AMA Flat Track: Mikey Martin, 2011 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Flat Track Champion

Three of the top 7 contenders for the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship get ready to roll out for the first practice session of the day during round 7 of the 2011 Pro Singles Series events at the Springfield TT on May 30.  Two of these three men would not only end the day on the podium, but would fight it out to the end of the season for the 2011 Pro Singles Championship.

Mikey Avila on the #33E SDI Insulation/M.E.H. Corp/Boughner Racing/Arai-sponsored Honda CRF450R adjusts his helmet prior to heading out for the first of two practice sessions at the Springfield Rodeo/Multipurpose Arena.  Avila would be the champ at the end of the day by just .290 seconds over season-ending champ, Mikey Martin, but Martin would end up winning the war at season's end.  Avila did win six events on the year (to Martin, Briar Bauman's and Gerit Callies three wins each), but his overall results came in just eight points shy of taking the title over Martin.  Avila would end the season with nine top 5s and nine podiums in the Pro Singles Championship, and looks to join Martin and Callies for the 2012 season in the Expert Grand National ranks.

Martin's #91Y Weirbach Racing Honda was virtually flawless all season, and for the most part his and the Iowa-based Weirbach Racing team seemed to only suffer two hiccups throughout the season that were, or could have been substantial.  Just before the previous day's events for the Springfield Mile I round, the team's transporter was partially destroyed by a fire in the parking lot of the hotel where they were staying.  When they showed up later that morning for the rain-delayed event, the team's bikes were discolored from the heat, smelled of heavy smoke and had to be patched together in order to even make it on the track.  Like strong teams do, and with the AMA Flat Track family helping out, they overcame the devastating losses incurred to come back and finish 2nd on the mile and the TT for the weekend.

That could have been the turning point that would have lost the championship to lesser teams and riders, but they endured and went on to take the lion's share of the payouts when the season wrapped.  At the penultimate round of the season, Martin's Honda blew up during the final, but fortunately for he and the Weirbach team, was able to re-start on his back-up machine since it happened before the five laps-in mark.  Martin came home in the 8th spot (his second-worst finish of the year after his 10th at Lima) in another instance of overcoming near-defeat on what ended up being his championship season.  Bravo to Mikey and the Weirbach team for getting it done!

And the man who finished 7th in the 2011 Pro Singles Championship, William Cato on the #35C Shoe Racing/Sportland Motorsports Urbana, IL/Bob Berry Racing/Woody Kyle Racing-sponsored Honda, also took home a win during the season at the Salinas TT.  Cato missed seven events on the year which caused him to drop in the season-ending standings.  He also finished 2nd at the Springfield Short Track over Labor Day Weekend, and should be a strong contender for the 2012 AMA Pro Singles Championship.
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Mikey Martin gets introduced to the crowd after winning the I-96 Speedway Half-Mile round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles main event at the Lake Odessa, MI. facility on July 23.  Martin had just taken his second win of the season (by just over four seconds to runner-up Conner Anderson) and took his third-in-a-row on the Sacramento Mile the next weekend.  Martin's win at the Lake Odessa round would vault him into the lead of the championship just past the half-way point of the season, a lead he would never surrender throughout the final nine rounds of the year.

The #91Y Weirbach Racing/General Engineering/Barnett Clutches/Spectro Oils-sponsored and Honda CRF450R-mounted rider had a stellar year in being only one of two men contesting the Pro Singles Series to qualify for all 20 events (runner-up Mikey Avila being the second man.)  Martin not only won three events on the season (Hagerstown being the other win for the California rider), but also scored eight podiums and 14 top-5s on the season in route to being the 3rd AMA Pro Singles Champion since the series' inception in 2009.

Martin will join previous AMA Pro Singles Flat Track Champions Brad Baker and Jeffrey Carver, Jr. for the 2012 AMA Grand National Championship Series season when he moves up to the Expert ranks while wearing his new #91 Expert number plate.

Hats and helmets off to the Ottumwa, IA.-based Weirbach Honda Racing team and 2011 Pro Singles Champion Mikey Martin.  A very well deserved year, that saw them fight through and overcome adversity on their championship winning season!
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Gerit Callies is shown during practice for round 15 of the 2011 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship Series season at the Peoria TT on August 21.  Callies would end the day in the runner-up position after Mikey Avila was declared the winner due to Briar Bauman's DQ (see below.) 

The #76L Twenty Six Suspension/G2 Ergonomics/Vortex Sprockets/O'Neal-backed Honda CRF450R-mounted rider would end the season as the 3rd ranked rider in the year's standings, after winning three rounds on the year (Daytona Short Track II, DuQuoin, Castle Rock) and would finish the season 25 points down on Martin and 17 down on Avila (316-308-291.)

Look for Callies to move up in the ranks to Expert status for the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series season after running the final round of the 2011 season under a provisional for Pro Singles riders, where he made the main at Pomona on the Waters Auto Body KTM and finished the night in the 16th spot.  Super job Gerit!
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Briar Bauman all but spoiled the latter part of the 2011 Pro Singles Championship Series for the rest of the contenders.  Turning pro mid-season, the Salinas, CA. resident then burst onto the scene to take what would have been four wins on the year.  However, due to a fuel test that was bad after the Peoria TT, he was disqualifed and the win was given to Mikey Avila after all of the podium ceremonies had passed and the paying crowd had left the house. 

Returning to action above on his #10Z Rod Lake Racing/Browns Cycle/Lazer Racing/Gene & Gail Cummings-sponsored Honda CRF450R, the 'rookie' and former AMA Horizon Award winner would go on to get that first win two weeks later at the Springfield Short Track on September 3 over William Cato and 3rd place finisher Callies.

Bauman went on to win the last two rounds of the season at Calistoga and Pomona, and put in an inspiring ride to second place behind first-time winner Shayna Texter at the Knoxville round, to finish the season ranked as the 6th place man in the Pro Singles Championship.  Contesting only eight rounds in the season, he wrapped the season with those three wins, two 2nd-place finishes and one 3rd-place finish at the Springfield Mile II round.  If you throw out his DQ from Peoria, his worst finish in seven rounds was a 4th place finish at the Sacramento Mile, his very first Pro event. 

Talk is he could be moving up to the Expert ranks to join the big show in 2012, and if so, the competition has some work to do to keep this kid off the box.  Great job BB!
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Rodney Rutherford was on-hand at the season-finale round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship at the Pomona Fairplex and filed this race report for Today's Cycle Coverage.com:

http://www.todayscyclecoverage.com/wordpress/2011/10/22/bauman-wows-em-while-smart-martin-takes-the-title/


Weirbach Racing and 2011 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Champion Mikey Martin filed this race report after the Pomona season-finale on taking the 2011 championship:

http://www.todayscyclecoverage.com/wordpress/2011/10/22/race-report-from-pomona/
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Thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track for this link to the complete results for round 20 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Serie season-finale from the Pomona Half-Mile:

http://results.amaproracing.com/live/results/pdfresults/ft/2011/F1198/default.aspx
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2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden Sees His 150th MotoGP and Looks to the Future

Mat Mladin on his #1 American Suzuki/Yoshimura/Dunlop/Motorex-sponsored GSX-R750 leads early race two action in the Wiseco 100 AMA Superbike Championship Series round at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH. in July 2001.  Mladin would go on to win his 3rd of three-straight AMA Superbike Championships, and would retire at the end of the '09 AMA Pro Road Racing season after winning his record 7th championship.  Eventual event winner Nicky Hayden keeps the reigning champ honest on the #69 American Honda/Universal Studios/Dunlop/Jardine-backed RC51, while Eric Bostrom looks to close the gap on the #32 Kawasaki/Lockhart Phillips/Akrapovic/Yuasa-sponsored factory Kawasaki ZX-7R.


