Riders and team members make final preparations as the machines are brought to life in order to do battle at 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 on May 27.
Jared Mees on the #9 Rogers Racing/Blue Springs H-D-sponsored XR750, Luke Gough on the #62 Skip Eaken/Roeder Racing-backed Kawasaki 650R, Bryan Smith on the #42 Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports-backed rocket Kawi, Willie McCoy on his #59 H-D of Wausau/Independence H-D-sponsored XR, Jake Johnson on the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D-backed XR and Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. on the #2 Screamin' Eagle/H-D Motor Co-sponsored factory XR750 fill out the front row in what would be another exciting 25-lap National main at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval.
In welcome news out of Daytona Beach today, AMA Pro Flat Track has announced the confirmed dates for the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season in what is surely the earliest announcement of a solid calendar by AMA Pro Flat Track in the last three seasons.
Fourteen dates that have been confirmed include among others, the season-opening rounds at Daytona in March, a return to the Peoria TT in August followed by the Lucas Oil Indy Mile, the annual treks to the Springfield Mile over Memorial Day and Labor Day, and the season-ending round in Pomona in mid-October.
AMA Pro Flat Track is still working to secure two rounds in Arizona at the beginning and end of the season and is also working on bringing another event to Ohio, strongly rumored to be a return to the Greenville Half-Mile which was on the schedule several years ago.
A rumored return to I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, MI. was no where to be mentioned on the schedule, although after the fall-out from the last-minute cancelation of this year's round most likely having some bearing as to whether AMA Pro Flat Track was willing to chance another go around with the track and/or promoters, although that is strictly speculation after the rumor was floated that there may have been a return to I-96. Note--for the second year in a row, this leaves the schedule without any rounds in Michigan, home to many of the current and a large handful of former champions and competitors.
The west coast is getting an extra burst for the 2013 calendar, with the return of the classic Castle Rock TT, Santa Rosa and Sacto Miles, as well as two new half-mile venures in Elma, Washington and Stockton, California.
Thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track for the full press release below which details all of the announced dates for 2013 thus far.
AMA Pro Racing Announces Confirmed Dates on
2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Schedule
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (December 10, 2012)
- AMA Pro Racing
is pleased to announce 14 confirmed events on the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track
schedule. In addition to the events listed below, AMA Pro Racing plans to make
announcements on three additional events in the near future.
All of the AMA Pro Flat
Track events in 2013 will once again feature non-stop entertainment and
thrilling motorcycle racing action from the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance
Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com and AMA Pro
Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles classes. Of the confirmed events announced
today, Harley-Davidson Insurance GNC Expert Singles will compete at four of the
rounds, broken down into two Short Tracks and two Tourist Trophies, while the
mighty Expert Twins will contest the remaining 10 rounds, consisting of five
Half-Mile and five Mile tracks. Fans can also expect to watch as the sport's
finest up-and-coming talent battle for fame and glory in
Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles races.
On March 14-15, 2013,
DAYTONA® Flat Track will once again play host to the AMA Pro Flat Track opener
as the series kicks off the 2013 season with a doubleheader on the quarter-mile
lime rock track located outside Daytona International Speedway's west banking.
At the 2012 season opener, fans witnessed two riders taking their breakout
Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship wins, with Johnny Lewis
holding off the charging field for his first in the Thursday night final and
Matt Weidman taking the checkered flag over eventual 2012 series champ Jared
Mees in Friday's main event.
Next up, the series will
make a stop in Arizona on May 4, 2013 at a TBA event before heading to Stockton,
Calif.'s Half-Mile track at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds on May 11, 2013.
The event will mark the first time AMA Pro Flat Track races on the all-new
Half-Mile track located within the historic Stockton Mile and it's sure to bring
northern California some of the most exciting motorcycle racing action in the
world.
It wouldn't be a complete
season if AMA Pro Flat Track didn't visit Springfield, Ill. The legendary
Springfield Mile has served as one of the most historic venues and is considered
to be one of the most coveted wins on the circuit. When the fire-breathing twins
roll off the trucks at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on May 26, 2013, this
go-around is sure to add even more excitement to the legacy of the storied
event.
Another TBA event is
scheduled in Ohio on June 8, 2013 before the series heads to another
historically significant and action-packed circuit on June 29, 2013. Dating back
to 1984, AMA Pro Flat Track has made the trek to Lima, Ohio to take on the
"cushion" Half-Mile at the Allen County Fairgrounds, and this year will be no
exception.
