DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 31, 2020) – AMA Pro Racing today announced the promotion of Gene Crouch to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) from his previous position of Chief Marketing Officer. As COO, Crouch will now coordinate the operational efforts of all departments at AMA Pro.
“Gene has a proven track record of implementing innovative solutions to achieve our corporate goals,” said Michael Lock, Chief Executive Officer of AMA Pro Racing. “His demonstrated leadership abilities, his focus on executing on our corporate strategic vision and his strong relationship skills will be tremendous assets to me and AMA Pro in this new role. His efforts will be a key component as we implement new growth strategies for the sport of Pro Flat Track.”
Crouch joined AMA Pro Racing when the company was founded in 2008, coming from sister-company GRAND-AM where he started his motorsports career in 2005. During American Flat Track’s period of rapid growth since 2017 under the leadership of Michael Lock, Crouch executed the strategy of rebranding of the sport and has delivered consecutive seasons of growth in TV ratings as an executive producer of American Flat Track’s shows on NBCSN. His achievements in the motorsports industry encompass innovations in timing & scoring and live streaming, including the development of industry-leading technology for the professional motorcycle racing championships promoted by the AMA, Feld Entertainment and MX Sports and working in close collaboration with NASCAR and IMSA on the FansChoice.tv live streaming platform.
About AMA Pro Racing:
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.
When the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship begins there will be some familiar faces on the grid, but there will also be a whole lot of newness: New bikes, new teams, new crew chiefs, and new classes.
To help preview the season, we’ve enlisted the help of Josh Hayes.
Not only has Hayes won four AMA Pro Superbike Championships, he’s won a total of 83 AMA Pro/MotoAmerica races and three support class titles; raced in the Endurance World Championship; run at the front in Supersport World Championship races; and finished seventh while competing in his first MotoGP race as a substitute rider at Valencia in 2011.
More recently, Hayes won two races at the International Island Classic vintage event in January of this year at Phillip Island; raced at the front throughout the 2019 Daytona 200 and was on provisional pole position for the 2020 Daytona 200; and finished on the podium in the MotoAmerica Supersport class in 2019.
When he’s not racing, Hayes is a rider coach for top competitors, including Bobby Fong and Jake Gagne, as well as working with Garrett Gerloff.
And if these weren’t enough qualifications to preview the upcoming season, Hayes rode in place of injured Mathew Scholtz on Westby Racing’s 2020-model Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike during the official MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park in March. So, he’s had a close look at most of the field.
This preview series is highlighting one Superbike or Superbike Cup/Stock 1000 rider each day, but it will not feature every rider entered in the two classes. Riders will be listed in the order they finished the 2019 Superbike Championship with riders who were not in the 2019 Superbike Championship listed in alphabetical order.
Mathew Scholtz sporting a broken right collarbone at the 2020 MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo by David Swarts.
Mathew Scholtz
After competing in a variety of motorcycle racing disciplines as a youth in his home country of South Africa, Scholtz was selected to join the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2008.
Starting at the age of 15, Scholtz spent three years in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, winning one race, earning several podium results, and finishing as high as sixth in the 2008 point standings.
Scholtz moved on to the CEV Moto2 Championship in 2011, where he earned four top-10 race finishes, including a fourth, and got sixth in the final point standings. Thanks to continued sponsorship from his father’s trucking company, Scholtz raced for two seasons in the FIM Supersport World Championship, but was unable to achieve any standout results on the equipment available to him.
He returned home to race in South Africa and nearly won a Supersport Championship in 2014, before switching to the South African SuperGP (Superbike) class, where he blossomed and won the 2016 South African SuperGP Championship on a Yamaha.
During his Championship-winning season in 2016, Scholtz also got the opportunity to fill in for injured countryman Sheridan Morais on the Rabid Transit Yamaha team in the MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 series.
Scholtz showed up at Road America, a track he had never seen before, and put the unfamiliar Yamaha on the podium in his debut MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 race. He repeated the same feat the following weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.
All of this attracted the attention of Westby Racing, which had recently seen its rider Josh Day sidelined by a head injury. The year prior to that, the team had lost rider Dane Westby, the son of Team Owner Tryg Westby, in a tragic, fatal streetbike accident.
Westby Racing contracted Scholtz, and he immediately repaid the team by finishing second in his first race, in Utah. Scholtz finished the 2016 season with Westby Racing, ended up sixth in the final point standings despite missing the first eight races of the season, and earned a full-time ride with the team in 2017, and which continues through 2020.
In 2017, Scholtz won 10 races, finished on the podium 19 times in 20 races, and won the MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Championship one round early in New Jersey. And if winning the title wasn’t enough, Scholtz finished the season by taking the overall race victory in the final combined Superbike/Superstock 1000 race of the season, making him the first rider to ever accomplish that feat on a Superstock machine and the first South African to win a MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike race.
Westby Racing rewarded Scholtz with more parts on his Yamaha YZF-R1 and a move from Superstock 1000 up to the Superbike class in 2018, when the lean, 6-foot-1 rider claimed another Superbike race win, eight podium finishes, and fourth place in the final Championship rankings.
Westby Racing upgraded its YZF-R1 again for the 2019 season, adding advanced Magneti Marelli engine electronics and other pricey parts, but the results went in the wrong direction. Scholtz still managed 6th in the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship with four podium finishes in 20 races.
While Scholtz, now 27, has shown with his race wins and multiple pole positions that he has the equipment and talent to challenge for MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, he has also shown inconsistency with some crashes and poor race starts that have been counterproductive.
And although he missed the official MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park in March due to a broken collarbone he suffered in a crash while training just before the test, Scholtz has had as much — if not more — off-season testing time than any of his competitors. That combined with the fact he is entering his fourth season with the same team could give him an early advantage over some others in the class, and the delay to the start of the season is definitely helping Scholtz return to full fitness.
“The one thing with Mat is we’ve seen him win and we’ve seen him be fast week in and week out, but we’ve never seen him fulfill that final bit of potential he has,” said Hayes. “As a guy sitting on the side of the track watching, I have some ideas of where I think he could clean up some of it, but as I’ve found with a lot of racers and even when coaching guys, it has to come from that own rider’s ideas. It has to be their idea. That’s the only way you enact change.
