CN III ARCHIVES
P114
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
THE NEW GUARD
C
hange in flat track racing runs along at the
pace of cold molasses compared to road racing and motocross. That's why 2013 was such a
pivotal season in the historic AMA Grand National
Championship.
First and foremost was the crowning of 20-yearold Brad Baker as the new champion. Baker heads
up a group of rising young stars in flat track that
includes riders like Briar Bauman, Jeffrey Carver,
Matt Weidman, Brandon Robinson, Stevie Bonsey,
JD Beach, Jake Shoemaker, Johnny Lewis, Mikey
Martin and Shayna Texter, all under 25, and all of
whom are already pushing the established stars of
flat track racing.
Then there was the perfecting of the Kawasaki
EX650 by the Crosley
Radio/Howerton Motorsports team. The Kawasaki-based flat track
machine,
pioneered
ironically by former Harley-Davidson
factory
mechanic Bill Werner,
has been around for a
few years now and always had the power to
be a potential winner
on the miles, but with
Bryan Smith at the controls and the technical
expertise of Ricky Howerton and his crew, the Kawasaki is now capable
of winning on half-miles as well. There is now a true
challenger to Harley-Davidson's longtime dominance, and while a Harley-Davidson XR750 rider
just won the AMA Grand National Championship
for the 20th straight time, that Milwaukee reign is
facing its most serious challenge since the days of
Honda's factory effort nearly 30 years ago.
Brad Baker –
20 years old
and the Grand
National
Champion.
Only Brad Andres and
Jay Springsteen were
younger than Brad
Baker when they won
the AMA Grand National Championship.
The Latus Motors Racing Triumph
also showed great promise with the
talented Johnny Lewis at the controls
and there is renewed hope for the
Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati
with the development experience being brought to the table by veteran and
former champ Jake Johnson. Even Briar Bauman turned heads with the almost forgotten Suzuki at Pomona.
So in addition to a bumper crop of rising young
stars in flat track racing, the immediate future
holds the potential of real multi-brand racing, long
a desired goal of the flat track racing community.
The only surprise about Baker's emergence
is the fact that he came from way up in the top
