Five standout riders have been nominated to receive the prestigious AMA Pro Racing SPEED Athlete of the Year award which will be presented at the AMA Pro Racing Championship Awards Banquet this Sunday, Nov. 18. Dating back to 1976, the award is the highest honor bestowed to a professional motorcycle racer competing in AMA-sanctioned racing. Past recipients of the award include such legendary names as Bob Hannah, Scott Parker and Kenny Roberts, among others.
Jared Mees has a two-race winning streak coming into this Saturday’s (July 7) rescheduled AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Grand National Twins Championship race at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois. Mees, who rides for Blue Springs/Screamin’ Eagle/Saddlemen Harley-Davidson, could become the first rider in six years to win three AMA Grand Nationals in a row should he earn victory in Joliet.
Kenny Coolbeth won the final round of the 2006 AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship at Scioto Downs in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, Oct. 14, and in the process earned the AMA Grand National Twins Championship. It marked the first national championship for Coolbeth.