You Can Own Aaron Yates' Michael Jordan Motorsports AMA Superbike That Sat On the Pole at Daytona: No Joke, and At a Pretty Fair Price as Well

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Aaron Yates can be seen working at the desk in the background center of the picture as his #20 Michael Jordan Motorsports/Jordan Brand/American Suzuki/Dunlop-backed GSX-R1000 AMA Superstock and AMA Superbike machines are attended to over the AMA Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader round at Road America in June of 2008.
Yates qualified the #20 Superstock bike in the 2nd spot for the weekend, and also finished 2nd in the main event. He went on to win the 2008 AMA Superstock Series presented by DynoJet Championship with five wins and five second-place finishes over runner-up and team mate Geoff May, by 64 points 348-284. For the premier Superbike class, he qualified in the 7th spot and carded 6th/8th place finished in the doubleheader round. He finished out the season in the 9th position overall.
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Gemini Racing out of Wisconsin is responsible for building the AMA Superbikes for the Michael Jordan Motorsports AMA Road Racing Series program, and is offering up the '2010' models after the year-end event at Barber Motorsports Park, in Leeds, AL., after the September 24-26th weekend. Of course, due to the economy, Suzuki supposedly didn't import any 2010 models for this year and was going to sell-off the remaining stock of 2009 units. Same was to have been said and done for the AMA Superbike Series, they were to have used the 2009 models as the homologation units required for the class this season. Just sayin since these ARE being advertised as of this writing as '2010' models. They of course could be meaning and be saying for the '2010' season-spec machines, which per the AMA rules SHOULD be 2009 models.

That being said, some real sweet AMA Superbike machines are going to be up for the person, or persons, who walk in and plunk down the necessary funds-advertised to be in the $14-20K range-which would depend on what configuration you want when you go to pick them up. These are the same bikes that Aaron Yates put on the pole in the season opening round at Daytona and also carded two fourth-place finishes with back in March at the World Center of Racing, finishing only .292 seconds behind team mate and winner Jake Zemke in race one, and .212 seconds behind him again in the second race of the doubleheader round.

Unfortunately, Aaron's season ultimately came to a premature end at the Fontana round a couple of weeks later due to a severe leg break suffered in a morning warm-up session. As a result, Canadian sensation and '09 Canadian Superbike runner-up Brett McCormick was drafted to fill the open seat for the team, and has progressed quite nicely through the season to a best finish of fourth place in race two at VIR back in August.

So, if you find yourself in the market for a current spec AMA Superbike, check out the link below to get in contact with the folks at Gemini to get yourself on the list for these race-proven and winning machines!
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Gemini Racing's link to the info on the sale of the '2010' AMA Superbikes as campaigned by Aaron Yates #23 and Brett McCormick #45. They are based out of East Troy, WI. and have put together quite a nice set-up. Here's the pricing and availability info on the sale of these top notch AMA Superbikes that will be for sale after the Barber Motorsports Park season finale over the Sept. 24-26 weekend:

http://www.gemini-racing.com/Bikes_for_Sale.html
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Michael Jordan Motorsports official site:

http://23race.com/jordansuzuki.html
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AMA Flat Track Minnesota Mile Review; The Tide Has Turned in the AMA Grand National Championship Point Standings

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Jake Johnson sits in the pits at the Springfield Mile on Sunday, September 5th overlooking his #5 Zanotti Racing/Leo Vince/Arai/Tucker Rocky-backed XR. Jersey Jake finished 3.374 seconds back of winner Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. at the Minnesota Mile on Saturday night, and due to Joe Kopp's misfortune (more later) took the lead in the overall standings in the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship hunt. He also won his heat and got second in the Dash to Chris Carr on the night, adding four more valuable points to his overall tally.
After being in the 2nd or 3rd spot in the overall championship hunt since early in the summer, Johnson has taken what at one time was an 18 point deficit and turned it into a 10 point advantage, and lead over Joe Kopp, 265-255. With the half mile in Knoxville, IA. this coming Saturday, and the mile event in Arizona in October the only events left on the 2010 calendar, the tide has turned in the championship hunt and now JJ is the hunted.

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The Rogers Lake/Blue Springs H-D/Rockysonline.com/Lucas Oil Team of #1 defending Twins Champ Jared Mees gets his XR ready for final qualifying at Springfield while Jammin Jared (center of shot) overlooks the changes. Mees has been as consistent as can be this year, and carded another fine podium finish at Canterbury Park on Saturday night with another great run to 3rd place, second in his heat to winner Johnson, and 4th in the Dash for the evening. He now lies 3rd in the overall championship standings with 246, 19 points back of new leader Jake Johnson.
Of the six men in the top 6 of the overall championship hunt, Jared is the only rider to not have won a race yet in 2010. He's done it on ability, good solid runs, well-prepared machinery and consistency, proving that it doesn't matter where we race, The Jammer will be there. And the season isn't over yet, although he won the '09 Twins Championship without a series win. Can he do it in the overall this year? Time will tell. And he's sitting pretty in the standings to be there in case someone else makes a mistake.

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Chris Carr gets ready to hop on his #4 Lancaster H-D/DFW Honda/Wiseco Pistons/Arai-backed XR at Springfield on Sunday, September 5th for final qualifying. His Kenny Tolbert-tuned (handing off his primary machine to The Prince of Peoria) bikes have helped the former 7-Time Grand National Champion surge to the front as of late helping him to win three Dash for Cash events in a row in the Twins Series, including his win on the Minnesota Mile in
Shakopee the other night. Add to it his strong run home in the main in 7th place, and Carr is adding to his strong year-end run in the series, where he now sits in the 7th overall spot with 190 points.

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Shawn Baer put the #32 Bonneville Performance/Marines/Wiseco Pistons/Motion Pro-sponsored Triumph in the main for the fourth time this year in the Twins class, and for the first time in the top 10 with a fine run into 9th place, his and the team's best-ever finish in the AMA Pro Flat Track Series Twins Series. The lone Triumph campaigning the 2010 season, Shawn has done an admirable job of learning the bike and the tracks on his Bonneville SE 865-based mount. He now sits in the 28th spot in the overall championship with 28 points, all earned in his four twins appearances this year. Bravo to Shawn and the Bonneville Performance Triumph team!
With Saturday night's 18 rider field being filled with six different manufacturers, the diversity level in AMA Pro Flat Track is at an all-time high. H-D, Triumph, KTM, Kawasaki, Ducati and Suzuki were all represented in the main event in what has been a very exciting year in terms of the makes that can and have contested the series this year.