“I think he has a team behind him that is giving him a good tool to go out and battle with, but one thing that happens is you look at the guys around you and you say, ‘I don’t think that they’re better than me.’ Then you start looking and getting caught up in how complicated these motorcycles are and how to fix every problem.
“I’m not deep enough into the team to know that’s the problem. I’ve been there enough times and seen him on the podium looking at the bikes in front of him and saying, ah, I don’t have this, this, and this, and look, I’m here. And he’s correct.
“But there’s also some benefit to having a simple motorcycle and being able to focus on what’s really important rather than coming in and constantly messing with the motorcycle. You work on you and getting the most out of the things you have underneath you.
“With Mat, I think it was a situation that worked for him, because look at what he was able to do with standard YEC [Yamaha race kit] electronics on a Superbike. He was able to go out and win a couple of races. Conditions weren’t always perfect, but he was able to focus on a lot of the important things and put things together.
“It’s almost a case of be careful what you wish for, because when you get complicated electronics you get a lot of complicated problems that come along with them. Every lap you do is scrutinized and haggled over and discussed. The amount of options you can change in the machine are limitless compared to the YEC, where at some point you go, ‘We’ve gotten about everything out of it that we can. It’s on you now, buddy.’
“I’ve seen Mat a little bit this off-season. I know he’s been working hard. There’s never been a question how hard he works on the physical side of things. But I hope he’s been paying attention to racing and races and trying to figure out a little bit of how to play the chess board better.
“So, how can he improve as a rider? What areas was he weak at? I saw him qualify fairly well a couple of times only to get miserable starts and be pretty far back into Turn One. So, starts need to become a priority to give himself the best chance possible.
“You’re going to be hard pressed to catch up to guys like Toni [Elias] and Cameron [Beaubier] to learn what they’re doing, but if you can go with them from the beginning or even attack them in the beginning there’s a lot longer time frame to figure out how they are doing what they’re doing and evaluate things and actually make progress.
“That’s just a few key areas. There’s no question about how much he wants it or how deep he’s willing to dig. I think at his age that’s a great thing and something I would want in a rider if I was choosing to have one on a team of my own.”
Roadracing World started this exclusive special feature recognizing the most promising young road racers as an answer to pessimists who claimed America had no new, up-and-coming young racers. This edition of the Roadracing World Young Gun Awards marks the 24th consecutive year of showcasing an abundance of new talent.
Roadracing World Young Guns have won:
FIM MotoGP and FIM Superbike races and World Championships;
AMA Pro races and Championships, including eight AMA Pro Superbike Championships;
A KTM RC Cup World Final race;
The Daytona 200 (8 times);
WERA National Endurance Championships and WERA National Challenge Championships;
ASRA/Formula USA Grand National and CCS National Championships;
AMA Road Racing Grand Championships and Horizon Awards;
USGPRU National Championships;
Many regional and local titles.
The competition has continually become more intense as more – and younger—racers with higher levels of accomplishment are nominated, and the level of achievement required to make the grade keeps getting tougher.
We’ve spent the last several months accepting nominations and evaluating road racers between the ages of 11 and 18 (as of the start of the 2020 season) who have, at a minimum, won Expert-level road races and/or Championships on a 125cc two-stroke/250cc four-stroke or larger racebike or had outstanding results as an Amateur/Novice. Most of the riders included here have done far more than the minimum.
The young riders recognized here are the most promising young road racers in North America. All have earned the title of Roadracing World Young Gun.
We will feature one Young Gun per day, presenting them in alphabetical order.
Torin Collins. Photo courtesy of Torin Collins.
Torin Collins
Age: 14.
Current home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Current height/weight: 5’2”/122 pounds.
Current school grade level: 9th grade.
Began riding at age: 5 years.
First road race: 2012, Calgary, Alberta, Alberta Mini Road Racing Association, Youth 6-9, 3rd place.
Current racebike: Honda NSF250R.
Current tuner/mechanic: Reale Avintia MTA Junior Team.
Recent racing accomplishments: 2019 season, finished 15th in British Talent Cup (best race finish was 7th); 2018 season, selected to join 2019 British Talent Cup, won EMRA Lightweight Superbike and Lightweight Open Championships (11 wins, set 2 class lap records), multiple race wins in 2018/2019 CVMA Winter Series, won UtahSBA Moto3 race at Utah Motorsports Campus; 2017 season, won 7 CMA Mini Road Racing National Championships, won 2 FIM Mini Road Racing Championships, won 8 races and set 2 class lap records during 2017/2018 CVMA Winter Series.
2020 racing goal: Finish in the top 10 in European Talent Cup.
Racing career goal: Race in the Superbike or MotoGP World Championship.
TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold Brings Free AFT Racing Content to Fans
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 30, 2020) – American Flat Track‘s entire 2019 racing season is now available to viewers through TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold at no cost.
Last week, NBC Sports announced that it has made TrackPass, along with nine other services, free in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, giving fans a wide variety of premium content to consume.
Free access to AFT on TrackPass runs through May 1. Fans can access the free content and select the various packages they want to view by visiting: www.nbcsports.com/gold/free-access.
Upon clicking the link above, fans will be directed to create an account and may select from the various packages including American Flat Track, TrackPass, IndyCar, Pro Motocross and more. Once a package has been added to an account, fans may access the content on any device equipped with the NBC Sports app.
Additional content on TrackPass includes full-event replays of all NASCAR races since its launch in December 2019 and nearly 50 long-form documentaries on NASCAR’s biggest stars, venues, and stories. IMSA WeatherTech, K&N and Modified races from the 2019 season are also available.
TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold builds off the foundation set by FansChoice.tv, and the NASCAR and NBC Sports collaborative product becomes the most robust live and on-demand motorsports content offering in the domestic digital marketplace.
