Brandon Robinson #44 & the TJ Burnett Farms Kawasaki AMA Pro Flat Track Team Talk Great Season Start with Win at Daytona

Brandon Robinson waits for one of the final qualifying sessions at round 10 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season at the Indy Mile on August 18, while team owner Bill Werner stands guard over the #44 Werner-Springsteen Kawasaki 650R that Robinson would later in the day take to his best-ever career finish of 2nd-place.  Team co-owner Jay Springsteen can be seen between the two in the background talking with one of the other team members.

Robinson, who left the Werner-Springsteen team during the off-season, joined up with the TJ Burnett Farms Kawasaki team along with USC and James Hart Racing, and started the 2013 season with a bang that saw it capped with his first-ever career win at round 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship Series at the Daytona Short Track II event on March 15.

BRob44 told Stu's Shots last week that he had a great relationship with Werner and would have loved to have stayed with the legendary team owner, but the Wisconsin resident was wanting to cut back to where it wouldn't have allowed Robinson to run the full schedule for the 2013 season.  Having nothing but the utmost respect for the 13-Time AMA Grand National Championship-winning tuner, Brandon also felt as if Werner had given him a great chance to get his career back to the top after his near career-ending injuries at Indy in August '09, and loved riding for him during the 2012 season.

With a phone call coming from TJ Burnett, Robinson and the southern Illinois team owner were able to work out a plan to contest the full year on the 2013 schedule, along with events run over the off-season at the Southern Illinois Center in DuQuoin alongside team mate JD Beach, and the majority of the events on the Steve Nace All-Star Series for '13 as well.  Robinson won three out of four of the first Twins and Singles events in Georgia and Florida, before heading to Daytona to run the season-openers in The Rolling Thunder Show.

A 5th-place finish on the first night and a win the next night in round 2 left him in the lead in the overall point standings (both career firsts) with what is now a 30 day break until round 3 at the Stockton Half-Mile on May 11. 

The team is working on new and interesting paths in the weeks and months ahead and should have more to announce as we get into the meat of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season, as well as the majority of the events they plan to run during the 2013 Steve Nace Racing All-Star AMA National Flat Track Series presented by Golden Tyre season.

JD Beach's #95 TJ Burnett Farms/USC/Hart Racing Kawasaki sits in waiting while rider Beach gets his gear together in the background, during round 12 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season at the Springfield Mile II on September 16.

Robinson has enjoyed working alongside Beach as a team mate, and they have been able to help one another out throughout the off-season and during testing at Savannah leading up to the first events of the season for the 2013 schedules. 

According to team owner Burnett, 'both work real well together and help to make us one big happy family' as a team unit.  Robinson and Beach will be paired as team mates throughout the season in most of the AMA Grand Nationals that don't coincide with Beach's ride in the Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing schedule, where he normally contests the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Series in his full time job.

Check out the TJ Burnett Kawasaki team and rider Brandon Robinson's press release below and take in some of the great things happening with this young, eager and very capable team!

Brandon Robinson and the T.J. Burnett Farms/USC/Hart Racing Kawasaki team take 'Lucky 13' season-opening races by storm

Press release (Please note--all pics right click/open new window)

Oxford, PA. – April 11, 2013 – Brandon Robinson and the T.J. Burnett Farms/USC/Hart Racing Kawasaki team have had a dream start to their first season of racing together. After joining forces during the off-season late last year, the Pennsylvania resident and the 'little team that could' participated in some of the Steve Nace Racing Indoor Flat Track Series events held in the confines of the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, IL.in hopes of getting ready for the 2013 season ahead of them. Little did they know what kind of a break-out start to the season they would have.

Heading south for the season-opening rounds of the Steve Nace Racing All-Star AMA National Flat Track Series presented by Golden Tyre in preparation for the eight-month grind that is the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season, Brandon had never even had a chance to sit on the team's Kawasaki 650R-based Twins Series efforts.

“Yeah, we just started testing the Tuesday before the Savannah round, which was the first time I had got a chance to ride the bikes,” stated BRob44, “and they were very similar to the Werner-Springsteen mounts I rode last year, in terms of chassis set-up. The team is working on the Scott Powersports chassis' that they started with, and I was able to get some seat time in on the newer C&J-framed bikes that we hope to have ready in time for the mile events on the Grand National schedule.

“JD Beach (Robinson's team mate when JD is not fulfilling his obligations in the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Series) came in on Thursday and helped us out, and we were able to kind of work off one another in getting them right for each of our styles of riding. We'd spent quite a bit of time on the 450s racing in Du Quoin during the winter break, so we tried to concentrate on the twins for the long season ahead.”

Those testing sessions worked out pretty well, because when the dust had settled at Savannah and the next event two days later in Volusia, Brandon had already pocketed three of the four wins in the first two Twins and Singles events on the SNR schedule, with a 2nd-place finish in the Twins race at Volusia topping off the team's first two major events together.

The season-opening doubleheader rounds at the Daytona Short Track at Daytona International Speedway awaited them a few days later.

The first qualifying session of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season saw Brandon Robinson #44 qualify in the 4th-place spot out of the 42 riders on-hand who took a timed qualifying session, on the T.J. Burnett/USC/Hart Racing Kawasaki KX450F. Photo by Dave Hoenig/Flat Trak Fotos.com.

