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 Flat Track: Brandon Robinson #44 to Ride for USC Racing Kawasaki Team in 2013

Brandon Robinson relaxes in the pit area at round 10 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile on August 18.  Riding for the Werner-Springsteen Monster Energy Kawasaki team for the 2012 Twins Series events, BRob44 had the best finish of his young career in his fourth season as an Expert-ranked rider by finishing 11th in the overall standings at the end of the season.

Robinson took the #44 Werner-Springsteen Racing/Sponseller/Penske/Motion Pro-sponsored Kawasaki 650R-based parallel twin to a superior finish of 2nd-place later in the evening at Indy for what was his best-ever finish in the Grand National Championship.  Leading laps and almost pulling off the upset win over veteran Sammy Halbert, Robinson backed up his 4th-place finish earlier in the season at the Sacramento Mile with another top-5 performance for the season in his first year with the team.

As was announced a few days ago thanks to the always entertaining, energetic and informative Tyler Porter from Fight For Dirt Track.com, Robinson will be taking his skills in the saddle to the USC Racing Kawasaki team for the upcoming 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track season. 

Brandon will join part-time team mate JD Beach (who will be returning to the Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona SportBike Championship for his full-time job in the '13 season) on the 650R-based team.  Rob Pearson, 2012 Rookie of the Year Briar Bauman and Jethro Halbert are among a few other riders who have ridden for the team in the last two seasons.

Also seen in the shot above are two of the other machines in the Werner-Springsteen stable.  In the middle sits Stevie Bonsey's #80 Werner-Springsteen/Alpinestars/Wossner Pistons/Cometic Gasket-sponsored mount, with Robinson's back-up machine sitting in the background. 

The back-up mount is the same bike taken to the Indy and Springfield Mile wins during the 2010 season under the tutelage of team owners 13-Time AMA Grand National Championship-winning master wrench Bill Werner and 3-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen, with Bryan Smith at the controls.  Sammy Halbert ended up practicing the bike in the first session at Indy under an agreement he had worked out with team captain Werner, but according to the multi-time championship-winning tuner there wasn't enough time to get it dialed in to Sammy's liking in order for him to try to run the National on, and obviously that worked out to Halbert's advantage with him ultimately winning his first-ever mile event later that evening.

The podium celebrations get under way at round 10 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile on August 18.  Jared Mees #9 and Brandon Robinson #44 flank first-time mile event winner Sammy Halbert after he had beaten Robinson to the line in the National main by just .027 seconds on his #7 South East Harley/The South Ass/Mo Vaughn Transport/LZ Racing-sponsored XR750.

Robinson was celebrating his best-ever finish of his four year career as an Expert-ranked rider after taking the Werner-Springsteen Kawasaki to a 2nd-place finish, and how ironic that must have been for the Pennsylvana resident after being hurled out of the park during the Lucas Oil Indy Mile in 2009 and fighting back from injuries and surgeries to ulitmately have the best finish of his Grand National career at Indy and at the end of the season overall.

With BRob44's experience on the Kawi twin gaining ground as the year went on, his move to the USC Racing Kawasaki team for the 2013 season should bring in some added knowledge and set-up experience to one of the other great teams now campaigning the parallel twin on the AMA Pro Flat Track circuit.

We wish both USC and Brandon the best of luck for the 2013 season and are looking forward to seeing some strong results out of them in the coming year!


You can follow BRob44 here via his Twitter account:

http://twitter.com/BRob44

...and here via his official website:

http://brandonrobinson44.com/

And again a thanks goes out to Tyler Porter at Fight For Dirt Track.com for making the announcement in his Inslide Line column from late Thanksgiving Thursday.  You can check out TP's most recent columns on FFDT.com here to keep up on the 'inslide line' from one of AMA Pro Flat Track's more amusing and most informative sources:

http://www.fightfordt.com/new_site/inslide_line.php

AMA Flat Track: Stevie Bonsey Takes the #80 Goodwin Racing XR750 to the Win at Tucson Half-Mile in Penultimate Round of the 2012 Season

Racing for his fourth team this season, Stevie Bonsey took the #80 Goodwin Racing XR750 to the win last night at the Tucson Half-Mile, round 15 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.  The Salinas, California resident set the fast heat time win while winning heat one to establish himself as the man to beat at the Arizona venue, and proceeded to control the evening's events by winning the Dash for Cash and leading all 25 laps in the National main event.