Hayden would go on to win the '02 AMA Superbike Championship while riding the American Honda RC51, and then would bolt to the MotoGP World Championship for the '03 season while riding for the Repsol Honda team, claiming the MotoGP Rookie of the Year in the process.  By the end of the 2006 season, America had seen it's first world champion in six seasons (Kenny Roberts, Jr./2000 500CC World Champion) when The Kentucky Kid claimed the championship at the season ending round on the team's RC211V, defeating multi-time World Champion Valentino Rossi in route to the title.

Five years later, and with 150 grand prix races in his back pocket after nine seasons of contesting the premier road racing series in the world, and the landscape has changed some for the Owensboro resident.  Now riding for his second factory team in MotoGP, the Ducati pilot has struggled mightily in the series with the Italian marque's carbon fiber chassis, yet he still should finish ranked 8th in the season-ending standings after next weekend's final round in Valencia.  Should any problems befall 7-Time MotoGP Champion Valentino Rossi next weekend (Hayden's team mate), The Kid could actually finish ranked in the 7th spot of the season-ending standings.

Although finishing 7th or 8th is not the cup of Kentucky tea that Hayden would hope for, the former champ stands resolute in helping to bring the Italian marque back to the top in MotoGP, and is looking forward to the switch to the '1000' platform in the 2012 season after five years of running the '800s' in the series.  Hayden's contract is up with Ducati at the end of the 2012 season and the question on a lot of minds is 'will he be on a red Italian bike after the 2012 season?'  Time will tell.


Whatever may come of the future for Nicky, one place he DOES have a guaranteed ride in the future is in AMA Pro Flat Track.  Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, who sponsored Nicky's demo laps at the 2010 Lucas Oil Indy Mile, told us here at Stu's Shots back towards the end of the summer that no matter what that Nicky always had a ride with the LBM Ducati team.  The Kentucky Kid kicked in a wad of dough in early August to help the team in rebuilding their motor after losing one at the Sacramento Mile at the end of July.  Team co-owner Dave Lloyd is (needless to say) a big fan of the middle Hayden brother (as is the entire LBM bunch), so he would in most cases have a ride ready for The Kid should he decide to come back to AMA Flat Track Series racing (not that that is likely to happen anytime soon-unfortunately for flat track fans!)  And Nicky made it VERY well known after those 2010 demo laps at Indy that he 'would be back' at some time or another in AMA Pro Flat Track.
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Read on about Nicky's nine seasons in the MotoGP World Championship as Cycle News.com's Henny Ray Abrams was on-hand at the Australian MotoGP round a couple of weeks ago, when Hayden competed in his 150th Grand Prix event since joining the series for the 2003 season.  You can read his story and interview with The Kentucky Kid here:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2011/10/26/nicky-hayden-150-gps-later/
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AMA Road Racing: Partial Schedule Set for 2012 AMA Superbike Championship Season in AMA Pro Road Racing

Eric Bostrom on the #32 Ducati Austin/Parts Unlimited/Michelin/Alpinestars-sponsored Ducati 999R leads a pack of riders out of turn 14 in the run up the hill to the stripe early in race two action of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited at Road America in June 2004.  EBoz was in his first of two years riding for the Ducati Austin team, winning several events on the big V-twin for the Italian marque, and would finish the day in the 6th position.  He would go on to finish 7th in the season's championship standings after missing the final two rounds and four races of the year.

Following closely on the heels of the red #32 Ducati is then-4-Time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin on the #1 American Suzuki/Yoshimura/Motorex/Dunlop-backed GSX-R1000, who would go on to a 3rd place finish in race two at Elkhart Lake, and by the end of the season capture his 5th of 7-total AMA Superbike Championships for the Yoshimura Suzuki team.  Mladin would go on to break all of the records in terms of poles and race wins in the premier class of the AMA Pro Road Racing Series and retire to his home country of Australia after the '09 season, and after winning his 7th championship.

'08 AMA Supersport Champ and '09 Daytona 200 winner Ben Bostrom lays some rubber down out of 14 while trying to keep the duo in reach on his #155 Honda/Parts Unlimited/Alpinestars/Madif-sponsored CBR1000RR in route to a 5th place finish for the day at the track located approximately 60 miles north of Milwaukee.  In his second year back from racing in the WSBK Championship, BBoz would end the year ranked as the 4th rider in the championship battle.  The fan favorite is the only active rider in this shot still contending the AMA Superbike Championship, and looks to be back again for his second year in 2012 riding for the Michael Jordan Suzuki team on their #23 Jordan Brand-sponsored GSX-R1000.

'95 AMA Superbike Champion, 5-Time AMA 600 Supersport Champion and 5-Time Daytona 200 winner Miguel Duhamel also lays down a streak of rubber as he powers his #17 American Honda/Shoei/Joe Rocket/Dunlop-sponsored CBR1000RR in his romp to the front and the win at Road America.  Duhamel would win the event by just over four seconds over runner-up Jake Zemke and another six seconds back to 3rd place man Mladin, and would finish second behind the Aussie in the '04 championship standings.

And bringing up the rear of this pack while also laying down a patch of race rubber is runner-up in this event, Jake Zemke on the #98 Honda/Parts Unlimited/PJ1/MTX-sponsored Erion Honda CBR1000RR.  Zemke would finish the year ranked in the 3rd spot of the championship battle and would go on to win the '08 AMA Formula Xtreme Championship.  Jake took part in the British Superbike Championship Series this season while riding in the EVO class of the European series after contesting the season-opening Daytona 200 while riding a Team Atlanta Yamaha.



