Adam Sinclair
Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway more than 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of traveling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week.
Adam spent several years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.
Be sure to tune in for his sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place (almost) every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
Contact Adam: Email
After a last-lap blitz Red Bull KTM's Cooper Webb finished less than one second behind Tomac while Team Honda HRC's Chase Sexton took the final podium spot after leading much of the race as the 17-round season puts six races in the books for 2023.
Sexton grabbed the Holeshot in the 450SX Class Main Event with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's Christian Craig, Tomac, Webb, and Red Bull KTM's Aaron Plessinger right behind. Webb wasted no time getting into second with Tomac right behind and Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki's Ken Roczen jumping into fourth. As the top three began to distance themselves from the pack Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jason Anderson took over fourth place. Five minutes into the 20-minute plus one lap race Sexton held a 2.2 second lead over Tomac, who'd gapped Webb by four seconds.
The front three ran that formation for several laps. A near-crash may have gotten into Sexton's head and led to an actual crash; with just over six and a half minutes left on the race clock he slipped sideways off a small single and crashed into a corner marker. Tomac took over the lead while Sexton remounted in second place. But Sexton's troubles weren't over. Webb was on the move with 48 seconds left on the race clock and used a unique line down the track's final rhythm section to get past Sexton. When the riders took the white flag, Webb was 4.3 seconds behind Tomac.
On the final lap Tomac landed awkwardly into the face of a small jump, got off-balance, and veered off the track. Tomac recovered as Webb laid down a fierce charge taking a fast line that Tomac wasn’t doing. As the two riders approached the final turn Webb's faster line came up just short giving him the pass. Tomac took the win less than a second ahead of Webb.
With 11 rounds still left in the season, Tomac is now eyeing James Stewart’s record of 50 wins which is easily within his grasp.
Supercross All-Time Wins List
- Jeremy McGrath – 72
- James Stewart – 50
- Ricky Carmichael – 48
- Eli Tomac – 48
Oakland 450SX Class Results
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha
2. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM
3. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda
450SX Class Championship Standings
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (139)
2. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (132)
3. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda (132)
Heineken® announces F1® World Champion Max Verstappen as new global 0.0 ambassador and a new partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing
With under two weeks to go until the launch of the 2023 season in Bahrain, Formula 1® global partner Heineken® have announced a new worldwide partnership with Dutch, global F1® superstar Max Verstappen, ahead of what promises to be yet another exceptional racing season.
The partnership, bringing together the number one Dutch beer alongside the number one Dutch driver, will aim to engage the next generation of fans through a series of creative and meaningful activities, focusing on responsible consumption.
First up will be Player 0.0 - an exciting new gaming initiative that Heineken® and Verstappen are working on together, to create a new virtual racing experience for fans culminating in winning gamers getting to race against some of the world’s best drivers.
The current world champion, Verstappen has also been announced as Heineken®'s official 0.0 ambassador to help encourage responsible consumption, through a series of sponsorship activations including the ongoing ‘When You Drive, Never Drink’ campaign.
Max Verstappen, current F1® world champion, said: “Being from The Netherlands myself, it is something truly special to partner up with an iconic Dutch Brand like Heineken. People who know me, know that I am very determined and as a driver I do not want to leave any room for error. That’s why I am excited to become a part of the ‘When You Drive, Never Drink’ campaign to help raise awareness for responsible consumption. And being an avid gamer and passionate Sim Racer myself, I’m thrilled to be playing a part in the new gaming initiative being developed called Player 0.0.”
Heineken® also officially announces a partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing and Heineken® 0.0 - the perfect pairing to deliver world class entertainment and exceptional fan experiences where performance meets play. The two global brands will also deliver exciting new lifestyle campaign moments in areas including music & gaming, and will also support Heineken®’s responsible consumption campaign, ‘When You Drive, Never Drink’. The partnership will aim to engage and connect with fans globally through the number 1 driver and race team in F1®, helping give fans a view behind the curtain of a world class racing team.
