Family Events Releases Event Poster for Round 10 of the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship at the Legendary Indy Mile on Friday, August 8

Round 10 of the 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship at the Indy Mile on Friday, August 8 is now just three months off, and Family Events, the promoters of the annual stop at the Indiana State Fairgrounds-hosted event has released the event poster for this year's stop alongside the Indiana State Fair and the weekend of the 7th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ticket sales for this year's event were announced last month by the great people at Family Events.

This year's poster again features another fine shot by Brent Pierce of BTP Photography, one of the mainstay shooters of the Midwest stops on The Rolling Thunder Show. Pierce's work has been featured in many of the sport's promotional shots as well as several trade and industry publications. Many of you may remember Brent's shot of Jake Johnson on the #1 Zanotti Racing XR-750 from the 2012 season being used on last year's Family Events' promo posters as well.

In the shot above, riders get ready to roll out for the first round of practice at round 8 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship at the Indy Mile on August 17.

(L-R) Brad Baker makes some last minute helmet adjustments while rider/coach and former AMA Grand National #23 Kevin Atherton makes some final adjustments and checks to the #12 Dodge Brothers Racing/Sefnco Communications-sponsored Harley-Davidson XR-750. Howerton Motorsports head man in charge, Rick Howerton, readies the #42 Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports-backed Kawasaki EX650-based mount of rider and eventual event winner Bryan Smith, while team member Dink Glidden looks over the rocket-fast mount that stole last year's spotlight from the rest of the competition.

Jake Johnson, in his debut on the #5 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/Ramspur Winery-backed Ducati, can be seen looking over his left shoulder while team crew chief and master wrench spinner Brent Armbruster sends some last minute texts to advise the team's friends and family to hurry and get to the track for the great racing coming up in the evening ahead. Team mate Henry Wiles appears calm and relaxed with the overall atmosphere while ready for battle on the #17 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/Ramspur Winery-backed and owned H-D XR-750.

Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. readies himself on the #2 Harley-Davidson Motor Company/Screamin' Eagle-sponsored factory XR-750 while his Dad, KC, Senior, stands by alongside. And on the back row, Jeffrey Carver, Jr. can be seen on the #23 Kiesow Racing/Eddie Adkins-sponsored XR-750, just over Howerton Motorsports' Glidden's right shoulder.

Check out the great event poster below for the Indy Mile in August, as we all gear up for the next round of racing coming up in just 15 days from round 3 of the 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season at the Springfield Mile I on May 25. We're just about set to go racing for the bulk of the great schedule in this year's greatest racing series on two wheels in the world!


Event poster courtesy of Leah Burdette and Family Events, the promoters of the legendary Indy Mile on Friday, August 8, 2014

 
 
 













Family Events released the event poster for the legendary Indy Mile yesterday. The shot used, again taken by the talented Brent Pierce of BTP Photography, shows eventual 2013 winner Bryan Smith #42 leading Willie McCoy #59, Henry Wiles #17, JD Beach #95, Jake Johnson #5 and the rest of the field.

 

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports' Dave Lloyd Talks with Barry Boone's 'Talking Motorcycles' About Growing the Sport of AMA Pro Flat Track

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports' team co-owner Dave Lloyd made an appearance on Barry Boone's 'Talking Motorcycles' radio show earlier this week and made another strong case for the current state of the sport of AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship series racing.

As many know and many others have ranted and railed about and against, The Rolling Thunder Show, the greatest racing series on two wheels in the world, has lost a significant market share over the course of the last decade or so. Many of those same rants and rails about and against the current state of affairs in AMA Pro Flat Track have pointed fingers at not only the state of the economy, the sanctioning body (AMA Pro Flat Track as owned and operated by the Daytona Motorsports Group, and not the AMA out of Pickerington, OH. which sold off the racing rights in 2008), the lack of television coverage and many other issues they wish to point fingers at.

Although producing the same, high-speed level of the best racing that can be seen and has been seen for decades, the big show has also lost a significant share of paying butts in the seats at even some of the long and best-hosted events in the country, namely long-time fan favorites like the Springfield Mile, the Peoria TT, the Lima Half-Mile and the Hagerstown Half-Mile, just to name a few.

In spite of the great racing that the series still continues to provide, the same high level of sportsmanship seen in the series, and the improved fan and racing show experience itself, the sport has suffered for what could be a multitude of different issues, and LBM team co-owner Lloyd made an awfully good case this week on Barry's radio show to at least institute some different areas of change, as he did earlier this year (see below), to help or help to turn the great show around.

You can listen here to the archived version of the show to hear and decide for yourself about what Lloyd had to say, and coming from a long-time fan of the sport, I must say he has some viable and interesting ideas to help get the fan and sponsor interest built back up. Everyone has an opinion, and after having followed this sport for over 40 years now I have witnessed some of the best racing in the world up close for a long time. Speaking just for myself, I don't know what the answer is, but I know those that aren't witnessing the action up close or in the stands in AMA Pro Flat Track, are truly missing some of the best on-track action in any racing series anywhere in the world. However, I do know when to shut up and listen to those that really are cognizant of what changes could be and do need to be made, and Lloyd makes a helluva case here and it is well worth the listen.

