AMA Flat Track: Round 7 of the 2012 Season Happens Today as The Rolling Thunder Show Hits the Sacramento Mile

After a three week break since the last round of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season, The Rolling Thunder Show is ready to kick it into gear again today with round 7 of the season ready to commence at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds with the running of the Sacramento Mile.

With the run-up to this great event this week, we have shown you a brief glimpse of two of the sport's stars and their machines who will be on-hand today to battle it out for the glory in the 25-lap National main event.  Clermont, Indiana's Dan Ingram will be there to take the #31J Dodge Brothers XR750 into the main event alongside unofficial team mate and regular Dodge Brothers competitor, Stevie Bonsey.  And the great guys from the Bryan Smith #42 Howerton Motorsports Kawasaki team will be there to roll out their newest adaptation of the potent 650R-based parallel twin rocket.

Unfortunately, two of the sport's biggest stars and fiercest competitors won't be on-hand today.  Scott Powersports' Kawasaki pilot Johnny Lewis #10 will be sitting out this round and the Castle Rock TT event next weekend, and Harley-Davidson Motor Company rider Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. #2 is still recovering from his tib/fib leg break at Lima so also won't be making the trip (but at least the last factory-supported machine in the series will have '11 AMA Rookie of the Year Brad Baker #12 manning the point on it's potent XR750 today.)

And as of the other day, Matt Weidman #20, the '08 AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year, will be on-hand if he has found a Twins Series ride for today.  The normal campaigner of the Greg Crow Racing XR750-based team, who was injured at Lima four weeks ago, has healed up well enough to make the event, should he be able to find a ride since GCR wasn't going to be able to make the west coast trip.  Also expected to return to the track after recuperating from her SF Mile I injuries is Nichole Cheza #15 on her Global Products XR750 (also seen in the shot above partially obscured on the second row.)

Two of the sport's biggest stars will also be a part of the action today and I would be amiss in notting bringing their names to the top of the list of today's favorites.  Sammy Halbert and his #7 South East H-D and Henry Wiles on the #17 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/Foremost Insurance Group-sponsored Italian 'L' twin will should both play into the mix today once the racing gets underway, as should many of the following riders shown in the shot above

Round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I gets ready to go on May 27, and the front row gets set to dig in as the National main is ready to hit Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval for the 25-lap event.

Jared Mees on the #9 Rogers Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Saddlemen/National Cycle-sponsored XR750 gets some help from crew chief Brent Armbruster with the starter as Luke Gough on the #62 Dick Ford/Skip Eaken Racing Kawasaki/Johnson Cams/KK Motorcycle Supply-backed parallel twin pulls up to the line (partially hidden.)

Bryan Smith looks down as Jeff Gordon gets a hand from team owner Ricky Howerton in getting the #42 Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports/Powered by Eaken Racing Kawasaki/Midwest Performance Hardware-sponsored rocketship fired up for the main.  Eventual SF Mile I winner Willie McCoy makes some final adjustments to his gear with the #59 Harley-Davidson of Wausau/Independence H-D/Tucker Rocky/Arai-backed and self-built XR750.  McCoy will be sitting out today's action at the Sacto Mile, but will return to the series at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile on August 18 and the Springfield Mile II round on September 2.

2-Time and defending AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson edges the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/Arai-backed XR750 to the line as crew chief Ted McDermitt and team owner Dave Zanotti can be seen walking away from the grid just behind him.  And finally, Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. eyes his spot on the line with the #2 Screamin Eagle/Harley-Davidson Motor Co/Fox/Arai Helmets-sponsored factory mount.

Also partially seen on the second row are Brandon Robinson on the #44 Werner-Springsteen Monster Energy Kawasaki, Jethro Halbert on the #69 Goodwin Racing XR, and last year's runner-up in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship and 2012 Rookie of the Year contender Mikey Avila on the #33E SDI/Bisha Racing XR750.

So get ready for some seriously great action as AMA Pro Flat Track brings you another big event this afternoon at the Sacramento Mile as round 7 of the 2012 season gets ready to hit a home run on the left coast!

Here's everything you'll need today to keep up on what's happening at round 7 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season as the heroes and stars of The Rolling Thunder Show take their battle to the Cal Expo Fairgrounds for the Sacramento Mile.

You better strap in and hold on, this train's on a roll and it's not going to stop until way past the checkered flag tonight on the West Coast!

(note--all links can be viewed in each of their own windows so you can toggle back and forth between what you want to check out.  Right click, open in new window to view.)

AMA Pro Flat Track Live Timing & Scoring:

http://live.amaproracing.com/ft/

THE best on-the-ground and at-the-event-coverage of any and all of the AMA Pro Flat Track events, Miriam Deitcher has been bringing us her Flat Track Live @ Facebook for going on two seasons now.  After working with AMA Pro Flat Track and Progressive Insurance back in the early '00s with the excellent 'Live Timing,' Miriam has since been bringing us unparalled coverage of the greatest racing series on wheels in the world with her up-to-date and widespread coverage of what is going on at the races.  For those of us that can't be there today, Miriam will keep us ALL informed.  Thanks again Mir for all your tireless work, and we'll be dialed into your updates as we always are when we're not there enjoying them with you!

https://www.facebook.com/FlatTrackLive

AMA Pro Flat Track event info, schedule and results (standard, drop-down version):

http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/events/event.cfm?year=2012&eid=2012021235

AMA Pro Flat Track complete event and complete results info.  These are the same results AMA Pro Flat Track posts in the pit area during each and every event and due to the tireless work from the great folks manning the event's happenings at the track, you can get them, too, within minutes of each session of both classes today (PDF version):

(note-as of press time on this story, Sacramento's event was not in the list as of yet, but will be updated later in the day!)

http://results.amaproracing.com/

Sacramento Mile official event website:

http://www.calexpo.com/events/event/sacramento-mile/

For those of you commuting locally to the race, here is the link to the Sacramento traffic cams courtesy of the California Department of Transportation, District 3:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist3/departments/traffic/cameras/

Where IS the Cal Expo Fairgrounds in Sacramento, you say?