Christian Horner, Team Principal Oracle Red Bull Racing, said: “Any great team needs a series of great partners to help support them on their journey, and we’re incredibly excited to add Heineken® as one of our global partners with their no alcohol brand Heineken® 0.0 to help take us to the next level. Heineken® 0.0 has become a huge part of the F1® family across the globe, providing exciting and engaging entertainment opportunities for our global fanbase, both at track and at home. We can’t wait to work with them once again and see the exciting opportunities we can bring to our fans this season.”
These new partnerships complement Heineken®’s existing association with Formula 1®, which has proven highly successful in growing the Dutch brand’s global footprint as well as drinking occasions in targeted local markets.
Bram Westenbrink, Global Head Heineken® Brand, said: “We are incredibly excited to partner with not only the current world champion, but also the team behind him in Oracle Red Bull Racing. Max is a Dutch and global icon. He is the perfect ambassador for Heineken 0.0; his passion both on and off the track - in the Sim Racing community, will expand our message into the world of gaming with Player 0.0 and help in our push to encourage responsible consumption”.
Since entering the world of motorsport in 2016, Heineken® has been committed to real change around attitudes towards drink driving and re-launched their ‘When You Drive, Never Drink’ campaign back in May 2022. Heineken® has always advocated responsible consumption, with global motorsport partnerships now providing an effective platform to destigmatize responsible drinking. On top of this, Heineken® has committed to investing 10%+ of all media budgets to supporting these programmes.
Alauda Aeronautics is seeking OEM partners to join it in a motorsport revolution, as it unveils the Airspeeder Mk4 – the world’s first, and fastest, crewed flying car.
“We, and the world, are ready for crewed flying car racing. We have built the vehicles, developed the sport, secured the venues, attracted the sponsors and technical partners. Now is the time for the world’s most progressive, innovative, and ambitious automotive brands, OEM manufacturers and motorsport teams to be part of a truly revolutionary new motorsport. In unveiling the crewed Airspeeder Mk4 we show the vehicles that will battle it out in blade-to-blade racing crewed by the most highly skilled pilots in their fields.” - Matt Pearson, CEO, Alauda Aeronautics
Designed and built in Adelaide, South Australia, the Airspeeder Mk4 is the world's fastest electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Capable of reaching a top speed of 360 kph (225 mph) in just 30 seconds from a standing start, it’s designed to set the bar for performance and technology in the radical new sport of piloted Airspeeder racing.
With its sophisticated electric propulsion system, advanced aerodynamics and a take-off weight (MTOW) of just 950 kg, the Airspeeder Mk4 is also extremely efficient, with a projected range of 300 km (188 miles) while producing near-zero emissions.
The new aircraft is a development of the remotely-piloted Mk3, which has successfully completed more than 350+ test flights and took part in two Airspeeder demonstration races in South Australia in 2022.
BORN TO RACE, INSPIRED BY SPAC
Like all Airspeeders, the Mk4 is intended primarily for racing, so is designed for maximum agility at high speeds and low altitudes. Two technologies inspired by the space industry give the vehicle its unprecedented speed, manoeuvrability and range.
THUNDERSTRIKE HYDROGEN TURBOGENERATOR
The Airspeeder Mk4 is powered by a 1,000 kW (1,340 horsepower) turbogenerator that feeds power to the batteries and motors. Specifically designed for use in eVTOLs, this revolutionary technology allows green hydrogen to be used as fuel, providing safe, reliable, and sustainable power over long distances and flight times. The Mk4 has a projected range of over 300 km (188 miles).
Alauda Aeronautics’ demonstrator ‘Thunderstrike’ engine incorporates a unique combustor made using 3D printing techniques developed in the space industry for rocket engines. The combustor’s design keeps the hydrogen flame temperature relatively low, greatly reducing nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions.
Hydrogen is an ideal fuel for future aviation, and specifically personal urban air travel. It has a high energy density and can be stored in a lightweight, compact form, making it suitable for small aircraft; it’s also non-toxic and produces no emissions except pure water, so it doesn’t cause air pollution. Further to this, because hydrogen gas is lighter than air, it will simply rise and disperse into the atmosphere in the event of a leak, reducing the risk of fire or explosion.