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Three riders who all had pivotal turns in their quest for the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship this weekend in Minnesota get ready to roll out for final qualifying at the Springfield Mile over Labor Day Weekend.
Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. took the #2 H-D Motor Co/Screamin Eagle/Arai/Fox-backed factory XR750 to the win at Canterbury Park over runner-up Jake Johnson by 3.374 seconds after taking the lead half way into the race over a battling Johnson and earlier-battling Matt Weidman. It was The King of Cool's first win this season, his first since the Lucas Oil Indy Mile in August of 2009, and it helped to move him up to 5th in the overall championship standings with 231 points, just 34 points back of new-series leader Jake Johnson. He also won his heat and came home 5th in the Dash for Cash behind winner Chris Carr. Kenny was quoted as saying that the track finally came to him and his bike and he was able to get around early-leaders Johnson and Weidman into the lead and take it home on top of the box for the night.
Joe Kopp on the #3 Latus H-D/Lloyd Bros/American Agip/MotoConcepts-sponsored Ducati went the other way, unfortunately. Finishing 3rd in his heat behind winner Johnson and second-place Mees, Kopp was running in the top eight when he reportedly lost a chain, dropping him to 16th on the night with only 3 points scored for this event. He now trails Johnson by 10 points, 265-255 in the overall standings with only two events left, after having as much as an 18 point lead just a few events ago.
As of this writing, Smokin Joe isn't pre-entered for the Knoxville Half Mile this coming Saturday, but it will be interesting to see if he jumps back on his Latus XR for this event, just like he did in winning the Hagerstown and Lake Odessa Half Miles earlier in the season. He ran the Ducati at Lima earlier this season for a 9th place finish, and at Calistoga brought the XR home in 7th in the main after his crash in the heat when the swingarm pivot broke.
Sammy Halbert had the worst weekend of anyone, as he was forced to sit out this round due to what was considered rough riding in a semi race at the Springfield Short Track round over Labor Day weekend. AMA Pro Flat Track Manager Mike Kidd exercised the suspension on Slammin Sammy earlier in the week, stating that he had not only been warned about his rough riding, but that he had also been on probation since the Springfield round in late May. As a result, the defending overall champ was forced to park his #7 Kings Kustoms/Nelson Racing/KK Motorcycle Supply/AGV-sponsored XR for the weekend, leaving him with the 228 points he had amassed through the Springfield rounds, and dropping him to 6th in the overall standings.

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Bryan Smith's #42 Werner Springsteen/Monster Energy/Wossner Pistons/SuperTrapp-backed Kawasakis sit in the pits before final qualifying at the Springfield Mile over Labor Day weekend. Flyin Bryan was shut out in his bid to win three Twins events in a row after his fine performances the prior two weekends in Springfield and Indy. However he did finish 3rd in his heat at Canterbury Park behind winner Matt Weidman and runner-up Rob Pearson, to earn a direct transfer to the main, and a fine finish of 6th place. He now sits 8th in the overall championship hunt with 177 points. The Bill Werner-tuned machine was one of two Kawasakis that made the field in Minnesota, the other ridden by Scott Powersports rider #10 Johnny Lewis, who also finished inside the top 10 with an 8th place finish (see more on this rider below).

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Mick Kirkness' #87 Dave Burks Motorsports/Yeager Cycles/F&S H-D/Memphis Shades-sponsored Suzuki sits in the pit area next to his XR at Springfield. The Man From Down Under put the Suzuki in the field in Shakopee via his 3rd place in the semi, and brought it home in the 14th spot in the main. He now sits 12th in the overall championship hunt with 79 points.
Waters Autobody Racing/Arlen Ness/Digger Helm/5-Star Fab & Steel-sponsored #49 Chad Cose also put a Suzuki in the main, but only was credited with one lap and a finish of 18th in the main.

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Two men getting ready to roll out for practice at Springfield who both had good results in Minnesota, just not the results they could have had or would have wanted.
Henry Wiles on the #17 KK Motorcycle Supply/Mike & Eddie Adkins/Don Kissinger Racing/Saddlemen-backed XR was running away with heat 2 at Canterbury Park when he suffered an unknown mechanical and was relegated to 7th and a spot in the semi, where he promptly took the lead and the win to put it in the main, but having to start on the back row. Hammerin Hank, who just the weekend before had sowed up his second Singles Championship before winning the short track main in Springfield, got a monster start and worked his way through the pack to finish 4th in the main and move up to 4th in the overall championship standings with 239 points, 26 behind leader Johnson. And to think he didn't make the main at Indy where he might be if he had!?
Fast-all-night-long man Matt Weidman on his #20 GCR/White's H-D/SNIP/Silkolene/Shoe-backed XR set fast time, won the fastest heat and got 3rd in the Dash on his way to the main on the Minnesota Mile cushion. In what was looking like a superb finish by the New Yorker, his run at the front while battling with early leader Jake Johnson was derailed by the dirty track and a faulty tear off on his helmet, limiting his visibility in the main to a 5th place finish. Smart riding by this youngster with the million dollar smile as a result of his tear-off malady also helped him to move up a notch in the overall standings to 9th place with 108 points. And we know he's knocking at the door of that first Grand National win.

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The #82B KTM machine of Jeremy Higgins sits in the pits at Springfield over Labor Day weekend. Jeremy put the Waters Auto Body Racing/Power Sports Institute/Arlen Ness Leathers/Bell Helmets-sponsored KTM into the main event on the Canterbury Park Mile last Saturday via a direct transfer to the main with a 3rd place in the second heat behind winner Coolbeth and runner-up Carr. He then made AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National history by not only putting the first KTM into a Twins event, but by bringing it home in the 12th spot in the process. He also qualified for his first Grand National race of the year (and his career!) and will get a 'solid' number for next year. Bravo to Jeremy and the Waters Auto Body Team for a fine night and a great run in helping to diversify AMA Pro Flat Track Racing.

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The Scott Powersports/Cycle Dynamics/K&N Filters/Pit Posse-sponsored Kawasaki of #10 Johnny Lewis gets some attention by one of the team's techs in the pits at Springfield last weekend. Lewis was the second of two Kawasakis in the field at Canterbury Park on Saturday (Bryan Smith #42 being the other) and got fourth in his heat behind Johnson, Mees and Kopp to earn his direct transfer to the main, where he brought it home in the 8th spot on the evening. He now lies 10th in the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National overall point standings with 103 points.
With the six makes (H-D, Ducati, Suzuki, KTM, Triumph and Kawasaki) that made up the main event at the Minnesota Mile, the series is looking more and more varied as the season goes on with the rules that have been established to allow the varied makes to compete on the GN Championship trail. Not since the early-mid '70s have we seen this many makes/models competing in AMA Flat Track, and it further proves that the series is on a major upswing with good close racing. And with three brands claiming wins in the Twins events this year shows just how tough it is and how far the series has come in just a few short years, if not months! Hats off to Mike Kidd and Company, the AMA, the promoters and fans, and the racers and sponsors for helping to turn the ship in the U.S. series and putting it back at the top of the must-see racing list where it should be. Bravo!

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With the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series round 15 in Minnesota in the bag, the series turns to the ultra-fast half mile in Knoxville, Iowa this coming Saturday night. With a new overall point leader in former 2-Time Singles Champion Jake Johnson, Joe Kopp dropping to 2nd in the hunt due to a mechanical, and defending overall champion Sammy Halbert having served his suspension and being relegated to the 6th spot in the championship hunt, the 2010 version of the best racing show on two wheels hits the Sprint Car Capital of the World for the first of two remaining events on the 2010 calendar. And as fast as this series moves, you better be there to keep up with it or it will leave you sitting in your seat long after the checkered flag flies for the season finale at the
Arizona Mile in October.

All of the highlights, on-the-scene shots and race results from the AMA's return to the Canterbury Park Mile can be read below. And check out the coverage from all of the different sources this week. The news is getting around about how good this stuff really is! Right on!