In the shot above, LBM crew chief Brent Armbruster goes about getting the #5 LBM/Ramspur Winery/Foremost Insurance Group-sponsored Ducati of rider Jake Johnson ready for the first round of practice at round 8 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship at the Indy Mile on August 17. Also seen in the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports pit area are the Ramspur Winery-owned and LBM-operated Harley-Davidson XR-750 of Henry Wiles and another of the big Ducati's of then-new rider Johnson.

Having been involved with and in the great sport of AMA Pro Flat Track for over two decades now, as both a rider and now a team owner, Dave Lloyd knows a thing or two about how to put a successful operation together and along with his brother, Mike, has done so year in and year out for over a decade now, campaigning some of the greatest looking and most well-prepared bikes for the likes of riders Wiles, Larry Pegram, 2000 AMA Grand National Champion Joe Kopp, 2013 AMA Grand National Champion Brad Baker, current rider Jake Johnson, Aaron King, and a special one-off ride for one of their highly respected sponsors and fans, 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden at the Indy Mile in 2010.

With rider Henry Wiles checking things out in the background, team co-owner Dave Lloyd goes about his duties with his laptop checking out the data on the team's machines in the pits at the Indy Mile on August 17, 2013.

Dave's brother, Mike, who seems to enjoy staying back and out of the limelight while working feverishly to ready the team's mounts, is also a very big part of the team's success in bringing the level of professionalism and diversity to the sport as his brother has and does. Mike is involved with not only the regular at-track activities at each event, but spends his time away from the track talking up the sport and the team and displaying the team's machines at special events such as the Dealer Expo Show here in Indianapolis in February 2012, and at various bike night events prior to some of the series' National races, such as some of the Columbus, OH. outings prior to the Lima Half-Mile in late June of each year.

One of the cool things the brothers did recently was turning over the team's Aprilia's, last campaigned by rider Aaron King in the 2012 season, to rider Shaun Russell last season. Russell was looking for a Twins Series ride for some of the 2013 events, and handed over the bikes to Russell for him to campaign at Indy and the Springfield Mile I & II over the Labor Day weekend.

In the shot above, Russell can be seen making some adjustments to the #28 LBM Aprilia during the Indy Mile last year while team co-owner Mike Lloyd looks on and offers support.

If you could say one thing about the Lloyd Brothers team, it is that they have excelled at bringing a high-level of diversity to the sport, which whether you realize or believe it or not, was turning into a spec series in the late '90s and early '00s with almost every successful team campaigning the long-running Harley-Davidson XR-750s, the machine long-considered the stalwart of the sport. But with the forty-plus year old platform that the Milwaukee iron has been great for, the level of change isn't far reaching. Of course, the sport overall hasn't seen or needed vast changes over the decades in order to provide fans with the close, high-speed action that it is known for, but especially after Honda pulled out in the late '80s and the departure and collapse of the British manufacturers preceding that time in the mid-'70s, the sport was left with very little in the way of multi-brand involvement, or a diverse level of multi-brand competition.

That is where the Lloyd Brothers have filled a very large gap in the series by campaigning, in this case, some of the most pristine machines in the form of the team's Aprilias and Ducatis. Henry Wiles came close to winning the Lima Half-Mile in 2008 on one of the team's Aprilias, which saw it's first action in a National main event at the season-ending Du Quoin Mile in late September 2004 with rider Larry Pegram.

The team has also, as previously mentioned, supplied some very capable riders with some of that great equipment over the seasons.

In the shot above, the team goes about getting the big Ducatis ready for rider Brad Baker during the I-96 Speedway Half-Mile in Lake Odessa, MI. in mid-July 2011. Baker ended the season ranked in 6th-place for what would see him earn the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Award. Former team crew chief, Dave Gamble, can be seen to rider Baker's left overlooking the team's efforts.

It took several years and a lot of hard work, but the team finally realized it's dream of winning an AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship event with rider Joe Kopp at the Prescott Mile I round in May 2010, when Kopp, riding the team's big red Ducati, nipped Sammy Halbert at the line to capture the first Twins Series event of the season in Arizona. It was also the first win for a non-XR-750 fielded entry since Rich King's win on the Corbin Racing Honda at the Joliet Half-Mile in August of 1998, a 12-season span of Harley dominance on the big tracks.

In the shot above, Kopp acknowledges the fans as he dismounts the #3 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati after winning semi race #2 at the Springfield Mile II in round 15 of the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship on September 5, as AMA Pro Flat Track announcer  and 'Talking Motorcycles' host Barry Boone gets the crowd fired-up at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

After a great start to the season at the Daytona Short Track season-openers on March 13-14, current rider Jake Johnson will be looking to take the team forward for the 2014 season, which will now resume at the Springfield Mile I event on May 25, some 36 days away.

Johnson, who split from the Zanotti Racing squad in late summer of last year, the team he clinched the 2010-2011 AMA Grand National Championship with, will be looking to garner the Lloyd boys their second AMA Grand National Championship event win aboard the big #5 LBM Ducati beginning with the series' first Twins event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval over the Memorial Day weekend. And after rider Henry Wiles was let go late in the 2013 season, the season ahead will see Johnson as the team's sole entry for this year.