With the 2012 season starting to come into place with the announcement of six rounds confirmed for the AMA Pro Road Racing Series, things are starting to come around for the premier series on the North American continent.  With other rounds in the making, the 2012 horizon is starting to look bright some 4 1/2 months before the season kicks-off in Daytona in mid-March.  Stay tuned as we keep you up to date with upcoming announcements for the series upcoming season.
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AMA Pro Racing Announces Contract Renewals for Six Tracks on the 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing Schedule

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 28, 2011) - AMA Pro Racing is pleased to announce contract renewals for six tracks on the 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing schedule. The series will feature the same class structure in 2012. On most race weekends, fans can expect to see doubleheaders for AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike and AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport, while the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series will continue to battle it out in a single race format. Daytona International Speedway will once again play host to AMA Pro Road Racing as the series kicks off a new season. The opening event is scheduled for March 15 - 17, 2012 and will feature the 71st running of the historic Daytona 200 on Saturday afternoon, March 17. AMA Pro Road Racing teams will make a return visit to Infineon Raceway in May but at an earlier date than previous seasons. The series returns to the 2.32-mile circuit, which is located in the picturesque wine country of Sonoma, Ca., on the weekend of May 4 - 6, 2012. Tooele, Utah's Miller Motorsports Park was added back to the schedule in 2011, and America's finest motorcycle racing talent will again be showcased alongside the international standouts in World Superbike on the weekend of May 25 - 28, 2012. The event will feature single races for each of AMA Pro Road Racing's classes. Fans in the Midwest will be happy to know that the series will be heading back to Road America on the weekend of June 1 - 3, 2012. The track, located in Elkhart Lake, Wis., has been on the schedule since 1980 and is the longest circuit the riders will face next year, measuring in at 4.048 miles. Thrilling Sunday sprint races for AMA Pro SuperBike, Daytona SportBike and SuperSport will once again be featured alongside MotoGP as part of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The international event at the 2.238-mile natural road course in Monterey, Ca. has been pushed back one week from last year's date, scheduled for the weekend of July 27 - 29, 2012. New Jersey Motorsports Park has impressed fans and competitors alike since debuting on the AMA Pro Road Racing schedule on Labor Day weekend in 2009, and the 2.25-mile track in Millville, N.J., will see the return of the series one week later in 2012, September 7 - 9, 2012. AMA Pro Racing is working in conjunction with M1 Powersports for promotion of additional events that were not included in this release. Details about those exciting events will be released as soon as they are available.

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

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AMA Flat Track: Pomona Half-Mile Video From The Fast and Dirty.com!

Seven of the top 10 contenders in the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series get ready to roll out for the final qualifying session of round 11 at the I-96 Speedway Half-Mile in Lake Odessa. MI. on July 23.  With the Rolling Thunder Show entering the second half of the season, the 5th event of the Twins Series season would again see Jared Mees (partially hidden in front of Brad Baker) top the night on his #9 Rogers Lake Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Lucas Oil/Saddlemen-sponsored XR750, winning his 3rd of 5 events on the season in route to a runner-up finish on the year.  Mees won the 2011 AMA Grand National Twins Series Championship based on his strong runs throughout the second half of the year.

Bryan Smith on his #42 Moroney's Fasthog.com/American H-D/Rockyonline.com/Boughner Racing-backed XR came home second at I-96, and would go on to win the Sacramento Mile one week later, and would end the season ranked in the 9th spot in the overall championship standings.  Smith likely would have finished higher in the season if not for missing four rounds in the Singles Series earlier in the season.

Defending AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson would fill out the 3rd step on the box at Lake Odessa, after bringing his #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/Arai-sponsored XR750 home with a glowing rear brake (which also never affected his results in any of the other half-mile events in which his porcelain rear disc would get hot enough to fry eggs.)  Johnson would win four events on the season, finishing the year out with season-ending wins at Calistoga and Pomona which would catalpult the long-time veteran to his 2nd consecutive AMA Grand National Championship.

AMA Pro Flat Track Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Brad Baker would take his #12 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/TeamHurtByAccident.com/Foremost Insurance/ENI USA-sponsored Ducati 1098 to the 9th spot at Lake Odessa, winning his heat to qualify for the main.  The Bullet finished out the season in grand style at Pomona in coming home 2nd to winner Johnson, to cap off his 6th place finish on the season in the championship standings, and his best finish to date in an AMA Grand National Championship Series National main event.

Sammy Halbert rode his #7 Kings Kustoms/White's H-D/LZ Racing/KK Supply-backed XR to a strong 4th place finish at I-96, which at the time saw him still leading the overall standings in the points chase.  Slammin' Sammy would win four races on the year, but would eventually finish in the 3rd spot in the championship after also finishing 3rd at Pomona.  The Washington State resident will be back and ready to grab his first Grand National Championship in the 2012 season and will be stronger then ever.

3-Time AMA Grand National Twins Champion Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. would come home in the 8th spot at the Lake Odessa Half-Mile on the #2 Harley-Davidson Motor Co/Screamin' Eagle/Spectro Oils/Fox-backed factory H-D XR750, after winning the previous event at Hagerstown to go along with his early-season win at the DuQuoin Indoor Short Track.  The King of Cool would end the season in the 4th spot in the overall championship standings, and vows to step-up his and his team's off-season testing in order to make it four men going for the championship for the 2012 season.

Former AMA SuperMoto Champ Johnny Lewis would have an off-night by his standards at I-96 on the #10 Scott Powersports/Dubach Racing Developments/Saddlemen/Triple J Racing-backed Kawasaki 650R-based mount, in finishing in the unlucky 13th spot.  But JL10 had a great, all-around season and made some major strides on the Kawasaki, finishing 2nd for his best-ever Grand National main finish at Hagerstown, and would then finish the season in the 4th spot at Pomona behind Johnson, Baker and Halbert.  Leading his first-ever laps at the Springfield Mile II, the Pennsylvania resident now knows what it's like at the front of a Rolling Thunder Show freight train, and will surely improve in 2012 on his 7th place finish in the overall standings from this season.



More great video to help close-out the season can be seen below, thanks to the great efforts of Will Fulford and Yve Assad of The Fast and Dirty.com.  They help us close out the season in grand style with their Pomona wrap-up video. 


Stay tuned as the days and weeks get into the winter season we are all dreading, as we wrap up the great season that was in the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series and help you to get through the winter blues, and subsequently get you ready for the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series season!
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A tip of the helmet goes out to Will & Yve again for this fantastic video from The Fast and Dirty.com of the season-finale at round 20 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series at the Pomona Half-Mile.  Thanks guys, great stuff as always!

http://vimeo.com/30961786
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AMA Flat Track: Jared Mees Season Finale Race Report from Pomona Half-Mile

Under the watchful eye of several AMA Pro Flat Track officials, Brent Armbruster begins the tear down procedure at the end of the evening at round 11 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series in Lake Odessa, MI. on July 23.  Rider Jared Mees had just taken the National main event win at the I-96 Speedway Half-Mile by 1.661 seconds over runner-up Bryan Smith, 3rd place finisher Jake Johnson and 4th place finisher Sammy Halbert (all whose mounts can be seen in the background), and the laborious inspection task was ahead for the crew chief of the Rogers Lake Racing team.

Mees and his #9 Rogers Lake Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Screamin' Eagle/Lucas Oil-sponsored XR750 were in the middle of a run of wins, which by the end of the season would see him leading all other competitors for total on the season (5), allowing him to claim the 2011 AMA Grand National Twins Championship, adding to his '09 Twins Championship.  Mees also won events at Brainerd, Knoxville, Hartford and the Springfield Mile I round that started it all in late May. 