But don't go away, cuz Saturday will be here before you know it and the racing will be faster and more furious again as the racers go for it until the end in what has to be the best year of racing and competition that AMA Flat Track has seen in some time. Stay tuned for more fun! Stu's Shots will bring you all the updates from AMA Flat Track's return to Knoxville Raceway this weekend so don't stray to far away!
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Motorcycle-USA.com filed this report (with a few pics!) on round 15 of the AMA Pro Flat Track stop at the Minnesota Mile in Shakopee, MN.:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/504/7921/Motorcycle-Article/2010-Flat-Track-Minneapolis-Mile-Results.aspx
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Cycle News Online is still happening, and the put up this report on the Minnesota Mile round of the AMA Flat Track Series:
http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/flat-track/2010/09/11/coolbeth-gets-his-first-of-the-year
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Dan Kalal runs a motorcycle trip review website and also put in this post with some pics from the stands over at the FlatTrack.com forum. Looks like a good crowd and a great facility:

http://www.flattrack.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=46&func=view&id=114040&catid=3


Here's Dan's site--and thanks for the great report as well, Dan. Hats off!

http://www.dankalal.net/index.htm
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Flat Track Today.com put up Kenny Coolbeth, Jr.'s report on his win at Canterbury Park from Saturday night. They may add more reports on the race as the week goes on:

http://flattracktoday.com/mn.html
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Ultimate Motorcycling.com has this report from the AMA with results and a few pics as well:

http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/2010/minnesota-mile-ama-flat-track-results
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Most of the time 2WF.com sticks pretty much with the road racing coverage, but they have the story as released by the AMA up on their site:

http://www2.2wf.com/index.php/topnews/642-coolbeth-returns-to-winning-ways
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Dave Hoenig has a super place to go for great flat track coverage and photos. He also serves as the official photog for AMA Pro Flat Track and has been writing their race reports lately as well. Here's his official site on the web, Flat Trak Fotos.com that has all of the results (and within a few days after the event some fine pictures, as well) from the Minnesota Mile at Canterbury Park:

http://www.flattrakfotos.com/2010%20Results/RESULTS%209-11-10.html
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Here are Dave's photos from Canterbury Park over at AMA Pro Flat Track's site:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/multimedia/gallery.cfm?gid=4052
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Road Racer X.com has also been putting up some race reports for AMA Flat Track as well, and they had this up earlier today:

http://www.roadracerx.com/breaking-news/coolbeth-tops-canterbury-mile-pic/
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One of Dean Adams' crew over at SuperBikePlanet.com made it to the race. Since Dean is located in Red Wing, and no major road racing was going on in North America, I have a feeling that he just used one of his aliases in posting these shots from the horse track in Shakopee:

http://superbikeplanet.com/image/archive/minnmile2010/1/
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AMA Pro Flat Track Canterbury Mile main results:

http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/events/results.cfm?eid=2010021075


AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship overall point standings:

http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/events/standings.cfm?class=gn&c=gc


AMA Pro Flat Track event PDF results--great resource for all events on the day!

http://results.amaproracing.com/pdfresults/ft/2010/16-canterbury/
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Kenny Coolbeth Wins AMA Flat Track Minnesota Mile and Jake Johnson Takes Over the Points Lead

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Kenny Coolbeth, Jr.'s #2 Screamin Eagle/Harley Davidson Motor Co/Arai/Fox-backed factory XR sits ready for action with a team tech just before introductions of the main event at the Springfield Mile on Sunday, September 5th. The King of Cool put it to them tonight at Canterbury Park to take his first win of the season, and his first since he won the Lucas Oil Indy Mile in August of 2009. He also moved up to 5th in the hunt for the overall AMA Pro Flat Track Championship standings with 231 points, 34 behind new series leader Jake Johnson.
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Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. took his first win of the season tonight at the Minnesota Mile at the Canterbury Park horse track in round 15 of the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series. Taking the lead from early leader Jake Johnson on the #5 Zanotti Racing XR on lap 15, the King of Cool went on to win over Jersey Jake by 3.373 seconds.

With Johnson's 2nd place finish, and Joe Kopp on the #3 Ducati only managing a 16th place finish, Jake is the new leader in the overall championship standings over Kopp, 265-255. Jared Mees came home 3rd on the evening, and rounds out the top 3 in the standings with 246 points heading into round 16 next weekend at the Sprint Car Capital of the World in Knoxville, IA.

We will have more on the race and the race to the championship after the weekend is over. You can check out race results and new point standings below. This thing is getting great! Don't go away whatever you do!
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AMA Pro Flat Track Canterbury Park Minnesota Mile results:



http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/results.cfm?year=2010&eid=2010021075&discipline=FT&class=GN&type=F&rnum=1&class_sort=all
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AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Overall Point Standings after round 15 with two rounds to go for the 2010 season:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/standings.cfm?class=gn&c=gc
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AMA Flat Track Canterbury Park Mile Round 15 Happening Today

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Riders and bikes make and get their final adjustments just before the final qualifying session at the Springfield Mile round 14 on Sunday, September 5th at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series is winding down to the last three events of the season, and the bombshell thrown out this week by the AMA Pro Flat Track team in suspending defending overall GN Champ Sammy Halbert #7 for this upcoming round threw a big wrench in the fight for the overall championship standings that surely will have major repurcussions throughout the rest of the series run this year in determining the final overall champion.
Shown in the shot above are four of the five men and teams involved in the top five of the overall standings. In the back you have former 3-Time Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen standing and talking next to Indy and Springfield winner Bryan Smith's #42 Werner/
Springsteen Monster Energy/Wossner Pistons/SuperTrapp/Millenium Technologies-backed Kawasaki. Smith sits in the 8th spot in the overall championship hunt with 164 points, and is out of the big hunt, but you obviously can't count him out today with what him and his team have done in winning the last two Twins events at Indy and Springfield on the biggest mile tracks on the schedule.
Next up is defending Twins Champ Jared Mees on his #1 Rogers Lake Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Rockysonline.com/Lucas Oil-backed XR as
he talks with his crew. Mees' run at Springfield to round out the podium was astounding, running with Smith and second-on-the-day Chris Carr up at the front all day. It left him at 4th in the overall standings with 228 points, tied with Slammin Sammy in points. With Halbert's suspension to be met at this round (barring any inclement weather rolling in today, of course), Mees sits in the catbird seat in the overall championship now only 24 points behind leader Joe Kopp and 2nd in the points man Jake Johnson. Mees always runs great on the mile tracks, so keep a very close eye on this young, but veteran charger. He could just be the man to upset the apple cart in the final three rounds beginning today.
Sitting on the #2 Screamin Eagle/Harley Davidson Motor Co/Arai/Fox-backed factory machine is former 3-Time Twins Champ Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. Just in front of the bike in the black shirt with the starter/battery box is The King of Cool's Father, Kenny Coolbeth, Sr. Kenny sits 6th in the overall championship standings with 207 points, and still has an outside shot at claiming the title, and with his 5th place at Springfield and 3rd at Indy in the last two Twins events as evidence that this veteran charger can never be counted out when the chips are down. And you never, ever discount factory horsepower, especially in the hands of someone as talented as this man. Of note, just over Ken, Sr.'s left shoulder is Bill Werner, who is mostly hidden in the shot, but never hidden when it comes to bringing a winning combination to the table.
On the #3 Latus H-D/Lloyd Bros/American Agip/MotoConcepts-backed Joe Kopp-ridden Ducati is one of the Lloyd Bros. techs holding Joe's steed at the ready. Kopp has been leading the overall standings now since late spring, and with 252 points looks to build his gap some more today with a good run at the Minnesota Mile track. One of the only
riders to ride at this track the last time the AMA was in Minnesota in '97, about the only advantage he may have after the grooming of the track this week may be in knowing where the restrooms are. The track is said to have been groomed differently then it was 13 years ago, making for an exciting and fast layout. But don't count Smokin Joe Kopp out, especially if him and the Lloyd Bros. team figure out how to put the HP down on the ground to keep the rear from spinning it up. Even though he has lost 8 points in the last few events, leading is still better then trailing in the points and trying to play catch up. Especially if one rider has a better day then another. Just sayin....
Jake Johnson on the #5 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffers H-D/SuperTrapp/
NJK Leathers-backed XR sits back and eyes the rest of the competition, just as he has been doing all season. Sitting in the 2nd spot in the overall standings with 242 points, and just 10 back from Smokin Joe, Jersey Jake has the best chance in this person's eyes of adding to his 2-Time Singles Championships with the three events remaining. You can never count Jake OR Zanotti out of the picture, and as a team they are as strong as ever. Jake came off the back row at Springfield (having to start there due to a crash in the Dash that forced him to his back-up bike) and made it to the front group and finished 6th on the day, but only .265 seconds back from winner Smith. And with his mastery of the mile, he's sure to be there today and for the final two events after today's Canterbury Park event. For sure don't overlook the Daytona Short Track round 2 winner today or for the other remaining events. And to pique some memories for you other old-timers like myself, Zanotti Racing is the team that took former Rookie of the Year, the late Steve Eklund, to the 1979 Grand National Championship. That is a force that needs to be watched closely regardless of how you throw your dice.
And wrapping up our preview today for the Canterbury Park event is Willy Halbert, father of defending #7 overall champion Sammy Halbert with his Kings Kustoms/KK Motorcycle Supply/Nelson Racing/AGV-sponsored XR. Unfortunately, Willy won't be as busy today in that he will only have brother Jethro's #69 mount to look after today due to the suspension of Slammin Sammy at this round as handed out earlier in the week for what was considered rough riding in the Springfield Short Track semi race last Saturday night.
Per AMA Pro Flat Track Manager Mike Kidd, Sammy had been warned before and was already on probation since the May Springfield round, and due to what was considered a sketchy move by Sammy in that race, MK was forced to sit him out a round to try and help him get back in line. Lying in 3rd in the overall points with 228 (but having the tie breaker over Mees in having won the season opening round at Daytona), the suspension will surely drop him out of the championship fight.
Rounding out the top 5 in the overall championship standings, but not pictured, is 2-Time Singles Champion Henry Wiles, with 224 points. I've been saying all season when this charger gets his Twins program in line with his Singles program, the rest better watch out. He could very well do that with these three rounds remaining, and regardless, you never count out a champion!
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You can follow all the action today online whether you are at the track or at home as the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series comes back to the Canterbury Park Mile in Shakopee, MN., for round 15 of the series.