Fans will get more exclusive live motorsports events and an extensive library of archived documentaries and films. The platform will offer exclusive live viewing of a multitude of motorsports, including American Flat Track, select ARCA Menards Series events (including ARCA Menards Series East and West races), NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, and tentpole grassroots racing events, as well as NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series practice and qualifying sessions (NBC Sports’ half of the schedule only).
NBCSN and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold are the official homes for coverage of American Flat Track. For the 2020 season, NBCSN’s coverage of AFT remains in highly-coveted programming slots within two weeks of each event. The complete schedule for AFT on NBCSN can be viewed at http://www.americanflattrack.com/events-nbcsn/. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold – the most-robust motorsports offering in the digital marketplace – is a cornerstone of AFT’s digital strategy, providing live streaming coverage of every event and maintaining an active archive of all AFT content.
About American Flat Track:
American Flat Track is the world’s premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on American Flat Track, please visit http://www.americanflattrack.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check us out on Instagram, live stream the events with TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold and catch all the American Flat Track racing action on NBCSN.
When the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship begins there will be some familiar faces on the grid, but there will also be a whole lot of newness: New bikes, new teams, new crew chiefs, and new classes.
To help preview the season, we’ve enlisted the help of Josh Hayes.
Not only has Hayes won four AMA Pro Superbike Championships, he’s won a total of 83 AMA Pro/MotoAmerica races and three support class titles; raced in the Endurance World Championship; run at the front in Supersport World Championship races; and finished seventh while competing in his first MotoGP race as a substitute rider at Valencia in 2011.
More recently, Hayes won two races at the International Island Classic vintage event in January of this year at Phillip Island; raced at the front throughout the 2019 Daytona 200 and was on provisional pole position for the 2020 Daytona 200; and finished on the podium in the MotoAmerica Supersport class in 2019.
When he’s not racing, Hayes is a rider coach for top competitors, including Bobby Fong and Jake Gagne, as well as working with Garrett Gerloff.
And if these weren’t enough qualifications to preview the upcoming season, Hayes rode in place of injured Mathew Scholtz on Westby Racing’s 2020-model Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike during the official MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park in March. So, he’s had a close look at most of the field.
This preview series is highlighting one Superbike or Superbike Cup/Stock 1000 rider each day, but it will not feature every rider entered in the two classes. Riders will be listed in the order they finished the 2019 Superbike Championship with riders who were not in the 2019 Superbike Championship listed in alphabetical order.
Josh Herrin. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of Scheibe Racing.
Josh Herrin
Originally from California, 29-year-old Josh Herrin turned pro at the age of 16 in 2006, and he’s had a roller-coaster of a career since then. His career started on a steep climb, with Herrin winning 600cc races beginning in his sophomore season and the Daytona 200 at age 19 (making him the second-youngest winner) in 2010.
He finished as runner-up in the 2009 AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike Championship and third in the same Championship the following year, winning a combined nine races over the two seasons.
This earned Herrin a ride on the factory Yamaha Superbike team, where he won the 2013 AMA Pro Superbike Championship while winning four races.
The following season, 2014, Herrin landed a ride on the Caterham Air Asia Moto2 team, which also fielded Johann Zarco. That move turned into a nose dive. Herrin failed to score any World Championship points in the few races he ran and the team failed to pay Herrin his contracted salary, leading to the breakup of the relationship mid-season.
Herrin returned to America and rebooted his career by joining a private Yamaha team, Meen Motorsports, racing in the MotoAmerica Supersport category. Herrin stayed with the same team in 2016, moved up to the Superstock 1000 class, won eight races, and earned the Championship. Meen Motorsports tried to step up to the Superbike class in 2017 and Herrin managed to score a podium finish at Laguna Seca on what was largely a Superstock-spec motorcycle, but financial issues saw the Meen Motorsports team fold up before the season ended.
Herrin pulled out of that dive by partnering with Attack Performance owner Richard Stanboli to field a privateer Yamaha in the 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. The season got off in true underdog fashion when the Attack Performance semi suffered a mechanical breakdown on its cross-country journey from California to Road Atlanta and Herrin decided to do the opening round of the Superbike Championship on his lightly modified Yamaha streetbike, finishing an incredible sixth in Race Two and scoring 16 points on the weekend. In his first race on the actual Attack Performance Yamaha Superbike, Herrin took a second place at Circuit of The Americas, going from underdog to title contender in an instant.
Herrin went on to win two races and place third in the 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, thrilling his legions of fans and earning him the opportunity to replace retiring Roger Hayden on the Yoshimura Suzuki team for the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
Herrin won a race at Circuit of The Americas early in the 2019 season and added another victory and two podiums later on, but he also finished seventh four times as he struggled to fully mesh with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.
For 2020, Herrin has signed to ride for Scheibe Racing on a BMW S1000RR Superbike. While the Scheibe machine is not the newest-generation S1000RR, it has proven to be fast and capable of running up front – at least at times — in the hands Jake Gagne in 2019 and Danny Eslick in 2018. And team owner/crew chief Steve Scheibe is a successful engineer who has been constantly improving his Superbike and program and doing it without any significant support from BMW.
So, Herrin’s back in the position of underdog, where he has done some of his best work and attracted much of his passionate fan base.
“There’s no question this could be a difficult time for Josh, but the Scheibe Racing team going with him with his results sheet was a no-brainer,” said Hayes, a former teammate of Herrin. “I don’t think anyone questions if he is able to get the most out of something, but that being said, this is going to be his first time kind of being the only guy on a team.
“There are no other resources to look to, [like] other guys who have figured things out on that BMW. On the Yamaha, there was so much information out there on how to make a Yamaha work. When he jumped onto the Suzuki, he jumped onto the best one in the paddock and potentially one of the best ones in the world. So, those things [Yamaha and Suzuki] were both proven winners.
“This is definitely going to be more of an underdog story. The Scheibe Racing BMW has had some success. I guess it comes down to how you decide to measure it. They’ve been competitive for quite a bit of a race in good conditions at the right tracks when guys had everything fall into line. I think everyone looks at it and goes, ‘There’s some potential there. What could we see happen?’