Qualifying for round 1 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season went well for the team's first Grand National race together. Brandon put his Kawasaki 450 in the 4th-place spot for the March 14 event.

“We made a few changes but didn't have to do too much in order to get the Singles bikes set-up for the race,” continued Robinson, “and we started in the 2nd-place spot in the first heat race, which we were able to win over 2-Time Singles Series Champion Henry Wiles.”

After finishing 6^th in the Dash, the team felt like they were ready for the first 25-lap National main of the season, where they came away with a 5th-place finish behind winner Mikey Rush, Brad Baker, 2012 AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees and Wiles.

“We're all a pretty laid back bunch on the team, so working together has been good for everyone. But we still had one more night to go before the long break before Stockton in May,” stated Robinson, “and we moved up a spot in qualifying on night two by taking the 3rd-place qualifying position.

Robinson started the third heat race on the pole, and ended up taking the win over Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. and Jethro Halbert, which again saw #44 with a slot in the Dash for Cash, where the former 2008 Expert Twins Champion improved his first round result with a 2nd-place behind 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Saddlemen Rookie of the Year, Brad Baker.  But the 25-lap National was still ahead.

Round 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season at the Daytona Short Track II outing saw an improvement for the Kawasaki-mounted Robinson throughout the evening's program. Photo by Dave Hoenig/Flat Trak Fotos.com.

With round 2 ready to commence, Brandon started the night in the second position, alongside Baker (due to Baker's faster heat win earlier in the evening) and Wiles, Bryan Smith, Coolbeth and Mees filling out the front row. Coolbeth led at the start, but by lap 2 Robinson put the inside move on The King of Cool and went on to lead the rest of the main to earn his first-ever AMA Grand National Championship main event win.

Asked if he'd come down from his cloud yet, Robinson said, “Yeah, some, but we've all been so busy since that it still seems like it was just yesterday.” After working his way back from career-ending injuries suffered at the 2009 Indy Mile, the youngster with the Pennsylvania-wide grin had finally taken his big win in front of a packed crowd at Daytona.

“I feel very fortunate to have landed with such a great group of guys. T.J. (team owner T.J. Burnett). James (crew chief James Hart) and Billy (team wrench Billy Gruwell) have been super to work with, and to come away four wins in seven races is a testament to the work they have put in on getting us ready for this year,” exclaimed Brandon, “and I'm just thrilled to be able to get such a great start to the season with and for them. And to get that first National win was a dream come true.”

Team owner T.J. Burnett, crew chief James Hart, rider Brandon Robinson and team wrench Billy Gruwell celebrate on the podium after Brandon's break-out win in round 2 of the 2013 season at Daytona. Photo by Dave Hoenig/Flat Trak Fotos.com.

“Things started coming together for us early last season,” stated team owner Burnett. “James and I have been friends since we were kids, and he was having some financial trouble keeping things going. That's where I came in with some assistance to get the team through the end of the season and beyond. Last year we had several riders on the bikes (most notably Beach, when not contesting the AMA Pro Road Racing rounds), and then to get Brandon on-board really was the glue that bonded us over the off-season and into the beginning of '13. We've had help from Jimmy Wood/Southland Suspension in getting the forks and the chassis' set-up, especially with the air forks on the '13 model bikes” which are a work in progress. To get that first win under our belt was a big step!”

Robinson beams on the podium after taking his career-first AMA Grand National Championship win in round 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season at the Daytona Short Track II on March 15. Photo by Dave Hoenig/Flat Trak Fotos.com.

With Daytona in the rear view mirrors and now just over 30 days until round 3 of the season at the Stockton Half-Mile, the team is doing everything except resting on it's laurels. Robinson has made a couple of trips to the team's headquarters in southern Illinois while working on getting the chassis' fine-tuned for the long stretch ahead.

“We're planning a full slate to the year, of course we're doing all of the Nationals and going to try to do the majority of the All-Star races, as well. Next up is Stockton, and then in between there and the Springfield Mile I, we're going to hit the Little Rock event on the All-Star schedule,” Robinson stated, “in order to get things a little bit more dialed in for the summer stretch run of the schedule.

“I was at T.J.'s last week then made the trip back home for a photo shoot with Next Moto Champion magazine (where he will be featured on the cover of the May 2013 issue), and the rest of the time I have just been training and working out trying to get myself set for the rest of the year ahead.”

With the next race scheduled for May 11 at the Stockton Half-Mile at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, the time is getting nearer for the team and the season to get going full-steam ahead. And if anyone thinks that resting on their Daytona laurels is an option, then they don't know how busy and focused this great bunch is.

Be sure to take the time to come and visit the team at the AMA Grand Nationals and the Steve Nace All-Star events as they rip and roar their way across the nation in search of what surely will be another big win. Each and every round of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season will host a fan walk for the fans to come take part in meeting the teams and the riders, and Brandon Robinson and the T.J. Burnett Farms/USC/Hart Racing Kawasaki team are looking forward to sharing their time and great fortunes with every one of those fans.