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=1600+Exposition+Blvd.,+Sacramento,+CA+95815&hl=en&ll=38.592674,-121.434116&spn=0.00857,0.01929&t=h&hnear=1600+Exposition+Blvd,+Sacramento,+California+95815&z=16&layer=t&lci=com.google.webcams

And finally, what is the weather going to be like today in Sacramento?  Thanks to the Weather Underground for the weather goods!

http://www.wunderground.com/q/zmw:94203.1.99999


Now, let's get ready to rock 'n roll and boogie down as the first practice session is set to hit the track today at 5:15 EDT/2:15 PDT.

AMA Road Racing: Hayes Again Leads Field in AMA Superbike Practice During Day 1 at Laguna Seca Red Bull MotoGP Weekend

Monterey Pop: Hayes Fans the Flames in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike as GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Kicks Off Competition at Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MONTEREY, Calif. (July 27, 2012) - The streaking Josh Hayes carried his GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing chart-topping ways into Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Hayes threw down a blistering 1:25.991 to set the pace in Friday's AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike free practice on the opening day of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix.  Hayes is on an historic tear, having claimed seven consecutive victories while scooping up every available pole position along the way. Josh Hayes on the #1 Monster Energy Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1 led first day practice during day one activities in the AMA Superbike class at Laguna Seca yesterday during the Red Bull United States MotoGP Weekend in Monterey, CA.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson. To further that streak, the Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha ace will need to break new ground this weekend and claim his first-career AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike victory at the fabled road course. That shouldn't be considered an impassable obstacle, however, as the Mississippian has already broken through at Daytona International Speedway, Road Atlanta, Miller Motorsports Park and Barber Motorsports Park this season alone.  Despite ending the day on top, Hayes didn't control the session throughout. National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden, who pushed the two-time champ to the limit last time out at Mid-Ohio, actually sat atop the order for much of the session.  Hayes' foray into the '24s pushed him ahead of Hayden, but not by much. The Kentuckian was second-best at 1:25.262. "My lap times are pretty good; we're faster than we were this time last year," Hayes said. "The potential is there in the motorcycle to go a lot faster. We tried some things in the very beginning that got me extremely tight on the motorcycle, and I ended up getting myself all worked up. I wasn't very happy with the second half of my session, and I felt like I wasn't able to do a very good job for the guys. But I'm confident we'll be able to look at things and make improvements for tomorrow. I'm confident I'll be able to come back and relax, and get back into the swing of things tomorrow."  Commenting on his quest for a first National Guard SuperBIke win at Laguna Seca, Hayes said, "Quite honestly, I don't look at this place and say 'Oh, I haven't won here,' because the last two years here, it's been me and one other person. Last year, this was my track; I had it covered but Tommy (Hayden) beat me. He just played the game right and got me at the end. I don't feel pressure coming here -- I've been racing for the win the past two years. I'm just going to try to do what I did at Ohio -- go through the motions and stick to my routine. When I do that, things work out for me." Team Amsoil/Hero EBR's Geoff May was next-best, outpacing Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca genius Ben Bostrom to lay claim to third-best in the session behind Hayes and Hayden.  May hustled his way around the roller coaster-like circuit with a quick time of 1:25.540 to move ahead of Jordan Suzuki's Bostrom, who has multiple AMA Pro and World Superbike Mazda Raceway wins to his credit. Yoshimura Suzuki's Chris Clark was an impressive fifth-quickest at 1:26.020, faster than teammate Blake Young (10th, 1:26.509) and Hayes' teammate, Josh Herrin (7th, 1:26.070).  Another rider who turned heads was Jake Holden in sixth, riding the Redline Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR. Holden winged his way to a 1:26.063 on the new SuperBike.  May's teammate, Danny Eslick, and Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki's Taylor Knapp also ran in the top ten, ranked ninth and tenth, respectively. The AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike heroes will qualify on Saturday in preparation of Sunday's 23-lap contest. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Martin Cardenas led the way in the sole AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike practice session of the day on Friday. The GEICO Suzuki pilot topped the timesheets with a lap of 1:27.952 at Laguna Seca, narrowly bettering Tommy Hayden's mark of 1:28.004. Hayden, who rides for Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha, bettered his teammate Cameron Beaubier, who was third-quickest.  Cardenas and Hayden, two veterans and former class champions who often ride together in practice sessions, set the pace in the hour-long session, with both having led. In recent races, class upstarts like Beaubier and Dane Westby (M4 Suzuki) have taken much of the attention and wins. Cardenas has six wins in 2012, but he hasn't won in four races. Hayden, who has concentrated on the SuperBike class in recent years, has yet to win after joining Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha as an injury replacement at Daytona.  Beaubier crashed in turn ten early in the session and, fortunately, was unhurt. Cameron got his backup machine to third on the day.  Ducshop Ducati's Jake Zemke was fourth, just ahead of Westby and Jake Gagne (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull). Tommy Aquino, in a sub role for Kneedraggers.com Yamaha, was eighth-fastest. Absent from the class on Friday was Jason DiSalvo, who is transitioning to a recently announced Triumph team that will make its debut at the New Jersey Motorsports Park round. AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Dustin Dominguez continued his strong run on Friday in provisional qualifying in AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport. Dominguez, who won the last two class races at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago, set the quick time in the 40-minute session over Hayden Gillim (RoadRace Factory/ Red Bull) and James Rispoli (Celtic Racing/Orient Express Racing). Jake Lewis (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki) rebounded from his subpar Mid-Ohio event to join them on the provisional front row. Corey Alexander (National Guard Fairhills Group Celtic Racing) was fifth, ahead of Garrett Willis (GWR). Willis led the early going in qualifying before Dominguez took the top spot. Series Title Sponsor Announced Officials from AMA Pro Racing and GEICO announced today a multi-year partnership, which names GEICO Motorcycle as the Official Motorcycle Insurance and Title Sponsor of America's premier motorcycle road racing championship, GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing. As part of the agreement, AMA Pro Racing will name a year-end points fund after GEICO for the premier AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike division. For the 2012 season, the GEICO Year-End Points Fund will pay out an additional $25,000 to the top three riders in the final point standings, which will rise to $50,000 and be paid out to the top five riders in the final point standings for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Television Coverage, Live Streaming, Live Timing & Scoring and Social Media Channels SPEED will air the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike and AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike races in a set of back-to-back, same-day delayed broadcasts beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, July 29. SPEED2 will live-stream the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race, fans can watch by logging on to http://www.speed2.com. SPEED2 is a broadband service available to customers of Time Warner, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, DISH, and Cox. For more information and instructions on gaining access to all of this season's AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series races, please review the SPEED2 FAQ located at http://www.speed2.com/faq. AMA Pro Road Racing Live Timing & Scoring presented by Cortech offers fans real-time access to results from on-track sessions at http://live.amaproracing.com/rr/. Between the races, stay connected with AMA Pro Road Racing at www.twitter.com/AMAProSBK and www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing.

