Brad Baker & Sammy Halbert Take Opening Round Wins at Gene Romero's WCFTS Vegas Event

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Brad Baker looks over his bikes in the #1 pits at the Springfield Mile round of the AMA Flat Track Pro Singles Series in September of 2010. The '09 AMA Flat Track Pro Singles Champion garnered four wins in the 2010 series to just come up short of the championship to rival Jeffrey Carver on the Van's Yamaha. Sponsored by Rod Lake/Mike Velasco and Brothers Powersports on his Honda 450, Baker also pulled off another seven podiums in his run to retain the #1 plate.
Baker will be moving up to the Expert Class for the 2011 season to campaign the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series and will be wearing the #12 number plate in the upcoming season. He got his racing year off to a great start in Vegas by winning the Open Class A-Main Event as part of the Gene Romero West Coast Flat Track Series opener at South Point Casino in Las Vegas over the weekend, with fellow AMA GNC competitors Sammy Halbert and Rob Pearson filling out the opening night's podium.
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The Halbert Brothers Racing Team can be seen talking in the background right at the Gas City Short Track round of the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series in June of 2010. Brothers Jethro #69 and Sammy #7 converse with a team member of the #30F Coy Matthews Pro Singles team, while Dad Willy Halbert tends to the team's bikes under the awning. Sponsored by Woody Kyle Racing and Fredericktown Yamaha, the Brothers H finished 5th and 6th, respectively, on the evening at the Gas City round.
Sammy took the time to fly into Vegas over the weekend for the WCFTS round at the South Point Casino, and after finishing second on Friday night, pulled off the win in Saturday evening's Open Class A-Main event. It was good to hear about him getting back at it after he reportedly took a big fall during action at the Southern Illinois Center in DuQuoin the previous weekend during the Steve Nace Racing Ethan Gillim Memorial races.
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Brad Baker and Sammy Halbert both took wins over the weekend in the opening round of Gene Romero's West Coast Flat Track Series at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas. Gearing up for the upcoming AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series season, Baker pulled off the win over Halbert on Friday night on the last lap after Slammin' Sammy lost air in his rear tire. Halbert did manage to best the field of pro riders the next night, leading Jake Mataya and AMA Flat Track Pro Singles rider Mikey Martin home on the evening. A National-class field of riders was on hand for the Las Vegas event, with riders Rob Pearson, Chad Cose and 2010 AMA Flat Track Pro Singles Champion Jeffrey Carver also on hand for the weekend's event.

With less then two months before the opening rounds at Daytona, the 2011 season is starting off super for these two fine young men, and with Baker moving up to the Grand National Expert Series this year, the competition just got a little tougher for all of the series' combatants. With Slammin' Sammy being forced to sit out the Minnesota Mile round towards the end of the 2010 season for what was deemed 'rough riding' at the Springfield Short Track round, his late season charge was stopped short with an eventual fourth place finish in the final overall standings. Look for him to hit Daytona in March with a big advantage in running these events to try to get a leg up on the competition in 2011.
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Todays Cycle Coverage.com filed this report on the opening evening's events at South Point in Vegas, which includes some super pics and overall results:

http://www.todayscyclecoverage.com/wordpress/2011/01/09/baker-heats-up-west-coast-flat-track-opener/

And the folks at VFT.org filed this report on Saturday's events in Vegas as part of Gene Romero's West Coast Flat Track Series, and this also has overall results with some great pics thrown in as well:

http://www.vft.org/2011/WCFTS/11-01-07-SatVegas/SaturdaySouthpoint.html
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