2021 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SEASON PREVIEW
P60
Feature
Smith and long-time crew chief
Ricky Howerton helped usher in
the now accepted dominance of
Indian Motorcycle when the resur-
gent marque took the series by
storm starting in 2017. The duo has
spent the last two seasons working
to topple that dominance—first on
a Crosley/Howerton Motorsports
Kawasaki in 2019 and then on a
factory Harley-Davidson XG750R a
season ago—with little success.
They're still on that mission, albeit
with an added twist of support from
Indian Motorcycle. Smith will be
looking to reclaim his title as the
sport's "Mile Master" this season
aboard a unique beast that slots a
factory-backed FTR750 mill inside
a tidy Howerton-designed chassis.
The younger Bauman, mean-
while, will attempt to rediscover
and build upon the form he dis-
played in 2019 when he scored a
maiden premier-class victory and
ended the year third overall. This
time around he'll run his ex-works
Indian FTR750 in a factory-backed
private effort with support from In-
dian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City.
Sammy Halbert and Brandon
Robinson finished last season
ranked third and fourth, respec-
tively, claiming three checkered
flags between them. The for-
mer factory Harley-Davidson
teammates quickly returned to
race-winning form once they
threw their legs over private
FTR750s and only figure to
increase in strength in 2021.
"Slammin' Sammy" is
This is the man
everyone will be
chasing—two-
time SuperTwins
Champion Briar
Bauman.