“From what I know of Josh Herrin, his experience has still been a lot of time on mostly the best equipment there was on offer. And so, stepping into a position where he doesn’t have every resource available to him that a factory team has is always going to be difficult, and he’s going to have to figure out how to get the most out of what he’s got. I think he does that fairly well, but I think week in and week out it’s going to be more difficult to figure out how to do that.
“We’ll just have to see. There will be races where he will feature for a while and get in there and battle with the front guys, but I think over race distance and the course of the season I am hard pressed to believe he will have what he needs to challenge for the Championship.”
As far as Herrin enjoying and even thriving in the role of an underdog, Hayes said, “Everybody is comfortable in that underdog position because there’s no expectations on you and everything that you do good makes you look like a hero. Of course, there’s joy and there’s fun in that, but that’s different than making yourself a contender.
“Immediately, if he goes out there and starts running at the front, that underdog mentality could change really quickly. It did when he was on the Attack Yamaha, I believe. The whole picture changed really quickly when he was leading races regularly on an Attack Superbike.
“People can do amazing things when they have nothing to lose; I think he will be able to do some special things.”
Buffalo, NY: Dunlop has never focused its considerable engineering experience on building a drag racing tire until now. But the time was right to support the drag racing market due to the higher demands of the Pro Street Bike class, where horsepower and speeds have achieved new levels in recent years.
Professional and amateur drag racers that are required to run DOT motorcycle tires had few choices. So, Dunlop created the new Dragmax in 190/50ZR17 size, the most popular size for serious drag racers on metric and V-Twin motorcycles.
The Dragmax is a radial tire that utilizes Dunlop’s exclusive N-TEC construction, similar to that of Dunlop’s rear road racing slicks. N-TEC combines the benefits of cut-breaker construction, which increases stiffness, with continuously-wound aramid Jointless Tread construction for maximum feel and stability.
This design allows racers to run very low pressures, increasing the footprint for maximum traction.
The compound is also very soft, the softest street compound Dunlop has ever produced in its Buffalo, NY plant.
A completely new profile that’s wider and flatter than a typical hypersport tire also helps lay down a bigger footprint. And the tire’s construction minimizes centrifugal growth to keep that footprint as consistent as possible, which also reduces the risk of de-beading.
To find out more about the all-new Dragmax, go to dunlopracing.com.
About Dunlop Motorcycle Tires
Dunlop is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S.A. For more information, visit www.dunlopmotorcycletires.com.
R&G Set To Sponsor MotoAmerica Series Again For 2020
Crash Protection Specialist Makes Products Our Fans And Racers Use
IRVINE, CA (March 30, 2020) – MotoAmerica is happy to announce that British crash protection specialist R&G will be back for a second season as a sponsorship partner of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series.
Distributed in North America by Twisted Throttle, R&G produces damage protection products for motorcycles, including tank sliders and engine case covers that are approved for use in the five MotoAmerica classes.
“We are delighted to be backing this exciting series again and continuing to raise our profile in such an important market,” R&G’s Simon Hughes said. “Our brand and products are more visible than ever.”
R&G came on board at the end of last season to sponsor the final three rounds of the series,” said MotoAmerica’s senior sponsorship manager Lance Bryson. “We quickly found out that the partnership was a good one and renewing the agreement was a no-brainer. R&G makes products that our racers and fans use, so it’s natural that they are a part of our series. We can’t wait to get the 2020 season started.”
“At Twisted Throttle we believe that R&G products are the industry leader for crash protection,” said Twisted Throttle’s Erik Stephens. “We are excited to help get these products in the hands of our MotoAmerica racers and ultimately on the bikes of riders across the nation.”
For the complete 2020 MotoAmerica Series schedule, click HERE
To purchase tickets for any of the 2020 series round, click HERE
For information on how to watch the 2020 MotoAmerica Series, click HERE
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
By day, Matt Greenstone is the Creative Director at Angel City Studios, an award-winning visual effects studio in North Hollywood, California, that has produced hundreds of hours of video graphics and effects for well known TV shows like Deadliest Catch, Bering Sea Gold, Ice Road Truckers, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, and A&E Biography, to name a few.
On the weekends, Greenstone is a hardcore motorcycle road racing fan and can be found at most major events.
In 2012, Greenstone took on the pet project of shooting, editing, and producing his own documentary about motorcycle road racing in an effort to help the sport grow. The documentary was called “Road Warriors,” and it won several awards at film festivals and earned Greenstone the AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award in 2014.
Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing the temporary shutdown of most motorcycle road racing and forcing millions of people around the world to follow stay-at-home guidelines, Greenstone is doing his part by offering a free online screening of Road Warriors for Roadracingworld.com readers.
To watch the documentary, go HERE and then enter the password RW2012.
The cover art for the motorcycle road racing documentary Road Warriors. Image courtesy of Matt Greenstone.
An Executive Order was issued on March 25, 2020 by Andy Beshear, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which stated that all businesses that are not life-sustaining shall cease operations effective Thursday, March 26, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. To further follow the guidelines set forth by the state of Kentucky and in obligation to the health and well-being of our community, customers and supporters, all events and activities at the NCM Motorsports Park are suspended until April 22, 2020. We will continue to proactively monitor this timeline on a weekly basis, and update you via email, our website and social media platforms as the state guidelines regarding COVID-19 are revised.
We are working diligently to reschedule events and experiences to a later time in the year as our track schedule allows. Our staff will be rotating in the office to answer the phone Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. CST, and all staff members will be available via email as we transition to work from home.
If you have not yet been contacted and have questions regarding a booking or reservation you have made with the NCM Motorsports Park through April 21, please email [email protected] or call 270.777.4509.
Gene Crouch, the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of AMA Pro Racing. Photo courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 31, 2020) – AMA Pro Racing today announced the promotion of Gene Crouch to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) from his previous position of Chief Marketing Officer. As COO, Crouch will now coordinate the operational efforts of all departments at AMA Pro.
“Gene has a proven track record of implementing innovative solutions to achieve our corporate goals,” said Michael Lock, Chief Executive Officer of AMA Pro Racing. “His demonstrated leadership abilities, his focus on executing on our corporate strategic vision and his strong relationship skills will be tremendous assets to me and AMA Pro in this new role. His efforts will be a key component as we implement new growth strategies for the sport of Pro Flat Track.”