As well as taking the existing eVTOL industry into the next-generation H2eVTOL era, this technology has the potential to significantly reduce emissions and create a sustainable future for individual air travel.
AI GIMBALLED THRUST
Most eVTOLs steer using tilt-rotors, which are simply positioned vertically for take-off and landing and horizontally while cruising. In contrast, the Mk4 manoeuvres using a unique gimballed thrust system, whereby an Artificial Intelligence (AI) flight controller individually adjusts four rotor pairs mounted on lightweight 3D printed gimbals. This makes the Mk4 not only fast in a straight line, but also able to manoeuvre with the incredible precision essential in close-action racing. In fact, it handles less like a multicopter and more like a jet fighter or Formula 1 racing car.
FLIGHT TESTS BEGIN
Alauda Aerospace plans to begin flight testing the Mk4 chassis and powertrain, including the first crewed flights of the airframe, in the first quarter of 2023. The aircraft will be ready to take the start line at the Airspeeder Racing Championship in 2024.
A GRAND VISION
The Airspeeder racing series has a massive international fanbase and attracts the world’s top pilots. But it’s more than just a spectacular show of speed and skill. It’s also a testing-ground for sustainable green propulsion systems, with the potential to change how we all travel in future.
Alauda Aeronautics is already looking beyond racing to a world where private flying cars are a daily reality, and a viable means of urban transport. Its team of engineers and designers, drawn from companies including Airbus, Boeing, Ferrari, MagniX and McLaren, are confident its technologies could make air travel faster, more efficient, more environmentally friendly and more accessible than ever before.
Matt Pearson, CEO, Alauda Aeronautics says, “You will see these technologies on the racetrack. However, eVTOLs are already a trillion-dollar industry and we see a very substantial market for private flying cars emerging in the near future. In conventional aerospace, there are about as many private jets as there are commercial jets in operation. We believe it could be the same with flying cars one day, with a roughly similar number of commercial taxis and private cars initially. Once we can sell you a flying car for the same price as a Tesla, you’ll quickly see the balance shift. Today, private cars outnumber taxis by about 300 to one, so the potential for people to own and drive their own flying car one day is absolutely enormous. It’s a very exciting time.”
For more information about the Alauda Airspeeder Mk4 and the upcoming Airspeeder Racing Championship, visit the Airspeeder website at www.airspeeder.com.
Miami Grand Prix & Formula 1® personnel cycle Bahrain International Circuit to raise money for Dolphins Challenge Cancer charity
To help raise funds for the Dolphins Challenge Cancer (DCC), the Miami Dolphins’ annual charity event, members of the organizing team of the FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX, along with F1® team personnel and media cycled the 3.36-mile Bahrain International Circuit, riding for a cause on Saturday night. To coincide with the 13th edition of DCC taking place on the same day (Saturday, February 25) in Miami Gardens, Florida – the home of the Miami International Autodrome – the two-hour ride took place under the floodlights, shortly after the final day of pre-season Formula 1® testing, in order to raise awareness and funds for lifesaving cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System. It marked the first time the DCC, the largest fundraising event in the NFL, added an international circuit and in doing so uniquely brought together the racing and football worlds for a common goal on a global stage.
Under patronage of His Highness Shk Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty the King's Representative for Charitable & Youth Affairs, National Security Advisor and Commander of the Royal Guard as well as the support of His Excellency Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of Bahrain International Circuit a number of cyclists participated from the Bahrain Cycling Association beginning their run from the start/finish line at 20:15 local time. Heading the group was FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX President Tyler Epp as the peloton commenced a single lap behind the official Formula 1® Safety Car, before Formula 1® commentator David Croft announced the start with his trademark: “Lights out… and away we go!”