Bonsey, who campaigns his own equipment in the Singles Series races with the help of George Mack of Mack Daddy Racing, also has run a couple of events this season on the Dodge Brothers XR team, a handful of events for the Werner-Springsteen Kawasaki/Monster Energy/Alpinestars/Arai-sponsored 650R-based mount (shown above after winning semi race #2 at the Springfield Mile II on September 16) and now with the Goodwin Racing effort.  This guy must have his bagged packed all year long with all the great teams and efforts he has campaigned this season, and other then Brad Baker must be the most-traveled of riders in The Rolling Thunder Show this year. 

This is a great win for the young man once promoted as Kenny Roberts' protege.  After winning the 2009 AMA Pro Flat Track Rookie of the Year Award, Bonsey won his first-ever Grand National at the Calistoga Half-Mile in late July '10, and now doubles his win total in the greatest racing series on wheels in the world.

Runner-up last night saw Bryan Smith campaigning his #42 Moroney's FastHog.com XR, and Sammy Halbert rounded out the podium on his #7 South East H-D-backed XR to gain a couple of points on series points leader Jared Mees, who finished in the 4th-place spot last night to still hold the lead in the standings 280-268 over Sammy.  2-Time and defending AMA Grand National Champion fell to 20 points behind series' leader Mees with a 6th-place finish on the #1 Zanotti Racing XR, with Brad Baker rounding out the top-5 on the #12 Dodge Brothers Racing XR.

A big congrats go out to Stevie Bonsey for his superb win last night, this fine young man has been forced to curtail his season's efforts this season due to lack of funds, but the one's he has been running he has been making some big statements, with last night's big win sealing the deal for the wayward team traveler.  Not yet on the pre-entry list for Saturday's final round in Pomona, here's hoping he can hook-up another great ride to close the season out with.  Great job man, we knew you could and would do it again.  Bravo!

The Goodwin Racing XR sits in the pits during round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I on May 27.  Jethro Halbert was running the #69 Goodwin Racing/Drew Massa Trans/SHR/Arai-sponsored XR this particular weekend, and brought the machine home to a 7th-place finish.

I believe this is Goodwin's first-ever win in The Rolling Thunder Show, as I am not that familiar with their effort, but a big congrats also goes out to this team for putting one of the best in the business in Stevie Bonsey on their mount and taking the big win last night in Tucson to beat the rest of the best.  Great job guys!

Here is the link to the complete results for round 15 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at Tucson International Raceway:

http://results.amaproracing.com/live/results/pdfresults/ft/2012/F1275/default.aspx

And a big thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track for not only the link to the results above, but for this gallery of shots from Tucson yesterday by AMA Pro Flat Track photographer Dave Hoenig:

http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/multimedia/gallery.cfm?gid=7669

Check out AMA Pro Flat Track's official press release on the penulitmate round of the 2012 season at the Tucson Half-Mile from yesterday!

Stevie Bonsey Captures AMA Pro Flat Track Win at Tucson Half-Mile

 

TUCSON, Ariz. (October 6, 2012) - The desert heat had no effect on Stevie Bonsey (Harley-Davidson/Goodwin Racing) as he shredded the competition during Saturday night's AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com and Lucas Oil main event at the Tucson International Raceway. Bonsey took the checkered flag by over a full second and recorded his best performance of the season. It's been five years since AMA Pro Flat Track has held an event in Tucson, Arizona but the high-octane racing action made it worth the wait.

 

 

Stevie Bonsey on the #80 Goodwin Racing XR750 took the lead towards the end of the first lap and went on to win the Tucson Half-Mile by over 1.1 seconds over runner-up Bryan Smith on the #42 Moroney's FastHog.com XR.  Sammy Halbert rounded out the podium on his #7 South East H-D XR750 at last night's round 15 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.  The series heads to the final round in Pomona this Saturday, October 13.  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.

"I came out and did it in front of the Arizona fans here tonight," said Bonsey. "My first victory was in California and luckily my second one came here in front of you guys. From start to finish, I felt good the whole race and I have to thank my guys for giving me this great opportunity."

Bonsey was the pole sitter and clearly had the fastest bike of the night. Sixth-place finisher and defending Grand National Champion Jake Johnson (Harley-Davidson/ Zanotti Racing) got the holeshot out of the gate but that lead lasted less than a full lap as Bonsey went a little lower on the groove off turn four and reclaimed the lead...and never looked back.

