Flat Tracking Returns to Indiana!
The AMA Flat Track Championship will return to the legendary 1-mile dirt oval at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, the evening before the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The GNC Twins class, with riders on motorcycles using twin-cylinder engines, will compete at the Fairgrounds.
This will be the first AMA Flat Track event at the “Indy Mile” since 1999, when seven-time AMA Flat Track national champion Chris Carr won on a Harley-Davidson. 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden finished 13th in that race en route to earning AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year honors.
The State Fairgrounds track has played host to 41 AMA Flat Track national championship races since Joe Leonard won the first race on the oval in 1954. Leonard then moved to auto racing, making nine Indianapolis 500 starts and winning the pole in 1968.
Nearly all of the legendary names of flat track racing have won at the Fairgrounds, including Carr, Leonard, Jay Springsteen, Scott Parker, Ricky Graham, Bubba Shobert and Kenny Roberts, who went on to win three MotoGP World Championships and owns Team Roberts in MotoGP.
Flat track racing – sometimes referred to as “dirt track” racing – is the oldest and most traditional form of racing sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).
Dating back to the years just after World War II, flat track is a uniquely American form of motorcycle racing, with riders guiding their machines sideways through the turns, just inches apart from each other, at speeds faster than 100 mph.
Ticket sales for the Flat Track races are still pending, but should be available soon from the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds by calling (317) 929-1482 or through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com). Tickets are on sale for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14, 2008, and can be purchased either online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time or by calling (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or (317) 492-6700 locally between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
All tickets for this event are three-day tickets, with both reserved and general admission seating available.