After a 13 year break, AMA Pro Flat Track returns to the Minnesota Mile horse track and all bets are off once the final events on the day are flagged off. With only three events left in the 2010 season, it's time to talk or shut the h..l up as the best riders in the world, racing in the best motorcycle racing series in the world, go WFO on the mile track today.

Catch all the action here today as The Rolling Thunder Show kicks off with practice at 2:30 EDT today leading up to the run for the championship in the greatest show on wheels.

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The local ABC affiliate in Minneapolis, Eyewitness News Channel 5, had reporters on hand yesterday as Henry Wiles on his #17 Atkins Bros/KK Motorcycle Supply/Don Kissinger Racing-backed XR, along with Minnesota's own Mataya Brothers, ran a few demo laps for the sports report as filed and shown on their local network. Great job in getting the local news to make mention of this great event. Check it out here:

http://kstp.com/sports/stories/S1739413.shtml?cat=7
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AMA Pro Flat Track Canterbury Park Event Live Timing and Scoring:

http://laptraxtg.racersites-cluster.com/LapTraxTG/AMA/livescoring.html?LAPTRAXID=2010021075
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AMA Pro Flat Track Main page:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/
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AMA Pro Flat Track Canterbury Park event page with schedule times and entry lists:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/event.cfm?eid=2010021075
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AMA Pro Flat Track Canterbury Park Round 15 PDF individual race and series results:

http://results.amaproracing.com/pdfresults/ft/2010/16-canterbury/
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Canterbury Park official site from Shakopee, MN.:

http://www.canterburypark.com/
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Canterbury Park schedule and local info:

http://www.canterburypark.com/SpecialEvents/UpcomingEvents/AMA/tabid/386/Default.aspx -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shakopee, MN. local weather courtesy of The Weather Underground:

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=55379
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Where IS Canterbury Park located in Shakopee, MN., and how do I find it? By clicking right here thanks to Google Maps:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1100+Canterbury+Road+South,+Shakopee,+MN+55379&sll=39.823346,-86.33043&sspn=0.007894,0.019205&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=1100+Canterbury+Rd+S,+Shakopee,+Scott,+Minnesota+55379&ll=44.790028,-93.484812&spn=0.014589,0.038409&t=h&z=15
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Local promotional poster put out by the promoters of the AMA Pro Flat Track Canterbury Park Mile round 15 in Shakopee, MN.:

http://www.canterburypark.com/Portals/0/SpecialEvents/MNMile_web.jpg
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Own a Piece of Nicky Hayden, AMA Flat Track and Indy Mile History

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Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, who have put together one heck of an AMA Pro Flat Track race team with the use of the Ducati Hypermotard 1098-based machine as their weapon of choice for the 2010 AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship Series, displays the #69 Lloyd Bros/American Agip/Motion Pro/VMC Racing Frames GNC bike that they set up for Nicky Hayden to ride some demo laps at the Indy Mile on Saturday, August 28th. The bike was on display in the pit area at the Springfield Mile last Sunday, and earlier in the day was sitting behind their pits before they rolled it out for the pitwalk between qualifying and the race action for the day. People were swarming all around it, as it was quite a nice attraction to see that obviously has some neat history behind it.
I heard a couple of versions of how Nicky actually did in terms of times put in on the three laps he did on this at Indy. Supposedly, as timed by hand by one of the top tuners in the business, he cut a 39.2 and someone else had him at a 39.4. Originally said to be good enough that Nicky WOULD have qualified 8th or 9th on the night. But compared to qualifying times--fast time put in by eventual-winner Bryan Smith on the #42 Werner/Springsteen Monster Energy Kawasaki at 37.767 around the one mile oval--Nicky's time would have put him between 20th and 24th depending whether it was a true .2 or .4. Either way, not bad for a guy who hadn't ridden a true flat tracker on a true flat track since 2002.
The plaque as displayed next to the bike last Sunday has been put on eBay, and as of this writing had over 7 days to go in bidding time. Lloyd Brothers Motorsports and Larry Pegram Racing are putting this up and all of the proceeds go to the AirFence Fund for rider safety. A VERY worthy donation that I am sure will help out immensely with maintaining the airfences used in the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series.
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Check out the listing on eBay that Lloyd Brothers Motorsports and Larry Pegram Racing have put together to help out the AMA Flat Track AirFence Fund. A very worthy cause and a neat piece of AMA Flat Track, Nicky Hayden and Indy Mile history, they took one of the great photos taken of Nicky on his three lap demo on the mile oval, added in the number plate they bolted on to one of Joe Kopp's back up machines, got the '02 AMA Superbike and '06 MotoGP World Champion to sign it, and then mounted it on a neat plaque and encased it in a very nice frame. And, the proceeds go to the AirFence Fund to maintain the safety barriers used at the tracks by the AMA Flat Track Series. Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!

