothers Racing Honda CB600F that sits in the garage that he used to contest the AMA 600 Supersport race in for that weekend, where he finished on the podium behind eventual winner Larry Swarzbach.
McMurter, besides being a former Candian Superbike Champion, also contested the AMA Superbike Series as well as the World Superbike Championship in it's early years of the late '80s/early '90s.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AMA 600 Supersport final race action at Mid Ohio on August 2, 1992 shows eventual (and first time) winner Larry Swarzbach on the #7 Vance and Hines/Dunlop/Ohlins/Bates/Bell-sponsored Yamaha 600 leading Randy Renfrow on the Two Brothers Racing/Dunlop/Shoei #76 Honda 600 midway through the 600 final.
This was one of Renfrow's first races back (if not THE first) after suffering the right hand crash damage at Willow in late 1990. He finished on the podium that day.
Schwarzbach went on to win his first, and unfortunately his only AMA 600 Supersport race that day. A little over an hour after this shot was taken, Larry was involved in a multi-bike crash just past this point on the front stretch in the AMA Superbike final. He was air lifted out and died of his injuries just two days later. Schwarzbach was a fine rider and great young man who, had he survived, would most likely have had a hand in re-writing the record books as we know them in AMA Road Racing action in the '90s.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Randy Renfrow on the #5 Commonwealth Racing/Shoei/Dunlop/Keihin-sponsored Honda RC30 leads eventual event AND championship winner Doug Chandler on his famous #10 Team Muzzy Kawasaki/Wiseco/NGK/California Superbike School-sponsored ZX7 in early AMA Superbike final action at Road America in June of 1990. Chandler went on to win the day's final over Renfrow, and also beat him for his first of three AMA Superbike Championships later in the year. Renfrow would win his first and only AMA Superbike final at Willow Springs later in the year while riding the wicked RC30.

Renfrow was also later that year injured while testing the Louisville-based Commonwealth Honda (which later morphed into Camel /Smokin Joe's Honda and then American Honda) at Willow. The crash saw Renfrow lose his right thumb and a portion of his right index finger when his hand was lodged under the bars in the crash. Miguel Duhamel was picked up right before the '91 Daytona 200 as a fill-in rider for Randy and went on to win the race, his first of five wins at the famous tri-oval in Florida. After several surgeries, one of which involved grafting his big toe onto his right hand to use as a thumb, Renfrow returned to racing.

On top of his '83 AMA 250 GP Championship, Renfrow also won the final AMA Formula One Championship in '86 (beating none other then Wayne Rainey in the process), as well as the '89 AMA Pro Twins Championship (riding a Honda RS750 flat tracker-based one-off) for Martin Adams and his Commonwealth Honda team, beating Dale Quarterley who was riding a Ferracci Ducati in the class that year.

This is one of my all-time favorite race pics I have taken over the years, and feel absolutely blessed to have a framed 20x30 copy hanging on my living room wall that was autographed by Randy, as well as Doug. The inscription from Randy: "To Mike: Great times, Thanks, Randy Renfrow #1 83/86/89." Priceless.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Randy Renfrow was a racer's racer and a fan's dream. The man won three AMA Road Racing Championships throughout his career, bounced back from some pretty devastating crashes and injuries to return to prominence in the sport, and was one of the easiest guys to talk to in and about the paddock over the years. With his wealth of racing knowledge and skill, coupled with his outgoing personality, he was a joy to talk to and with, let alone to watch on the track in action.

Unfortunately for us mere mortals, we DO lose some of our heroes in life along the line, especially when some of those heroes ride 180 MPH+ two-wheeled rockets. And we find out that those heroes are also, mere mortals.

Thus was the case just over eight years ago, when Randy died of injuries sustained in a fall at his parents' home while trying to heal from a crash at Daytona earlier in the year. I remember the day so clearly (like when you remember where you were when Kennedy was shot, the planes hit the towers, etc.) that I still feel the sadness and emptiness that overcame me of hearing of the news of this great man's passing. I'm sure all of you can remember a time when one of your racing heroes, or life's heroes, passed away or left this world for a better place (for lack of a better description) so you know the feeling like I do and have. But life does go on. And thanks to our recollections, memories, pictures and stories we share with our friends and family, we can remember those people that left a mark on us throughout our life.

