Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Lee Acree has won multiple WERA National Championships, three Suzuki Cup Championships, back-to-back Formula USA Sportbike titles, topped two AMA Superstock races in 2002, finished third in the 2002 AMA Superstock Championship, nearly won the recent AMA Superstock race at Daytona and yet he doesn’t have a full-time ride for 2003.

“Right now, I don’t have a ride,” said Acree at Daytona International Speedway earlier this month. “I worked something out with Chuck Warren and Arclight Suzuki to ride with them for the AMA weekend down here (at Daytona). Beyond that, I’m looking for a job.”

After an exhausting schedule of racing both the Formula USA and AMA National series in 2002, Acree said at the WERA Grand National Finals last October that he did not want to continue racing in Formula USA and would prefer to race only in the AMA series.

“Yeah, my interest was to go to the AMA,” said the 32-year-old Jamestown, North Carolina resident. “If my only choice had been Formula USA, I would have taken it. I guess I was led to believe there were some opportunities in the AMA, and they didn’t come together. The opportunity for me in Formula USA was closed out before…there was just a lack of communication primarily between myself and (American) Suzuki. It didn’t go the way I wanted it to. Either I misunderstood or things were said, I don’t know. It just led to not having anything. (American) Suzuki, I guess, misunderstood that I said I would quit racing before I would run Formula USA, and that’s just not the case. That’s where that opportunity was dropped, and nothing else came about.”

With his racing resume and high level of professionalism, it would seem possible that Acree could build his own team to go racing. “I could come up with bikes to ride. I think Chuck (Warren) was going to help me out with some of last year’s bikes, but the main problem is coming up with cash funding,” said Acree. “I looked at doing it myself, and if everything went according to plan, I could pull it off financially. But you know how racing is, it rarely goes according to plan. I just feel like I would be biting off more than I can chew doing it on my own.

“I can go out and run select AMA stuff, which is what I may end up doing, then just filling in with some contingency races. I just don’t have the funding to be able to go run the whole series on my own.

“(By coming to Daytona) I just hoping to make people aware that I’m still available and still want to ride. There seemed to be some rumors going around that I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue to race. That’s just not accurate. I’d be willing to entertain any offers. I just want to ride.”

Riding 2002 Suzukis not built to take advantage of the new 2003 rules, Acree took a photo-finish second in the AMA Superstock final at Daytona just behind race winner Tommy Hayden. Acree also finished 17th in the AMA Supersport race at Daytona, the second-highest privateer and the highest non-factory Suzuki rider.

But at post time, Acree’s time in the wilderness looks like it will end soon, with a full-time paid ride in the F-USA Series. An official announcement is expected by the end of the week.