Crouch joined AMA Pro Racing when the company was founded in 2008, coming from sister-company GRAND-AM where he started his motorsports career in 2005. During American Flat Track’s period of rapid growth since 2017 under the leadership of Michael Lock, Crouch executed the strategy of rebranding of the sport and has delivered consecutive seasons of growth in TV ratings as an executive producer of American Flat Track’s shows on NBCSN. His achievements in the motorsports industry encompass innovations in timing & scoring and live streaming, including the development of industry-leading technology for the professional motorcycle racing championships promoted by the AMA, Feld Entertainment and MX Sports and working in close collaboration with NASCAR and IMSA on the FansChoice.tv live streaming platform.
About AMA Pro Racing:
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.
Mathew Scholtz (11) during the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike season. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
By David Swarts
When the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship begins there will be some familiar faces on the grid, but there will also be a whole lot of newness: New bikes, new teams, new crew chiefs, and new classes.
To help preview the season, we’ve enlisted the help of Josh Hayes.
Not only has Hayes won four AMA Pro Superbike Championships, he’s won a total of 83 AMA Pro/MotoAmerica races and three support class titles; raced in the Endurance World Championship; run at the front in Supersport World Championship races; and finished seventh while competing in his first MotoGP race as a substitute rider at Valencia in 2011.
More recently, Hayes won two races at the International Island Classic vintage event in January of this year at Phillip Island; raced at the front throughout the 2019 Daytona 200 and was on provisional pole position for the 2020 Daytona 200; and finished on the podium in the MotoAmerica Supersport class in 2019.
When he’s not racing, Hayes is a rider coach for top competitors, including Bobby Fong and Jake Gagne, as well as working with Garrett Gerloff.
And if these weren’t enough qualifications to preview the upcoming season, Hayes rode in place of injured Mathew Scholtz on Westby Racing’s 2020-model Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike during the official MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park in March. So, he’s had a close look at most of the field.
This preview series is highlighting one Superbike or Superbike Cup/Stock 1000 rider each day, but it will not feature every rider entered in the two classes. Riders will be listed in the order they finished the 2019 Superbike Championship with riders who were not in the 2019 Superbike Championship listed in alphabetical order.
Mathew Scholtz sporting a broken right collarbone at the 2020 MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo by David Swarts.
Mathew Scholtz
After competing in a variety of motorcycle racing disciplines as a youth in his home country of South Africa, Scholtz was selected to join the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2008.
Starting at the age of 15, Scholtz spent three years in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, winning one race, earning several podium results, and finishing as high as sixth in the 2008 point standings.
Scholtz moved on to the CEV Moto2 Championship in 2011, where he earned four top-10 race finishes, including a fourth, and got sixth in the final point standings. Thanks to continued sponsorship from his father’s trucking company, Scholtz raced for two seasons in the FIM Supersport World Championship, but was unable to achieve any standout results on the equipment available to him.
He returned home to race in South Africa and nearly won a Supersport Championship in 2014, before switching to the South African SuperGP (Superbike) class, where he blossomed and won the 2016 South African SuperGP Championship on a Yamaha.
During his Championship-winning season in 2016, Scholtz also got the opportunity to fill in for injured countryman Sheridan Morais on the Rabid Transit Yamaha team in the MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 series.
Scholtz showed up at Road America, a track he had never seen before, and put the unfamiliar Yamaha on the podium in his debut MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 race. He repeated the same feat the following weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.
All of this attracted the attention of Westby Racing, which had recently seen its rider Josh Day sidelined by a head injury. The year prior to that, the team had lost rider Dane Westby, the son of Team Owner Tryg Westby, in a tragic, fatal streetbike accident.
Westby Racing contracted Scholtz, and he immediately repaid the team by finishing second in his first race, in Utah. Scholtz finished the 2016 season with Westby Racing, ended up sixth in the final point standings despite missing the first eight races of the season, and earned a full-time ride with the team in 2017, and which continues through 2020.
In 2017, Scholtz won 10 races, finished on the podium 19 times in 20 races, and won the MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Championship one round early in New Jersey. And if winning the title wasn’t enough, Scholtz finished the season by taking the overall race victory in the final combined Superbike/Superstock 1000 race of the season, making him the first rider to ever accomplish that feat on a Superstock machine and the first South African to win a MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike race.
Westby Racing rewarded Scholtz with more parts on his Yamaha YZF-R1 and a move from Superstock 1000 up to the Superbike class in 2018, when the lean, 6-foot-1 rider claimed another Superbike race win, eight podium finishes, and fourth place in the final Championship rankings.
Westby Racing upgraded its YZF-R1 again for the 2019 season, adding advanced Magneti Marelli engine electronics and other pricey parts, but the results went in the wrong direction. Scholtz still managed 6th in the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship with four podium finishes in 20 races.
While Scholtz, now 27, has shown with his race wins and multiple pole positions that he has the equipment and talent to challenge for MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, he has also shown inconsistency with some crashes and poor race starts that have been counterproductive.
And although he missed the official MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park in March due to a broken collarbone he suffered in a crash while training just before the test, Scholtz has had as much — if not more — off-season testing time than any of his competitors. That combined with the fact he is entering his fourth season with the same team could give him an early advantage over some others in the class, and the delay to the start of the season is definitely helping Scholtz return to full fitness.
“The one thing with Mat is we’ve seen him win and we’ve seen him be fast week in and week out, but we’ve never seen him fulfill that final bit of potential he has,” said Hayes. “As a guy sitting on the side of the track watching, I have some ideas of where I think he could clean up some of it, but as I’ve found with a lot of racers and even when coaching guys, it has to come from that own rider’s ideas. It has to be their idea. That’s the only way you enact change.
“I think he has a team behind him that is giving him a good tool to go out and battle with, but one thing that happens is you look at the guys around you and you say, ‘I don’t think that they’re better than me.’ Then you start looking and getting caught up in how complicated these motorcycles are and how to fix every problem.