Randy Renfrow left me with a lot of memories, most of which I can smile and laugh with and at, as I think of the diminutive guy from Virginia who could wield a racing motorcycle like a stealth rocket. And who had that smile that would always make you feel like you belong--whether you did or didn't.

Here's to Randy Renfrow, for the smiles, the miles of speed, action, savvy and bravado that he brought to the track and to the seat when he flung his leg over a bike. And to making the racers, sponsors and fans feel like more then just another number. You will forever be remembered.......

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Randy Renfrow remembered thanks to SuperBikePlanet.com and the pen of Evan Williams:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2002-Aug/vir02renfrowremember.htm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are some fan perspectives on the late Randy Renfrow from SuperBikePlanet.com:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2002-Aug/020813a.htm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joe Kopp Tops The Podium for 3rd Time This Season in AMA Flat Track Action at Hagerstown Speedway Half Mile

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Kopp took his Latus H-D/American Agip/Lloyd Bros/MotoConcepts XR750 to the top of the box again last Saturday at the Hagerstown Half Mile, round 10 of the AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship. Having won the Arizona Mile in May on the Ducati, and then the Lake Odessa Half Mile last month on the XR, Kopp was originally entered on the Ducati for H-town but ran his Latus H-D instead. This could have possibly been due to the fact that Lloyd Bros. part-time rider Larry Pegram was on board to ride for the weekend, although he failed to make the main after trying to race out of his semi on the Italian twin. Kopp is shown in the shot above back in June at Lima talking with a fan at Lima while his Latus Harley Davidson XR750 sits alongside him.
Kopp finds himself out front in the overall championship hunt with 193 points, after ten rounds of racing over rivals Jake Johnson and Sammy Halbert, both tied for second with 175 points. Johnson holds the nod due to winning a round in Daytona as well as the May running of the Springfield Mile, while Halbert has the other Daytona win to his credit this year.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former 2-Time AMA Flat Track Grand National Singles Champion Jake Johnson talks with Larry Lawrence from The Rider Files.com after the Lima Half Mile in June 2010. Jersey Jake dodged a big bullet Saturday night after crashing on the first lap of the main, having to go to his back up bike for the re-start, starting from the last row, and then working his way up to a fine and hard-earned 7th place for the evening, only 6.364 seconds arrears of winner Joe Kopp. As a result, he only lost 12 points in his quest to run down Joe Kopp from atop the championship lead.
Johnson rode his Zanotti Racing/Leo Vince/Arai/Tucker-Rocky-backed XR to a second place in his heat race and a third place in the Dash for Cash to go along with his 7th place finish in the main. Look for JJ to be in the mix at the next round at the Peoria TT on August 22.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-Time AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Twins Champion Kenny Coolbeth, Jr's Screamin Eagle Factory H-D XR750 sits in the pits at Lima in June. The King of Cool battled throughout the race with eventual winner Joe Kopp in what was described as one of the epic race battles amongst former team mates, let alone long time rivals, that the series has seen in some time. Kenny also strengthend his 6th place in the GNC overall point standings with that fine second place finish at Hagerstown and will roll into the Peoria TT in 13 days with 152 overall points. Hopefully Kenny can improve in this year's running of the 62nd Annual Peoria TT from his 2009 14th place finish.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com circus rolled into the Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland last Saturday as the traveling road show made the almost-3000 mile trek east after the Calistoga round the weekend before.

For the third time this year, 2000 AMA Grand National Champion Smokin Joe Kopp stood on the top of the box at the end of the evening after a fast, furious and hot race at the classic east coast running of the half mile race with his Latus-backed #3 machine. Dicing with former 3-Time Twins Champ Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., on the H-D Factory-backed #2 XR throughout the event for the lead, Kopp was able to pull off his third win of the year on his Latus H-D to go along with his Odessa win and his Arizona win on the Lloyd Bros. Ducati. The King of Cool was able to keep it within .974 seconds at the end of the 25 lap main event after a fine battle at the front.
Kopp led the most laps and takes a strong 18 point lead in the AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship overall standings. He is trailed by former 2-Time Singles Champ Jake Johnson #5 and Sammy Halbert #7 in the standings, who are actually tied for 2nd at 175 points each. Johnson holds the edge between the two riders at this point due to his two series wins to Sammy's one series win earlier in the season.

