AMA Flat Track: Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. Takes His Off-Season Training to the Ice at Home in Connecticut

With qualifying getting ready to get underway at round 3 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson  Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season, former 3-Time AMA Grand National Twins Champion and '07 Singles Champ Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. gets ready to head out for action on May 26 on his #2 Chaplin Kawasaki/Fox/Arai Helmets/Vortex-sponsored KX450F.  Also lending a hand is RIDE Academy founder and former AMA Grand National #67, Mike Hacker, who took his services to the Coolbeth camp for the 2012 season after working his suspension, handling and riding magic alongside 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson for the previous couple of seasons.

The King of Cool had a Rough Night in Jericho in what would be the final Springfield TT for the foreseeable future held at the Multipurpose Arena on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.  Failing to race his way into the National main with a direct transfer out of his heat, Coolbeth was forced to work overtime while racing one of the semis to make the show.  But in the end, even this long-time veteran was backed up against the wall against the competition at hand, and took a provisional entry to gain entry into the 25-lap final, where he rode a tough race to bring it home in the 11th-place spot to nail down 8 hard-earned points after coming off the fourth row.

With what seems like the majority of riders campaigning The Rolling Thunder Show in the past several years being based east of the Mississippi River, one of the best and most often seen off-season training regimens for the riders is ice racing or riding.  Jared Mees, Henry Wiles, Bryan Smith, Coolbeth and a big handful of other top riders spend the season break tearing it up on the ice just like they do the dirt during the regular race season.

Coolbeth, who calls Morris, Connecticut home, may not contend the regular ice racing series during the break, but he definitely gets his share of ice riding done to keep him on his toes during the five month break in the series schedule.  Bud Wilkinson of Ride-CT.com caught up with Kenny recently to talk with him about his training schedule and his many years in the greatest sport on wheels in the world.  Nice reading and thanks to Bud for keeping us filled in on one of the biggest and most popular stars of the sport.  And thanks to Kenny for slowing down just a little to talk with him and keep us up to date on his off-season activities!


Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. gets in some ice riding at home in CT. during the off-season.

Keep up with The King of Cool here at his official website.