IN
THE
WIND
P34
CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR
FLEDGLING STEEL SHOE SERIES
S
teel Shoe National founder
Christy Cottrell sees the
challenges ahead, but felt that
the inaugural race at Hagerstown
was a success.
"Flat track is truly America's
sport," Cottrell said. "Flat track
has seen some ups and downs
in its long history, but right now,
the sport is seeing a dramatic
surge in popularity not only on
the professional level but across
the board.
"With all of this going in the
sport there were still major
deficits in marketing, race plan-
ning, fan experience on race day
and major issues were arising
with the current top sanctioning
body. Instead of being critical
and negative
I decided I'd
build my own
mousetrap and
lead by exam-
ple. After two
and half years
of planning,
the Steel Shoe Nationals were
formed. I'm confident in the staff
we have brought together in this.
All of our team members have
strong backgrounds in their field
and many years of experience."
Cottrell said the series isn't
intended to compete with other
flat track series, including AFT,
but wants to give flat track enthu-
siasts another venue to show off
their talents.
"We are not in direct competi-
tion with anyone," Cottrell said.
"Our goal is to make the sport
better and provide a place for our
athletes."
The series takes a few weeks
off before heading to Mount
Pleasant, Michigan, for round two.
Dave Hoenig
NBCSN ANNOUNCE 2017 AFT TELECAST SCHEDULE
A
ll 18 races on the 2017 American Flat Track
schedule will be televised on NBCSN in a
series of weekly primetime telecasts throughout
the summer and fall. The network announced
the premiere airdates for the 18 one-hour shows,
beginning with coverage of the season-opening
Harley-Davidson Daytona TT presented by Politis
and Matovina at Daytona International Speedway
on Monday, July 3, at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT.
Play-by-play announcer Jason Weigandt will
head the broadcast team; he is the resident
expert for motorcycle racing at NBC Sports and
brings a depth of knowledge and personality
to the shows. Joining Weigandt in the booth is
veteran superbike racer and multi-time American
Flat Track race winner Larry Pegram. Rounding
out the team is Heather DeBeaux, who enters her
second season as pit reporter for American Flat
Track. No stranger to dirt track racing, DeBeaux
has also covered the NASCAR K&N Pro Series for
NBC Sports.
In addition to the 18 primetime premieres, NBC-
SN will present weekday encore telecasts of each
one-hour show. FansChoice.tv, a cornerstone of
American Flat Track's digital strategy, will continue
to provide live streaming coverage for every round
of the 2017 season, and NBC Sports.com and the
NBC Sports app will provide streaming coverage
alongside NBCSN's premiere telecasts. For a look
at the complete TV schedule, click HERE. CN
The new Steel Shoe Series give
flat trackers another venue to
build experience.