Jake can be seen in the shot above on the #5 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/Ramspur Winery/Foremost Insurance Group-sponsored Ducati in his first outing with the team during one of the qualifying sessions at round 8 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship at the Indy Mile on August 17.


Whatever you may make of what team co-owner Dave Lloyd's shot at trying to get the great sport of AMA Pro Flat Track headed in the right direction to re-establish more fans, more sponsors and more coverage, you can't take away the fact that the team, and the series overall, provides some of the best racing and close competition that it has always been known for. I know the passion these guys have for the sport and for the competition, and I also know what the series has to offer in terms of excitement, close racing, a family-oriented aura in the paddock, and brand diversity.

However, I am not a marketing guru so I myself have no clue what it will take to make people realize what they are missing in this great sport. I just know what I'm NOT going to miss and that I myself will continue to attend and enjoy and promote what is the best choice for your dollar in terms of sheer excitement for as long as I can and as long as I am able, and I strongly suggest to all of you to continue, or begin to do so for yourself. You won't be disappointed and you won't leave any show after attending one of The Rolling Thunder Show events wanting anything else other than to be wanting to see more.

You can also check out below Dave Lloyd's original plea for change in the sport, as was penned by the long-respected team owner back in January of this year, to read what he is trying to say and make people see in order to get the sea of change in motion for AMA Pro Flat Track.


Courtesy of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports' Dave Lloyd:

The circumstances that have brought the AMA Pro Racing Dirt Track Series (I prefer Dirt Track over Flat Track for its marketing value so that is what I call it) to its current state has nothing to do with the economy, rules or the on-track racing action. It has nothing to do with the efforts of the AMA Pro Racing Dirt Track team as I can attest that everyone from the AMA Pro Racing Director of Dirt Track, Dan Johnsen, down to the crew loading the gear at the races work hard and with passion. The problem is the business model that they have been directed to work within. I am willing to bet that any company that has maintained the same business model that they had 40 years ago has lost market share just like we have.

There is an incredible amount of passion for the sport of motorcycle dirt track racing. Well directed passion will breed success. We are in need of a unified promotional organization properly resourced to enable and implement a coordinated vision between AMA Pro Racing, teams, riders, sponsors and venues to ensure future success and growth of the series.

To realize the potential success of the AMA Pro Racing Dirt Track Series, adoption of a revised business model is necessary and we don’t have to look much further than Supercross or the Pro Bull Riding Association. A fundamental change to the current business plan for dirt track is warranted to not only reach an acceptable level of sustainability for AMA Pro Racing teams to continue to compete in the series but also to grow the sport, expand the fan base and deliver consistent profits with proper track location, selection and promotion. 

The AMA Pro Racing website states:
“In 2008, the American Motorcycle Association announced the sale of certain professional racing properties to AMA Pro Racing, based in Daytona Beach, Florida. The move was brought about by the need for the association to place the management of pro racing in the hands of a well resourced motorsports entertainment company.” 

Despite the stated reasons for purchasing pro racing from AMA, Ohio; AMA Pro Racing continues to operate with the same business model as AMA Ohio, acting as a sanctioning body and series administrator, not an entertainment promotion company.

The current business model requires the sale of many individual sanctions to promoters (some with no experience) that barely offset the cost of goods sold associated with the officiating of each event. Other income is generated through registration fees charged to competitors and crews. Lastly, income is generated by selling sponsorships to series sponsors. This strategy is deficient in that:

• Location and scheduling of the races is dependent on the promoter. 
• In order to build a series with enough races to attract sponsors, AMA Pro Racing is forced to compromise standards when selling sanctions to some tracks and promoters that are not national level in terms of facility quality, location, demographics, promotion experience and potential sponsor and fan draw. 
• The success of the event lies largely with the promoter and his ability to promote and manage the event. The track location, advertising budget, pre-race promotional activities, media relations, facility condition, track preparation equipment availability, ticket pricing and fan experience are all in the hands of the promoter and are outside of the direct control of AMA Pro Racing. Thus creating an inconsistency in quality.
• The series ends up with events spread widely geographically and many with low spectator attendance and a less than excellent fan experience. 
• Many events do not reach enough spectators to create an acceptable return on investment for sponsors to commit to levels of sponsorship to make it possible for AMA Pro Racing and race teams to offset the high costs of travel to these events, leading to low rider turn out, unhappy promoters and a poor fan experience.
• With the fate of the series in the hands of so many different promoters, the quality of the series is compromised and it is impossible to sell a series sponsorship. There was no series sponsor for the 2013 expert division because the series hasn’t realized the marketing value of which it is truly capable.
• When a single event is a success and has adequate to high spectator attendance, the promoter benefits the most financially, not AMA Pro Racing or the teams. When an event is a failure, the promoter, AMA Pro Racing and the teams all suffer the consequences.

A revised business model where AMA Pro Racing, or a new separate entity, partners with existing top-rated promoters and events and also exclusively targets new locations and promotes new events is necessary. This will benefit AMA Pro Racing, the race teams and the series in that:

• There will be more conformity and better efficiency between the events as related to promotion, preparation and execution. Lessons learned at one event can be immediately implemented for a better, more successful next event.
• Standardize promotional items and procedures.
• Better managed and improved fan experience.
• Better control of sponsor, media and participant relations at each event.
• Sponsors and marketing partners will be more attracted to the series and teams when events are well attended and are located in strong geographic markets.
• AMA Pro Racing will be more profitable hosting well attended events than it will ever be by just selling sanctions.
• AMA Pro Racing, teams and riders will directly benefit from successful events in lieu of just a third party promoter.

