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.