AMA Flat Track: Is JR Schnabel Hooking Up with Monster Energy Kawasaki and Werner/Springsteen for 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Run?

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JR Schnabel can be seen sitting in the back/center of this shot in the black shirt talking with family members as team members of his #33 Memphis Shades/K&N Filters/Wiseco/Motion Pro-sponsored team work on preparing his XR750
for the upcoming race event at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile round of the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series.
The 31 year old Schnabel has been a major fixture on the AMA Flat Track scene for what will be 15 years in the 2011 season and won the '95 AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year Award in his first full year of competition in the series. JR, whose first name is Glen, was forced to sit out the mid-part of the 2010 season after suffering a broken leg, returning to action at Peoria in August and finishing the season in the 15th spot in the year-end standings.
While racing for the Memphis Shades team, Schnabel all but owned the Springfield Short Track and TT rounds for several years, and won six overall AMA Pro Flat Track Singles Series events and eight total events while racing with the team. He was also a member of Dave Burk's American Suzuki squad in the mid-late '00s. JR is one of the most popular riders in the series and during the pit walk-throughs at each event always has a line of fans coming by to get his autograph and to talk with the Wisconsinite about racing in The Rolling Thunder Show.
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I haven't heard of any official announcement as of yet, but I did come acrossed an interesting item concerning Kawasaki's U.S. racing efforts for the 2011 season, which is set to be announced by Team Green on January 5.

In this little ditty posted by Dean Adams over at SuperBikePlanet.com, JR Schnabel, National #33 in the AMA Pro Flat Track Series, is listed along with Bryan Smith #42 as a team member of the Monster Energy Kawasaki Werner Springsteen Racing team. Scouring the net proved fruitless on any more info, and with the AMA Pro Racing offices locked up for the holidays until Monday, there wasn't any way to get any type of official confirmation at this time. But it is pretty interesting nonetheless if you are a fan of The Rolling Thunder Show like I am and have been for years/decades.

In the link below, which pretty much confirms that AMA Road Racing will NOT see a return in '11 by Kawasaki, you can click on the picture, which appears to be a ticket for Kawasaki's press invitation scheduled as mentioned. On the enlarged ticket under the Monster Energy Kawasaki Werner Springsteen Racing header are listed BOTH Bryan Smith (who won the Indy Mile and Springfield Mile in late summer on the 650R-Werner built parallet twin) and JR Schnabel, who raced for the Memphis Shades XR750 team this year in the Twins Series.

This could be some really great news for the Werner Springsteen Racing team, who hooked up early in 2010 along with rider Bryan Smith to form a powerhouse team in the AMA Flat Track Series that proved to have the winning combination as the year went along. Adding another rider of Schnabel's caliber should make for a one-two punch that could see even more prominence in the series in the upcoming year!

Check it out and thanks to Dean at SuperBikePlanet.com:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2010/Dec/101230mia.htm
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Footnote Mon. 1/3/11--I stand corrected on my previous findings and statement about JR winning four rounds at Springfield while a member of the American Suzuki Flat Track team. Babe DeMay left me a comment today to get me straightened out, and I appreciate the long-time tuner to the stars being able to take the time to do so. Thanks for helping to set me straight on this one, Babe! And thanks for coming by to check us out here at Stu's Shots. We always appreciate comments that help to clear up any misconceptions or mistakes I have made in my story lines. Thanks again!
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