Defending AMA Pro Flat Track Twins Champion Jared Mees on his #1 Rogers Lake/Blue Springs H-D/Rockysonline.com-backed H-D XR750 finished on the last step of the podium 2.420 seconds back from Kopp, and moved up to fourth in the overall championship standings with 164 points, 29 behind Kopp. Rob Pearson on his #27 Snedeker/Stratton Racing/WKR/Peoria Motorcycle Club-backed XR finished in the fourth spot, and Sammy Halbert on the #7 Kings Kustoms/KK Motorcycle Supply/Nelson Racing-sponsored XR nailed down 5th place.

The series takes a two week break, due to the cancellation of the Grove City, OH. round that was to have run on August 14. Racing action resumes at the infamous Peoria Motorcycle Club arena on Sunday August 22 for the 62nd annual running of the Peoria TT.

Check out all of the official rundowns from the race below. And stay tuned for Peoria in 13 days--it's always a hot August day in the natural arena and Henry Wiles, the defending AMA Grand National Singles Champion, has a big-time streak going on in the singles series, not only at Peoria, but on the singles tracks themselves that are held in the Illini State. And he's looking to improve on his 6th place in the overall championship (160 points) with a good run at the famed Peoria track. It should be fun and we'll have all the action and results!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's the official story of the race thanks to Dave Hoenig and AMA Pro Flat Track:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/news/index.cfm?cid=39019

Motorcycle-USA.com had Matt Davidson on the scene at Hagerstown and here is their spin on the race:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/504/7681/Motorcycle-Article/2010-AMA-Flat-Track-Hangerstown-Results.aspx

Here is the AMA Pro Flat Track photo gallery that was captured by the official AMA Flat Track event photographer Dave Hoenig:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/multimedia/gallery.cfm?gid=3926

And here's Dave's official site, Flat Trak Fotos.com that has the results from Hagerstown and soon-to-be-posted (as of this writing) photos from the event:

http://www.flattrakfotos.com/2010%20Results/RESULTS%208-7-10.html

Here is Joe Kopp's official rundown from last Saturday at Hagerstown:

http://www.joekoppracing.com/CommentDetails.aspx?NewsletterID=107

And last, but not least, here is the press release rundown from the great people at Flat Track Today.com (more to be added as the week goes on from these great folks):

http://www.flattracktoday.com/hagerstown.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fan Video Shows Joe Kopp's AMA Flat Track Calistoga Crash

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Springfield Mile action over the Labor Day Weekend in 2007 shows 7-Time AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr on his #4 Lancaster H-D blast into turn one of the final on the first lap leading Joe Kopp, the 2000 AMA Grand National Champion, on his #3 Screamin' Eagle H-D. Kopp has been switching back and forth this year from his Lloyd Bros. Ducati to his Latus Motors H-D XR750, depending on the track and what the track surface should be for each event.
Last Saturday night, he suffered what was reported to be a broken swingarm bolt on his Latus H-D that caused his heat to come to a decidedly quick close, into the turn one airfence at Calistoga. Luckily, the airfence was there, Joe didn't slide under it into the armco or other barriers and suffered no injuries, and he was able to race his back-up XR into the main via winning the second semi race. He went on to finish 7th in the main and now holds a slim, but doable, six point lead in the overall AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship standings, going into this upcoming weekend's twins event at the half mile in Hagerstown, MD. As of this writing, Smokin' Joe is entered for the Hagerstown event on his Ducati. This will be the second half mile event Joe has raced the Italian twin in after carding a 9th place finish at Lima earlier in the summer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An interesting video started making the internet rounds yesterday of '00 AMA Grand National Champion Joe Kopp's crash into the airfence barrier during heat race action last Saturday at the AMA Flat Track Calistoga Half Mile round.

As was reported in the race rundowns, Kopp's Latus/Lloyd/Egip H-D XR750 suffered a broken swingarm bolt that caused Joe's heat race to come to a quick end into the turn one fence. Thankfully that fence was covered well with airfence (bravo to the airfence and safety people and to Mike Kidd and Co. at AMA Flat Track) and Joe was able to get up and race his back-up Latus X-R into the main via winning the second semi.