The T.J. Burnett Farms/USC/Hart Racing Kawasaki team and rider Brandon Robinson AMA Grand National #44 would like to thank our sponsors:

TJ Burnett Farms, USC Racing Kawasaki, James Hart Racing, Arai, ATI Physical Therapy, Penske Racing Shocks, AXO, Saddlemen, Protect All, Pro Plates, ISC Racers Tape, Motion Pro, Southland, Race Tech, Lemonds Kawasaki, WKR, Mr. Sign, Bill Built, Royal Publishing, VC Graphix, DAO Apparel.com, PMP Sprockets, Spectro Oils, CP Pistons, G2 Ergonomics, Works Connection, K&N Filters, Hartman Photography, Mitchell Mechanical, Big Dawg Racing, Ricko, Jim Chapman, Tom Scibek, Joe Reynolds, John Y, Mom & Dad.

2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season schedule:

http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/events/

2013 Steve Nace Racing All-Star AMA National Flat Track Series presented by Golden Tyre season schedule:

http://www.stevenaceracing.com/allstar.html

You can follow Brandon Robinson, the 2008 AMA Pro Flat Track Expert Twins Champion here via his official website:

http://brandonrobinson44.com/

Or via his Twitter account:

https://twitter.com/BRob44

Or via Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BrandonRobinsonRacing

Press release prepared by:

Mike Stuhler/Stu's Shots

Indianapolis, IN. 46234
http://stusshots.blogspot.com/
stuman714@yahoo.com
317-373-0522

AMA Pro Flat Track Reviews the Season-Opening Rounds from the Daytona Short Track

Heat race action rolls off the line at round 12 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season at the Springfield Short Track on September 15 as the front row blasts off the line, with what appears to be an even advantage for the six riders leading the pack, for the start of what was the final National main event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Multipurpose Arena.

(L-R) Jake Mataya on the #29 Donahue Sports Center Kawasaki KX450F, Cory Texter on the #65 RLT Racing Honda CRF450R, Rob Pearson on the #27 Memphis Shades Yamaha YZ450F, JD Beach on the #95 USC Racing Kawasaki, Brandon Robinson on the #44 Big Dawg Racing Honda, and 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson on the #1 Zanotti Racing Honda go at it to start the evening's Expert Singles program off with a roar.

Last week the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship kicked-off the new season in fine fashion, with one new winner in the series (Brandon Robinson #44 along with his new-for-2013 team the T.J. Burnett Farms Kawasaki) and one returning winner (Mikey Rush #54 on his Machete Energy Drink Honda.)  Rush, who won his first National at the old Daytona Memorial Stadium track in 2007, led off the season with his second-ever win in the series by taking round 1 on Thursday, March 14.  Robinson, the former '08 Expert Twins Champion, followed up with his cherry-breaking win in the series on Friday, March 15 at round two.

Full results from rounds 1&2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season can be found here.

Larry Lawrence was in the house covering the action for Cycle News, and you can read all about it here!

The official photographer for AMA Pro Flat Track, Dave Hoenig, took these shots from round 1.

And here are some round 2 shots, thanks again to Dave Hoenig and AMA Pro Flat Track.

The series now takes a two-month break before returning to action at the Stockton Half-Mile in May.

Thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track for the wrap-up press release below to keep you filled-in on what happened at Daytona last week!