With the 2011 season a wrap, Mees looks to defend his ICE Speedway Championship during the off-season and will be ready to go come mid-March '12 in Daytona, to make another run at the coveted AMA Grand National Championship.  If he gets on another roll next year like he did this season, the competition will have to step-up their game even more. 


Congrats on a great year Jammer.  We can't wait for 2012 to get here!
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Jared Mees #9 Rogers Lake Racing Pomona Half-Mile Season Ending Round Race Report


(NEWS RELEASE)

October 25, 2011


After the events that transpired at Calistoga, the race for the Championship became very tight , with only 8 points separating the three leaders. The only thing to do was to go to Pomona with a positive attitude. This was not a type of track in which I have been dominant in the past, but have done reasonably well on this kind of surface. Qualifying did not go well for me. I felt OK, but just did not have the times I wanted.

I was in the 3rd Heat with Kenny Coolbeth, Johnny Lewis, Brad Baker and Willie McCoy among several other good riders. I got the hole shot and Baker and I were dicing it up left and right. Baker started to get ahead of me a bit until he crashed. That caused a red flag and a restart. I got the jump on the restart and then started to dice it up with Kenny. He was coming up along side of me and then I would lead it for a straight away and then he would come back. I ended up winning the Heat but since there was a red flag in it, I did not get a time and was therefore third pick for position in the Dash and the Main Event.

We made a small gearing change for the Dash for Cash. I came off 4th, passed Matt Weidman and we started dicing it up. I was able to get ahead of him, ending 3rd in the Dash. Jake Johnson had checked out, riding really well.

For the Main Event we did not make any changes. I got a decent start but went too high for the first lap and a lot of riders went by me, pushing me back to 7th or 8th. Luke Gough went down, bringing out a red flag and a restart. I got a decent jump and went low, getting by a few people and was up to 5th. I was following Henry Wiles but he went down coming off turn 2. I just barely missed hitting him. We restarted with 5 laps to go, which was in my favor. I got a good jump and went to the bottom. I was mixing it up with Chris Carr, Robbie Pearson and Lewis. On the last lap I was on the bubble for finishing 2nd in the Combined Championship points. I got by Pearson and Carr on the last lap and was able to finish in 5th place. This was good enough for 2nd place in the Championship.

Jake Johnson won the race and the Championship in first class fashion. He rode a great race and, if I could not win it, I was glad that he did. He has been a long-time friend since we were little kids in the Amateur classes.


For me, it was a great year, winning 5 GNC races. In addition to coming in 2nd in the Combined GNC Championship, I won the GNC Twins Championship, plus both the Singles and the Twins Championships in the Steve Nace All Star Series. And let’s not forget the ICE Championship earlier in the year.

We had a lot of success on the Twins this year. Brent Armbruster did a great job with the bikes, always immaculately prepared, and much of my success was due to him. Steve Beattie was also of great help to our program, not only with his Suspension systems but with his friendship and counsel.

We now know our weak points and know what we need to work on for next year. I am already excited about 2012 and feel that if Daytona Bike Week were next week, I would be as excited, and more ready than ever. I am not looking forward to the down time in the off season…I want to get out there and compete.


I want to thank all of my Sponsors and Supporters, but especially to Rogers Lake Racing, Blue Springs Harley Davidson and Screamin’ Eagle for my Twins, to Montgomery Cycle Center for my Singles, as well as to Saddlemen, Lucas Oil, Digger Helm and Gene Cummings. Thank you for all your help in making my career possible.

I look forward to seeing everyone in Daytona 2012. Have a great winter and Happy Holidays to all.

Jammin' Jared Mees #9
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2011 Twins Series Partners:

Rogers Lake Racing, Blue Springs H-D, Screamin’ Eagle, Lucas Oil, National Cycle, Twisted Beverage CompanyTM, Saddlemen, Digger Helm 57, M.E.H. Corp, Rod Lake, Goodwin Racing, Rockysonline .com, Arai Helmets, Speed Strength Leathers, KK Motorcycle Supply, A&A Racing, Steve & Cindy Vizzo, Battley Cycles, MRT Racing, Kelly’s, MTA, JE Pistons, Cometic Gaskets, VP Racing Fuels,Tsubaki, Motion Pro, TCX Boots, Troy Lee Designs, K&N Filters, Millennium Technologies, Vortex, Craig Pickett, Goodridge, Works Connection, Rekluse Clutches, Gene & Gail Cummings, Eddie Mulder, NGK, Z Gallerie, Dick Winters, Oakley, WestCoast Hot Shoes, Jupiter Wheels, Supertrapp, ARC Levers, Moto Tassinari, EBC, Mikuni, Web Cam, Ancra, J&M Racing Frames, Pro Plates, Kold Kutter, Turn 1 Distributing, Crank Works Crank Shafts, EZ-up, Suburban H-D, Twenty Six Suspension, Flash, G2, Penske Racing, Chicken Hawk, Ferrea Valves, J2 Motorsports, Royal Publishing Co., Applied Diamond Coatings, M&Z Anodizing, Brent Armbruster, CV4, Bristol Core, Universal Coatings, Hammer Head , Hot Rods, TSS Graphics, Dyno Jet, DVS Shoes, Xtremely Fit, Aerodyne, Boyesen, Wrex .ca, Fluidyne, Helix, Gunk, Kicker.
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MotoGP World Championship Honda Rider Marco Simoncelli Dies in Tragic Accident at Malaysian Grand Prix

Marco Simoncelli is shown heading back onto the track at the 4th Annual RedBull Indianapolis MotoGP round during the free practice 3 session of the weekend.  The #58 San Carlo Honda Gresini rider does some stretching on his RC212V on the pit out section before re-entering the track in route to a 4th place time in the session, .763 seconds behind Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner.  Simoncelli would go on to qualify 7th, but would finish the race the next day in the 12th position after suffering tire issues with his Bridgestone tires in the intense heat suffered in Indy over the weekend's events.


With regret and sadness we must report the tragic death of the former 250cc World Champion, who was fatally injured in a crash during the opening laps of the Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix round of the MotoGP World Championship earlier today.  Simoncelli crashed and was struck on the track while contesting round 17 of the 2011 season championship.


RIP Marco 'Super Sic' Simoncelli, the '08 250cc World Champion.  You will be missed!
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MotoGP Race Direction held a press conference at the Malaysian circuit to release information concerning the tragic death of Honda San Carlo Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli earlier today. You can read about their statements here courtesy of MotoGP.com:

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/Race+Direction+press+conference+Simoncelli+Sepang

You can read all of the offical press releases from Honda, Bridgestone and other teams from the MotoGP World Championship here thanks to RoadRacingWorld.com:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=46456

David Emmett's MotoMatters.com has this release about the loss of former 250cc World Champion Marco Simoncelli today:

http://motomatters.com/news/2011/10/23/official_motogp_press_release_on_death_o.html

And Cycle News.com's Henny Ray Abrams filed this story of the death of Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian circuit earlier today:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2011/10/23/sepang-motogp-race-canceled/
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AMA Flat Track: 7-Time Grand National Champion Chris Carr Calls It a Career at Pomona Season-Finale

For the final time in his career as a legendary rider, 7-Time AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr walks out towards rider intros at another track that made him famous.  A 12-time winner on the Springfield Mile, The Prince of Peoria came up just-short of his 13th on September 4 in round 16 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series.  How short?  Just .012 seconds short, to first-time winner Willie McCoy.  Leading the majority of laps throughout the red flag-delayed 26-lap National main event, Carr was one of the first to greet winner McCoy on the victory podium, giving his former team mate a bear hug for the ages, and commenting that if he had to lose to somebody that he was 'glad it was Willie.'

