legacy and success of Nicky
Hayden while recognizing the
amateur racer who's demon-
strated the skill, character and
aptitude to make a significant
impact at the professional level.
Previous winners of the AMA's
most prestigious racing award
include Chase Saathoff, Kody
Kopp, Dallas Daniels, Briar Bau-
man, Jared Mees, Bryan Smith
and Roger Lee Hayden.
Morian started racing just
six years ago and got his first
taste of bar-banging action at
the Lawrenceburg Motorcycle
Speedway, where he got second
place aboard a borrowed Honda
XR100. Since then, he's won the
Half-Mile in the 250cc Modified
class at the 2020 AMA Flat Track
Grand Championship and, at this
year's event, showed excellent
consistency with multiple top-five
finishes.
"I decided to go for the award
just a couple months ago,"
Morian said, "[because] I wanted
to be a part of that legacy that
Nicky Hayden started. I'm proud
to be a part of something this
big in the flat-track community. I
have to thank my mom and dad,
who've put in countless hours
helping to get me to this point,
and Chad Wells—my motor guy—
who puts in countless hours, as
well."
Declan Bender, who was
presented with the 2022 Bill
Werner AMA Fast Brain Award,
started riding at the age of three,
and began his racing career on
Yamaha PW50s. Since then,
he's won 12 national
championships, three
district titles, and he
previously won the
Fast Brain Award in
2015. At this year's
Mission Foods AMA
Flat Track Grand
Championship, he
took second in the
450cc A Production
class and fourth in the
Open Heavyweight
class.
"It was definitely
unexpected to win the
Fast Brain Award,"
Bender said. "I was
excited to win it,
especially because it
was presented to me
in front of the younger
racers. I help a lot of
little kids out racing,
and some of them
look up to me, so
the presentation was
perfect."
"I'd also like to thank my mom
and dad," Bender continued.
"They're always behind me and
in my corner, and they do ev-
erything to get me to the races.
Tyler Raggio was my mechanic
throughout the week, too, and
he did a lot for me. I have so
many people who help me out,
and I'm very thankful."
The Bill Werner AMA Fast
Brain Award includes a $1500
educational scholarship and is
presented to a racer who under-
stands—and demonstrates—that
academic excellence is just as
important as good performance
on the racetrack. The AMA
thanks AMA Motorcycle Hall of
Famer Bill Werner, Estenson
Racing, and Zanotti Racing's
Dave Zanotti for funding this
award in 2022.
The AMA also awarded AMA
Vet/Senior Racer of the Year
to Dallas Mayer, who won the
honor last year, and named Sam
Drane the AMA Youth Racer of
the Year.
CN
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 30 JULY 26, 2022 P39
Declan Bender took home the
Bill Warner AMA Fast Brain Award.
PHOTO: GINGERSNAPS PHOTOS