Rush, Robinson Come Away with Victories in AMA Pro Grand National Championship Expert Singles Classes at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 19, 2013) - Round one of AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles heated up on a chilly night on Thursday, March 14, 2013 at DAYTONA Flat Track. Defending Grand National Champion Jared Mees (Montgomeryville Cycle / National Cycle / Rogers Racing) got out front early in the main event only to surrender his lead to Brad Baker (Specialty Fabrication Inc. / Schenk Racing) on lap two.   Baker looked well on his way to his first GNC victory as he pulled out to nearly a one second lead. However, there was a melee of riders transpiring behind Baker that included a charging Mikey Rush (Machete Energy Drink / Cascio-Rush Racing). Rush, a winner at Daytona back in 2007, came from the back-end of the pack and systematically knifed his way up to a competitive position with the race hanging in the balance.  Rush passed Mees on lap eight for second place and began cutting into Baker's lead. The young Californian was able to make his move for the lead on lap 18 and made it work. "Brad made it extremely difficult for me tonight but I was lucky to make that pass late in the race and eventually stick it for the win," said Rush. "The feeling I have right now is incredible and I love competing against these guys."                             Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. #2, Henry Wiles #17 and Brad Baker #12 lead the field during action in the season-opening rounds of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship at the Daytona Short Track last week.  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.     Baker tried in vain to counter attack. "About three quarters of the way through the race I felt someone coming up behind me. As rough as the track was I didn't dare look back," said Baker. "Mikey finally came by and it was there wasn't much I could do at that point."   Rush passed Baker on lap 18 and never looked back, claiming his first ever professional victory.  "I got hurt pretty bad at the Springfield Short Track last year," said Rush. "Now I'm on top of the box. I'm stoked. I was just trying to pick up the throttle way earlier than them. That's what it took to do it tonight. I just want to say that I love Daytona, this place is extremely special to me."   Final results 1-10: 1st - Mikey Rush, 2nd - Brad Baker, 3rd - Jared Mees, 4th - Henry Wiles, 5th - Brandon Robinson, 6th - Matt Weidman, 7th - Jake Johnson, 8th - Johnny Lewis, 9th - Stevie Bonsey, 10th - Jethro Halbert   AMA Pro Grand National Championship Expert Singles - Round 2   Day number two of AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles action was filled with intense racing action that included more surprises.  The start of the 25 lap AMA Pro Grand National Championship Expert Singles race saw Kenny Coolbeth Jr. shoot his Chaplin Kawasaki / Cometic Gasket backed Kawasaki into the lead over the 18 rider field.   Fellow Kawasaki pilot, Brandon Robinson, pushed his TJ Burnett Farms / USC Racing / Hart Racing Kawasaki to the front on lap two, wasting no time establishing himself as the man to beat. After 24 nearly perfect laps, Robinson earned his first Grand National victory.  "This is a dream come true," said Robinson, who overcame career threatening injuries in 2009 at the Indianapolis Mile. "Ever since I was a kid I've dreamed about winning a National. All the hard work I put in this winter paid off. The end of the race seemed to last forever. I saw the five-lap board and couldn't believe there was that much still to go."   Brad Baker (Specialty Fabrication Inc / Schenk Racing) was looking to improve on Thursdays night's second place finish and closed repeatedly on Robinson, but to no avail.  "Every time Brandon made a little mistake I'd gain on him," Baker said. "I thought I might have a chance to go for the lead at one point, but then with about five to go I made a mistake. If you make one slip here it takes five laps to make up for it. Even though I didn't get a win, it feels good to leave with the series lead."   Coolbeth held on to third for a long time, but Bryan Smith had his Crosley Radio / Howerton Racing backed Honda on the move. Smith had a good start, dropped to eighth, and then started a slow climb to the front, grabbing third on lap 14.  "I came up and made a lot of passes," Smith said. "The way people were riding; you could make up or lose four or five positions in one corner. Once I got in third I just could not seem to close the gap, but we'll take it."   When the double checkers came out, Robinson's lead had grown to over a second and was his largest lead of the night. "My entire team just worked extremely hard to make this happen for me and I can't be more thankful for their support," said Robinson.  "We got the setup as close to perfect as possible and everything went as smooth as we could have asked for all night. I got out front early in the main event, put in a hard 25 laps and it all paid off. My team and I have had an awesome week in general and it feels incredible to win here."   Though Baker finished in an impressive second place in Friday night's main event, a post-race protest by an opposing competitor led to a technical inspection of Baker's motorcycle. The inspection revealed that Baker's Honda had suspension parts that were in violation of AMA Pro Flat Track's guidelines. Though Baker retained his second place finish and money earned, he had to forfeit the 19 points granted to him for his effort.   This mistake on Baker's behalf leaves Robinson as the point leader after leaving the Sunshine State. Robinson holds a four point advantage over Rush with 2011 Grand National Champion Johnson just eleven off the lead.   Final results 1-10: 1st - Brandon Robinson, 2nd - Brad Baker, 3rd - Bryan Smith, 4th - Jake Johnson, 5th -Mikey Rush, 6th - Kenny Coolbeth Jr., 7th - Matt Weidman, 8th - Jethro Halbert, 9th - Robert Pearson, 10th - Jeffrey Carver Jr.

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

AMA Pro Flat Track: Brandon Robinson Breaks Through to Earn His 1st Career Grand National Race at the Daytona Short Track II

Brandon Robinson on the #44 Action Motorsports/Big Dawg Racing/Metro Racing/Derby Ridge Salvage-sponsored Honda CRF450R attacks the final qualifying session at the Springfield Short Track at round 12 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season on September 15, going on to qualify for the evening in the 6th-place spot.  Robinson, the former '08 Expert Twins Champion, finished out the day in great form to card a 9th-place effort in the 25-lap National main held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Multipurpose Arena.

BRob44 finally broke through last night in Daytona Beach and ran away with his first-ever AMA Grand National win at round 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season, to cap a remarkable return to form after his devastating crash at the '09 Indy Mile that left him recovering from multiple surgeries and months' long rehab due to injuries suffered almost 3 1/2 years earlier.

After returning to racing in the 2010 season, the lanky and likeable Pennsylvania resident took to the track fairly well in what was a hard-fought 7th-place finish at the Gas City Short Track in June '10.  With up-and-down finishes throughout the rest of '10 and into '11, it was apparent that this young man had the verve, nerve and ability to reach the heights in the sport that he had tasted before that fateful night in Indy.

Signing with the rebuilding-for-2012 season Werner-Springsteen Kawasaki team, Robinson started to show those signs of on-track brilliance as early as the Springfield Mile I round in late May of last year before being involved in a first-lap crash in the National main and finishing the day off early when the 650R-based motor went south midway through the 25-lap National main.  At Lima just over one month later, Robinson again met with misfortune when mechanical ills caused him to crash, again, early in the night's main event.  The climb back to top form may have taken it's toll on many a rider, but not this kid.