I've posted both versions of the video below for all to check out. I'm not trying to get on a crash 'n burn video roll thing here, as I am not about showing crash videos for the purpose of thrills and oohs and aahs. More so, I am trying to help highlight what was a freakish mechanical failure on the Joe Kopp/Latus/Lloyd machine and how good of a job the barriers did in cushioning a fall at 70+ MPH, not too mention how good of a job Joe did in riding it out into the fence.

See for yourself:

Short version--and thanks to ScoobyDoo2 who was in attendance at Calistoga and posted these over at Vimeo:

http://vimeo.com/13863722

Long version with some heat action before the crash:

http://vimeo.com/13853780
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Timer Steve Bonsey Tops The Box at AMA Flat Track Calistoga Half Mile

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heat race action at Lima in June 2010 shows 7-Time AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr on his Lancaster H-D #4 outside of Rob Pearson on his #27 Snedeker Racing XR, and Jake Johnson on his #5 Zanotti Racing XR. Matt Weidman on his #20 White's H-D/SNIP/
Silkolene/Shoei-backed XR brings up the rear.
Carr nailed fourth spot at Calistoga on his Lancaster H-D/DFW Honda/Arai/Wiseco-backed machine and stays a solid 7th in the overall GNC standings with 95 points. Johnson ended up on the 3rd step of the podium with his Zanotti Racing/Leo Vince/Arai/Tucker Rocky XR and retains 2nd in the points, but now only 6 back from leader Joe Kopp, 166-160. Morton, IL.'s
Rob Pearson finished a very credible 8th in the main on his #27 Snedeker-Stratton Racing/WKR/Peoria Motorcycle Club/Pekin Motorcycle Club-sponsored XR750 to garner his second-best finish of the year and a current 10th spot in the overall points standings with 62 points. Matt Weidman fought his way out of the second semi to finish 11th in the main at Calistoga and retain 11th in the overall points with a 59 point tally.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legendary flat track wrench Bill Werner wheels Bryan Smith's #42 Werner/Springsteen/
Monster Energy/Wossner Pistons/Supertrapp Kawasaki to the ready box at Lima in June '10 as a crewman for Steve Bonsey's #80 machine helps out. Rob Pearson's #27 XR crewman is at the ready as well.
Bonsey, who is out of Salinas, CA. (the same area that brought you names like Wayne Rainey, Doug Chandler and Ricky Graham), wheeled his #80 Johnny Goad/Alpinestars/Arai/
Dodge Bros.-backed XR750 to the top of the box for his 'breaking the cherry' first-time win at the first-time event at Calistoga on Saturday night. Bonsey adds his name to a long list of first-time winners in AMA Pro Flat Track Racing action, and leaves Calistoga 14th in the overall points standings with 44 points.
Bryan Smith struggled throughout the evening's event on his #42 650 Ninja-based mount, racing his way into the main via a 3rd place finish in the semi on his Bill Werner-tuned machine. He would finish 13th on the evening, the last rider on the lead lap, and retained 8th in the overall points standings with 80 points.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of Jammin' Jared Mees #1 Rogers Lake Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Rockysonline.com/
Lucas Oil-backed XR750s sits in his pit during a break in the action at Lima in June 2010. Mees, the defending GN Twins Champ, carded a 5th-place finish at Calistoga to remain 5th in the overall championship point standings with 143 points, some 23 points behind current leader, and '00 GN Champ Joe Kopp.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The AMA Pro K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com has it's own version of the first lady of racing, and that would be the ever-popular Nicole Cheza. Nicole can be seen in this shot at Lima earlier in the year signing autographs for the fans in her pit area as her #15 Global Products/Lancaster H-D/National Cycle/KK Motorcycle Supply-backed XR750s sit ready for battle.
Nicole had a great showing Saturday night at Calistoga by placing second in her heat behind Chris Carr, and a direct spot in the final, as well as in the extra $$ and points Dash For Cash. She ended up finishing 14th in the final, the first rider a lap down to eventual winner Steve Bonsey, and now sits 31st in overall points with a tally of 8 points, and her second twins main event of the year. Bravo to Nicole for a great night!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crewmen for Henry Wiles' #17 and Sammy Halbert's #7 set at the ready at Lima earlier in the season for next race action. Wiles, the defending Singles Champion, brought his #17 KK Motorcycle Supply/Mike & Eddie Adkins/Don Kissinger Racing/Saddlemen-sponsored XR home in the 9th spot in the main to drop to 4th in the overall points tally with 149.
Slammin' Sammy lead the most laps in the main at Calistoga only to be passed by Bonsey for the win. However, Sammy hung in there for the 2nd spot on the podium and moves up to 3rd in the overall standings with 159 points, only one point back from Jake Johnson and seven points back from leader Kopp. Keep a very close eye on this young man as he is on the move at the official half way point in the season. His 'mythical' overall championship from the 2009 season could very well turn into a very REAL overall championship after the dust settles in Arizona at the end of the year. You know he's going to make it interesting, just as he has done all year. Sammy's #7 machine is sponsored by Kings Kustoms/KK Motorcycle Supply/Nelson Racing/AGV and Dainese Leathers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The best racing show on wheels had one of Kenny 'The King' Roberts' racing proteges topping the box on Saturday night at the initial running of the Calistoga Half Mile at Calistoga Speedway in great AMA Flat Track racing action.