Once a unified promotion company is in place then the work can begin to:

• Implement a television package.
• Promote the athletes and teams to build a strong fan base and broaden the awareness of the sport. 
• Improve paddock presentation.
• Create events – not just races.
• Find series sponsors.

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports to Combine Forces with Parkinson Brothers Racing with 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson to Contest the 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship

Confirmation for the new season came in on late Monday as the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team announced that they will be teaming up with Parkinson Brothers Racing to field 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson in their quest to go after the 2014 AMA Grand National Championship.

Johnson, who officially joined the team at the Indy Mile round on August 17, 2013 after just weeks earlier splitting from his long time association with the 3-Time Grand National Championship-winning Zanotti Racing team, will go it alone for the 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track season as the sole rider, after the LBM team and former long time rider Henry Wiles split shortly after the Springfield Mile doubleheader over the Labor Day weekend last season.

The team, originally based out of the Columbus, Ohio area, is now spaced across the country with co-founding brother Mike Lloyd still based in the Columbus area, his brother Dave now having moved further south to the Atlanta, GA. area, and the team's second year crew chief Brent Armbruster based along with the majority of the team's machinery in the Clio, MI. area. Johnson still lives in eastern Pennsylvania as he has for the better part of his now dozen year Pro racing career.

The Parkinson Brothers team may best be known for their fielding of equipment for 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Pro Singles Champion Stephen Vanderkuur throughout his title run during last year's championship-winning campaign, and also took a big step to help Johnson after his split from the Zanotti team last year in fielding the Honda CRF450R Singles Series mount that the 2-Time Grand National Champ used to contest the Peoria TT with on August 11 that Johnson qualified 2nd with and took to a 12th-place finish in the Grand National main in Thunder Valley.

In the shot above, Johnson and team co-owner Dave Lloyd roll the #5 LBM/Rampur Winery/Foremost Insurance Ducati 1098-based 'L' twin back to the team's pit area after the first practice session at the Springfield Mile II on September 1, 2013 during the Labor Day weekend doubleheader at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Johnson actually took his first win for the team by taking the win in semi race #1, and going on to finish in the 11th-place spot in the 18-rider National main later in the day.

The Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team has been best known for it's efforts to diversify the field with their campaigning of Aprilia and Ducati Italian twins over the course of the better part of the last decade. With rider Larry Pegram at the controls, the team put the first Aprilia-based mount into an AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National main event at the Du Quoin Mile at the final race of the 2004 season, and almost got their first win in AMA Grand National Championship racing with rider Henry Wiles at the Lima Half-Mile in the summer of 2008. Ironically, it was future rider Joe Kopp who nipped Wiles at Lima that fateful night, but just shy of two years later more than made up for it by getting the team's first win at the Prescott, AZ. mile event in May, 2010 on the team's big red Ducati, just nipping Sammy Halbert feet from the checkers.

The team switched gears in late 2012 in terms of crew chiefs after Dave Gamble left the team, and brought in championship-winning wrench and long time friend, Brent Armbruster to do the wrenching on the team's vast stable of big twins. Armbruster literally took over the reigns for Dave and Mike at the season-finale in Pomona in October 2012 and drove the team's transporter back to his home outside Clio, MI. to begin his and the LBM boys' turnaround. Armbruster had just been let go by the Rogers Racing/Jared Mees team and quickly found his footing with a pair of guys whom he had raced with and against for some 20+ years, extending their long time friendships even further by taking over the running of wrenching on the big Italian twins. And according to all three, it's been a match made in heaven as the partnership has been a blessing for all.

In the shot above, Armbruster removes the protective coating over the #5 number plate after just affixing it to one of the Lloyd Brothers/Rampur Winery/Foremost Insurance Group-sponsored Ducatis at the Indy Mile on August 17, 2013, round 8 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season. Several minutes later new rider Johnson was spinning laps at the Indiana State Fairgrounds with Armbruster as nervous as could be after initializing the signing of rider Johnson after his split from Zanotti.

Team co-owners Mike and Dave and master wrench Armbruster spent at least one near sleepless night putting together the deal that brought Johnson to the team. Armbruster admitted at Indy he was somewhat nervous and 'may' have bit off more than he could chew in taking on double the workload at the time, but along with his sheepish grin you could tell he was having one heckuva good time doing it!

Also seen in the shot above is team co-owner Mike Lloyd (far right/back, with sunglasses on head) and Parkinson Brothers Racing's Vanderkuur leaning on his championship-winning Honda (black t-shirt) just behind Johnson's Ducati.)

A big thumbs up goes out to the Ohio/Michigan/Georgia/Pennsylvania team as they get ready to contest the 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship with the help of long time sponsors Ramspur Winery and Foremost Insurance in what will surely be a stellar year for the boys and what will undoubtedly be another super year of racing for fans and friends all around!