All the links to check it out are below. Right on guys! Very cool!
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This is the link to the eBay.com listing of this great plaque that Pegram Racing and The Lloyd Brothers put together for the Airfence Fund. There's still over 7 days (as of Friday 9/10/10 1315 EDT) to get in on this great piece of AMA Flat Track and Nicky Hayden history. And as you can tell from the shot of it sitting next to the bike last Sunday at Springfield it's a real sweet collectible piece.

There's also a couple of shots of Nicky, one on track, and one with him posing with the number plate as was mounted on this plaque on the listing site.

Go here to bid and check it out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180558533942&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT
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Here's the link from YouTube.com of Nicky tearing it up at Indy. It's a fan video so have some patience, but it's worth it just re-living him talking about the ride, and more important that he would be back some day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZrcJyaM6iQ
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Lloyd Brothers Motorsports official site on the web can be found below.

Check them out, they have put together one heck of a team and machine for 2000 AMA Flat Track Grand National Champion Joe Kopp to campaign this season, and in putting this plaque together along with Larry Pegram Racing are doing a really neat thing in auctioning this off for the AirFence Fund. Bravo!

http://www.lloydbrothersmotorsports.com/
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And here is Larry Pegram Racing's official site as well. Larry put on a great ride at Indy that night as well in winning his semi to transfer to the main at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile, and bringing it home in the 12th spot:

http://pegramracing.com/index.php
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Bombshell: AMA Flat Track Suspends Sammy Halbert for One GNC Round

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Sammy Halbert on the #7 Woody Kyle Racing/Fredericktown/Kings Kustoms/Fluid Suspension-backed Yamaha gets some last second adjustments to his mount by his father Willy just before the start of the Springfield Short Track on Saturday, September 4th. Slammin Sammy had to take a provisional in order to start the main and came from the back row to finish 11th after 25 fast and furious laps on the Springfield Arena bullring.
Before the suspension was announced, and after both rounds at Springfield having been completed, Halbert was 3rd in the overall point standings in the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series. He was 24 points back on series leader Joe Kopp with 252 and Jake Johnson in the 2nd place overall with 242. Jared Mees in 4th with 228 points (Halbert holds the tie-breaker due to his season opening win at Daytona), and Henry Wiles in the 5th spot with 224 points. And with three rounds left in the overall championship, losing a race is all but a death sentence in going after the title.
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In what can only be viewed as a very critical turning point in the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series, AMA Pro Flat Track has suspended current-3rd in the overall points standings man, Sammy Halbert, National #7 and the winner of the season opening round at the new Daytona Short Track, for the next round in the series. After having been on probation since the May Springfield round, Halbert's ride in last Saturday's Springfield Short Track semi race was considered pretty sketchy when he made contact with another rider in the process of coming through the field.

I personally did not see this move as I was following other riders on the track when this incident occurred. And I don't much like to quantify this type of incident in order to taint any decision that was made by those involved in either direction. JMHO.

You can read the full story by Larry Lawrence at his always fine site TheRiderFiles.com and see what Sammy and AMA Pro Flat Track Manager Mike Kidd have to say after this breaking news was announced. With the upcoming round in Shakopee, MN. at the Canterbury Park mile oval, barring any inclement weather, this would be the round he would have to sit out.

Here's the breaking news thanks to Larry:

http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=5934
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Reflections: AMA Flat Track Springfield Mile and Short Track Weekend