As a year-round fundraising initiative, Dolphins Challenge Cancer encourages participants to pedal between 15 and 100 miles, with the option to run or walk a 5K route, and was launched to support those affected by cancer in partnership with Sylvester. Ranked among the top 50 of US News & World Report’s Best Hospitals in 2022, Sylvester is South Florida’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center. The DCC made a $75million commitment to Sylvester in 2020, the largest known philanthropic pledge in sports, and so far the contribution from the event’s 12-year total is more than $53million.
In February 2022, the Dolphins hosted DCC 12 gaining the support of a record-breaking 4.4K participants raising more than $8.4M to support life-saving cancer research at Sylvester. This year DCC will continue to accept donations through to Monday, March 13, which can be made online at DolphinsChallengeCancer.com.
“Everyone associated with Miami and the Dolphins Challenge Cancer would like to thank His Highness Shk Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty the King's Representative for Charitable & Youth Affairs, National Security Advisor and Commander of the Royal Guard, His Excellency Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of Bahrain International Circuit, Formula 1 and the FIA for enabling use of the track, as well as the Bahrain Cycling Association for joining us and supplying equipment,” said Tyler Epp, President of FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2023. “As the NFL’s largest fundraising event, Dolphins Challenge Cancer is an exceptional charity and one which we are delighted to support from afar as this year’s event coincided with the final day of Formula 1 testing in Bahrain. Thank you for your donations for this worthwhile cause because no matter where you are from, cancer touches everyone in some way. Through this cycle ride we want to help raise awareness and build on the incredible $53million we have raised in the 12 years to date.”
In less than 100 days, the Miami International Autodrome will host the second annual FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2023, which will have increased spectator capacity and grandstand seating, as well as a new Paddock Club and Team Village. Additionally, a new General Admission Campus Pass has gone on sale here which will allow more fans to experience Formula 1® as they will enjoy access to various spectator zones around the circuit.
The first-ever FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX last May was a sell-out success in which 242,955 spectators visited the Miami International Autodrome over the three-day event, making it the most attended event in the history of Hard Rock Stadium. With its luxury hospitality, exciting racing and fan-focused experience, the FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX set a new standard for viewers of a US Formula 1® race and was quickly recognized as one of the highlights on the F1 schedule and was named by Sports Business Journal as the Best New Event of 2022.
Lucas Oil Products, a long-time partner of both Richard Childress Racing and ECR Engines, will enhance their partnership with Richard Childress Racing in 2023, the three companies announced today. In addition to continued technical and development support, the official motor oil of ECR engines will sponsor the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, February 26, 2023. The race airs live at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
“RCR and ECR share our passion for motorsports, from the grassroots to the highest levels of the sport,” said Brandon Bernstein, director of partnership marketing for Lucas Oil. “We’ve seen first-hand the benefits of our partnership, especially as it relates to technology transfer over to short track racers and everyday consumers. We’re proud to continue to commit our resources in R&D and production, and to highlight our premier oil performance with sponsorship of the No. 8 Chevrolet.”
Lucas Oil has served as the official lubricant of RCR and ECR Engines since 2014, and is the official motor oil of ECR Engines. RCR, ECR and Lucas Oil have gone to NASCAR Victory Lane together more than 20 times since the partnership began.
“Lucas Oil’s market-leading products have long contributed to the incredible durability and on-track success of ECR’s engines in many forms of motorsports,” said Bob Fisher, senior vice president of ECR Engines. “We’re proud to be able to use our high-powered competition platform to showcase Lucas Oil’s key technologies and continue to win races and championships with their R&D support.”
Through innovative product research and development, along with aggressive marketing programs, Lucas Oil has established itself as an industry leader, producing only the best line of lubricants and additives available anywhere.
“RCR and ECR have benefited from having a lubricants partner with strong roots in racing,” said Torrey Galida, president of RCR. “We’re incredibly thankful to Lucas for all of the resources and expertise they provide to give us a competitive on-track advantage.”
For more information and all that is going on at RCR, visit rcrracing.com.
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Curtain Rises on 2023 for TA2 Duo at Sebring
It’s time to put the anticipation in the rearview mirror and get down to the business of racing again for everyone in the Silver Hare Racing camp as they head to iconic Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway for Saturday’s season-opening event on the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s newly renamed Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series tour.