You can check out the team's press release below as we begin the three week countdown to the first race of the season at Daytona on March 13 in The Rolling Thunder Show, the greatest racing series on two wheels in the world.


Press release courtesy of the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team.

Jake Johnson finalizes 2014 Team and Sponsors

February 17, 2014
    
        Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc. (LBM) and Parkinson Brothers Racing (PBR) have combined forces with title sponsorship from Ramspur Winery for the 2014 AMA Pro Racing dirt track season. Two-time Grand National Champion, Jake Johnson will be the sole rider and will have the full resources of the team at his disposal with Brent Armbruster continuing as crew chief.

 

“Our focus is to make sure that the team has every possible advantage to compete at the front of the pack at each race” stated Ramspur Winery’s Nancy Otton. “The stable of motorcycles that the team has assembled to compete this year is impressive including 450 singles, V-twin, L-Twin and parallel- twin cylinder motorcycles” added Terry Otton.

 

 “I joined the team part way through last season and it really feels like home to me” said 2010 and 2011 National Champion, Johnson. “We have a great group of people on the team that are talented, professional and work very well together.  The bikes’ performed very well and I am confident that they capable of running at the front and winning.  I felt very comfortable on the bikes at our last test without the intake restrictors and I am really excited for this season.”

 

“This is the most talented group of like-minded and hard-working crew and sponsors that we have been able to assemble in several years” said David Lloyd. “We are well prepared for the season and look forward to the fast-approaching Daytona Short Track races.” added Craig Parkinson.

 

In addition to Ramspur Winery the team is proud to receive support from Motion Pro, Daniel Kalal, Thom Duma Fine Jewelers and Victory Chevrolet. 

 

 

 

 

 

Jake Johnson #5 is shown in his Lloyd Brothers Motorsports gear getting ready to race during the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season. Johnson, who won the AMA Grand National Championship in 2010-2011 while riding for the Zanotti Racing team, joined the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team at the Indy Mile round of last year's season, and will be the sole rider on the team for the upcoming 2014 season. Photo courtesy of the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team.

 

 

 

 

 

“We are proud of both product and financial participation from our sponsors.  We are very confident in our ability to finish well in each event with the team and quality sponsors that we have assembled.  It is going to be a fun year. ” reported team co-owner Michael Lloyd. 

 

Product sponsors include K&N Engineering, Vortex, Silkolene,  Mr. Sign, Yuasa Battery, BrakeTech, RaceImage, NCR, Saddlemen, RaceTech, Pro 1 Industries, Stauffer Motors, Arai Helmets, Sidi Boots, TLD, Eurosports, Diamond Chain, VMC Racing Frames, CV4,  NJK, Works Connection, RHC, Smith, Xceldyne and Scott Powersports.

 

To learn more about the team like Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Parkinson Brother’s Racing and Jake Johnson #5 on facebook.

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Release on Colonial Downs Round 9 at the Virginia Mega-Mile & How Adding Jake Johnson Saved AMA Pro Flat Track & Created a Super Team

Round 8 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season saw the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team show up with twice the horsepower and firepower in terms of bikes and riders, when 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson made his 'official' debut with the team alongside long-time team stalwart and 2-Time AMA Grand National Singles Champion Henry Wiles.

When Johnson announced just shy of a month ago that he was departing with the Zanotti Racing team, the team in which he claimed his dual championships with in the 2010-2011 seasons, the ripple effect was being felt across the board in the ranks of the AMA Pro Flat Track teams, riders and sponsors.  And when Johnson dropped the 'retirement' word in a video interview with Flat Track Live just before the Castle Rock TT round early this month, a black hole was beginning to develop in what could have surely been one of the biggest losses to the sport, should that have happened.

Thankfully, due to the quick thinking and working of the Lloyd Brothers team and it's new for 2013 crew chief, Brent Armbruster, and the very understanding and supportive sponsors that the team has showcased their talent with over the last few seasons, the boys at LBM dropped the hammer and made the wheels spin in order to add Johnson to their already strong and high profile team alongside proven and reliable rider Wiles. 

Within literally hours, the team had made the decision, wheels were put into motion, and everyone on the team had assumed a new level of responsibility in order to get things ready for their new teamster in time for the Indy Mile round on August 17.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and countless hours of work and many a night of restless, or no sleep, the team rolled into the Indiana State Fairgrounds-hosted event with a compliment of artillery ready to do battle on one of the fastest and most fabled venues that the series has visited on and off for decades.

Two bright and shiny Ducatis carrying the #5 were alongside the already stable lineup of two #17's, one of which was added to their strong line up earlier this season in the form of a new Harley-Davidson XR750, owned by sponsor Ramspur Winery and maintained by crew chief and XR master to the wrench turners Armbruster, as well as the already recognizable big red Ducati (all seen above at Indy on August 17.)

If the Lloyd boys had no intention of creating a 'super team' in the process, something surely was amiss, but deep down the two brothers who have campaigned, supported and ridden in The Rolling Thunder Show for several decades had to have known ahead of time that that was what they were doing.

Not to mention the fact that AMA Pro Flat Track would have lost one of it's top stars if Johnson had exercised the 'retirement' issue as mentioned, but the fans, teams and sponsors throughout the sport would have felt ripples the size of a tsunami should that have occurred.  And through it all, not only was the sport saved, Johnson was on board with a team capable of winning and the team had through the storm created AMA Pro Flat Track's version of a Super Team.