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With the party just getting ready to get started for the main event of the AMA Pro Flat Track Springfield Mile Labor Day weekend edition, the bikes are rolled out onto the track for rider and sponsor intros. The crowd goes crazy as 19 of the fastest men in the world in the Grand National Championship Series is introduced, and immediately EVERYONE knows whose favorite is who.
In this shot (L-R) are Logan Myers #24 in front of his Motorcyclists Post/Mad Dog/Burn Rite-backed XR (not pictured). Myers came out of semi 2 to finish third to Joe Kopp and Steve Bonsey and finished 16th on the mile after 22 of 25 laps. Steve Bonsey #80 can be seen next to his Johnny Goad/Alpinestars/Arai/Dodge Bros-sponsored XR. Steve came home 10th in the main after coming out of semi 2, and also had a good run to sixth in Saturday night's short track event.
Next up is Shaun Russell #28 kneeling alongside his GCR Racing/Fox Valley Cycles/Motion Pro/Arai-sponsored XR and crew. Shaun came out on top in semi 1 over Brandon Robinson #44 and Rob Pearson #27 to earn his transfer to the main, and came hime in 13th. He missed the prior night's short track.
And finally Smokin Joe Kopp #3, the series overall points leader going into and after the Springfield weekend, works on his visor while kneeling next to his Latus H-D/Lloyd Bros/
American Agip/MotoConcepts-sponsored Ducati. After having to win semi 2 to make the main, the 2000 Grand National Champion lost the draft in the main and led the second group of riders home in the 7th spot, 13.730 seconds back of winner Bryan Smith. Joe also finished 4th at the short track the night before, and now holds a 252-242 slim advantage in the overall points over runner up point man Jake Johnson with three rounds left in the season.
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It's go time for the main event of the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Series round 13 at the Springfield Arena Short Track event, and row 2 is poised to get the best jump they can to catch the five men in front of them (heat 1 winner Chris Carr was forced to start at the rear due to his primary mount failing to fire before the main) for a share of the race action, and hopefully, the podium as well. The crowd in the stands jumps to there feet and stays there as the light goes green and 19 of the fastest short trackers in the nation go bar-to-bar and wheel-to-wheel for a 25 lap bullring run.
(From L-R): Steve Bonsey on the #80 Bob Weirbach/Alpinestar/Arai/Oakley-sponsored Honda had a strong run in Saturday night's event, coming home 6th, and rounded out the weekend after running 10th in Sunday's mile event. The week before the first-time GNC winner from the July Calistoga event was handed the checkered flag signed by all of the riders from his initial win. He left Springfield with 60 points total, good for 13th in the overall standings.
Bryan Smith on the #42 Werner Springsteen/Monster Energy/Wossner Pistons/SuperTrapp-backed Kawasaki raced to 4th in his heat to transfer to the main, and brought it home in the 8th spot. If you don't already know what he did on Sunday, keep reading........
Jared Mees sits ready to go on the #21 Rockysonline.com/Lucas Oil/Rogers Lake/
Montgomeryville Cycles-sponsored Honda, and the defending Twins Champ had a good run on the short track out of 4th in heat 3 to finish the evening in the 9th position at the bull ring. Sunday on the mile he rounded out the podium on his #1 Twins machine in the 3rd-place spot and now heads into the final three Twins events of the season in the fourth spot in the championship standings with 228 points. He is tied with Sammy Halbert, but since #7 won the opening round at the Daytona Short Track, he holds the tie breaker for the 3rd spot in the championship hunt.
J.D. Beach #95C made his first (and second on Sunday at the mile) start in an AMA Pro Flat Track Expert Main Event after winning the previous two weekend's Pro Singles events at Indy and Peoria. In a great start to his AMA Flat Track career, should he stick around and not take up road racing as a full-time gig, he brought his Red Bull/Top 1 Oil/Rockwall Perf/Craig Rogers-backed Honda home in the 3rd place spot and final step on the podium in his maiden voyage, and then on Sunday transfered directly to the mile in his second Expert main event to bring his XR home in the 12th spot.
Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. on the #2 Bettencourts Honda/Jason Perry/Arai/Fox-sponsored Honda finished 3rd in heat 3 to transfer to the short track main, and came home in the 7th spot. On the mile on Sunday he brought his H-D Motor Corp/Screamin Eagle XR home 5th, and now sits a solid 6th in the overall standings with 207 points.
Jake Johnson on the #5 Zanotti Racing/Leo Vince/Arai/Tucker Rocky Honda had what was one of another strong runs of great weekends. He finished 2nd in heat 2 at the short track to heat
winner and second fastest qualifier Chad Cose, and then proceeded to try his best to keep main event winner Henry Wiles in sight for the 25 lap short track main. He ended up 2nd, 5.279 seconds short of victory. On Sunday, after crashing in the Dash for Cash, Jersey Jake brought his Zanotti XR from the back row in the 19th spot to finish on the end of the lead pack in 6th spot, .265 seconds back from winner Bryan Smith. The former 2-Time Singles Champ will head to Minnesota for Saturday night's mile event in the second spot in the overall standings, 10 points back of leader Joe Kopp. JJ has slowly but surely not only kept within sight of the front in the points, but has crept into what can now be considered striking distance of Smokin Joe for the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship lead and title. With his win at the second round at Daytona on the short track to go along with his spring win on the mile at Springfield, he could very well be in the best position to win the overall title.
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Chris 'The Prince of Peoria' Carr and Kenny 'The Clown Prince of the AMA Flat Track Pits' Tolbert are shown in the #4 Chris Carr Racing/DFW Honda/Lancaster H-D/Arai Honda pits on Saturday afternoon at the short track in Springfield. Carr won heat 1, the second fastest heat on the evening, but was forced to start from the back row in the short track main, but still the 26 season veteran fought his way home to a fine 5th place finish. Then on Sunday afternoon, Carr took his Lancaster H-D XR home in first in the Dash for Cash after qualifying directly to the main via his heat 2 second place behind Jared Mees.
For the second weekend in a row and the second Twins main in a row, the former 7-Time Grand National Champion came home 2nd in the mile to winner Bryan Smith, .048 seconds shy of the win. Carr now sits a solid 7th in the overall point standings with 173 points heading to Minnesota.
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The smiles on these men's faces say it all in this podium shot taken after the race podium festivities were complete on the fastest mile oval in the nation as Bryan Smith took the #42 Werner Springsteen/Monster Energy/Wossner Pistons/SuperTrapp-backed Kawasaki 650 Ninja-based machine home to another win on the Springfield Mile. After winning the team's (and Kawasaki's) first win in AMA Pro Flat Track Twins competition at Indy the weekend before, Flyin Bryan put it together again to eke out the top step on the podium by .048 seconds over runner-up Chris Carr and by .096 seconds over 3rd place man Jared Mees. Smith won heat 1 on the day to make his direct transfer to the main event. Saturday evening, he finished 8th over on the short track.
The win added to the legacy of not only 13-Time Grand National Champion Tuner Bill Werner, but to Jay Springsteen's as well as the former 3-Time Grand National Champion took the victory lap with Bryan this week after Bill did last week at Indy. The team now sits in the 8th spot in the overall standings, and with two mile events and the half mile at Knoxville left in the season, I doubt if we have seen the end of their winning ways yet this season now that they are on a roll.
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Joe Kopp gets ready to roll the #3 Latus H-D/American Agip/Lloyd Bros/MotoConcepts Ducati out to the starting grid for semi 2 action. Steve Bonsey on the #80 Johnny Goad/Alpinestars/
Arai/Dodge Bros-backed XR sits to his right, and they finished semi 2 in this order with third place in the semi Logan Myers on the #24 XR rounding out the final transfers to the fastest mile on the circuit at Springfield.
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In what had to be the feel-good story of the weekend, Shayna Texter took her #25A Lancaster H-D/Screamin Eagle/H-D.com/WomenRiders/K&N-sponsored Honda to victory in the Pro Singles LCQ event. After the untimely and all-too-early passing of her father Randy earlier in the week, the young up-and-comer survived a red flag to win her race and transfer to the Pro Singles main event on the Springfield Short Track by .563 seconds over runner-up Jake Cunningham. She finished 10th on the evening in her main, but after her LCQ win there was barely a dry eye in the house. Not to mention she gained a bunch more fans for her bravado. Great job by this young lady who owns a boat load of amateur championships and is starting a legacy of her own in AMA Flat Track Series racing.
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In a virtual blur at the checkers after 25 fast and furious laps on the world famous Springfield Mile, Bryan Smith edges Chris Carr by .048 seconds and third-on-the-day Jared Mees by .096 seconds. You could have covered them with a blanket....if you could have seen them.
The AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series annual visit to Springfield didn't dissapoint, again, after one of the best battles in mile track racing this man has seen in his 37 seasons of following this sport. The main event was over in 14:32.205 seconds and it, just like this shot and the season, went by like a blur.
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Henry Wiles sits in the pits and talks with the spectators while his #1 Monster Energy/Jones Bros/Shift Racing/Don's Kawasaki-backed Kawasaki sits next to him. Henry had a near perfect evening on the short track by winning the fastest heat 3 over Joe Kopp, Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., and Jared Mees, then ran away with the Dash for Cash, clinching his second #1 plate in the Singles Series in a row and being honored with the #1 plate from AMA Flat Track Manager and '81 Grand National Champion Mike Kidd on the podium. He then went on to win his 7th event in a row at the Springfield Arena ('07-'10 Short Track Winner, '08-'10 TT Winner) and 13th Singles event in the State of Illinois (6-straight wins on the Peoria TT dating back to '04 as the '07 Peoria event was rained out) overall. His only downfall for the evening, if you could call it that, is he qualified 3rd overall out of the 72 riders (and 48 who qualified for Springfield) who timed in for the Expert Singles event.
Henry took his #17 Atkins Bros/KK Motorcycle Supply/Don Kissinger Racing/Saddlemen-backed XR to a fourth place in heat 1 on Sunday to a direct transfer to the main, and brought it home in the second pack of riders to an 11th place finish. He now sits in the 5th spot in the overall standings with 224 points after missing the Twins event at Indy the weekend before. If this young man ever gets his Twins program on the same roll as his Singles program, the competion doesn't stand a chance.
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Matt Weidman talks in the pits on Sunday morning with his Mom, Rachel and legendary tuner Carl Patrick while his #20 White's H-D/SNIP/Silkolene/Shoei/Carl Patrick XR sits in front of them before final practice and qualifying for the Labor Day weekend edition of the 2010 Springfield Mile. Matt's primary and family-owned and run mount sit on the left.

I got a chance to talk with this team over the weekend, and with the family support and the flashes of greatness this team has had, they are a true privateer team that is a sheer joy to be around and watch. Matt has had an up-and-down year, with his highlight most likely being the great 3rd place run and first podium in the GNC Expert class that this young man has had.

Suffering from twin mechanical failures on the mile Sunday, Carl's XR went south on them in practice and then while running in the 1st semi, the Weidman's primary bike also started making some terminal noise just before the flag, resulting in a 17th place and no transfer to the main. The night before, Matt had a super run going at the short track after getting 2nd to heat 1 winner Chris Carr, got a fine front-row start in the main to have a couple of near-off track excursions derail his run to the front. He ended up 10th after a great showing although the results were definitely not what the team had hoped.

Keep your head and chin up, Matt, and don't give up. Of course, four major mechanicals in one year, let alone two in one day's event will have a tendency to slow someone's charge. But when this team does get all the dominoes lined up, the rest of the field better watch out as the '08 AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year knows how to keep it at the front once it all stays together! And when it does, he'll ride it like a cat with a fire on it's tail. He still sits 10th in the overall GNC standings with 91 points, and it sounds like he might have an interesting ride coming up on the remaining two mile tracks on the BMW that he rode originally in Arizona in May. Hopefully, that one stays together...literally and figuratively.