“I’m not deep enough into the team to know that’s the problem. I’ve been there enough times and seen him on the podium looking at the bikes in front of him and saying, ah, I don’t have this, this, and this, and look, I’m here. And he’s correct.
“But there’s also some benefit to having a simple motorcycle and being able to focus on what’s really important rather than coming in and constantly messing with the motorcycle. You work on you and getting the most out of the things you have underneath you.
“With Mat, I think it was a situation that worked for him, because look at what he was able to do with standard YEC [Yamaha race kit] electronics on a Superbike. He was able to go out and win a couple of races. Conditions weren’t always perfect, but he was able to focus on a lot of the important things and put things together.
“It’s almost a case of be careful what you wish for, because when you get complicated electronics you get a lot of complicated problems that come along with them. Every lap you do is scrutinized and haggled over and discussed. The amount of options you can change in the machine are limitless compared to the YEC, where at some point you go, ‘We’ve gotten about everything out of it that we can. It’s on you now, buddy.’
“I’ve seen Mat a little bit this off-season. I know he’s been working hard. There’s never been a question how hard he works on the physical side of things. But I hope he’s been paying attention to racing and races and trying to figure out a little bit of how to play the chess board better.
“So, how can he improve as a rider? What areas was he weak at? I saw him qualify fairly well a couple of times only to get miserable starts and be pretty far back into Turn One. So, starts need to become a priority to give himself the best chance possible.
“You’re going to be hard pressed to catch up to guys like Toni [Elias] and Cameron [Beaubier] to learn what they’re doing, but if you can go with them from the beginning or even attack them in the beginning there’s a lot longer time frame to figure out how they are doing what they’re doing and evaluate things and actually make progress.
“That’s just a few key areas. There’s no question about how much he wants it or how deep he’s willing to dig. I think at his age that’s a great thing and something I would want in a rider if I was choosing to have one on a team of my own.”
Torin Collins (12). Photo by Daisy Felicity/Flissfotos, courtesy of Torin Collins.
24th-Annual Roadracing World Young Gun Honors:
By David Swarts
Roadracing World started this exclusive special feature recognizing the most promising young road racers as an answer to pessimists who claimed America had no new, up-and-coming young racers. This edition of the Roadracing World Young Gun Awards marks the 24th consecutive year of showcasing an abundance of new talent.
Roadracing World Young Guns have won:
FIM MotoGP and FIM Superbike races and World Championships;
AMA Pro races and Championships, including eight AMA Pro Superbike Championships;
A KTM RC Cup World Final race;
The Daytona 200 (8 times);
WERA National Endurance Championships and WERA National Challenge Championships;
ASRA/Formula USA Grand National and CCS National Championships;
AMA Road Racing Grand Championships and Horizon Awards;
USGPRU National Championships;
Many regional and local titles.
The competition has continually become more intense as more – and younger—racers with higher levels of accomplishment are nominated, and the level of achievement required to make the grade keeps getting tougher.
We’ve spent the last several months accepting nominations and evaluating road racers between the ages of 11 and 18 (as of the start of the 2020 season) who have, at a minimum, won Expert-level road races and/or Championships on a 125cc two-stroke/250cc four-stroke or larger racebike or had outstanding results as an Amateur/Novice. Most of the riders included here have done far more than the minimum.
The young riders recognized here are the most promising young road racers in North America. All have earned the title of Roadracing World Young Gun.
We will feature one Young Gun per day, presenting them in alphabetical order.
Torin Collins. Photo courtesy of Torin Collins.
Torin Collins
Age: 14.
Current home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Current height/weight: 5’2”/122 pounds.
Current school grade level: 9th grade.
Began riding at age: 5 years.
First road race: 2012, Calgary, Alberta, Alberta Mini Road Racing Association, Youth 6-9, 3rd place.
Current racebike: Honda NSF250R.
Current tuner/mechanic: Reale Avintia MTA Junior Team.
Recent racing accomplishments: 2019 season, finished 15th in British Talent Cup (best race finish was 7th); 2018 season, selected to join 2019 British Talent Cup, won EMRA Lightweight Superbike and Lightweight Open Championships (11 wins, set 2 class lap records), multiple race wins in 2018/2019 CVMA Winter Series, won UtahSBA Moto3 race at Utah Motorsports Campus; 2017 season, won 7 CMA Mini Road Racing National Championships, won 2 FIM Mini Road Racing Championships, won 8 races and set 2 class lap records during 2017/2018 CVMA Winter Series.
2020 racing goal: Finish in the top 10 in European Talent Cup.
Racing career goal: Race in the Superbike or MotoGP World Championship.
Action from an AFT Twins heat race in Springfield, Illinois, in 2019. Photo by Scott Hunter, courtesy American Flat Track.
TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold Brings Free AFT Racing Content to Fans
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 30, 2020) – American Flat Track‘s entire 2019 racing season is now available to viewers through TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold at no cost.
Last week, NBC Sports announced that it has made TrackPass, along with nine other services, free in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, giving fans a wide variety of premium content to consume.
Free access to AFT on TrackPass runs through May 1. Fans can access the free content and select the various packages they want to view by visiting: www.nbcsports.com/gold/free-access.
Upon clicking the link above, fans will be directed to create an account and may select from the various packages including American Flat Track, TrackPass, IndyCar, Pro Motocross and more. Once a package has been added to an account, fans may access the content on any device equipped with the NBC Sports app.
Additional content on TrackPass includes full-event replays of all NASCAR races since its launch in December 2019 and nearly 50 long-form documentaries on NASCAR’s biggest stars, venues, and stories. IMSA WeatherTech, K&N and Modified races from the 2019 season are also available.
TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold builds off the foundation set by FansChoice.tv, and the NASCAR and NBC Sports collaborative product becomes the most robust live and on-demand motorsports content offering in the domestic digital marketplace.
Fans will get more exclusive live motorsports events and an extensive library of archived documentaries and films. The platform will offer exclusive live viewing of a multitude of motorsports, including American Flat Track, select ARCA Menards Series events (including ARCA Menards Series East and West races), NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, and tentpole grassroots racing events, as well as NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series practice and qualifying sessions (NBC Sports’ half of the schedule only).
