Hagerstown

Monaco it's not . . .

Wanna ride bikes?  Sure, says J.D.

Wish I could, says Coolbeth

Jake Johnson

Jake chased . . .

. . . but there was no catching Jared Mees

Jake Johnson. Grand National Champion.

Congratulations to Jake Johnson (#5), winner of the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship.  Next year it'll be his #1 plate everyone is chasing.

 

Chris Carr. Indy Mile.

"Haggerstown"

One of the "best" parts of visiting Hagerstown Speedway is watching the track prep goobers circulate in their surprisingly stable fleet of jalopies.

Fortunately the weather this year was good and we didn't see quite as much of them as last year, when a Goober-v-AMA Official vehicular manslaughter event was only narrowly avoided.

One can only enjoy broadsliding water trucks for so long however, before it's time to walk the padddock.  Refreshingly, although some have a larger footprint than others, professional flat track racing still only requires a cargo van and an E-Z UP canopy.

An XR-750 footrest helps too, naturally.

The trucks and paddock set-ups might be modest but they support some hardcore racers and eventually it's time to head out on track.  Which means it's time for one of the truly best things about flat track racing:  the golden light of dusk.  Despite the clouds and schedule delays conspiring to block the sun at the precise moments it was trying to show off the most--it really was uncanny!--I managed to get a few decent frames.

  

If dusk is for photogs, nighttime is for flat track racing.

Congrats to Joe Kopp.  Winner.

Luke Gough

Just because.  Photo from Springfield Mile, this year.