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The podium celebration is just starting after round 13 of the AMA Pro Flat Track Series at the Springfield Short Track Arena. 3rd place on the night, and his first AMA Expert main event podium in his first shot, has J.D. Beach getting ready to be interviewed about his fine run on the evening by the AMA race announcer. Event winner and now two-time AMA Pro Flat Track Singles #1 plate holder Henry Wiles is all smiles behing his #1 Monster Energy/Jones Bros/Shift Racing/Arai Kawasaki. 3rd place on the evening Jake Johnson talks with former Cycle News contributor and current TheRiderFiles.com webmaster and main man Larry Lawrence.

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Sammy Halbert #7 consults with his family and crew as brother Jethro Halbert #69 checks out the rear of his machine. The Kings Kustoms/Nelson Racing/KK Motorcycle Supply/Woody Kyle-backed team fields some fine looking and running XR's in the Twins events, and Slammin Sammy again showed why he is still in the big picture in the GNC hunt by coming home 8th in Sunday's running of the mile at Springfield after getting a direct transfer via a 3rd place finish in heat 1 behind Smith and Johnson. He now sits 3rd in the overall championship hunt with 228 points, 24 back of series leader Joe Kopp. Sammy brought it home in 11th on Saturday's running of the short track after using a provisional to get into the 19 rider main.

Brother Jethro finished 3rd in semi 2 Saturday night to get into the short track main. He finished in the 14th spot. On Sunday, he got another direct transfer on the mile oval via a 3rd place finish in heat 2 behind Mees and Carr, and eventually carded a 14th place in the main event. He now sits in the 14th spot in the overall point standings with 68 markers.

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The 'Stu's Shots Nostalgia Award' for the weekend goes out to BSA-mounted Brian Lehfeldt #67W for having one of the sweetest looking pieces in the house at the Springfield Mile on Sunday. The Ft. Collins, CO. native didn't make the field on his Erickson Racing/

Preferredproperty.com/Geoff Cesnat-backed machine, qualifying in the 50th spot at 37.966 overall compared to fast-on-the-day and event winner Bryan Smith's 35.705 lap time in the 48 rider cut-off. But he sured wowed the crowd and this reporter with his great looking set up.

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Rounding up the rest of the action from the Springfield Mile and the Springfield Short Track from over the Labor Day Weekend, the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship now heads to round 15 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN., for this Saturday's running of the mile. Unfortunately, Stu's Shots won't be on hand but we will be covering the race this weekend via the internet and will have after-race reports to follow.

With three events to go in the 2010 AMA Flat Track Series season, it's time to mount the charge as Joe Kopp leads the overall standings over Jake Johnson, Sammy Halbert, Jared Mees and Henry Wiles in the run to the season's championship hunt. It's WFO time for all those involved and at this point in the season, you have to ask yourself, who has it to take it all for 2010? Stay tuned, same Bat Channel, same Bat Time.

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AMA Flat Track Springfield Mile Results: Bryan Smith Takes The Win on Werner/Springsteen Monster Energy Kawasaki

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Kenny Coolbeth #2 rolls up to the starting line beside Bryan Smith #42 as Chris Carr #4 looks on after the sighting lap for the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Springfield Mile round yesterday afternoon. Willie McCoy #59 and Jared Mees #1 are ready to roll. Jake Johnson #5 was slated to also start on the front row (based on his second place finish to Smith in heat 1) but was forced to start alone from the back row on his back-up machine after crashing unhurt in the dash for cash. The cream rose to the top in final, however, as all front row starters (including Johnson) finished in the 1-6 positions,
just .265 seconds apart. Pretty exciting stuff after 25 laps of action for sure.
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The senior member of Werner Springsteen Kawasaki Racing can be seen slotting in a new tire for the race at Springfield as the junior member of the team looks on. Bill Werner and Jay Springsteen have put together one heck of a team along with rider Bryan Smith to take the last two Twins Event wins at the Indy Mile and yesterday afternoon's running of the Springfield Mile.
Smith had to work for this one after 'missing the gearing' and not being able to pull away from the draft as a result. It made for some fast and furious mile action, and Bryan managed to lead the majority of laps, let alone the one that counted at the checkered flag. If the Monster Energy/Wossner Pistons/SuperTrapp/Millenium Technologies-sponsored Kawasaki 650 Ninja-based team gets the gearing right at the Canterbury Park Mile as well as at Arizona in October the rest of the field could be left scratching their heads again. And the Knoxville round in 12 days could see them come into their own on the half mile as well. Stay tuned as this season isn't over yet. He still holds down a solid 8th place in the overall standings with 164 points after his second win this season at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval.
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Chris Carr gets ready to roll out for qualifying on the #4 Lancaster H-D/DFW Honda/Arai/
Wiseco/Red Line Oil-backed XR750 at Springfield on Sunday, Sept. 5th. The 7-Time former Grand National Champion and winningest active rider in the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series had the fastest practice time, qualified eighth, finished second to Jared Mees in his heat, and winning the four lap Dash for Cash. He came up .048 seconds shy of winning the final to eventual winner Bryan Smith and stayed in and led the lead group all afternoon long in the final 25 lap race. Carr's late season surge is a testament to his 26 seasons of competition and the experience that has come with racing in the greatest race series on two wheels. And it doesn't hurt that he has one of the best tuners in the business in the Kenny Tolbert. With two miles and a half mile left to go in the 2010 season look for the duo to be on or close to the podium to close out the season. He sits in the 7th spot in the overall championship standings with 173 points.
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Jared Mees does some knee bends just before rider intros at the Springfield Mile yesterday as his #1 Rogers Lake Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Rockysonline.com/Lucas Oil/Rod Lake-sponsored XR750 sits ready to go. AMA Flat Track Manager Mike Kidd talks with his crew just before the pole sitter is introduced to the crowd for the main event of round 14 of the AMA Pro Flat Track Series 2010 season. Mees had pole choice based on his fastest heat race 2 win over Chris Carr. The defending Twins Champion qualifed 11th after running fourth in practice, got second to Carr in the Dash and rounded out the podium with a fine run to third, coming up just .096 seconds back from winner Bryan Smith.
Jared now lies fourth overall in the championship hunt and is actually tied for third with Sammy Halbert #7 at 228 points, but Slammin Sammy holds the nod over Jammin Jared due to his season-opening short track win at Daytona. But you never count a defending champ out in the season hunt and The Jammer always runs strong on the miles (not that he doesn't on the other tracks) and with two mile tracks left on the schedule you can pretty much count on him having a very strong run in the season's final events.
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Willie McCoy gets ready to hop on his #59 H-D of Wassau/Independence H-D/Tucker Rocky/Speed and Strength/Arai-backed XR750 for final round qualifying for the Labor Day Weekend Springfield Mile on Sunday, September 5th. The Texan, who is of late a part-time competitor on the AMA Pro Flat Track Series Championship circuit, had a banner day yesterday by qualifying fourth after only having a 31st fast practice time. He went on to win the third heat over Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. on the #2 Screamin Eagle factory H-D by .031 seconds. Later in the day he ended up fifth in the Dash, and then ran with the lead pack, dicing for the lead with the full-time series regulars during the final 25 lap main event. He came in fourth just .124 seconds back of winner Smith. Talk about The Real McCoy! Great ride and showing by this seasoned veteran.
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The #2 H-D Motor Co/Screamin Eagle/Arai/Fox/Motion Pro XR750 of former 3-Time Grand National Twins Champion Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. sits in the foreground as The King of Cool and his team members discuss race stategy in their pit area at the Springfield Mile yesterday afternoon. Qualifying in the ninth spot for the day after having the third fastest practice time, Kenny got second to Willie McCoy in the third heat and came home fourth in the Dash. He finished out his day with a fine run home in the fifth spot in the main just .214 seconds back from winner Smith. He holds down the 6th spot in the overall standings with 207 points.
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Jake Johnson looks over his #5 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffers H-D/SuperTrapp/NJK Leathers/Leo Vince-backed XR as the riders are being introduced to the crowd prior to the 25 lap main event at the Springfield Mile. The former 2-Time Singles Champion qualified in the sixth spot after being fifth in practice on the day, managed to stay in Bryan Smith's draft during heat 1 by virtue of letting off late in the turns to get second in his heat, and then crashed unhurt in the Dash.
As a result, the 2-time defending winner of the Springfield Mile was forced to start from row four on his back-up machine in what would have been a front row start otherwise. He made it REAL interesting though, and was up to and with the lead group within a few laps in the final and finished in the 6th spot just .265 seconds back from Smith. With his great run through the pack to hang with the lead group the rest of the day, Jersey Jake moved to within 10 points in the overall standings to leader Joe Kopp, 252-242. His ride through the pack yesterday was inspiring and had the crowd on it's feet for the 14.32:205 time of the final event.
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Joe Kopp goes over some data with David Lloyd between a break in the racing action Sunday afternoon at the Springfield Mile. The #3 Latus H-D/American Agip/Lloyd Bros/