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 Pro Road Racing Signs Geico Motorcycle Insurance as Title Sponsor

GEICO and AMA Pro Racing Reach Agreement for Title Sponsorship of GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 27, 2012) - Officials from AMA Pro Racing and GEICO announced today a multi-year partnership, which names GEICO Motorcycle as the Official Motorcycle Insurance and Title Sponsor of America's premier motorcycle road racing championship, GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing. As part of the agreement, AMA Pro Racing will name a year-end points fund after GEICO for the premier AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike division. For the 2012 season, the GEICO Year-End Points Fund will pay out an additional $25,000 to the top three riders in the final point standings, which will rise to $50,000 and be paid out to the top five riders in the final point standings for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. One of the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Series races heads into turn one at Mid-Ohio during the 2012 season held earlier this month.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson. GEICO has been insuring motorcycles since 1978 and has received an extensive collection of industry honors for its financial strength and commitment to providing good customer service. Many of the fans that attend GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing events or follow along on SPEED are motorcycle enthusiasts and own at least one cruiser, street sport, touring bike, high performance bike or dirt bike, all of which can be insured through GEICO. Comprehensive and collision coverage are available for accessories, too. As enthusiasts, AMA Pro Road Racing's loyal fans can rest assured that with GEICO, they'll work with agents who know motorcycles, and are fellow enthusiasts and riders. Riders insured by GEICO can rely on the insurance provider to be there for them anytime, giving them the freedom to ride whenever and wherever they want, without worry. When fans insure their motorcycle with GEICO, they could get: Multi-Policy Discount when they insure their car and motorcycle with GEICO. Renewal Discount when they renew their policy with GEICO. Transfer Discount when they change their motorcycle insurance to GEICO. Discount for completing or instructing a Motorcycle Safety Foundation or Military Safety course. 24/7 Emergency Road Service for less than $1/month. Accessory coverage with comprehensive and collision coverage. Fast, fair claim handling so their motorcycle can get fixed properly. GEICO and AMA Pro have upped the ante for the stars of AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike with the addition of the GEICO Year-End Points Fund. With four rounds remaining for the class in 2012, riders now have an additional $25,000 to fight for. This season's points fund will be paid out for final championship point standing positions as follows: 1st, $15,000; 2nd, $6,000; 3rd, $4,000. For the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the payout will increase to $50,000 and will pay deeper into the field: 1st, $20,000; 2nd, $12,000; 3rd, $7,000; 4th, $6,000; 5th, $5,000. The 2012 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season continues with this weekend's Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. For more information about GEICO, please visithttp://www.GEICO.com. About GEICO: GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies and is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States. GEICO handles auto insurance coverage for 11 million private passenger auto policies and insures more than 17.5 million vehicles. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO offers customers insurance products for their motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), travel trailers and motorhomes (RVs). Coverage for life, boats, homes and apartments is available through the GEICO Insurance Agency. Personal umbrella protection is also available. Coverage for commercial auto insurance is underwritten by Government Employees Insurance Company. In some cases coverage is provided through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc., either under an arrangement with National Indemnity Company (NICO), a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, or with non-affiliated insurance companies.

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: Inside the Howerton Motorsports-Eaken Racing/Bryan Smith #42 Kawasaki, Getting Ready for the Sacramento Mile & Beyond

 

Round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I event saw a new player in the game at The Rolling Thunder Show, and the new team immediately made a big impact on the field in The Rolling Thunder Show.

Back in April, veteran rider Bryan Smith announced he would be riding a new Kawasaki in the five mile events for the season, the very same motorcycle that debuted under the tutelage of former championship-winning tuner Skip Eaken, with Australian flat track champion Luke Gough at the controls in the 2011 season. Smith, Eaken and long-time IndyCar fabricator Ricky Howerton were teaming up for the new season with a double-handful of new Kawasaki 650R-based mounts in order to make an assault on the big tracks of the AMA Pro Flat Track schedule.

While rider Gough had made some great strides with the 2011 version of the machine, Howerton approached Michigan resident Smith about riding his machines for the 2012 mile events. Flyin' Bryan was immediately impressed, and within six weeks the #42 Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports Powered by Eaken Racing Kawasaki/Midwest Performance Hardware/Guts Wear-sponsored team was rolling the new and updated machines out of the team's transporter at the first Twins Series event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval on May 27 over the Memorial Day Weekend.

