Flat Track: Harley-Davidson Round #3 COTA Race Preview

Harley-Davidson Press Release:

With fire in their eyes and wide-open throttles, an elite squad of four determined flat-track aces will race as the Harley-Davidson® Screamin' Eagle® Wrecking Crew on the 2016 AMA Pro Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines flat track series. Independent riders Jake Johnson and Kenny Coolbeth Jr. will join Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle Factory Team riders Brad Baker and Davis Fisher on the Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew this season. Each is a defending or former AMA champion, ready to chase down another title while clad in Harley-Davidson leathers.   "What a collection of talent we've been able to bring together for the Wrecking Crew for 2016," said Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Kris Schoonover. "These are four of the top flat track racers in the world right now and Harley-Davidson hopes to see the Wrecking Crew fill the podium at each AMA Pro Harley-Davidson GNC1 race."

The Wrecking Crew riders will compete with passion and intensity befitting the long history of Harley-Davidson racing. Part of that story is currently being told at the Harley-Davidson Museum in its special exhibit “Racing Machines from the KR to the XR” that explores the role the Harley-Davidson engineering team played in creating the legendary bikes that have dominated race tracks for three decades after World War II. Race competition seen through the camera lens is also the focus of “Race Day: Photos from the Flat Track” that explores the work of preeminent racing photographer Dave Hoenig, a special exhibit also at the H-D Museum until Sept. 5, 2016.   The original Wrecking Crew was the official Harley-Davidson factory team that dominated motorcycle racing on dirt and board tracks in the early 1920s with talented racers that included Red Parkhurst, Otto Walker, Fred Ludlow and later Joe Petrali. In 1968, Harley-Davidson Class C dirt track and road racing teams won 18 National Championships out of a possible 23 and the Wrecking Crew nickname was revived. In 2006, the official Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew was reformed to include the Factory Team and select riders racing for independent, teams that receive support from Harley-Davidson.

For more information: www.harley-davidson.com