With his long-time tuner, Kenny Tolbert rolling out his #4 American Motorcyclist Assoc/Classic Harley-Davidson/DFW Honda/Arai-backed H-D XR750, Carr's 50th and final main event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds was just like the almost 400 races the man has run throughout his AMA Flat Track career--fast and exciting, leaving fans and friends alike on the edge of their seats and the tips of their toes as the former champ showed the way at the front and battled side-by-side with his fellow competitors.

The long-time racer announced his Farewell to Flat Track Tour 2011 early in the year, and besides running the 20-race schedule on the AMA Pro Flat Track Series, competed in another 15 events this season to close out what can only be described as a phenomenal run for a 44 year old man.  There wasn't an event on the National schedule where the fans weren't mobbing him in their quest for that final autograph or t-shirt, and from the first, at the Steve Nace AMA Flat Track race in DuQuoin back in January, to the last at last week's season-finale at Pomona, the transplanted Californian wowwed the crowds at each and every event he hit this season.
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The MavTV cameras are rolling and AMA Pro Flat Track official announcer Barry Boone is ready to talk with the winner of the 2nd heat race at round 3 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series inside the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds' Southern Illinois Center's indoor short track back in April.  And it was Chris Carr who came out fighting after ending combined practice in the 4th spot, but then qualifying 11th. 

But when it came time to lay down the law, The Prince of Peoria delivered in winning his heat, and then going on to get 2nd in the Dash for Cash event behind event and Dash winner, Kenny Coolbeth, Jr.  From that point in the season, you knew it was on as he went on to take 2nd in the main behind Coolbeth, with then-and eventual-repeating Grand National Champion Jake Johnson rounding out the podium.  The Farewell to Flat Track Tour 2011 was off to a pretty darn good start for the former 7-Time AMA Grand National Champion.
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On the track that made him not only famous, but a true legend in the great sport of AMA Grand National Championship Series racing, Carr hammers the #4 American Motorcyclist Assoc/DFW Honda/Classic Harley-Davidson/Arai-sponsored Honda CRF450R out of the turn 5 area heading towards the start/finish line at the Peoria TT in round 14 of the 2011 season on August 21.  Practicing in the 7th spot overall and qualifying 5th behind Henry Wiles, Jared Mees, Jake Johnson and Brad Baker, Chris finished 4th in his heat, and had a great battle in the National main event to finish the day in the 6th spot.  The Peoria Motorcycle Club honored the 13-time National main event winner at the track with a ceremony including his family that left very few dry eyes on anyone in attendance.
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These two men hold records in AMA Grand National Championship Series racing that put them second only behind former 9-Time AMA Grand National Champion Scott Parker.  Chris Carr and Kenny Tolbert have been racing together for 23 years, and have produced together all of Carr's championships, and a majority of his 78 National main event wins in the series.  Looking to the future, the duo are hoping to get the sponsorship together to put a young up-and-coming rider on their equipment for the 2012 season and beyond. 

At the Springfield Mile II event when this picture was taken, Carr told Cycle News.com's Larry Lawrence and myself that they 'weren't there yet' in being able to get a full-season program together, but were hopeful to be able to get things worked out to be able to do so.  With the tutelage of this great pair of racers and people, whomever that person may end up being will have a rock-solid program under them when it comes to fruition.  And they'll have a great time hanging with two of the nicest guys in the sport as well.

Carr has some ideas he is hoping to jointly work with the AMA and some other entities in order to help AMA Flat Track grow even more and prosper in the future, and he talks more about that with Cycle World.com's Matthew Miles below. 

We salute the now-retired champ for his super year in placing 5th in the overall championship, and are definitely going to miss him on the track.  One of the fiercest competitors to ever throw a leg over a Grand National machine, his presence in the series has left a lot of great memories over the years for alot of fans, sponsors and competitors alike.  Thanks for those memories Chris, they're golden, man!
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Read and view on below more about Chris' great final season in competition, and his last race event a the Pomona Half-Mile.

Paul Carruthers was on-hand at last Saturday's season-finale round 20 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series at the Pomona Half-Mile, and got a chance to talk with Chris about his season and his great career over the course of the last quarter-plus century.  You can read it hear, and also see the short video clip with Chris as he reflects on calling it a day, in the latest edition of Cycle News.com's Digital issue:

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20111018#pg31

Paul also talks about covering Chris' racing over the years, starting with his first win at the Peoria TT back in '86:

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20111018#pg117

Moto Syndicate put up this super video of Chris' last ride at the Pomona Half-Mile over on YouTube.  This is a must see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYKWNPA6k7g

And Matthew Miles also talked with the 7-Time AMA Grand National Champion and put up this interview with Chris on CycleWorld.com:

http://www.cycleworld.com/2011/10/19/cw-5q-chris-carr-racing/
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AMA Flat Track: Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Hits a Home Run With Buell Raffle & Delivers $11.5K to Air Fence Fund

The Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati team has a pep rally under the team's awning in between the on-track action at round 11 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series at the I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, MI.  Team hot-shoe and Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Brad Baker is off doing his obligatory appearances just before the opening ceremonies for the July 23 half-mile event.

While one of the team's #12 LBM/TeamHurtByAccident.com/Nicky Hayden/Foremost Insurance-sponsored Ducati 1098s sits on display, the rest of the team rallys around the primary bike after getting all of their necessary set-up checked out on the team's laptop.  Sandwiching the team in this shot are team co-owners Dave Lloyd (far left) and Mike Lloyd (far right) with team crew chief Dave Gamble just to Dave's left, Ronnie Thomason and former AMA Grand National competitor and #23, Kevin Atherton. 

One of the more cohesive teams in The Rolling Thunder Show that is AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series racing, the team has been around in AMA Flat Track for close to two decades now, and in the last three seasons has made some major strides with their Ducati program.  In comparison, it took Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, Honda and some of the other manufacturers years to get their maiden win (some fans of AMA Flat Track forget that the venerable XR750 was a labor of love in the early '70s before going to the alloy design), while the LBM team got their first win (and first with the Ducati) at the Arizona Mile I in Prescott Valley in May 2010 with '00 AMA Grand National Champion Joe Kopp.  All without any type of factory support from Ducati!

