AMA Flat Track Stars Head West for Sacramento Mile on July 30

Jake Johnson on the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/MotionPro-sponsored Harley-Davidson XR-750 and Jared Mees on the #9 Rogers Lake/Blue Springs H-D/Lucas Oil/Saddlemen-backed XR get ready to roll out for heat 3 action during round 11 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series at Lake Odessa, MI. on June 23.  Mees, who would go on to win his 3rd race of the season at I-96 Speedway, and Johnson, who has two wins in 2011, are doing there best impression of keeping current overall points leader Sammy Halbert on the #7 Kings Kustoms XR within striking distance just past the half-way mark of the series' schedule.

Jammin' Jared won the main after coming home 2nd in the night's Dash event earlier in the evening, and Jersey Jake came home 3rd in the main behind winner Mees and runner-up Bryan Smith, after winning the Dash and his heat race earlier in the evening, over Mees.  Both have been running extremely consistent (as usual for the pair!) and sit within nine points total of Halbert with 11 of 21-now scheduled events in the can for the year.  Slammin' Sammy leads with 206 points, Mees follows with 203, and Johnson, the defending AMA Grand National Champion sits a solid 3rd just six points behind Mees.  Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. on the #2 H-D Motor Co. Factory XR-750 sits close behind in the overall title hunt with 176 points.

Going into the 'revived' Sacramento Mile on Saturday, July 30 at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds, odds are that these four men will be at the front come Saturday evening in the main event, and very possibly the Dash event, too.  All have some of the best equipment in the business, especially when it comes to the big tracks, and all four are gunning for that top spot on the box, now and at the end of the year!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AMA Pro Flat Track Makes High-Speed Return to the Sacramento Mile


DAYTONA BEACH, FL (July 27, 2011) - After a decade away, the roars of AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track racing will again be heard at the prestigious Sacramento Mile, when the championship returns to the Cal Expo Fair July 30. The infamous Mile track will give California fans the chance to witness one of the most thrilling sights in all motorcycle racing: multi-rider hordes engaged in furious, high-speed drafting battles, the kind of heart-stopping action that typifies competition on the country's best Mile circuits.

Strategy and drafting abilities are key to netting good results in mile racing, as are the patience and endurance required to test your rivals for the twenty laps before making your move through the last five. Mile racing tends to favor the series' best, most race-savvy riders - those who've had enough experience with late-race maneuvering to know exactly when to spring their traps.

Seven-time Grand National Champion Chris Carr is a prime example of the kind of wily, veteran rider the rest of the field will be on-guard against, and it was Carr - currently in the middle of his "Farewell Tour" - who won the 1999 edition of the Sacramento Mile, his ninth victory overall on the ultra-fast circuit. The AMA Pro Flat Track field is deep, however, with more than enough top challengers to ensure that Carr, and the rest of the pack, have their hands more than full.

Sammy Halbert (King's Kustoms/Larry Zumbrun Racing) has held the Combined Grand National Champions points lead since the series' opening round in Daytona, but he's come under increasing pressure from Jared Mees (Rogers Lake Racing/Blue Springs Harley-Davidson) in recent rounds. At last week's I-96 Michigan round, Mees earned his third win of the season, tying Halbert for race victories and narrowing Halbert's combined lead to very dangerous three points. 

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

2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series actions sees Sammy Halbert #7 leading Kenny Coolbeth #2, Brad Baker #12 and the rest of the pack in a thrilling mile oval shoot-out, a regular scene on The Rolling Thunder Show.  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Defending Grand National Champion Jake Johnson (Zanotti Racing) - who, like Mees, is backed by a California business - lurks just six points behind in third overall, and is intent on adding another win to the two race victories he's managed thus far. Other riders to keep an eye on are the American Motorcyclist Association's Chris Carr, FastHog.com/American Harley-Davidson's Bryan Smith, and White's Harley-Davidson's Matt Weidman.

At the opposite end of the strategic and calculating Expert class is the Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles event -- a flat out, wide-open race that sees a deep field of up-and-coming riders push their 450cc single mounts to the limits. Comprised of the series' youngest professional racers, the Pro Singles class is famously unpredictable, and you never know when a local rider may step forward to make a name for themselves on the national AMA Pro Racing stage.

California riders Mikey Avila (SDI Insulation/M.E.H. Corp) and Mikey Martin (Weirbach Racing) quickly filtered to the top of the 2011 class point standings, but Gerit Callies (Full Throttle) has thus far split the two. Martin leads the Pro Singles Championship by ten points over Callies, who's currently holding off Avila to the tune of three very fragile points.

With such slim margins in play and home-town crowds bearing witness, the Sacramento Mile - which represents only the second opportunity the young Pro Singles riders have had to test themselves on a Mile track this year - is sure to present some of the most intense motorsports action fans have seen. Huge losses and huge gains are up for grabs on the mile dirt, with contests rarely decided until the finish.

For Sacramento Mile tickets and information, visit www.sacramentoflattrack.com or call 916-263-3049. To learn more and be a part of the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship, visit www.amaproracing.com and join us on facebook.com/AMAProFlatTrackSeries and twitter.com/AMAProFlatTrack.

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

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