Bryan Smith #42 leads Sammy Halbert #7, Jake Johnson #1, Willie McCoy #59 and the rest of the field coming out of turn 4 at the running of the Springfield Mile II at round 13 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Champioship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season. AMA Pro Racing announced the confirmed dates for the 2013 season today. AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.
Just after the Fourth of
July holiday, the Series will make a swing near the Nation's capital on July 6,
2013 as Hagerstown, Md.'s Hagerstown Speedway will host the only round on the
east coast that features what is typically a very smooth, and very fast,
half-mile track. Jared Mees grabbed his lone win in 2012 over local-favorite
Jake Johnson at last year's event, and the defending champ will likely have his
hands full when the star-studded line-up gets to the grid again next season.
The second west-coast tour
begins on July 20, 2013 with a Half-Mile event at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma,
Wash, followed by the always-incredible Sacramento Mile at the Cal Expo
Fairgrounds in Sacramento, Calif. on July 27, 2013. That leg will conclude with
a drive up the coast, where the AMA Pro Flat Track stars will hop back on their
450cc singles at the Castle Rock Race Park TT in Castle Rock, Wash. on August 3,
2013.
Next up is another TT, and
the granddaddy of them all, scheduled for one week later at Peoria Race Park in
Peoria, Ill. on August 11, 2013. The Peoria TT has been a staple on the Grand
National circuit since 1947 and still packs the hillsides with spectators eager
to watch the high-flying singles take to the track. Watch out for Henry Wiles,
who collected his eighth consecutive victory at the legendary venue last year
and seems to be unbeatable here.
The Indy Mile at the
Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Ind., returns to the 2013 schedule on
August 17, 2013 and the event will once again coincide with both the Indiana
State Fair and MotoGP's state-side return for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Labor Day Weekend means a
return to the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. for the second
Springfield Mile on the calendar; the September 1st event is the final 2013 AMA
Pro Flat Track event scheduled east of the Mississippi river.
AMA Pro Flat Track will
once again head west to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa to battle it
out against the beautiful backdrop of the Santa Rosa Mile. In last year's
contest, Sammy Halbert grabbed his fourth win of the season in front of a packed
house, and the 2012 runner-up will definitely be looking to match his winning
result on September 29, 2013.
The last to-be-announced
event on the schedule is slotted for October 5, 2012 in Arizona before the 2013
AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by
Motorcycle-Superstore.com schedule comes to a close - and fan-favorite Kenny
Coolbeth, Jr. looks to repeat his commanding victory - on the half-mile track at
the LA County Fairplex in Pomona, Calif on October 12, 2013.
2013 AMA Pro Flat Track
Schedule:
|
March
14th
|
DAYTONA
Flat Track I
|
DAYTONA
Flat Track Daytona Beach, Fla.
|
Short
Track |
|
March
15th
|
DAYTONA
Flat Track II
|
DAYTONA
Flat Track Daytona Beach, Fla.
|
Short
Track |
| May 4th |
TBA
|
Arizona
|
|
|
May
11th
|
Stockton
Half-Mile
|
San
Joaquin County Fairgrounds, Stockton, Calif.
|
Half-Mile |
|
May
26th
|
Springfield
Mile
|
Illinois
State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
|
Mile |
| June 8th |
TBA
|
Ohio
|
|
|
June
29th
|
Lima
Half-Mile
|
Allen
County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio
|
Half-Mile |
|
July
6th
|
Hagerstown,
Half-Mile
|
Hagerstown
Speedway, Md.
|
Half-Mile |
| July 20th |
Grays
Harbor Raceway
|
Grays
Harbor, Elma, Wash.
|
Half-Mile |
|
July
27th
|
Sacramento
Mile
|
Cal
Expo, Sacramento, Calif.
|
Mile |
|
August
3rd
|
Castle
Rock TT
|
Castle
Rock Race Park, Castle Rock Wash.
|
TT |
| August 11th |
Peoria
TT
|
PMC
Race Park, Peoria, Ill.
|
TT |
|
August
17th
|
Indy
Mile
|
Indiana
State Fairground, Indianapolis, Ind.
|
Mile |
|
September
1st
|
Springfield
Mile II
|
Illinois
State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
|
Mile |
| September 29th |
Santa
Rosa Mile
|
Sonoma
County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, Calif.
|
Mile |
| October 5th |
TBA
|
Arizona
|
|
| October 12th |
Flat
Track Season Finale
|
LA
County Fairplex, Pomona, Calif.
|
Half-Mile |
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:
|
