The Future of Flat Track

[drgibson]

This is from Superbike Planet

While we'd be the first to admit that our ignorance about dirt track racing is enormous, we are fans of the series--although usually the only dirt track we see each year is the Daytona short track. Regardless, the AMA's acknowledgment that they were entertaining offers for all of their racing disciplines left us apprehensive that dirt track might get left out in a lurch while the big promoter interest flowed to series' like outdoor motocross, Superbike and the like. Dirt track (and it is "dirt track" with us, not Flat Track) is many things: it's the original form of motorcycle sport in the US and remains some of the coolest motorcycle racing you can sit on a bleacher and watch. (It's always seemed quite odd to us that national level dirt track racing is seemingly so similar to national level sprint car racing, yet the series success and huge dollars in purse and sponsorship don't seem to flow from four wheels to two.)

Our hopefully irrational fear that dirt track could go the way of the dodo bird is not reflected in reality, we are happy to report. There are said to be a number of powerful entities bidding for dirt track's future. Two that have us smiling are Mike Kidd, who it is said is teamed up with the Illinois Motorcycle Dealers Assn, the latter which have resurrected the Springfield Mile dirt track race, and Gene Romero, who runs a series of well-respected west coast dirt track events.
Both Kidd and Romero are former top level racers; Romero won the Daytona 200 in 1975 and the Grand National dirt track title in 1970.
(end)

I am amazed at the attention that Flat Track racing is receiving all of a sudden. I believe that it is in part due to the AMA’s decision to get out of the promotions business. With the AMA bowing out the potential promoters are crawling out of the woodwork. This year Lucas Oil has jumped onboard this opens the door for Flat Track to end up on TV again. As of right now one race, the Indy Mile is going to be televised, albeit it’s going to be on the VS network.

Couple this with the fact that NASCAR is looking at getting involved and you have to wonder why? What is so special about a motorcycle racing series that has been hanging on by a thread since the inception of Supercross?