In the shot above, Flyin' Bryan acknowledges the enthusiastic crowd at Springfield while builder Howerton and right hand man & close friend Jeff Gordon roll the #42 machine out to the grid.

A long-time fan of the sport, Rick Howerton worked on perfecting his in-house 650R-based parallel twin build over the off-season after the bike's initial debut at Springfield the season before with Australian Gough at the controls. With over 2500 hours invested in designing, building and fine-polishing the new threat to The Rolling Thunder Show, his long hours of toiling, sweating and putting his dream to work paid off pretty quickly, hot right out of the box.

Flirting with the top-5 right off the bat in qualifying, Smith settled into a 7th-place overall qualifying spot out of the 48 riders that took a timed session for the day, and at the time the 3rd-fastest Kawasaki (Johnny Lewis #10 qualified fastest, Brandon Robinson #44 qualified 5th) of the 11 riders on Kawasakis that had taken a timed lap. “We had to make a few changes early to the bike to get it right for Bryan, but it paid off,” stated builder extraordinaire and IndyCar fabricator Howerton.

When the first heat race of the day lined up with 16 riders ready to kick start the day's events, Smith settled into the middle of the front row amidst fast qualifier Lewis, 2-Time and defending AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson and a strong line-up of Grand National racing's best. Slotting in second at the end of the first lap to Johnson, Smith went on a charge that had the paying house standing on their feet for the next seven laps as he went on to lead the remainder of the heat at the line (where it counts) to win his first race with his new team by .084 seconds over Jersey Jake and by .203 seconds over fast qualifier Lewis.

In the 4-lap Dash for Cash event, it was almost the same scripted scenario as his heat, but with Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. leading the first lap and Smith taking over for the last three laps to lead Johnson home again. During the podium ceremonies (pictured above before runner-up Johnson and 3rd-place finisher Jared Mees came up to help celebrate) Smith gets a chance to enjoy the limelight while being interviewed by one of the great announcing crew from AMA Pro Flat Track.

When it came time for the 25-lap National main event, Smith and the Howerton/Eaken team were ready to go at it, and Smith led 15 of the 25 laps, making the new-build Kawasaki look awfully good for it's first time out with the new team. In the end, he brought the bike down low coming off of turn four in the dash to the final checkers, which caused his tire to spin off of the turn and allowed eventual-winner Willie McCoy and Johnson to slip by to take the top-2 spots, with Smith finishing in the 3rd-place spot just .033 seconds behind McCoy and .016 seconds behind Johnson.

Since that time, Howerton has added to his long hours of toiling over and with the machine. “Yeah, we started with about 17-1800 hours in this thing by the time last season had wrapped up, and now we're pretty close to having about 2500 hours in them,” Howerton surmised during my visit to his shop on Monday, July 23 as he was getting everything loaded-up for the 2200 mile trip to Sacramento.

Starting with the initial bike (#1-left above) in late 2010, that bike is the one that Luke Gough campaigned with Skip Eaken during the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season. Along with the street tracker version (as talked about with Stu's Shots late December 2011) that one (#2-right above) is now the back-up bike for Bryan.

“Skip provides all of the horsepower, and went another way with his new Kawasaki for Luke for the 2012 season, going with the J&M Framed-model,” commented Rick during our visit on Monday. “He's doing his deal while we put this together for the five mile events for this season. I've already had everyone asking about going forward for the 2013 season in putting something together for the rest of the Twins Series events, but that's a lot of extra work and time that I'm not too sure about for now. For now we're going to just concentrate on winning Sacramento, Indy, Springfield and Santa Rosa. Ha!”

Not only have the hours built up in perfecting the machines, but so has the money involved. Howerton continued, “We also added NAS fasteners, which are aircraft-rated for high strength. But you don't have to safety wire those.” Some of those average $3-4/each and Rick guessed they could have close to $1000 just in those alone.

Of course originally, they built everything from the ground up before hitting the track at Springfield during the Memorial Day event. One of the original builds on the bike is the hand-made exhaust. Howerton continued, “Those were built to plan with Inconel (commonly referred to as Iconel in the U.S.), which is a high-temp metal used in all of our exhaust applications and in Formula 1 applications, and sells for about $120/per foot.” And the finished product, like the rest of the machine, is a work of art.

“Bryan was in town last week checking out last minute things on the bike, and one of the areas he was concerned with was braking,” Howerton mentioned. He rode it up and down the street with the original brakes, and would come in and Rick asked him about them. Long story short, after affixing a caliper off of a Honda CRF450, “we added the Brembo twin piston unit (above) off of a Ducati. He came back with all smiles after that, so we knew we were good in getting it stopped for him.”

Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports Powered by Eaken Racing Kawasaki left side shot.

“We also made some changes on the foot pegs and brake and shifter assemblies, again all hand made, but are really pretty trick pieces. I'm pretty proud of those. One of the original pegs had a metal spot on it, and it caused Bryan's foot to slip off on the restart after the red flag during the National, so we went all rubber with it, and then also made up a new shifter assembly.”

 

Howerton Motorsports Kawasaki right side shot.

Howerton sourced a spare brake master cylinder off of eBay which had just arrived that day. “$19 for this one, can't beat that! I'm going to throw that into the crash cart now so I don't forget.”

The crash cart was also made-up to match all of the racing gear, and looks impressive sitting with the bikes and the Crosley Radio stands which will help to make-up their pit set-up at Sacramento , Indy and beyond.  It can be seen in the shot above on the left side in the back.

“And we crafted our own quick-change rear disc and gear assemblies as well,” Howerton beamed (above.)