NBCSN and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold are the official homes for coverage of American Flat Track. For the 2020 season, NBCSN’s coverage of AFT remains in highly-coveted programming slots within two weeks of each event. The complete schedule for AFT on NBCSN can be viewed at http://www.americanflattrack.com/events-nbcsn/. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold – the most-robust motorsports offering in the digital marketplace – is a cornerstone of AFT’s digital strategy, providing live streaming coverage of every event and maintaining an active archive of all AFT content.
About American Flat Track:
American Flat Track is the world’s premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on American Flat Track, please visit http://www.americanflattrack.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check us out on Instagram, live stream the events with TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold and catch all the American Flat Track racing action on NBCSN.
Josh Herrin (2) on the Scheibe Racing BMW Superbike during the official 2020 MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
By David Swarts
When the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship begins there will be some familiar faces on the grid, but there will also be a whole lot of newness: New bikes, new teams, new crew chiefs, and new classes.
To help preview the season, we’ve enlisted the help of Josh Hayes.
Not only has Hayes won four AMA Pro Superbike Championships, he’s won a total of 83 AMA Pro/MotoAmerica races and three support class titles; raced in the Endurance World Championship; run at the front in Supersport World Championship races; and finished seventh while competing in his first MotoGP race as a substitute rider at Valencia in 2011.
More recently, Hayes won two races at the International Island Classic vintage event in January of this year at Phillip Island; raced at the front throughout the 2019 Daytona 200 and was on provisional pole position for the 2020 Daytona 200; and finished on the podium in the MotoAmerica Supersport class in 2019.
When he’s not racing, Hayes is a rider coach for top competitors, including Bobby Fong and Jake Gagne, as well as working with Garrett Gerloff.
And if these weren’t enough qualifications to preview the upcoming season, Hayes rode in place of injured Mathew Scholtz on Westby Racing’s 2020-model Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike during the official MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park in March. So, he’s had a close look at most of the field.
This preview series is highlighting one Superbike or Superbike Cup/Stock 1000 rider each day, but it will not feature every rider entered in the two classes. Riders will be listed in the order they finished the 2019 Superbike Championship with riders who were not in the 2019 Superbike Championship listed in alphabetical order.
Josh Herrin. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of Scheibe Racing.
Josh Herrin
Originally from California, 29-year-old Josh Herrin turned pro at the age of 16 in 2006, and he’s had a roller-coaster of a career since then. His career started on a steep climb, with Herrin winning 600cc races beginning in his sophomore season and the Daytona 200 at age 19 (making him the second-youngest winner) in 2010.
He finished as runner-up in the 2009 AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike Championship and third in the same Championship the following year, winning a combined nine races over the two seasons.
This earned Herrin a ride on the factory Yamaha Superbike team, where he won the 2013 AMA Pro Superbike Championship while winning four races.
The following season, 2014, Herrin landed a ride on the Caterham Air Asia Moto2 team, which also fielded Johann Zarco. That move turned into a nose dive. Herrin failed to score any World Championship points in the few races he ran and the team failed to pay Herrin his contracted salary, leading to the breakup of the relationship mid-season.
Herrin returned to America and rebooted his career by joining a private Yamaha team, Meen Motorsports, racing in the MotoAmerica Supersport category. Herrin stayed with the same team in 2016, moved up to the Superstock 1000 class, won eight races, and earned the Championship. Meen Motorsports tried to step up to the Superbike class in 2017 and Herrin managed to score a podium finish at Laguna Seca on what was largely a Superstock-spec motorcycle, but financial issues saw the Meen Motorsports team fold up before the season ended.
Herrin pulled out of that dive by partnering with Attack Performance owner Richard Stanboli to field a privateer Yamaha in the 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. The season got off in true underdog fashion when the Attack Performance semi suffered a mechanical breakdown on its cross-country journey from California to Road Atlanta and Herrin decided to do the opening round of the Superbike Championship on his lightly modified Yamaha streetbike, finishing an incredible sixth in Race Two and scoring 16 points on the weekend. In his first race on the actual Attack Performance Yamaha Superbike, Herrin took a second place at Circuit of The Americas, going from underdog to title contender in an instant.
Herrin went on to win two races and place third in the 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, thrilling his legions of fans and earning him the opportunity to replace retiring Roger Hayden on the Yoshimura Suzuki team for the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
Herrin won a race at Circuit of The Americas early in the 2019 season and added another victory and two podiums later on, but he also finished seventh four times as he struggled to fully mesh with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.
For 2020, Herrin has signed to ride for Scheibe Racing on a BMW S1000RR Superbike. While the Scheibe machine is not the newest-generation S1000RR, it has proven to be fast and capable of running up front – at least at times — in the hands Jake Gagne in 2019 and Danny Eslick in 2018. And team owner/crew chief Steve Scheibe is a successful engineer who has been constantly improving his Superbike and program and doing it without any significant support from BMW.
So, Herrin’s back in the position of underdog, where he has done some of his best work and attracted much of his passionate fan base.
“There’s no question this could be a difficult time for Josh, but the Scheibe Racing team going with him with his results sheet was a no-brainer,” said Hayes, a former teammate of Herrin. “I don’t think anyone questions if he is able to get the most out of something, but that being said, this is going to be his first time kind of being the only guy on a team.
“There are no other resources to look to, [like] other guys who have figured things out on that BMW. On the Yamaha, there was so much information out there on how to make a Yamaha work. When he jumped onto the Suzuki, he jumped onto the best one in the paddock and potentially one of the best ones in the world. So, those things [Yamaha and Suzuki] were both proven winners.
“This is definitely going to be more of an underdog story. The Scheibe Racing BMW has had some success. I guess it comes down to how you decide to measure it. They’ve been competitive for quite a bit of a race in good conditions at the right tracks when guys had everything fall into line. I think everyone looks at it and goes, ‘There’s some potential there. What could we see happen?’
