VOL. 51 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 P39
Wayne Rainey and the
KRAVE Group are gearing up
to take over American road
racing in 2015 and beyond.
BY PAUL CARRUTHERS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
F
rom the time Wayne Rain-
ey started racing motorcy-
cles to the time his career
was cut short by injury in 1993,
he woke up every single day of
his life with a goal of being the
best. And it was that determina-
tion and desire to be the best
that drove him to two AMA Su-
perbike titles and three 500cc
World Championships.
Now, 21 years after his final
race in the San Marino Grand
Prix, he's waking up every day
feeling the same way. He's de-
termined to bring his new Mo-
toAmerica road racing series
back to where it belongs and he
longs for the day when an Amer-
ican road racer can graduate
through the ranks of MotoAmer-
ica to reach the goal of being a
World Champion.
When it was first rumored
that the road-racing portion of
the Daytona Motorsports Group
(DMG) was in the process of be-
ing purchased by a group led
by Rainey, there was instant, al-
beit cautious, optimism. Nobody
wanted to get his or her hopes
too high. Nobody wanted the let-
down of things staying status quo
for another season. So when the
deal was announced as signed,
sealed and delivered with Rain-
ey's KRAVE Group purchasing
the promotional and marketing
rights to U.S. road racing, there
was a collective celebration.
Simply put, if you race in the
AMA series, own a team in the
AMA series, sponsor a team in
the AMA series, are a fan of the
series, or you are a manufacturer
involved in the series in any way,
this was what you've been want-
ing since things when south al-
most right away when the DMG
took over AMA Pro Racing in
2008.
It's a bit much to label anyone
a savior at this point, but Rainey
is the closest thing to it when it
comes to revitalizing road racing
in this country. And with KRAVE
he's been able to put together a
group that's as passionate about
this as he is. What he brings to
the table is the fact that he is one
of those that he will lead: He's a
racer. Through and through. He's
come from nothing, cut his teeth
The
SAVIOR