As the season rolled on, Robinson began to show those signs of brilliance as he finally took his first top-5 effort with a great run to 4th-place at the Sacramento Mile in late July.  By the time the series headed to the Lucas Oil Indy Mile in mid-August, Robinson had a smile on his face as wide as a midwest barn door, and capped his great run back to the top with his first-ever podium finish of 2nd-place at Indy, and came away with even a bigger smile from the venue that almost ended his young career.  Throughout the remainder of the season, Robinson continued to improve and impress, and by the end of the season had taken the 10th-place spot in the overall season's end point standings.

Over the off-season, Robinson switched teams and signed with the newly-rebranded USC Racing team, now being headed up by T.J. Burnett Farms, and combining efforts with USC and James Hart Racing.

The team started the new year off with a bang in the first Steve Nace Racing All-Star presented by Golden Tyre event at Oglethorpe Speedway in Pooler, GA. late last week with Brandon taking wins in both the Expert Twins and Singles events, followed by another win and a 2nd-place finish at Volusia early this week. 

But Robinson's break-out win last night was the true frosting on the cake for him when he made the pass on early-leader Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. and went on to a rousing win over a strong field of AMA Grand National Championship-caliber riders to score his cherry-breaking victory in The Rolling Thunder Show at Daytona International Speedway.  After placing 5th the evening before and having a dominant night, Robinson took charge for good last night to show that hard work, prayer and determination do pay-off.  And it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy! 

On a side note, and not to take away from this great win by Brandon Robinson, but the ride of the night (other then the winner's!) was put in by 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson.

Forced to race the semi after coming together with another rider in his heat and working his way back to 5th-place from his restart on the back row, Johnson started the 18-rider National main on the back row and in the 15th-place slot.  Snaking and maneuvering his way through the field, Johnson capped his great run with a 4th-place finish on the night, one that champions are made of.

And after what appeared to be another 2nd-place effort in as many nights, 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Brad Baker was DQ'd on the evening after an issue involving what was reported to be the use of 'improper' equipment on his #12 Honda.  As it stands of this writing, Baker is still shown and scored in the 2nd-place spot, but AMA Pro Flat Track has stripped him of his points earned on the evening.  This all could change, as well, as Baker does have the right to an appeal due to some verbal misunderstanding as reported from his video interview with Miriam Deitcher's Flat Track Live.

Full results can be found here thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track.

Larry Lawrence was again on-hand at Daytona last night and filed this report on round 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season for Cycle News.

And LL filed this story on Cycle News earlier this morning concerning the Brad Baker issue and DQ.

Mia Moore & Chew Larcom, The Fans in the Stands from FlatTrack.com, were again taking care of business with these shots from last night's Daytona Short Track II.

And here's another batch of shots from last night, again thanks to Chew & Mia!

Just added @ 5:05 PM EDT on March 16:

Brandon Robinson talks to AMA Pro Flat Track about winning his first AMA Grand National event.

This just in from Will Fulford & Yve Assad from The Fast and Dirty.com who produced these great videos for AMA Pro Flat Track:

"The jury is still out on Brad Baker's DQ in Daytona. At this moment he has lost Championship points only, he was allowed to keep the prize money for 2nd place and the Dash for Cash."

Updated Saturday, March 16 @ 8:35 PM EDT:

This just in from Miriam Deitcher's Flat Track Live: Turns out Brad Baker wasn't DQ'd during the Main last night. He was just stripped of his points. AMA Pro Racing felt his actions didn't warrant a DQ. So he gets credit for finishing 2nd and gets to keep the purse. Baker has until Tuesday at 5pm to appeal.

Double runner-up Brad Baker talks to AMA Pro Flat Track about his two-night run.

Bryan Smith talks to AMA Pro Flat Track about his great run to 3rd-place on the Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports #42 Honda.

(Thanks to Will & Yve for their great efforts and as always bitchin pics and vids!  You guys rock!)

A big congratulations go out to Brandon Robinson and the T.J. Burnett Farms/USC/Hart Racing team for their big win last night in Daytona, and to all the riders, teams and sponsors, AMA Pro Flat Track, and all the fans that made last night's season kick-off complete and possible.  Without a doubt, a superb start to the new season in the best racing series on wheels in the world, the AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship series!

You can check out the official press release below, courtesy of the folks on Fentress Boulevard in Daytona Beach.

Robinson, Constantine Claim First Career Victories in AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Battles at DAYTONA Flat Track