When first practice was about to happen at Indy (seen above), Johnson on the #5 Ramspur Winery/Foremost Insurance/ENI USA Ducati and Wiles, aboard the #17 like-sponsored XR750, were first in line to be ready to hit the track.  The buzz alongside the two venerable veterans was akin to that of a junkie getting his first fix.  For the first time in 3 1/2 years, Johnson was astride a machine unlike the powerhouse XRs he campaigned for Dave Zanotti, and Wiles for the first time in years (or ever!) was alongside a team mate on shared equipment.

With The Hammer having first choice of machinery, the team made the decision to allow Wiles to practice on the Ramspur XR, in hopes of improving his position of 2nd-place at the time in the overall championship standings, while Jake was aboard one of the team's landmark Ducatis, both with the new for 2013 yellow and red paint jobs, gleaming in the afternoon sun as if both were getting ready for an old style western gunfight at the Indy 'OK Corral.'

And although their finishes at the end of the day were weren't what they or the Lloyd Brothers had hoped or yearned for (Wiles nabbed a 7th-place finish on the XR in the 25-lap National main, while Johnson fought equipment and electrical issues throughout the night, taking his place in the National with a provisional that afforded him an 11th-place finish at Indy), the team had made their mark on the track and with the fans, and had opened a new page in racing history to the mavens of fans attending the races that evening.

Hope was seen, battles were fought, and the LBM crew came out still breathing, although for the sake of a better way of stating, with a lot of equipment issues to work out before the next round at Colonial Downs in less than a week.

By the time round 9 of the season arrived on Saturday, August 24, the team was back and ready to do battle, and what a battle it was, let alone what an improvement seen across the board in just shy of one week.

Wiles started the 18-lap National main in New Kent from the back row, signaling just before the sighting lap that his Ducati wasn't running to spec, missing on one cylinder until revved high enough to clear out whatever malady had almost overshadowed what was to come.  And over come he did, as within the first laps, the motor had cleared out, and The Hammer was in the process of doing so as well, eventually working his way to within just shy of two seconds behind Colonial Downs winner Jared Mees, and rode the long, dusty route in Virginia to the middle spot on the podium.  And Johnson, in just his second ride on the team's Ducati, had carded a solid 7th-place finish in front of a packed house on the east coast.

With the newly updated team heading in the right direction, Johnson's addition to the team can only be viewed as a big positive for the series and to the LBM crew.  With his different style of riding and development background in the sport, his input can and will surely add to Henry's quest for the title, which now only resides 17 points in arrears of overall championship leader Brad Baker.  Johnson and Wiles working together for Henry's benefit will not only benefit the team's quest to garner that big #1 plate for The Hammer, but will help further move along what few small steps are needed to put the team on the very top rung of the ladder on a regular basis-for now, and for the future. 

And THAT will not only benefit the great crew from the LBM camp, but also the fans, sponsors and teams throughout the paddock in the greatest racing show on two wheels in the world.  Positives for all.

Team co-owners Dave and Mike Lloyd (shown above at the Springfield Mile I round in May 2012) are the brain trusts behind the deal that saved AMA Pro Flat Track and also helped to improve theirs and rider Henry Wiles chances of grabbing that #1 plate for the 2013 season.  With the poking, prodding and encouragement of crew chief Brent Armbruster, the team took on a big challenge from what they had been used to for years of campaigning great and diverse equipment in The Rolling Thunder Show.

Two of the most knowledgeable and nicest guys in the AMA Pro Flat Track pit area, the Columbus, Ohio natives and Buckeye Brothers have created and set the level for what a sponsor's dream team would and should be in racing.

And for several years as a sideline, they even took it upon themselves to campaign their quality Aprilia road racers in the AMA Pro Road Racing Moto ST Series during their spare time, walking away with two #1 plates in the process.  No easy task for anyone or any groups of anyone.

During the upcoming rounds 10 & 11 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season at the Springfield Mile I & II on Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1, take the time to drop in and see them during the fan walks at the Illinois State Fairgrounds-hosted mega event.

These guys are very welcoming, very friendly, and very thankful for their fans, for their sponsors and for the sport as a whole.  They have gone overboard in campaigning some of the nicest equipment in the series and have set the bar in the series for what and how to campaign a team and bring back to those same fans and sponsors what is put into it.

And almost surprisingly, after all these years and all the countless hours, days, and weeks of sleepless nights, they're still having fun while doing it, and it shows!

Check out the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports press release below as they share their great results from Colonial Downs last weekend, and don't be surprised if they improve even more before the season is out, and maybe even grab ahold of that big #1 plate to stick on the front of Hammerin' Hank's mount by seasons' end.  Only time will tell......


Press release courtesy of the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Twins Series Championship team.

Note-for best viewing results, right click/open new window.

Preview of Round 7 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship as We Head to the Peoria TT

The 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season amps it up another notch tomorrow as The Rolling Thunder Show heads to Thunder Valley for the Peoria Motorcycle Club-hosted round 7 at the Peoria TT.