 

Howerton and company look to have a fun time and a good day at Sacramento on Saturday, and beyond for the remaining four mile events of the year.  “The owner of Crosley Radio (crosleyradio.com), Bo LeMastus, is coming in to hang out with us. He'll be at Indy , too, on Saturday, August 18. Crosley Radio is based out of Louisville and has helped us immensely on this, and he's a long-time flat track fan just like the rest of us.  He's got a lot of enthusiasm for the sport and in general, and is alot of fun to hang around with.

"Crosley sent us a juke box which we'll have set-up in the pits to play some music and talk with the fans, and we've got some promotional flyers to hand out while Bryan signs autographs during the fan walk. That reminds me, I gotta remember my iPod so we'll HAVE some music to listen to instead of just the radio!”  Needless to say, they'll be jammin' in the pits with this sweet piece spinning some numbers!



 

“We also re-did the seat for Bryan, the original was too slick and you could see in some of the pictures he was having to hold himself with his left hand from sliding too far back onto the tail section on the track at Springfield. We had the seats cut to size and lowered and should be just right for him now to where his backside should line up just right on the number plate.”

The team is still coming together in terms of really gelling with one another, with Bryan's Dad, Barry, having done all the prep and building on his Moroney's FastHog.com XR-750s for last season, they are all still getting used to one another. But by the looks of what Bryan was able to do at Springfield, eventually finishing 3^rd in the National main, they seem pretty cohesive already!  And that was just after their first event together.

“Crosley is sending up a couple of drivers this afternoon out of Louisville to hook-up and head to Sacramento with the full gear ready to go,” stated Rick. (As of Wednesday, July 25 2:30 PM EDT +/-, they were almost there. “Jeff Gordon, Dink (one of the other wrenches on the machine that has worked for Dreyer Honda in Indy for decades, also one of the team's sponsors) and I are flying out around 4:40 PM EDT on Friday and we'll be ready before we land!”

One of the other areas of concentration since the Memorial Day Weekend was the starter box (shown above with usually-camera shy and proud builder, Howerton), which will be used primarily by friend/helper/gofer/stooge/sponsor Jeff Gordon, who is one of Rick's long-time Indy friends, and whose shop Speedway Engines, is right next door to Howerton's on Gasoline Alley on Indy's westside. 

Speedway leases all of the engines for the Indy Lights Series that follows the IndyCar Series trail, and has an impressive layout in their shop, as well. If you think flat track is expensive, try leasing an Indy Lights motor for a season that costs roughly $10/mile to run. All engines are rebuilt, checked and replaced as necessary every 1700 miles.

“I've probably got close to 30 hours just in the starter box. We wanted something that would look right with the rest of the gear, and it was made for JG's large frame (Gordon stands at about 6' 4” +/-), since he'll be the one carting it around, we made it to spec, so to speak, for him.” Balance was taken into account when putting it together, and it pivots with ease! “I don't have it stickered up yet, but we have Crosley's name on there and it looks better then just a two-wheeled cart with a battery and starter motor on it.”

One of the items that Rick touched on again with me during this trip to his shop was the amount of time that went into just the fuel tanks. His Dad, Jackie Howerton, a former USAC Silver Crown champion driver, who now lives in Prescott, AZ., spent close to 80 hours on the two tanks forming them on an English wheel. “One of Bryan's concerns after the red flag at Springfield was if we had enough fuel. I asked him, do you want to top it off, and he went 'well.....' so we topped it off, and still had plenty left over after 25 laps. We're in good shape as far as fuel economy is concerned."

In the shot above taken at round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I event, builder Howerton, right-hand man Jeff Gordon and Bryan's Dad, Barry Smith can be seen getting ready for another round of action on the mile oval at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Two of the things that Howerton wouldn't touch on were weight or horsepower. “You've heard of those Harley XR750s haven't you? Well, we're real close to them for sure........ha, ha!” I tried to flirt with numbers of 270-280 pounds on the weight and 95-98 HP on the output, but he wouldn't budge, even off the record, about the 750cc powerplant.  Hey, a guy has to have SOME secrets, right!? “We're real good so I'm not too worried about either now!"

One thing builder/craftsman Howerton is quick to note is all of the help he has received in putting this all together. “I couldn't have done it own my own, so a big thanks to all of the volunteers who've helped work late into the night/early into the mornings, like Jeff, Dink and a whole slew of other people. They've been a big help all around and without them it wouldn't have been possible to get this ready again for Sacto on Saturday. They're all just like me, big flat track fans, who were willing to lend a hand to see us try and get us a win in one of these.”

In the shot above, Barry, Jeff and Rick can be seen proudly acknowledging their's and Bryan's win in the Dash for Cash event at Springfield on May 27 while Bryan takes in the accolades on the podium.  If these guys get on a roll, this could become a familiar scene in the remaining four mile rounds in the 2012 season.

I'd say based on effort alone, these guys are pretty close to the top rung on the box, and if not at Sacramento on Saturday, then maybe in front of the home crowd at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile over the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Weekend on August 18. I sure wouldn't bet against them, based on what they've done so far, and with four more mile races yet to go in the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season they've got some room to wiggle, but probably won't need it.  Can you say 'place your bets now?'

So keep a close eye out for Bryan Smith on the #42 Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports Powered by Eaken Racing Kawasaki/Midwest Performance Hardware-sponsored parallel twin in the upcoming mile events.  With round 7 of the 2012 season ready to roll off on Saturday afternoon, he could just be the one to spoil the party and get Kawasaki back on top again at a Twins Series mile race just like he did at Indy and Springfield in 2010 with the Werner-Springsteen team.  And if that happens at Indy next month, the whole west side of town will be rockin' and partying!

Good luck guys and have fun, you deserve it!