MotoConcepts/Jones Powersports-backed Ducati 1098 team started the day off strong by being second in practice and qualifying in the 7th spot.

Struggling in heat 1 to a fifth place finish, Smokin Joe then went out later in the program to win the 2nd semi over Steve Bonsey and Logan Myers. Coming off the outside pole starting position on the third row for the final, the 2000 AMA Grand National Champion led the best of the rest throughout the day in spite of not being able to run down the lead six pack of riders. He finished the day in the 7th spot in the main, 13.730 seconds in arrears to winner Bryan Smith, and almost 13.5 seconds back to 6th place finisher Jake Johnson, thusly keeping his lead in the overall championship standings to Jersey Jake 252-242. With two miles and a half mile to go in the season, Joe can't afford to lose any more points to the other competitors and will have to watch his back going into the Minnesota mile race this coming Saturday.

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The always exciting Springfield Mile round of the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Series took to the Illinois State Fairgrounds yesterday to woo and wow the fans who purchase their seats only to rarely use them.

Yesterday was no exception as Bryan Smith on the #42 Werner Springsteen Monster Energy Kawasaki won his second Twins event in a row by beating out a pack of riders including second place on the day Chris Carr by .048 seconds and the lead six pack of riders that was covered by .265 seconds after the 25 lap main event. Smith once again held the point at the stripe to lead the majority of the race over the rest of the field, but even with what he described as 'missing the gearing' on his Kawasaki was still able to hold off the pack in the end on his Bill Werner-tuned machine. Jared Mees on the #1 Rogers Lake Racing XR rounded out the podium at the fabled mile oval.

Joe Kopp, who leads the overall championship over Jake Johnson 252-242 points, finished in the 7th spot on the day and lead the second pack of riders home from afar from the lead pack. The 7th through 15th place riders were only seperated by 1.033 seconds in what was a thrilling race between the first group as well as the second group. Sammy Halbert on the #7 Kings Kustoms XR led all other comers home in the 8th spot and now holds 3rd place in the overall standings over 4h place Jared Mees. Although both are tied in points at 228 each, Slammin Sammy holds the tie breaker via his season opening win on the short track at Daytona. Henry Wiles, who less then 18 hours earlier won the Springfield Short Track event as well as the Dash for Cash to wrap up his second Singles #1 plate in a row, came home 11th yesterday and now sits 5th in the overall standings with 224 points.

The series resumes action with round 15 at the Canterbury Park Mile in Shakopee, MN. on Saturday and with two mile events and a half mile left in the season, it's go time for everyone in the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series.

Stu's Shots will have more throughout the week leading up to round 15 of the series to keep everyone up to date on the run down to the championship for the AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship. Don't go away because this thing is far from being over and it's been a great season of racing and a great mix of talent and machinery and there is no reason to think the season's last three events will be any different. Stay tuned and be there or be square!

You can read all of the race wrap-up's and results below from the fastest mile on the circuit.

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Here's Larry Lawrence's report on the great action at the Labor Day weekend running of the Springfield Mile from yesterday. Larry and I hooked up and made the 200 mile +/- trip to Springfield out of Indy and had a blast checking out all the racers, action and people on hand. Look for the great Double L to have some insider stories from the weekend event in the near future over on his bitchin site TheRiderFiles.com. Read on here:

http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=5883

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And here is the AMA Pro Flat Track release and story of the race:

http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/news/index.cfm?cid=39560

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Dave Hoenig who has his great site FlatTrakFotos.com, is also the official AMA photographer for all things flat track, and does the stories as well for the AMA press releases. Here are a few of his shots from the mile yesterday over at AMA Pro Racing's Flat Track side:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/multimedia/gallery.cfm?gid=4031

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Here is Dave's site coverage of the Springfield Mile Labor Day Weekend classic with his results and soon-to-be-posted shots as of this writing:

http://www.flattrakfotos.com/2010%20Results/RESULTS%209-5-10.html

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Here are the official results of yesterday's rip roaring affair on the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/results.cfm?eid=2010021071

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Here are the official overall point standings for the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship with three rounds remaining and the next event coming up on Saturday, September 11h at Canterbury Park in Minnesota:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/standings.cfm?class=gn&c=gc

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And this is the link to all of the results for the Springfield Mile from yesterday afternoon's fast action. The AMA Flat Track team has every session on this one that are all available in PDF form for better breakdown on all the action from yesterday:

http://results.amaproracing.com/pdfresults/ft/2010/15-springfield-mile2/

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Motorcycle-USA.com has been doing a great job of promoting AMA Flat Track this season. Their report on Springfield isn't up yet, but will be soon based on past posts of their coverage. You can go here, though, to their flat track page and once they get it posted you'll see it near the top of their news items. In the mean time, you can check out all of their other event coverages they have online:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/120/Motorcycles/AMA-Flat-Track.aspx

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The AMA Pro Flat Track Team, headed up by '81 AMA Flat Track Grand National Champion Mike Kidd and his brother Gary, and track prep master and former GNC competitor Steve Morehead has done a SUPER job this year in bringing AMA Flat Track back to the front in terms of timely running of the show, track prep and working with the promoters at each event to help ensure a good crowd and keeping the fans on the edge of their seats (if used at all when watching an exciting race of this magnitude!)

Major Kudos to Mike and Company for doing such a great job of putting AMA Pro Flat Track back on the map, and at top, where it belongs. If you haven't seen the new edition of The Rolling Thunder Show, it would behove you to get to your nearest event and track ASAP and check out the greatest show in racing on two wheels. This isn't your father's AMA Flat Track anymore, and you will be delighted in not only the great on-track action which has always been synonymous with this form of racing, but you will be amazed at the fine-tuning of the running of the program that Mike and Company have added to the show. It doesn't get any better than this, believe me! Great job Mike on a great year of racing!

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