AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
different. In Thursday's round one
it was Briar Bauman - the 18-year-
old former AMA Horizon Award
winner and Flat Track Rookie of
the Year - breaking through to
score his very first AMA Grand
National victory. Then on Friday
night it was Kenny Coolbeth Jr.,
who for 21 years has been trying
to win this race, finally getting the
job done.
Thus, the Daytona tradition of
VOL. 51 ISSUE 11 MARCH 18, 2014 P49
Briefly...
Kenny Coolbeth's win in Friday's
round two of the Daytona Short
Track may have been his first vic-
tory at that track, but it marked his
30th-career AMA Grand National
win. He is eighth on the all-time AMA
Grand National wins list and now just
a single victory away from tying the
late Will Davis. Of those 30 Grand
National wins for Coolbeth only two
have come on short tracks. The first
came at DuQuoin (Illinois) in 2011
and now Daytona.
Dunlop was named official tire of
AMA Pro Flat Track. Dunlop will take
over exclusive sales and service of
the product currently produced by
the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Com-
pany. Throughout 2014, Dunlop will
work to industrialize production of
the current tire at its Buffalo, New
York manufacturing facility with
scheduled production to begin late
in 2014. Dunlop R&D and race staff
will be attending key AMA Pro Flat
Track Nationals throughout the year
to support this new aspect of rac-
ing tire development. "This is a great
way for Dunlop to expand its racing
presence," said Mike Buckley, Dun-
lop Vice President of Sales, Market-
ing, Research and Development.
"We are excited to tackle this new
challenge, and it also serves as fur-
ther evidence of our commitment to
the sport of motorcycle racing in the
U.S. From grass-roots amateur mo-
torcycle racing to the highest pro lev-
els, to weekend recreational riders,
we're committed to developing new
generations of motorcycle tires."
Hard to pass was a phrase that many
a rider used to describe the track, but
you wouldn't know it by the charge
Henry Wiles put in. The rider best
continued on next page
Bauman wins his first National while
Coolbeth cops first Daytona short track