Steve Bonsey, who not too long ago was running in the GP wars in Europe, broke his cherry and won his very first AMA Flat Track event on the fast half mile in Northern California. Topping an all-star crowd that included Chris Carr, Jared Mees and Jake Johnson, among others, Bonsey wowed 'em in the final to run down and pass early leaders Carr and Sammy Halbert to win his first AMA Pro K&N Filters sponsored by Motorcycle-Superstore.com Grand National Twins main event at round nine in Calistoga. Even more spectacular for this young man is the fact that before Saturday evening's win, his best finish in an AMA Flat Track twins event was a 10th place. Now that's what I call a quick learner!

Needless to say, I was wrong again in predicting that as many as 40-45 riders would try to qualify for this only west coast event on this mid-summer swing of the series. Only 32 riders timed in for the twins main, but nonetheless the track prep and promoter involvement made this a great evening for all in attendance. Being as what the economy still is, for fans and racers alike, 32 riders for a single west coast swing in the schedule is really pretty good, and nothing to be ashamed of. And reports from those on the scene say the place was packed and the crowd on hand was very enthusiastic. Obviously another great showing for Mike Kidd, Steve Morehead and the entire AMA Pro Flat Track Racing crew. Track prep was said to be one of the keys to bringing off a great race, along with the extra work said to have been put in by the race promoter to put fans in the seats.

With a swing back to the far east--Hagerstown, MD., to be exact--next up on the schedule the series will resume on the Hagerstown Speedway Half Mile, Saturday night, August 7th. With the half-way point in the schedule now officially passed, watch for the action to get higher and mightier on the track as the best men (and women!) of AMA Flat Track duel it out for the overall AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship right down to the wire at the last event of the season in Arizona.

Stay tuned, as this show's chugging along at a pretty good clip, and if you don't jump on now you're gonna miss it.........

You can check out all of the 'official' stories, pics, and standings below to get the full read on who's who and what's what!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the bible of motorcycle racing, Paul Carruthers had this story to cover the Calistoga event at CycleNews.com:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/flat-track/2010/08/01/bonsey-gets-his-first

Story and pics from the Calistoga event thanks to Bart Madson and the great folks at Motorcycle-USA.com:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/504/7626/Motorcycle-Article/2010-AMA-Flat-Track-Calistoga-Results.aspx
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The official story of the race at Calistoga thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track Racing:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/news/index.cfm?cid=38888

The official photos of the Calistoga event thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track and Dave Hoenig from FlatTrakFotos.com:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/multimedia/gallery.cfm?gid=3908

More results and soon-to-be-posted shots from the always-on-the-scene Dave Hoenig at FlatTrakFotos.com:

http://www.flattrakfotos.com/2010%20Results/RESULTS%207-31-10.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And Larry Lawrence from the always excellent TheRiderFiles.com shares his spin on this great accomplishment by Steve Bonsey at Calistoga over the weekend:

http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=5332

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMA Pro Flat Track Racing results are here:

http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/events/results.cfm?eid=2010021045 (standard event results)

http://results.amaproracing.com/pdfresults/ft/2010/09-calistoga/ (PDF full event version)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And here is a little video as posted over at the great FlatTrack.com forum by forum members Glynn N Holly of the Calistoga Half Mile event:

http://vimeo.com/13832266

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------