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 15, 2013) - Brandon Robinson (Kawasaki KX450F/TJ Burnett Farms) tasted the sweet taste of victory for the first time in his young career tonight during the second round of action at the DAYTONA Flat Track. The Pennsylvanian acquired the lead on the second lap of the AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles main event and never let up on the throttle from then on.    "My entire team just worked extremely hard to make this happen for me and I can't be more thankful for their support," said Robinson. "We got the setup as close to perfect as possible and everything went as smooth as we could have asked for all night. I got out front early in the main event, put in a hard 25 laps and it all paid off. My team and I have had an awesome week in general and it feels incredible to win here."                             Brandon Robinson #44 executes the pass on early leader Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. #2 that would take him to the lead and his first-ever victory in The Rolling Thunder Show at round 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season at the Daytona Short Track II on Friday, March 15.    Robinson not only took his cherry-breaking win in the series, he also delivered for his new team, the T.J. Burnett Farms/USC Racing/James Hart Racing-sponsored Kawasaki team, who he joined during the off-season.  A big congrats to the former Expert Twins Champion and to the Burnett/USC/Hart team for their hard-earned and well-deserved efforts!  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.     After recording an impressive fifth place finish last night, complacency obviously wasn't an issue for Robinson tonight as he was hungry for better results and he certainly delivered. After taking the early lead from Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (Chaplin Kawasaki/Kawasaki KX450F) on the very first lap, Robinson's main competitor of the night was Brad Baker (Honda CRF450R/Specialty Fabrication Incorporation). After fending off Baker's valiant attempts late in the race to overtake the lead, Robinson managed to get loose on the final lap and take the checkered flag by 1.262 seconds.   Baker, who finished in second-place last night, turned in another second-place effort tonight before an issue in post-race technical inspection resulted in the loss of points for the night's main event. Robinson now sits atop the AMA Pro Grand National Expert Championship point standings and will carry that momentum into Stockton, Calif. when the stars of the series head out west for their next event.   After getting knocked out of last night's main and finishing in 17th to start the season, Bryan Smith (Honda CRF450R/Crosley Radios) rebounded quite nicely on this go-around. The Michigan native beat out 2011 Grand National Champion Jake Johnson (Honda CRF450R) to close out the podium with a third-place finish.   Final results: 1st - Robinson, 2nd - Baker, 3rd - Smith, 4th - Johnson, 5th - Rush   AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles   Jake Constantine's (Honda CRF450R/Allphase Masony & Chimney) lead was in constant expansion throughout the duration of tonight's AMA Pro J&P Cycles Pro Singles main event. The New York product captured the lead early on and never looked back. Constantine, who won the race by over a full two seconds, had never won a professional race before tonight.   "I can't even explain how I feel right now," said an ecstatic Constantine. "To come down here and win it all is the best feeling in the world. It feels great to be on this podium, let alone be at the top of it! This win was huge for me and my team because of how bad we struggled last night in the opener. I can't thank everyone enough for helping me out; this feeling is so surreal right now."   Ryan Wells (Honda CRF450R/Waters Auto Body), who was on the pole for tonight's main event, ran a solid race that landed him in second place. Final results: 1st - Constantine, 2nd - Wells, 3rd - Poe, 4th - Maguire, 5th - Vanderkuur

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

 

AMA Pro Flat Track News & Updates Heading Into the Season-Opening Rounds at Daytona on March 14-15

Former 2008 AMA Pro Flat Track Rookie of the Year Matt Weidman spilled the beans on Facebook earlier this week that he would be campaigning the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track J&P Cycles Grand National Championship Twins Series events on the Scott Powersports Kawasaki again, after having campaigned the 650R-based mounts throughout the second half of the 2012 season.

Weidman, who took over the seat on the Scott Powersports team midway through the 2012 year after initial rider Johnny Lewis left the team after round 6 of the season at the Hagerstown Speedway, is listed as an early entry for rounds 1-2 at the Daytona Short Track next week on his DFW Honda/SNIP-sponsored Honda, and is expected to resume his spot in the Scott Powersports saddle at round 3 that is still a TBA on the schedule on May 4 (although I have heard this round may not happen.  Should that be the case, Mighty Matt's first time riding the Scott Kawi this year should happen on May 11 at the Stockton Mile.)

In the shot above from round 13 of the 2012 season at the Springfield Mile II, Matt stands in line during rider intros, along with the help of his Mom, Rachel and Dad, Guy, who were on-hand to help him out at the Illiniois State Fairgrounds rain-delayed event.  Team owner and stalwart, Mike Scott, was not able to be at the track due to scheduling problems, so Matt's parents gladly came out of 'retirement' to help the New York resident out on the day with set-up on the #20 Scott Powersports/Saddlemen/Fiorio Investments/SNIP-sponsored Kawi.  It was great seeing them back at the track helping him out as they always bring a big lending hand and another pair of big smiles to Matt's efforts.  Matt also did a nice job of rocking former National #20's leathers, Johnny 'Show Time' Murphree, but is slated to wear a nice new set for the upcoming year.  Check it out below.

You can check out a picture of Matt in his new Scott Powersports leathers here from Matt's Facebook page, and we wish the hard charger and Daytona 2012 round 2-winner the best of luck, again, for the upcoming season!

Briar Bauman, the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Saddlemen Rookie of the Year, will be making a big change to his 2013 campaign in the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season as he will be riding for one of the long-time tuners and supporters of the series this year.

After riding for the USC Racing/Hart Racing and Rod Lake Racing teams in his rookie campaign in the 2012 season, Bauman has been slated to ride for the Memphis Shades Yamaha team, helmed by none other then former factory Yamaha and Harley-Davidson tuner and wrench to the stars, Babe DeMay, with factory backing from the Yamaha Motor Company.  Bauman will be tasked with riding the new Yamaha Tenere, which will make it's debut this season in the Twins Series events.

The California resident will also be switching numbers for his 2013 season, and bolting on the #14 plate to his machines, following in the footsteps of Jake Johnson (who wore the #14 up until the 2010 season when he switched to the #5) and Hank Scott, who in this old timer's eyes made that number pretty darn famous from the '74 season until his retirement at the end of the '88 season.