Saturday’s Sebring SpeedTour, the first of 12 events of 2023, has been circled on the Silver Hare calendar for more than three months. Moments after the checkered flag waved on the 2022 season Nov. 6 at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, in fact. That’s when 16-year-old Connor Zilisch was last seen hoisting the runner-up trophy after a race-long battle with series veteran Thomas Merrill and crossing the finish line a mere .881 of a second behind the 2022 series champion. It was the best performance of Zilisch’s rookie season as driver of the No. 5 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro and immediately set his sights on this weekend’s festivities in South Central Florida.
Zilisch, who hails from Mooresville, North Carolina, will be joined by another highly touted young driving phenom beginning this weekend, 14-year-old Ben Maier from Chester, Maryland, who will be making his TA2 debut behind the wheel of the No. 75 Gel Blaster/Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
It was a rookie season of mixed results for Zilisch in 2022, first highlighted by a pair of solid top-five finishes on back-to-back weekends in the spring at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California, and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. He added another pair of top-10 finishes – sixth at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on July 4 weekend, and 10th at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in early September – before arriving at COTA determined to put together his best race effort of the year and springboard his way into 2023 with some momentum.
Mission accomplished. That momentum helped fuel the team’s intense offseason work in the Silver Hare shop prepping the team’s stable of all-new Howe Racing chassis, as well as upgrading all the necessary parts and pieces and systems, as well as adjustments to the personnel lineup, all expected to set the stage for a laser-focused campaign to not only win races in 2023, but contend for the TA2 championship.
Meanwhile, the addition of Maier gives the Silver Racing driver lineup a youthful one-two punch as it sets sail on the new season. Maier comes to the team and the series as, like Zilisch, one of the most decorated American go-kart racers. He’s shown his penchant for wheeling all varieties of racing machinery during his most recent forays into the Stadium Super Trucks series, where he was 2022 Rookie of the Year, and in Travis Pastrana’s Nitro Rallycross series, among others.
Thus, it’s no surprise that confidence abounds in the Silver Hare camp as it heads to Sebring for Saturday’s 27-lap, 75-minute race around the grueling 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit. Race time is 12:45 p.m. EST with live streaming video available via the Trans Am and SpeedTour channels on YouTube. And the series has a new television partner this season in MAVTV, which will rebroadcast each race in a 60-minute format on the Thursday that follows it.
Silver Hare Racing leverages its Trans Am effort to promote its arrive-and-drive program, where aspiring racers and even tenured professionals hone their road-racing skills on some of the most revered tracks in North America. NASCAR Cup Series drivers Daniel Suárez, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Harrison Burton have all wheeled Silver Hare Racing-prepared cars to burnish their road-racing abilities in top-flight equipment.
The team offers six, professionally built and maintained TA2 chassis from Howe Racing for both competition and private testing. Silver Hare Racing has a dedicated, fulltime crew and operates out of a state-of-the-art facility in High Point, North Carolina. At the track, two 53-foot Featherlite transporters serve as the team’s base, each outfitted with a lounge and smart TVs for data and video review, as well as for hospitality.
“With NASCAR having so many more road-course races, it’s our goal for Silver Hare Racing to be the preferred team for drivers to get that road-course experience,” said Laura Hull, Silver Hare Racing co-owner and team manager. “We want to be that important step in the ladder for the young, up-and-coming drivers like Connor and Ben. We want people to know we have an arrive-and-drive program, where for people who want to run this track or another, we provide the opportunity to do that and be successful.”
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Connor Zilisch, driver, No. 5 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro: |
“It’s going to be a good year. I’m excited for it. We have a new car. I’m just hoping for a good, clean weekend at Sebring and get out of there with some good points and move on to the next race at NOLA (Motorsports Park outside New Orleans), which is a new race on the schedule.