AMA Flat Track: After Returning to the Expert Ranks at Springfield, Dan Ingram Heads to the Sacramento Mile to Pilot a Dodge Brothers XR750

Dan Ingram looks over the #31J TCR/Zanna Racing/Indy Southside H-D/Tucker Rocky Harley-Davidson XR750 while team owner and long-time tuner and team owner Tom Cummings cools off on the edge of the team's transporter at the Allen County Fairgrounds on June 30 at round 5 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.

Ingram announced over the weekend that he would be heading to the Sacramento Mile for the July 28 event to pilot a Dodge Brothers Harley-Davidson XR750 after it was announced earlier that TCR would not be able to make the trip due to cost restraints for the long 2200 mile +/- trek from the midwest.

With help from Mid-American Speedway in Indianapolis and many of his fans, Dan will be flying into Sacramento on Saturday A.M. to throw a leg over one of the Dodge Brothers machines as an 'unofficial' team mate to regular Dodge Brothers competitor, Steve Bonsey.

A big tip of the helmet to Jim Terchila/Mid-America Speedway for helping out Dapper Dan to get out to the Sacramento Mile, as well as Jim Grant from JGPhotowerx who also helped out Dan in his quest to get to the west coast race.  And it goes without saying we wish Dan the very best of luck this weekend.  Go get 'em man!

Jeffrey Carver, Jr. on the #23 Kiesow Racing/Hall's Cycles/Eddie Adkins/Sponseller-backed XR750 takes the low line during the final round of qualifying at the Lima Half-Mile on June 30 while Dan Ingram on the #31J TCR/Zanna Racing-sponsored XR shoots a roost and bounces off one of the ruts in the corner coming into turn 4. 

The Clermont, IN. resident qualified 5th overall in his second Twins Series event since returning the the Expert ranks at the Springfield Mile I event at the end of May, which is quite an accomplishment in itself considering how rough the track was.  He went on to qualify for the National main via a 4th-place finish in heat #2 behind Bryan Smith, Henry Wiles and Rob Pearson, and fought the track as the night wore on to claim a solid 13th-place finish for his efforts.

After a 19-year absence from the track, Dapper Dan returned to action as an Expert-ranked rider at Springfield on May 27 and made his first National main event since being injured there in May '93.  After going through the process of gaining enough points to reclaim his Expert license via AMA Pro Flat Track's guidelines of racing in the Pro Singles Series and in other flat track events around the Midwest, Ingram proudly made the main at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and brought home a strong 11th-place finish on the TCR entry.  Ingram 'just missed the set-up' at the Hagerstown Half-Mile on July 7, but not for want of trying or hard work. 

Steve Bonsey and his Dad, Steve, Sr. roll the #80 Dodge Bros/Alpinestars/Saddlemen/A&A Racing-sponsored H-D XR750 out to the line during rider intros at round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I event on May 27.

Bonsey ended up finishing in the 10th-place spot at the spring event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds after qualifying for the National main by coming home in 3rd-place in semi #2 behind winner Jeffrey Carver, Jr. and runner-up Rob Pearson.  The '09 AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year has been campaigning a Dodge Brothers XR750 in the Twins Series events since the 2010 season, when he took his breakout first-ever win in the series at the Calistoga Half-Mile event in July '10.

The Dodge Brothers have campaigned the AMA Pro Flat Track series for many years and have proven time and time again that they can put together some very competitive equipment in the series, which should make for a good pairing for Bonsey and Ingram as team mates for the Sacramento Mile this Saturday, July 28, in round 7 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.

AMA Pro Flat Track's Dan Ingram #31J TCR/Zanna Racing XR750 t-shirts.  Photo courtesy of Dan Ingram/Clermont, Indiana.


Dan Ingram is offering up some really nice t-shirts to fans who would like to help support his effort to compete in the remaining events of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Twins Series season.  Featuring the #31J rider on the TCR/Zanna Racing/Indy Southside H-D XR750, the shirts are available through Dan for a cost of $20 each plus $4 shipping.  Sizes S-3X in men's sizes and M-XL in women's sizes.  As of this last weekend, Dan stated that the shirts should be available within the next two weeks.

You can contact Dan to get yourself one of these cool shirts via his Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/dan.ingram.92


And you can order one of the shirts from Dan via his address with check or money order:

Dan Ingram
10920 E. U.S. Highway 136
Clermont, IN. 46234


You can also read a little bit more about Dan's return to the track this year, along with some info on Nick Cummings, the son of TCR owner, Tom Cummings.  Nick was seriously injured in a crash at a regional half-mile during the 2009 season, but has recovered enough to help out his Dad and Ingram in his return to the track.

Thanks to Larry Lawrence and Cycle News for this great interview with Nick that talks about his recovery and his help in getting Clermont, Indiana's Dan Ingram back in the saddle this season:

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20120724#pg77

AMA Pro Road Racing Laguna Seca Red Bull U.S. MotoGP Weekend Preview

AMA Pro Road Racing Joins MotoGP this Weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MONTEREY, Calif. (July 23, 2012) - AMA Pro Road Racing will once again be featured alongside the international stars of MotoGP this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as part of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. The international event held at the legendary 2.238-mile natural road course in Monterey, Calif. is a huge weekend for all things motorcycle road racing, and is the place to be on this July weekend for fans who want to sample the very best in the sport from famous vantage points like the legendary Corkscrew or Ducati Island. Three of the four classes that make up AMA Pro Road Racing will take part in the event. In a departure from the typical doubleheader weekend format, each class will contest one race final. Opening the weekend's racing activity with a 3:40 p.m. start time on Saturday, July 28, the rising stars and local experts of AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport are slotted in for a 16-lap race. The always action-packed AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class will be featured in a 20-lap final on Sunday morning at 11:15 a.m. and the premier AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike division will close the weekend with a 23-lap race later that afternoon at 3:45 p.m. SPEED will air the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike and AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike races in a set of back-to-back, same-day delayed broadcasts beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, July 29. SPEED2 will live stream the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race, fans can watch by logging onto http://www.speed2.com. SPEED2 is a broadband service available to customers of Time Warner, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, DISH and Cox. For more information and instructions on gaining access to all of this season's AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series races, please review the SPEED2 FAQ located at http://www.speed2.com/faq. AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike  Since the class debuted in 1976, AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike races have been held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as a part of every season except for two (1989 and 1990). There have been 35 AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike sprint races contested in Monterey, and the challenging track has produced 21 winners on six different manufacturers (BMW, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Ducati and Yamaha).  Two-time, defending AMA Pro National Guard Champion Josh Hayes (No. 1 Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1) heads to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with a solid lead in the point standings over Blake Young (No. 79 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000). Hayes has yet to claim his first win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, but 2012 has been a year of firsts for him. Yamaha's leading man has scored his first National Guard SuperBike wins at four tracks this season (Daytona International Speedway, Road Atlanta, Barber Motorsports Park and Miller Motorsports Park). If the Mississippian wins this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, he will become the first rider in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike history to score eight consecutive wins in a single season. His current streak of seven ties him with all-time great Mat Mladin and current MotoGP superstar Ben Spies. Of the active AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike riders, only Ben Bostrom (No. 23 Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) has won in the class here, taking home wins in 2004 aboard a Honda and claiming Yamaha's lone win in Monterey in 2010. Despite a touch-and-go season in 2012, Bostrom has always been strong at his home track; his record here also includes AMA Pro wins in three additional classes, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike (2009), AMA Pro SuperSport (2008) and AMA Formula Xtreme (2004) as well as a trio of wins in World Superbike. If he claims the top spot on the podium this weekend, he'll join an elite group of four riders who have three National Guard SuperBike wins to their credit at Mazda Raceway: Freddie Spencer, his brother Eric Bostrom, Spies and Mladin.  Bostrom's teammate on the Michael Jordan Motorsports squad, Roger Hayden (No. 54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000), has been in top form as of late. The Kentuckian proved to be a challenge for Hayes last round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, leading the race at times before racking up two additional podiums on the season. Hayden is joined this weekend by older brothers Tommy and Nicky, who will be competing in AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike and MotoGP, respectively. Roger Hayden on the #54 National Guard Jordan Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000 leads Blake Young on the #79 Rockstar Yoshimura Suzuki during the running of the AMA Superbike Championship round of the 2011 season at Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson. Another rider on a tour de force in 2012 is AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike freshman Josh Herrin (No. 2 Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1). The former GoPro Daytona SportBike star is a solid third position in the points with two runner-up results earned in his debut season on the 1000cc Yamaha.  Riding on the only American-made SuperBike marquee in the field, Geoff May (No. 99 Team Amsoil/Hero EBR 1190RS) has led a consistent season so far in 2012. The new motorcycle's accolades are highlighted by a set of podiums split between May and teammate Danny Eslick (No. 69 Team Hero EBR 1190RS), earned at Infineon Raceway in May.  Sixth in the points is Larry Pegram (No. 72 Foremost Insurance Pegram BMW S1000RR), followed by AMA Pro veteran Steve Rapp (No. 15 Attack Performance/ Motorcycle Superstore M1 PowerSports Kawasaki ZX-10R), who will be pulling double-duty this weekend. The Californian, who qualified on the front row at Mid-Ohio and finished an impressive fourth in both races, will make a wildcard appearance in the MotoGP race at Mazda Raceway aboard an Attack Performance CRT machine. Young's Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Chris Clark rounds out the top 10 in the National Guard SuperBike standings. A number of notable AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike entries are likely to make a splash this weekend. Australian Superbike standout Glenn Allerton (No. 111 BMW HP Racing BMW S1000RR) has entered in the event. The reigning Australian Superbike champion will make his AMA Pro debut aboard a BMW S1000RR with specifications very similar to those of his championship-winning machine. Jake Holden (No. 59 Buyredline.com Honda CBR1000RR) is back, piloting a Honda and competing with a new team that is aiming to win. Two riders with strong showings at Mid-Ohio were Chris Ulrich (No. 18 M4 RoadracingWorld.com Suzuki GSX-R1000), who posted a set of top 10 finishes, and Taylor Knapp (No. 44 Riders Discount K&L Supply Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R1000), who returned to National Guard SuperBike after a two-race hiatus to post two eighth-place results. The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix will take place this weekend, July 27-29. The AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike class will take to the track for their first practice session on Friday, July 27 at 3:10 p.m. and will be featured in a 23-lap sprint race on Sunday, July 29 at 3:45 p.m. local time. AMA Pro Road Racing's National Guard SuperBike and GoPro Daytona SportBike divisions will be featured on SPEED in a set of back-to-back, same-day delayed broadcasts, scheduled to begin at 11:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT on Sunday night. AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Point Standings (After Round 7): 1. Josh Hayes (Gulfport, MS) - 383; 2. Blake Young (Waunakee, WI) - 316; 3. Josh Herrin (Glendale, CA) - 225; 4. Roger Hayden (Owensboro, KY) - 204; 5. Geoff May (Gainesville, GA) - 190; 6. Larry Pegram (Hebron, OH) - 182; 7. Steve Rapp (Hawthorne, CA) - 151; 8. Danny Eslick (Broken Arrow, OK) - 147; 9. Ben Bostrom (Malibu, CA) - 146; 10. Chris Clark (Las Vegas, NV) - 146. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Nearly Every AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race can be described as intense. The performance balance combined with depth of field creates an unpredictable battleground for some of the world's top talent. Since its inception in 2009, the class has seen three different champions take wins at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca: Ben Bostrom, Martin Cardenas and Danny Eslick. Martin Cardenas (No. 36 GEICO Suzuki GSX-R600) is the only active AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike rider with a class win to his credit at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The 2010 GoPro Daytona SportBike Champ returned to the class in 2012 with a vengeance after a fruitful year in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike highlighted by a rare breakout win during his debut season. With his return to GoPro Daytona SportBike, the Colombian displayed his skill early by taking six wins and grabbing all but one bonus point in the first eight races of the 2012 season.  The early season run that Cardenas appreciated came to an end recently with the return of Cameron Beaubier (No. 6 Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha YZF-R6). Beaubier, who suffered an off-track injury early in the season, took home his maiden AMA Pro victory at Barber Motorsports Park last month and followed that up with two additional wins and a third place finish to give him a perfect ratio of starts to podiums since his return. Despite the local rider's impressive run, he enters this weekend sitting fourth in the point standings behind Dane Westby (No. 5 M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) and Tommy Hayden (No. 8 Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha YZF-R6). Westby's confidence has soared recently, turning his consistent season into a set of stellar results including his second career victory earlier this month at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Former SuperBike standout Hayden acclimated quickly to the 600cc platform after he was tapped to replace Garrett Gerloff following the young gun's injury at the season-opener.  The AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike field is the deepest in the AMA Pro Road Racing portfolio. Additional riders that are sure to threaten are Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Latus Motors Racing Triumph Daytona 675), JD Beach (No. 95 RoadRace Factory/Red Bull Yamaha YZF-R6), Jake Zemke (No. 98 Ducshop Ducati 848), Bobby Fong (No. 50 Meen Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6), Cory West (No. 57 Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R600) and DAYTONA 200® winner Joey Pascarella (No. 52 Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R600). The riders competing in AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike will contest a 20-lap race final on Sunday, July 29 at 11:15 a.m. local time. AMA Pro Road Racing's National Guard SuperBike and GoPro Daytona SportBike divisions will be featured on SPEED in back-to-back, same-day delayed broadcasts, scheduled to begin at 11:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT on Sunday night. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Point Standings (After Round 7): 1. Martin Cardenas (Medellin, Colombia) - 287; 2. Dane Westby (Tulsa, OK) - 247; 3. Tommy Hayden (Owensboro, KY) - 213; 4. Cameron Beaubier (Roseville, CA) - 204; 5. Jason DiSalvo (Batavia, NY) - 194; 6. JD Beach (Philpot, KY) - 166; 7. Jake Zemke (Paso Robles, CA) - 166; 8. Bobby Fong (Stockton, CA) - 162; 9. Cory West (Eureka Springs, AR) - 143; 10. Joey Pascarella (Vacaville, CA) - 141. AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport  One of the most competitive races of this weekend's Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix will be AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport, a class filled with young talent and local experts. With 55 pre-entries, 39 of which are competing aboard the Yamaha YZF-R6, the battle will begin with qualifying as riders vie for a limited number of grid spots.  This weekend's event features a Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport West Division race, meaning only those riders who declared as West Division riders will earn points toward regional and national championships. Additionally, in order to provide an equal number of points paying opportunities between the East and West Divisions, Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport points will also be awarded to riders for their final grid positions at Mazda Raceway. The outright leader in AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport this season has been defending Champ James Rispoli (No. 1 Celtic Racing/ Orient Express Racing/ Army National Guard Suzuki GSX-R600). In his 13 starts, the New Yorker has taken 10 podiums, including four wins, and currently tops the West Division point standings 232-173 over closest rival Hayden Gillim (No. 69 RoadRace Factory/Red Bull Yamaha YZF-R6).  Gillim, a former Red Bull Rookies Cup standout, has acclimated quickly to his new team. The Kentuckian took home the team's first win at Miller Motorsports Park in May and has two additional podiums to his credit, including one earned during his most recent outing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course earlier this month.  Third in the West Division points is Elena Myers (No. 21 Suzuki SportbikeTrackgear.com Suzuki GSX-R600). Her win at the season opener in March gave her the historical distinction of becoming the first female to win a major motorsports event at Daytona International Speedway. Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport East Division rivals Jake Lewis (No. 85 Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R600), Dustin Dominguez (No. 68 Latus Motors Racing Triumph Daytona 675) and Stefano Mesa (No. 37 Kneedraggers.com Yamaha YZF-R6) have locked up the rest of the season's seven wins. East Division points-leader Lewis turned in a set of uncharacteristic finishes at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which was contrasted starkly by the dominating effort of Dominguez. The Oklahoman's double win weekend tied him up with Lewis in the East Division point standings. Saturday's 16-lap final for the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport division will be the first race of the weekend, set to go green at 3:40 p.m. on Saturday, July 28. The race will be streamed live on SPEED2, for more information, please visit http://www.speed2.com/. AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport West Division Point Standings (After Round 5): 1. James Rispoli (Attica, NY) - 232; 2. Hayden Gillim (Owensboro, KY) - 173; 3. Elena Myers (Discovery Bay, CA) - 143; 4. Tyler Linders (Mission Viejo, CA) - 87; 5. Ryan Matter (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) - 84; 6. Travis Ohge (Aurora, OR) - 67; 7. Sebastiao Ferreira (Parauna, Brazil) - 64; 8. Devon McDonough (Damascus, OR) - 42; 9. Rocco Horvath (Chandler, AZ) - 36; 10. Colter Dimick (Ft. Collins, CO) - 35. Live Timing & Scoring and Social Media Channels  AMA Pro Road Racing Live Timing & Scoring presented by Cortech offers fans real-time access to results from on-track sessions at http://live.amaproracing.com/rr/. Between the races, stay connected with AMA Pro Road Racing at www.twitter.com/AMAProSBK and www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing.

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