In this shot from round 12 of the 2012 season, Bauman puts the #10Z Rod Lake Racing/Browns Cycle/Arai/Gene & Gail Cummings-backed Honda CRF450R through it's paces during the final practice session of the final Springfield Short Track on September 15.

Thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track for this link to the official press release about Double-B #14 hooking up with one of the long-time supporters and campaigners of the series, the legendary Babe DeMay.

A pair of Bonneville Peformance Triumph/Wiseco/Safety Kleen/Eddie Atkins-sponsored Triumphs sit at the ready for 2011 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Champion Mikey Martin #91 at round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track season on May 27. 

Martin and the team, in their first year together, finished in the 20th-place spot in the overall standings of the 2012 season, and showed some real promise throughout the second-half of the year after making their first National main event together at the Sacramento Mile in late July, and making four more mains (Indy, Knoxville, Santa Rosa, Tucson) to round out the year.

The California Kid with the big afro haircut and the Bonneville Performance Triumph team announced the other day that they would be pairing-up with the just-announced team of Latus Motors Triumph (with rider Johnny Lewis and former Grand National Champion Joe Kopp heading up the team) for the upcoming Twins Series events for the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season.  And they will be bringing new sponsorship on-board in the form of the U.S. Marines.

You can read more about this great news for the Bonneville Performance team and rider Mikey Martin here, again thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track.

After riding for the the Werner-Springsteen Racing/Monster Energy/Cometic/Barnett-sponsored Kawasaki team in the 2012 season, Brandon Robinson #44 has hooked up with the T.J. Burnett Farms/USC Racing/James Hart Racing/Arai-sponsored Kawasaki team for the upcoming season, as was announced in November.

The team got off to a fantastic start to the season yesterday at round 1 of the 2013 Steve Nace Racing AMA All-Star event at Oglethorpe Speedway outside Savannah, GA. with BRob44 taking home the wins in both the Expert Singles and Expert Twins events over other AMA Pro Flat Track headliners Jake Johnson, Rob Pearson, JD Beach, Henry Wiles, Kenny Coolbeth and a big handful of others.

The former Expert Twins Champion tears it up in the shot above aboard the #44 Werner-Springsteen Kawasaki at round 5 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track season at the Allen County Fairgrounds-hosted Lima Half-Mile on June 30, during one of the final practice and qualifying sessions of the day.

Great job guys, what a way to start the first big race of the season, congrats!

You can see the full event results here thanks to Chew & Mia, The Fans in the Stands from FlatTrack.com.


The Steve Nace Racing 2013 AMA All Star National Flat Track Series by Golden Tyre heads to Volusia Speedway Park tomorrow in Barberville, FL. before rounds 1-2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season kick-off on Thursday, March 14-15 at the Daytona International Speedway-hosted short track.

AMA Pro Flat Track: Looking Ahead to the 2013 AMA Grand National Championship Season While Reviewing the 2012 Season Highlight Video by The Fast & Dirty.com

With less than three weeks remaining before round 1 & 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season kicks off at Daytona Beach on March 14 and March 15 (and the 'unofficial' season kick off at Savannah, GA's Oglethorpe Speedway the weekend before), it's time to get your bags packed and your bets placed as we get ready for another great year of racing in The Rolling Thunder Show.

With several technical rule changes mandated during the off-season in order to even up the playing field (not to mention to quiet all of the naysayers throughout the land, especially in the Twins Series), the upcoming season should add even more excitement to the racing and even level out the overall competition in the greatest racing series on wheels in the world.

With additions to the confirmed schedule for the new season expected to be announced in the near future (I am hearing strong rumblings about two new races at Reno, NV and Black Hills, SD being added to the currently-listed 14 events) the 2013 racing schedule is really looking up.  And even with the loss of the TT and short track events on the National calendar at Springfield, Steve Nace Racing has stepped-up along with the the IMDA to bring you All-Star Series events for the Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend rounds at the mecca of flat track motorcycle racing, the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

The 2013 season will again see the return of a big handful of long-time events on this year's calendar.  The Peoria TT, the Lucas Oil Indy Mile, the Hagerstown Speedway Hub City Classic Half-Mile, the Castle Rock TT, the Ohio National Championship round at the Lima Half-Mile, the Sacramento Mile, and the season-finale at the Pomona Flat Track Finales at the LA Fairplex are but a few of the fan-favorites and racer-favs that will be coming down the pike this season, besides the aforementioned Daytona season-openers and everyone's favorite mile events in Springfield.

And for those of us who can't make all (or even any, in some cases) of the races this year, you will have a strong bevy of options in being able to keep up with them in the comfort of your home.  As has been the case for the last couple of seasons, Miriam Deitcher and her Flat Track Live on Facebook will be on-hand to keep you in-the-know with the happenings at the track with her brand of great racing coverage, Chew and Mia will be keeping you up-to-date on their FlatTrack.com on Facebook along with their updates also available on the FlatTrack.com forum.  AMA Pro Flat Track will again be offering the bitchin' Live Timing and Scoring (again to be sponsored by Cortech), and Cycle News.com will be there to cover the races as they have for decades now.  And as we have tried to do here at Stu's Shots over the course of the last few seasons, we will again be doing our best to bring you the news, photos and reviews of today's action with yesterday and today's photos to keep you informed from a standpoint of a long-time fan.  And these are only a few of the options out there at this time to follow along from the comfort of that couch!