With rider Kopp hanging up his steel shoe after the 2010 season, the veteran team was forced to look for a replacement rider (not that replacing a rider of Kopp's ability and stature is any easy task.)  Just shy of three months before the first Twins Series event of the season at the Springfield Mile I, Dave Lloyd contacted us here at Stu's Shots and informed us they had signed '09 AMA Pro Flat Track Pro Singles Champion Brad Baker to take over the reigns of the mighty Duc.  Baker also announced it on the podium after his first Expert podium when he placed 3rd at the Daytona Short Track II event.

Although in his 'rookie' season as an Expert rider, Baker and the LBM team had a very successful season, book-ended with two very thrilling top-5 finishes at their first race together at Springfield (5th place, after setting fast time in his first 'official' Expert Twins event) , and their last in the '11 season at Pomona where Brad 'The Bullet' Baker took the big 1098 home in the 2nd spot, behind winner and 2010/2011 AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson.  Baker ended the season ranked as the Saddlemen Rookie of the Year while finishing in the 6th overall spot in the championship.   

The team also took on the project of raffling off the '09 Buell that was used as the AMA Pro Road Racing pace bike during the 2009 season.  Working with AMA Pro Racing, Dave and Mike took possession of the Buell and transported it to the 11 Twins events for the 2011 season (the Lucas Oil Indy Mile round was canceled in August due to the rigging collapse just weeks before the event at the Indiana State Fair.)

Showing the bike and selling the tickets for the raffle during the Twins Series events this season, the team sold over 500 tickets and was able to collect a good chunk of change that will go towards the Air Fence Fund for AMA Pro Flat Track.  The raffle was held at the season finale in Pomona and Eddie Relick from Bloomington, IN. won the grand prize Buell for his ticket purchase. 

A big tip of the hat and helmet goes out to the LBM team for their efforts for not only the season, but for going the extra mile in holding the raffle throughout the year to help promote more air barriers and higher safety levels at all AMA Pro Flat Track events.  Bravo guys, please take a bow as you deserve it!

And another tip of the helmet goes to the over 500 tickets that were sold to fans, sponsors, team owners and officials who purchased tickets throughout the year. 

And last but not least, a hearty congrats goes out to Eddie Relick from Bloomington, IN. for his winning ticket.  Very cool, enjoy that Buell!
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Press release courtesy of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports

For Immediate Release

October 19, 2011

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc.

$11,500.00 Raised For Soft Barriers For AMA Pro Flat Track

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc. in conjunction with Foremost Insurance Company, AMA Pro Racing, Arai Helmets and Roadracing World Action Fund is proud to announce the donation of $11,500.00 for soft barriers for AMA Pro Flat Track events.

Five hundred and seventy-five tickets of $20 each were sold throughout the racing season at AMA Pro Racing Flat Track events with the culmination of a drawing for prizes of a brand new helmet donated by Arai Helmets and a 2009 Buell Ulysses XB12XP that was used as the official Pace Motorcycle during the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season. The Buell, which has less than 210 original miles, was donated by AMA Pro Racing.

Congratulations to Steven Hall of Sturbridge, Mass. for winning the Arai helmet and Eddie Relick of Bloomington, IN for winning the Buell motorcycle.

“The mission of the Roadracing World Action Fund, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, is to reduce racetrack injuries by advocating and promoting the use of soft barriers, like Air Fence*. This is a mission that Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc. really believes in and it is a worthwhile cause that we will continue to support. ” stated David Lloyd, co-owner of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc.

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Mike and Dave Lloyd from the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati AMA Pro Flat Track team display the ceremonial check that was presented for the Air Fence Fund for the AMA Flat Track Series after over 500 tickets were sold throughout the season on the Buell raffle.  The raffle was held at the season-finale at the Pomona Half-Mile event on October 15.  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.
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“We would like to extend our thanks to Roadracing World Action Fund, Foremost Insurance, AMA Pro Racing, Arai Helmets and especially everyone at the Flat Track races from competitors to fans and family members that purchased the tickets to make this fundraiser a success.” added team co-owner Michael Lloyd.

To get a better understanding or what soft barriers do and why they are so important, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd6UMGnIktE .

A website has also been set up (http://www.lloydbrothersmotorsports.net/tickets.htm) with a list of all of the names of those who generously purchased tickets in support of soft barriers.

For more information about AMA Pro Racing, go to www.amaproracing.com/ft/ .

To learn more about soft barriers or to donate directly to the Roadracing World Action Fund visit http://actionfund.roadracingworld.com.

 

*Trademark of Airfence Safety Systems

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AMA Flat Track: Pomona Half-Mile Season Finale Wrap-Up & Jake Johnson Makes the Cover of Cycle News

Just as the red flag at the Springfield Mile II above at round 16 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com on September 4 stirred the pot, the two red flags at the season-finale at Pomona on October 15 caused and created some interesting last-minute strategies for the competitors for what was the final 5-lap dash to the end of the year and the championship.  And just as last year's season-ending round came to a close, the 2011 season also did with the same man in charge holding that coveted #1 plate.


Jake Johnson and his #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/Motion Pro-sponsored XR750 was that man, and for the second year in a row had added his name to a list of greats, and a very short list of repeat-greats in the AMA Grand National Championship hunt.  Johnson finished the year by winning the season's final two rounds and by doing what champions do in being in the position to pounce when it is necessary. 

And pounce he did, as Jersey Jake only led the standings for the final two events of the year, but they were the one's that counted in a season that saw him end the year with four victories and amassing 14 top 5 and 13 top 3 finishes.   Scoring 15 points or more in 16 of the 20 rounds held during the 20 race season, Johnson held his own and kept himself in the hunt all year to add another championship to his mantle.  In outdistancing the field-twice-at Pomona, The Champ got great restarts to distance himself from the rest to win at Pomona, after earlier taking the Dash win.  At the end of the night, Johnson was The Champ again in what was a similar ending to his previous year.   Great job Champ, and congrats!

Jared Mees had what by any other level of success an excellent year as well, leading the series in wins with 5, and also clinching the 2011 AMA Grand National Twins Championship (to add to his '09 GN Twins Championship), but came up short by 16 points to Johnson (386-370) in his quest to win the overall championship.  The rider of the #9 Rogers Lake Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Screamin' Eagle/Lucas Oil-sponsored XR wowwed those on-hand all year in fighting for wins and podiums, and has got to be the most congenial runner-up the sport has ever seen.

Stating in this week's Cycle News.com, Mees said he had 'nothing to be bummed about' and if the championship couldn't have been won by him he would have rather seen his friend and competitor claim it.  Mees was seen in some photos on the internet at the victory celebration after placing 5th on the night at Pomona clapping for his buddy Jake.  Now that's a class act!  Take a bow Jammer, your day will come!  This man's enthusiasm alone will see him wearing the #1 in the future.

The rider of the #7 Kings Kustoms/White's H-D/LZ Racing/KK Supply-backed XR750 started the year off with a double dose of bang in winning the season-opening rounds at Daytona back in March.  And through 16 of the 20 rounds on the schedule this year, he also held the overall lead in the championship while winning the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Singles Championship along the way. 

