VOL. 55 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 16, 2018 P29
CROSLEY-HOWERTON
MOTORSPORTS REUNITE
T
he American Flat Track
(AFT) Championship
team of Crosley-Howerton
Motorsports has officially
reunited for the 2019 and
2020 AFT seasons.
Following a two-year
stint as a factory rider for
Indian Motorcycle, 2016
AFT Champion Bryan
Smith will again be riding a
Kawasaki in the 2019 sea-
son with Crosley Brands
returning as the team's title
sponsor. Crosley spon-
sored the team from 2012
through '16 before How-
erton and Smith partnered
with Indian in '17 and '18.
"It's awesome," said Smith.
"It really is getting the old band
back together. With Crosley
and Bo [LeMastus, Chairman &
CEO, Crosley Brands] coming
back, it's like working with an
open book. Anything goes. As
long as it's better on the track,
it's okay with Bo.
"We were grateful to have
had factory support from Indian,
but rules from the factory don't
always transfer to being faster
on the track. With Crosley and
Bo, we're free to design what we
think will perform on the track.
We couldn't be more excited
about the future."
The "we" part that Smith
was referring to is his longtime
friend and crew chief/mechanic
Ricky Howerton, who along with
Crosley-Howerton teammates
Jeff Gordon, Ron Glidden and
LeMastus, were the original
crew members who banded
together in 2016 to win the na-
tional championship.
"I can't tell you how happy I
am," said Howerton. "The Indian
deal was great. Being able to
have a real factory OEM team
meant the world to me, but I like
a little more free rein.
"My bikes start from my brain.
Then it goes to a computer
screen. We manufacture our
own fixturing. It's a long, long
process to build everything
dimensionally correct but it's so
rewarding when you get it right.
We literally make everything,
from the frame to the swing arm.
We machine our own parts: gas
tanks, rockers for the suspen-
sion, front and rear axles, foot
peg brackets, and on and on. I
get to use my brain. I get to do
all the things I grew up wanting
to do."
"We understand each other,"
said Smith. "It's as if he can read
my mind. He doesn't want to go
anywhere without me as a rider
and I don't want another crew
chief or mechanic." CN
Bryan Smith, who won the 2016 AMA
Flat Track title on a Crosley-backed
Kawasaki (pictured), will return to
Crosley-Howerton Motorsports for the
2019 AFT season riding a Kawasaki.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
DAVE
HOENIG