As we look ahead to the new season, we can be sure of one thing....the racing will be stellar and the competiton will be first class.  And thanks again goes out to Will Fulford and his lovely and wonderful bride, Yve Assad-Fulford for bringing us more of their great coverage of the races via their offerings of photos and videos. 

One of those offerings (as available below) helps to highlight last year's great racing from coast-to-coast, that brought us another season of racing in The Rolling Thunder show as highlighted in the photo above from round 16 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile II. 

With returning series favs and stalwarts, including Jake Johnson on the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D-sponsored XR750 (who for only the second year-ever will be again wearing the #5 National number plate), Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. on the #2 Screamin' Eagle/Harley-Davidson Motor Company-backed factory XR (who again will be the lone full-time factory-backed entry in the GNC), Jared Mees on the #9 Rogers Racing/Saddlemen-backed XR (who will be now sporting a new tuner in Kenny Tolbert to go along with his newly-earned #1 National number plate), the year ahead is looking as good as ever.  Brandon Robinson on the #44 Werner-Springsteen Racing/Monster Energy-sponsored Kawasaki (who has made his move to the T.J. Burnett Farms/USC Racing Kawasaki fold for the '13 season), Bryan Smith on the #42 Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports-backed Kawi (who for the new season will be backed for the full season by his great sponsor, Crosley Radio) and JD Beach on the #95 T.J. Barnett Farms/USC Racing/-sponsored Kawi (when he is not working his full-time gig in the Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Series in the Daytona SportBike Series class), are just to name a very few of the riders and teams you can look forward to watching and thrilling over in the months to come.

So buckle up, strap in and hang on as the new season gets ready to open the door to another big year of The Rolling Thunder Show.

A big thanks to Will & Eve from The Fast and Dirty.com for this great season wrap-up video from the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.  Great work as always guys and your work is truly appreciated (and adored!)

A BIG Thanks to the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour & NBC Sports Group for the Airing of the AMA Pro Flat Track Pomona Season-Finale

With the year winding down and the racing season having long ago ended, we were treated to a season-ending treat today with NBC Sports' airing of the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour coverage of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track season-finale at Pomona from back in mid-October.  In what was excellent coverage of round 16 of the AMA Grand National Championship, the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour group hit it out of the park in bringing us up-front coverage of The Rolling Thunder Show's final race of the year.

And what a race it was, with Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. putting on a runaway clinic to take the win, and battles all around the track with riders Brad Baker, Bryan Smith and the rest putting on a show for the fans of the greatest sport on wheels in the world.  The camera crew on-hand did a thumbs up job of capturing the action all around the 5/8ths mile oval from back on October 13.

If you were fortunate enough to check out today's coverage on NBC Sports, please take the time to contact them and the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour people and let them know how much we appreciate their airing of this great sport.  If you didn't see today's race coverage, you'll have another chance to catch it on Monday, December 31 at 3:00 PM EST.  Details on that airing can be found at the link at the bottom of this write-up.

The links to contact both NBC Sports and the LOMH people can be found below--please take the time to thank them!


In the shot above from round 13 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile II, the bikes are ready for their riders to show up as the 25-lap National main event gets ready to roll out onto the legendary Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval on September 16. 

RIDE Academy owner and rider coach Mike Hacker (back to camera) watches over Kenny Coolbeth, Jr.'s #2 Screamin' Eagle/Harley-Davidson Motor Co-sponsored factory XR750 while talking with Jake Johnson and Zanotti Racing's crew chief, Ted McDermitt just behind Johnson's #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D-backed XR.

In the background, left of center, Werner-Springsteen Kawasaki Racing's Bill Werner talks with Howerton Motorsports' Jeff Gordon, while team member Donnie Jones gets an earful listening in to two of the most colorful and knowledgeable people in the world of motor sports, with either two or four wheels. 

Brandon Robinson's #44 Werner-Springsteen/Wosner Pistons-backed Kawasaki 650R can be seen partially obscuring Bryan Smith's #42 Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports powered by Eaken Racing Kawasaki.  JB Beach's #95 USC Racing/Red Bull-sponsored Kawasaki can be seen in the back of the shot.


You can contact the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour folks here.  If you took the time to watch the excellent coverage of round 16 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Pomona Half-Mile, then you already know what a super job these folks did in covering the races.

Please take the time to let them know so that they can bring us more coverage of The Rolling Thunder Show put on by the Blue Crew of AMA Pro Flat Track.  Look for the 'contact us' tab at the top right of the homepage from the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour:

http://motorsportshour.com/

And you can also send an e-mail to the NBC Sports Network to thank them for airing the final round of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track season at Pomona.  Here is their e-mail:

nbcsportshelp@nbcuni.com

And in case you missed today's original airing of round 16 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season at the L.A. Fairplex in Pomona, you can find out when and where this will air again on Monday, December 31 here:

http://stusshots.blogspot.com/2012/12/ama-flat-track-nbc-sports-to-air-pomona.html