Slammin' Sammy may have lost the overall championship in finishing in the 3rd spot (369 points), after a great run to 3rd at Pomona, but he showed everyone on-hand in winning four events for the year that he has what it takes to finally win the Grand National Championship.  It may not have happened this year, but it shouldn't be too far down the road before we see the Washington State resident accomplish that goal.  The 23 year old is full of steam and once he gets all the pieces together in his program, his train will be hard to stop!

Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. finished the season in the 4th spot of the championship (309 points) and won two races on the year, but had what would be considered an off-night for this former 3-Time AMA Grand National Twins Champion at Pomona in coming home 9th.  The King of Cool started the year off with a new Chaplin Kawasaki to ride in the Singles Series, winning the third race of the year at DuQuoin, and then backing it up by taking his #2 Harley-Davidson Motor Co/Screamin' Eagle/Spectro Oils/Fox-backed factory H-D XR750 to the win at the Hagerstown Half-Mile in early July. 

Also winning the final two Dash for Cash events of the year at Calistoga and Pomona, the only man still backed by a factory team in AMA Grand National Championship Series racing still has it to take the big wins.  Although his off-night at Pomona was the result of transmission troubles on his factory XR, Coolbeth told Cycle News.com that he and the team would have to step-up their game in testing in order to keep the front three closer in the future.  If that's the case, everyone better look out for the East Coast resident in the 2012 season.

The future of AMA Flat Track racing is young, bright and ready to get to the front, and if his ride on the #12 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/TeamHurtByAccident.com/Nicky Hayden/Foremost Insurance-sponsored Ducati 1098 at the season-finale at Pomona is any indication, Rookie of the Year Brad Baker is a short time away from grabbing some major gusto in the series.  The Bullet had a great learning year on the Big Duc, with the help of team co-owners Dave Lloyd (shown holding the #12 machine above during the red flag delay and talking with The Fast and Dirty.com's Yve Assad), Mike Lloyd and team coach/traveling companion and former Grand National competitor and #23, Kevin Atherton (also above with back to shot, far left.)  And don't forget crew chief Dave Gamble and the rest of the LBM squad, who are among some of the hardest-working and highest-profile teams on the circuit. 

The '09 AMA Pro Flat Track Pro Singles Champion (and 2010 runner-up) rode the wheels off everything he threw a leg over this year (and especially riding the LBM Ducati for his first time) and took a season-ending best finish of 2nd at Pomona to close out his rookie season as an Expert.  Crashing out unhurt in his heat 3, Baker started off the back row and came back for a 3rd to qualify for the main at Pomona, and was the only viable rider that was able to help keep defending and repeating champion Jake Johnson in sight during the night's racing.  Baker finished the season in the 6th spot (234 points) and will surely be a major threat next year for the title.  Right on Brad!

And before closing this look at the season, how can you go without mentioning retiring 7-Time AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr (who can be seen in the background of the shot over Sammy Halbert's shoulder.)  Carr brought his #4 American Motorcyclist Assoc/Classic H-D/DFW Honda/Arai-sponsored XR home in the 7th spot at Pomona, to close a quarter century of racing in the AMA Grand National Championship Series with 5th place in the overall standings (243 points.)  The Prince of Peoria busted his butt and his ba..s all year (as evidenced by his several podium finishes, his 2nd place at the Springfield Mile II behind former team mate Willie McCoy, and by the several hits alone he took at the Springfield TT.) 

Although The Champ wasn't able to add to his last race win at the '08 Lucas Oil Indy Mile, he more than added to it in stature and poise and showmanship, something the man has always done at each and every event he shows up to.  Carr will be missed on the track, but with any sponsorship luck for the 2012 season, will be around off the track. 

Keep an eye on Stu's Shots in the next few days as we talk more about the close of the career of one of the all-time greats in the sport.



Read on and check out the offerings below on the season-finale at round 20 of the AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com, and keep an eye peeled in the coming days and weeks as we take a look at the season that was in the 2011 edition of the search for the AMA Grand National Championship.
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Cycle News.com showed AMA Pro Flat Track the love this week in putting 2010 and 2011 AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson on the cover, fresh off his fourth win of the season at the Pomona Half-Mile event, having just wrapped up his 2nd consecutive AMA Grand National Championship at the season-finale's round 20 (great shot of Jake on the track in front of the grandstands at Pomona, taken by The Fast and Dirty.com's very own Yve Assad:

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20111018#pg1

Paul Carruthers, Editor at the new Cycle News.com's Digital Edition, was on-hand at the Pomona Fairplex for round 20 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com and filed this report on the season's final round:

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20111018#pg27

Cycle News.com also has this great shot of Jake Johnson's 2-Time AMA Grand National Championship winning #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/Motion Pro-sponsored XR750 owned, tuned and wrenched by Dave Zanotti, Ted McDermitt and former AMA Grand National competitor and #67, Mike Hacker:

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20111018#pg112


The West Coast's own Poppa Wheelie was on-site at Pomona over the weekend and filed these two great (and more to come, I'm sure!) photo albums of shots of the #1 and #2 men in the 2011 AMA Grand National Championship:

http://pwheelie.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html#4170798733613826442

http://pwheelie.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html#7997990602606215051

Motorcycle-USA.com's Bryan Harley was also on the scene at Pomona and filed this story (with more photos) of the season-finale at Pomona:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/504/11311/Motorcycle-Article/Pomona-Half-Mile-Flat-Track-Results-2011.aspx

Today's Cycle Coverage.com had this report of the last race of the season that was filed by Rodney Rutherford:

http://www.todayscyclecoverage.com/wordpress/2011/10/17/everythings-jake-for-johnson-at-pomona-gnc-finale/

Harley-Davidson Motor Company filed this press release on Kenny Coolbeth ending up 9th in the season-finale and Jake Johnson clinching the championship:

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Racing/flat_track_newsarticle.jsp?locale=en_US&articleLink=News%2F1242_press_release.hdnews&newsYear=2011&history=news

Dave Hoenig, the official photographer for AMA Pro Flat Track, also runs his excellent photo site, Flat Trak Fotos.com, and has the results and (soon to be posted) photos from round 20 at Pomona here:

http://www.flattrakfotos.com/2011%20Results/RESULTS%2010-15-11.html

And Dirt Illustrated.com had Dennis Cox on-hand at Pomona to file these pics from the final event of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com:

http://www.dirtillustrated.com/content.php?contentID=153
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AMA Flat Track: Jake Johnson Wins the Battle & the War at Pomona Half-Mile to Take 2011 AMA Grand National Championship

With his victory in round 20 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com at the Pomona Half-Mile last night, Jake Johnson clinched his 2nd AMA Grand National Championship in a row to add his name to a short, but very worthy list of competitors who have won the coveted AMA Grand National Championship, let alone having won it two years in a row.  The rider of the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/Motion Pro-sponsored XR750 took his fourth win of the season, winning the Dash for Cash in route, and simply was the class of the field at the season-finale round held at the Pomona Fairplex.