In what is gearing up to be another great day of racing at the long-time event on the series' calendar, 8-Time Peoria TT winner Henry Wiles, the '09-'10 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Singles Series Champion, leads the field into Peoria with a big 'X' on his back as he tries to make it a record-setting ninth win in-a-row.  With six different winners for each of the first six events of the season in the Expert-ranked class, Hammerin' Hank could possibly be another winner for the season.  With his current 3rd-place in the overall standings, Henry could make a big jump up the standings with another win tomorrow.

Needless to say, there are a big handful of riders that are hoping to break that string of eight-straight wins established last year by The Hammer, which tied him with Chris 'The Prince of Peoria' Carr for the most wins in-a-row at the fabled facility.

Among them include defending 2012 AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees, who comes off a monster 2nd-place finish at last weekend's Castle Rock TT after earlier in the evening pitching his #1 Montgomeryville Cycle Honda into the ground and knocking his shoulder out of socket.  The Jammer made a superman recovery after popping it back into place and fighting for the podium in what can only be viewed as a ride that champions are made of after nearly suffering another blow to the defense of his title, after earlier in the season breaking his arm and missing the Hagerstown round due to those injuries.  Mees has long wanted to knock the reigning Peoria champ off of the top rung of the podium at Peoria, and if his physical ability allows him, will be looking to make that happen tomorrow afternoon.

Bryan Smith, who along with his Crosley/Howerton Honda team, got his best-ever finish in a Grand National TT event last week at Castle Rock with a superb 6th-place finish, which also allowed him to move into the 2nd-place overall spot in the championship hunt, 27 points behind series leader Brad Baker (111-84.)  Baker, who is having a career year with a win at Hagerstown on the Dodge Brothers XR and a finish of no worse than 5th-place in the first six rounds of the season, will also be looking to step atop the top rung of the podium and increase his lead in the series standings.  And The Bullet and his Specialty Fabrication Honda are always in the running during the Singles Series events on the circuit's calendar as shown by his monster rides earlier in the season at Daytona I&II and last week's 5th-place effort in his home state.

Sammy Halbert, who has owned the Castle Rock event the previous three seasons and has always run strong at Peoria, had an off-night last weekend in his home state.  But knowing The Slammer that won't make his efforts tomorrow any different than what he has produced the last three years at Peoria, having posted finishes of 3rd, 3rd and 5th-place the last three seasons in Thunder Valley.  Look for Sammy and his Fredericktown Yamaha to be in the mix for the podium spots.

Local favorite Rob Pearson finally broke through to win on his home track last month during the Steve Nace Racing All-Star round, and has always run strong during the Grand National events, but will he have what it takes to bring the Iowa-based Weirbach Racing Honda team it's first AMA Grand National win at Peoria tomorrow?

Jeffrey Carver, Jr., took the win at Castle Rock last Saturday, and the third year Expert now knows the taste of victory as a top-ranked rider in The Rolling Thunder Show and also could be considered among those to knock The Hammer off of his record-setting quest.  Will the 2010 Pro Singles Champion have what it takes for the second week in-a-row?

New Zanotti Racing signee and former AMA Pro Flat Track Rookie of the Year, Steve Bonsey, should also be considered a threat after taking a hard-fought 3rd-place last weekend at Castle Rock and putting on a text book pass during his heat race that was also a move that racing legends are made of.  Bonsey has proved in the last couple of off-seasons he has what it takes on the 450s as well as the Twins rides (#80 has two AMA Grand National wins under his belt at Calistoga and Tucson) while riding Zanotti-prepped bikes in the Gene Romero WCFTS events. 

Also look for early-season points leader and Daytona Short Track II winner Brandon Robinson to turn it around on his TJ Burnett Farms Kawasaki.  Although admittedly the TT events have never been his strong suit, missing the event at Castle Rock last weekend was a big blow to his title hopes and dropped him a couple more spots in the overall standings.

And although there are several other riders that could make their mark tomorrow at Peoria (including second year Expert, Briar Bauman, who had 2nd-place all but locked up and was going for the win when he crashed out at Castle Rock), or at least run very strongly, the one at the top of that list is former Zanotti rider and '10-'11 AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson.

After announcing just before last weekend's event at Castle Rock that he was splitting from the powerhouse Zanotti Racing team, Johnson took part in the TT event in Washington while riding a Brown's Cycle Honda.  Scheduled to take part in tomorrow's Peoria event aboard a Parkinson Brothers ride, the real big news is Jake's signing with the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team for the remainder of the series schedule as a team mate to Henry Wiles on the potent Ducati.  Of course, Jake has some great finishes at Peoria, so before he gets to try out that new ride on the slick red Ducs at Indy in another week's time, he will also be looking to be in the mix again tomorrow after a lackluster (for him!) finish of 17th in Washington State.

In the shot above from round 14 of the 2011 season at the Peoria TT, the Grand National main event is ready to go as front row gets their last minute adjustments before heading out on a sighting lap to get ready for the 25-lap National main in Thunder Valley.