Bryan Smith (Harley-Davidson/Crosley Radio) was alone in second place for the majority of the race but saw his comfortable 1.56-second lead over Sammy Halbert (Harley-Davidson/South East Harley) diminish on the final lap. Fortunately for Smith, he was able to hold off Halbert on the final run up the front-stretch to claim an impressive second-place finish.

The bright side for Halbert is that he edged fourth place finisher and current GNC combined points leader Jared Mees to close the gap between them with one final race remaining.

 

AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles

All season long, the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles have excelled under the shadows cast by the twin-cylinder engines, and this week was no exception. Shayna Texter (DFW Honda) won her third race of the season and was sharp right from the get-go.

"I have a lot of fans here and I want to give a shout out to them," said Texter. "I also want to thank my team and sponsors; this was a big win for us."

Texter started from pole and when she surrendered the lead to Rodney Spencer Jr. (Honda/831 Pinnit) on lap 12, it looked as if she was going to fall short of the victory. However, on the last turn of the final lap, justice was served as the young phenom ripped the lead right back from Spencer Jr. just in time to capture the checkered flag by a slim .131 second margin. 

Spencer Jr. continued to stay hot as this race made for his second consecutive runner-up finish. Jason Isennock (Honda/Highs Dairy Stores) also impressed as he closed out the podium in what proved to be an intense battle for the third spot. AMA Pro Singles points leader Stephen Vanderkuur (Honda/Parkinson Brothers Racing) and Ryan Kearns (Honda/SM Racing) rounded out the top five riders, respectively.

Next Up

 

AMA Pro Flat Track heads to Pomona, Calif. for the The Law Tigers AMA Pro Flat Track Finals presented locally by Harley-Davidson of Pomona Valley and Glendale Harley-Davidson, scheduled for October 13, 2012 at the LA County Fairplex.

 

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 Rider Spotlight on Werner-Springsteen Racing's Brandon Robinson, National #44

Brandon Robinson shoots a roost out of the back of the #44 Werner-Springsteen Racing/Monster Energy/Action Motorsports/Big Dawg Racing-sponsored Kawasaki 650R-based parallel twin during first round qualifying at round 5 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Lima Half-Mile on June 30.

BRob44, the former '08 Basic Expert Twins Champion, went from fielding his own team in last year's series to riding for the iconic Werner-Springsteen Racing pairing for the 2012 season.  After finishes of 16th (Springfield Mile I), 15th (Lima Half-Mile) and 14th (Hagerstown Half-Mile) in the first three Twins Series events of the season, he currently sits in the 13th-place spot in the overall point standings.

The personable young rider out of Pennsylvania seems to be finally getting back to making National mains on a regular basis after his near-tragic accident at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile in August 2009 during his rookie Expert season, in which he was pitched out of the park and over the fence in turn one and went on to go through what has seemed like dozens of surgeries to his hip, pelvis and lower back.  In what was considered a miracle return to the track at the June 2010 Gas City Short Track event, Robinson carded a strong 7th-place finish on the tight track in northern Indiana. 

Since that time his results may have seemed up-and-down, but this fine young man and hard charger has fought back to where he has now made the main event in all six rounds he has competed in during the still-young season.  And all the while, doing it now on a new machine after running primarily Harley-Davidson XR750s throughout his Expert career.

One of his bigger accomplishments for this season he notes was making the main at the Springfield TT on May 26, one of the events that is the hardest on the riders in the series, let alone one who has gone through multiple surgeries on his body.  That alone could or should stand to make a few new fans for the tall and lean youngster.  And when his Werner-Springteen Kawasaki pitched him to the ground during the National main at Lima due to a suspected-broken wheel, he was able to shake it off (so to speak) and return to the track at the next round at Hagerstown just seven days later.  After seeing the almost-completely destroyed bike get pushed/dragged/plowed back to the pits after the red-flag incident alone strengthened my feelings of how tough he is!

From a long-time fan's standpoint, it's great to see Brandon on what could again be a competitive piece of equipment, though at times he has seemed to struggle with learning the machine's handling capabilities.  But he is definitely seeing it through and if he sticks with it like he has his recovery from his injuries, he could just be the one to help turn the program around for the team after their dismal 2011 season.

Good luck to Brandon AND to the Werner-Springteen team for the rest of the season, as it will be good to see both of them back up towards the front as the season progresses in The Rolling Thunder Show, the greatest sport on wheels in the world!

Thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track for this nice little interview with Brandon Robinson, National #44:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/news/index.cfm?cid=53789

You can also keep up with BRob44 here via his official website:

http://brandonrobinson44.com/