Scoring 15 points or more in 16 of 20 rounds this season, the defending and now '11 AMA Grand National Champion fought off two red flag delays at Pomona, only to get the starts he needed to head the field through the course of the 26-lap National main event.  Sammy Halbert and Brad Baker had a great duel for the runner-up position, which was taken by rookie Baker.  Sammy ended the season ranked in the 3rd spot in the championship, with runner-up and 2011 AMA Grand National Twins Champion Jared Mees finishing the night in 5th and the season ranked as the 2nd overall rider of the year.

Johnson and his Zanotti Racing team (team owner Dave Zanotti, head wrench Ted McDermitt and wrench/rider coach Mike Hacker) are to be congratulated for a fine season which saw them behind the competition in terms of wins on the season (4 overall to Mees' season-leading 5) and in the points until the penultimate round at Calistoga two weeks ago.  Jersey Jake turned it all around at the Calistoga round to win the last two events of the season to take the championship by 16 points over Mees, and 17 over Halbert (386-370-369.)

And a hearty congratulations also go out to 2011 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Champion Mikey Martin and the Weirbach Racing team for taking the championship in their division last night with a 6th place finish in the Pro Singles main.  Rookie phenom Briar Bauman won his third event of his short season, after mid-season having just turned pro, to cap a great year by the Salinas, CA. resident.


Stay tuned to Stu's Shots over the coming days and weeks as we wrap-up the great season that was in the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com. 


Thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track, Harley-Davidson Insurance and Motorcycle-Superstore.com and all of the people involved in bringing us another super year in the greatest sport on wheels in the world, The Rolling Thunder Show!
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Johnson Takes Home AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship No. 1 Plate After Pomona Win

Bauman Wins Another Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Final; Martin Takes Championship

POMONA, Ca. (October 16, 2011) - Jake Johnson took home the coveted AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com No. 1 plate Saturday night with a commanding win at the AMA Pro Flat Track Season Finale, which took place on the big cushion half-mile at the LA County Fairplex in Pomona, Ca.

In the weeks leading up to the culmination of the 2011 AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship, calculators were buzzing as everyone tried to analyze what combinations of finishes by the top three were needed for the Championship.

Defending Grand National Champion Johnson made all the calculations moot, however, as he was nearly perfect on his Zanotti Racing / Schaeffer's Harley-Davidson backed XR-750. Johnson survived two restarts and overtime in the National main event as he led every lap, most by a healthy margin.

"I just had great starts all night and tried to ride smart," Johnson said. "It was coming down to the end and I had a good lead but was making some mistakes. After I saw the five to go sign, I started to countdown, four, three, two and then another red flag. I thought 'Uh-oh, another five lap shoot out.' I just tried to stay calm and everything worked out."

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2011 (and repeat) AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson holds his ceremonial #1 plate up during the podium ceremonies at the season-finale round 20 at the Pomona Half-Mile on October 15.  Johnson had just done what few have ever done in the sport in clinching his 2nd championship, and 2nd in a row.  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.
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At the end of what became a 26-lap race, Johnson held almost a two second lead over Lloyd Brothers Motorsports / Team Hurt By Accident's Brad Baker. Baker's career-high second place finish all but guaranteed the 2011 Saddlemen Rookie of the Year award.

Heading into the event third place in the point standings and hoping to improve, Kings Kustoms / White's Harley-Davidson's Sammy Halbert fought to the end with Baker for second but the rookie was able to hang on and with his third-place finish in the main, Halbert came up one point behind Rogers Lake Racing / Blue Springs Harley-Davidson's Jared Mees, who struggled most of the night.

Mees ended the night behind the Scott Powersports Kawasaki of Johnny Lewis, but that was just good enough to hold on to second in the overall point standings and win the AMA Pro Twins National Championship.

After holding Halbert off in the first heat, Johnson threw down the gauntlet by winning the four-lap Dash for Cash and claiming the five points that went with it. Halbert and Mees minimized the damage by finishing second and third, but the tone was set.

After winning the fastest heat, it looked like defending Pomona winner Henry Wiles might be able to take the spotlight away from the title chase, but it was not to be, as he was responsible for the last red flag on lap 22. Wiles was able to restart from the back and worked his way up to a 10th place finish.

Rob Pearson was back aboard the USC Kawasaki, and the screamer brought home a solid sixth position. American Motorcyclist Association / Classic Harley-Davidson's Chris Carr brought his illustrious career to an end with a seventh place finish over Matt Weidman (White's Harley-Davidson / SNIP) and Harley-Davidson Motor Company's Kenny Coolbeth.

Johnson finished with a sixteen point lead over Mees, 386-370, with Halbert just one more back at 369.

The AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles main belonged to late season sensation Briar Bauman (Rod Lake Racing / Brown's Cycles) as he also overcame several restarts to grab his third win of the year. Title contender Mikey Avila (SDI Insulation / MEH Corp) took second place and Foard Racing / Glenville Inn backed Jason Isennock filled out the podium.

Weirbach Racing's Mikey Martin was able to do just enough to take home the 2011 Pro Singles Championship with a sixth place finish behind fourth-place finisher Rod Spencer Jr. (Hooper Motorsports / Rod Lake Racing) and fifth-place finisher Stephen Vanderkuur (DFW Honda / D&D Exhaust).

Martin finished the long year with three wins and an eight point bulge on Avila, 316-308, with Gerit Callies another 17 back at 291.

NOTEWORTHY:
Avila (SDI Insulation / Dickel Racing) and Callies (Water's Autobody) took advantage of provisional starts as Experts and qualified for their career debuts in Grand National Main Events.

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

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Round 20 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com at the Pomona Half-Mile is done and another great season is a wrap.  Congrats to Jake Johnson and the Zanotti Racing team for securing the 2011 AMA Grand National Championship last night, their second in a row, to add to a short list of greats and repeat champions in the AMA Grand National Championship Series.

Results, photos and a story of the events at the Pomona Half-Mile season-finale can be found below.

Congrats go out to all of the competitors, team owners, sponsors, officials and fans to a great season of racing in The Rolling Thunder Show, the greatest sport on wheels in the world.
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Paul Carruthers and Cycle News.com was on the scene last night at Pomona, and brings us this story of how the night unfolded at the season-finale at the Pomona Half-Mile:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/flat-track/2011/10/16/jake-johnson-grand-national-champion/

AMA Pro Flat Track has the results from last night's round 20 season-finale at the Pomona Fairplex right here:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/results.cfm?year=2011&eid=2011021198&discipline=FT&class=GN&type=F&rnum=1&class_sort=all

Complete event results can be found here courtesy of AMA Pro Flat Track (PDF versions):

http://results.amaproracing.com/live/results/pdfresults/ft/2011/F1198/default.aspx

AMA Pro Flat Track posted these photos on their Twitter feed from last night's racing at Pomona.  Some shots of defending and now 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson on the podium with the ceremonial 2011 #1 plate:

http://yfrog.com/user/AMAProFlatTrack/photos

AMA Pro Flat Track posted this gallery of shots from last night's season-finale at Pomona, all shot by AMA Pro Flat Track official photographer, Dave Hoenig:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/multimedia/gallery.cfm?gid=6920
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