(L-R) Bryan Smith gets some help from his Dad, Barry on his #42 Fasthog.com Honda CRF450R, Sammy Halbert snugs on his helmet straps as his brother and tuner Andy holds the #7 Fredericktown Yamaha YZ450F, Rob Pearson gets a grip on his #27 Matt Reecy Racing Yamaha, Jake Johnson is his usual picture of calm on the #1 Zanotti Racing Honda, Jared Mees (just out of picture) has his #9 Montgomeryville Cycle Honda steadied and readied by his then-tuner Brent Armbruster, and Henry Wiles concentrates heavily on the #17 Don's Kawasaki KX450F while Will Fulford of The Fast and Dirty.com makes some last second adjustments to his video equipment.

With the weather only calling for a 20% chance of showers tomorrow, hopefully the early season Midwest rain outs and postponements are behind us.

If you are in the area, the Peoria TT is a must-see event on the season and one that should surely be on any racing fan's bucket list.  But if you can't make it, follow along with AMA Pro Flat Track's Live Timing & Scoring and Live Streaming, and also be sure to tune into Miriam Deitcher's always excellent event coverage on her Flat Track Live page to stay in the know throughout the day's events.

Be sure and check out AMA Pro Flat Track's official preview release below for tomorrow's event, as first practice is scheduled to roll off at 11:30 ET/10:30 CT in Peoria.  You don't want to miss a thing as the greatest racing series on two wheels in the world heads to the Peoria TT for round 7 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season.

AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Visits Peoria for Round 7

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 8, 2013) - Following a quick swing up the west coast, AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles heads into the second half of the 2013 season. The return to the Midwest and the venerable Peoria TT will mark race seven of the 13 race series. The Peoria Motorcycle Club has hosted Grand National motorcycle races on their club grounds, PMC Race Park, since 1947.

 

 

Last week's winner at the Castle Rock TT, Jeffrey Carver, Jr. #23 takes the outside line with 8-Time Peoria TT winner Henry Wiles #17, Luke Gough #62 and Sammy Halbert #7 fight it out coming out of turn one during heat race #1 in last year's annual running of the Peoria TT.  Wiles is considered the hands-on favorite to set an all-time record of nine-straight wins in tomorrow's running of round 7 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season as the stars of The Rolling Thunder Show head to Thunder Valley at the Peoria Motorcycle Club-hosted event in Peoria, Il.  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.

 

 

 

To say Winn, Michigan's Henry Wiles has taken a liking to the .6 mile track would be a serious understatement, as the 27-year-old Don's Kawasaki rider has won the last eight races in dominating fashion at the historic venue. Wiles comes into the event sitting third in the overall point standings and will look to improve on that lead with another big performance at PMC Race Park.

 

Though Wiles is the clear-cut favorite to nine-peat this weekend, winning will be no easy task. 

 

Dryad, Washington's Brad Baker has been in rare form all season long and looks to be a man on a mission in 2013. Baker, who hasn't finished outside the top five in any of the season's first six main events, will be looking to build on his already strong lead in the point standings at Peoria.

 

Baker won't be the only rider aiming to knock Wiles off of his impressive streak of victories, as Clio, Michigan native and defending Grand National Champion Jared Mees looked very stout on his 450cc Honda CRF450R last weekend at Castle Rock. Mees comes into the weekend with back-to-back podium finishes after starting off the season fairly slow and will be looking to give Wiles all he can handle.

 

Another intriguing storyline heading into this weekend's event is Coatesville, New Jersey's Jake Johnson's recent signing with Lloyd Brothers Racing. Johnson, who won two Grand National Championships with Zanotti Racing, parted ways with the team just before the Castle Rock TT last weekend where he finished 17th on Salinas, Califnornia's Briar Bauman's backup bike. Johnson currently sits sixth in the overall point standings and could use a strong effort at Peoria to get him back into championship contention.

 

Quite possibly the most unpredictable rider thus far in 2013 has to be Oxford, Pennsylvania's Brandon Robinson. The 23-year-old has shown us glimpses of tremendous ability and talent - for example, when he won at Daytona and was the current points leader for the first three rounds. 

 

However, Robinson has also bewildered us on several occasions - for example, when he failed to qualify for the Castle Rock TT main event last weekend. It will be interesting to see which Brandon Robinson will show up this Saturday at Peoria as his current fourth place position in the overall points is certainly within striking distance of Baker's grip of first.

 

AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles

 

The AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles class is led by Mead, Washington's Wyatt Maguire (Kirkland Racing/Yamaha YZ 450F). Maguire, who finished sixth in the points last season, will be looking to build on his 12 point lead in the standings at Peoria after not having raced in the main event here last year.

 

Coming off a big win at the Castle Rock TT, Brisbane, Califnornia's Dominic Colindres is primed for another strong effort at Peoria this year after having won the Pro Singles race here a year ago. After getting off to a slow start, Colindres has gotten hot as of late and looks to roll over that momentum into this weekend's showdown at Peoria. Another rider who got off to a slow start but is beginning to heat up again is Davison, Michigan native and defending AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles Champion Stephen Vanderkuur.Vanderkuur has finished in the top five in three of the last four races and with a second-place finish here a year ago, the 21-year-old looks to be hitting his stride at just the right time.

 

About AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles

AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles is a national motorcycle racing series in North America and is considered one of the oldest forms of motorcycle racing. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, the Series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track racing in the world. The 2013 schedule consists of rounds on the country's finest flat track courses. For more information on AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles, please visit www.amaproracing.com/ft.

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