“From what I know of Josh Herrin, his experience has still been a lot of time on mostly the best equipment there was on offer. And so, stepping into a position where he doesn’t have every resource available to him that a factory team has is always going to be difficult, and he’s going to have to figure out how to get the most out of what he’s got. I think he does that fairly well, but I think week in and week out it’s going to be more difficult to figure out how to do that.
“We’ll just have to see. There will be races where he will feature for a while and get in there and battle with the front guys, but I think over race distance and the course of the season I am hard pressed to believe he will have what he needs to challenge for the Championship.”
As far as Herrin enjoying and even thriving in the role of an underdog, Hayes said, “Everybody is comfortable in that underdog position because there’s no expectations on you and everything that you do good makes you look like a hero. Of course, there’s joy and there’s fun in that, but that’s different than making yourself a contender.
“Immediately, if he goes out there and starts running at the front, that underdog mentality could change really quickly. It did when he was on the Attack Yamaha, I believe. The whole picture changed really quickly when he was leading races regularly on an Attack Superbike.
“People can do amazing things when they have nothing to lose; I think he will be able to do some special things.”
The new Dunlop Dragmax motorcycle drag racing tire. Photo courtesy of Dunlop.
Dunlop Builds its First Drag Race Tire
Buffalo, NY: Dunlop has never focused its considerable engineering experience on building a drag racing tire until now. But the time was right to support the drag racing market due to the higher demands of the Pro Street Bike class, where horsepower and speeds have achieved new levels in recent years.
Professional and amateur drag racers that are required to run DOT motorcycle tires had few choices. So, Dunlop created the new Dragmax in 190/50ZR17 size, the most popular size for serious drag racers on metric and V-Twin motorcycles.
The Dragmax is a radial tire that utilizes Dunlop’s exclusive N-TEC construction, similar to that of Dunlop’s rear road racing slicks. N-TEC combines the benefits of cut-breaker construction, which increases stiffness, with continuously-wound aramid Jointless Tread construction for maximum feel and stability.
This design allows racers to run very low pressures, increasing the footprint for maximum traction.
The compound is also very soft, the softest street compound Dunlop has ever produced in its Buffalo, NY plant.
A completely new profile that’s wider and flatter than a typical hypersport tire also helps lay down a bigger footprint. And the tire’s construction minimizes centrifugal growth to keep that footprint as consistent as possible, which also reduces the risk of de-beading.
To find out more about the all-new Dragmax, go to dunlopracing.com.
About Dunlop Motorcycle Tires
Dunlop is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S.A. For more information, visit www.dunlopmotorcycletires.com.
R&G, manufacturer of motorcycle protection products, is sponsoring MotoAmerica again in 2020. Photo courtesy of R&G.
R&G Set To Sponsor MotoAmerica Series Again For 2020
Crash Protection Specialist Makes Products Our Fans And Racers Use
IRVINE, CA (March 30, 2020) – MotoAmerica is happy to announce that British crash protection specialist R&G will be back for a second season as a sponsorship partner of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series.
Distributed in North America by Twisted Throttle, R&G produces damage protection products for motorcycles, including tank sliders and engine case covers that are approved for use in the five MotoAmerica classes.
“We are delighted to be backing this exciting series again and continuing to raise our profile in such an important market,” R&G’s Simon Hughes said. “Our brand and products are more visible than ever.”
R&G came on board at the end of last season to sponsor the final three rounds of the series,” said MotoAmerica’s senior sponsorship manager Lance Bryson. “We quickly found out that the partnership was a good one and renewing the agreement was a no-brainer. R&G makes products that our racers and fans use, so it’s natural that they are a part of our series. We can’t wait to get the 2020 season started.”
“At Twisted Throttle we believe that R&G products are the industry leader for crash protection,” said Twisted Throttle’s Erik Stephens. “We are excited to help get these products in the hands of our MotoAmerica racers and ultimately on the bikes of riders across the nation.”
For the complete 2020 MotoAmerica Series schedule, click HERE
To purchase tickets for any of the 2020 series round, click HERE
For information on how to watch the 2020 MotoAmerica Series, click HERE
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Matt Greenstone (left) taking a photo with World Superbike racer Alex Lowes at Laguna Seca Raceway in 2016. Photo by David Swarts.
By day, Matt Greenstone is the Creative Director at Angel City Studios, an award-winning visual effects studio in North Hollywood, California, that has produced hundreds of hours of video graphics and effects for well known TV shows like Deadliest Catch, Bering Sea Gold, Ice Road Truckers, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, and A&E Biography, to name a few.
On the weekends, Greenstone is a hardcore motorcycle road racing fan and can be found at most major events.
In 2012, Greenstone took on the pet project of shooting, editing, and producing his own documentary about motorcycle road racing in an effort to help the sport grow. The documentary was called “Road Warriors,” and it won several awards at film festivals and earned Greenstone the AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award in 2014.
Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing the temporary shutdown of most motorcycle road racing and forcing millions of people around the world to follow stay-at-home guidelines, Greenstone is doing his part by offering a free online screening of Road Warriors for Roadracingworld.com readers.
To watch the documentary, go HERE and then enter the password RW2012.
The cover art for the motorcycle road racing documentary Road Warriors. Image courtesy of Matt Greenstone.
NCM Motorsports Park. Photo courtesy of NCM Motorsports Park.
An Executive Order was issued on March 25, 2020 by Andy Beshear, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which stated that all businesses that are not life-sustaining shall cease operations effective Thursday, March 26, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. To further follow the guidelines set forth by the state of Kentucky and in obligation to the health and well-being of our community, customers and supporters, all events and activities at the NCM Motorsports Park are suspended until April 22, 2020. We will continue to proactively monitor this timeline on a weekly basis, and update you via email, our website and social media platforms as the state guidelines regarding COVID-19 are revised.
We are working diligently to reschedule events and experiences to a later time in the year as our track schedule allows. Our staff will be rotating in the office to answer the phone Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. CST, and all staff members will be available via email as we transition to work from home.
If you have not yet been contacted and have questions regarding a booking or reservation you have made with the NCM Motorsports Park through April 21, please email [email protected] or call 270.777.4509.
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Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