“I’ve known Ben for a long time, ever since I was a kid karting. I’ve been fortunate to see him grow up as a person and as a driver up through the karting ranks, and even in amateur car racing. I see a lot of myself in him, and I’m super excited to have him join the team as he has a long history of winning. He’s young, so he is going to have a learning curve ahead of him, but I can’t wait to help guide him through it all and hopefully we can end up at the front together as teammates.
“Our goal this season is to run for a championship. So the mindset changes from just going out to and trying to win every single race to trying to get consistent finishes and not have DNFs or bad races because that’s what’ll take you out of a championship. We have new cars, I have a new teammate. A lot of stuff changing but a lot of stuff is the same, too. I’m excited to be back with Maurice and Laura (Hull, co-owners) and working with Gil (Martin) and Jeff (Holley) and all the same core people.
“I learned last year that you don’t need to take those big risks, just let the race come to you, and if I let the race come to me, the results will come. And as long as we have a good car that is capable of running at the front keeping me in the situations where I can stay at the front without having to overwork what the car is capable of, that’s what’ll lead to success for us. We’ve got to get everything dialed in and be good at all these races. As long as we’re able to do all that, I think we are definitely ones to watch for the championship. I feel like we had a lot of speed at COTA at the end of last year. If we’re able to carry that speed into this year, and I’m able to do my part, I think we’ll have a good chance to run at the front all year and contend for the championship.”
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“Obviously, we ended the year well at COTA, so really we’re just trying to build on that momentum and move into this year with the same mindset we had at that race – keep it calm, smooth, finish the race and we’ll get ourselves a good finish. It’s more so about finishing than ever. As long as we finish and have a good car and I do everything I need to do, it will be a good finish if we can just stay up at the front.Ben Maier, driver, No. 75 Gel Blaster/Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro: |
“On the power end, the Stadium Super Trucks, with 600 horsepower, are the closest thing I’ve driven to the TA2 car, and as far as road-course racing, my Spec Miata. We went to Sebring twice in the last month in the Miata, learning the track, and I’ve been doing iRacing a bunch, so I’m pretty confident about the track. I’m going to take it easy the first couple of laps to try and get used to the car and the track, to feel it out, then start ramping it up from there, go faster with more throttle.
“There are almost 50 TA2 cars in the race at Sebring, but traffic like that is something that happens a lot in karts. And in our last two Miata races, we had 60 and 90 cars all racing together at Sebring. It’s a cool track. I like turn one because it’s high speed and you’re so close to the wall. There’s more runoff than most of the rest of the track. The last turn, 17, that’s a cool turn. I also like the hairpin.
“Connor and I have known each other since go-karts, and Miatas, too. We weren’t in the same karting class, but on the same team. I’ll definitely get some pointers from him with the TA2 car. The cars have a lot of body roll. That’s something the supertruck has a ton of, so that’ll probably help. Nitro Rallycross is mostly about just racecraft, so that’ll be good if I go off track or get out of shape on the track. Overall, this is going to be amazing.” |
AMA Pro Racing Names Gene Crouch as Chief Executive Officer
AMA Pro Racing announced today that its board of managers has named Gene Crouch as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Crouch, who has served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer since 2020, brings a wealth of multidisciplinary expertise and leadership capabilities gained from nearly two decades of motorsports experience.
“Gene has proven himself as an experienced and forward-looking leader,” said Mike Helton, Chairman of the AMA Pro Racing Board. “His knowledge of the motorcycle industry combined with his ability to balance all the stakeholders in AMA Pro will be important to the company’s future success.”
Crouch has played an instrumental role in shaping the direction of AMA Pro Racing since joining the company when it was founded in 2008. He’s spearheaded several critically important initiatives, including developing AMA Pro Racing’s industry-leading timing & scoring as well as the innovative FansChoice.tv livestreaming service. Crouch has also played a critical role in securing major sponsorship and media rights agreements for the series brands that are operated out of the company’s Daytona Beach headquarters, including Progressive American Flat Track and American Hillclimb.
As Chief Executive, Crouch will now provide strategic leadership for North America’s premier professional motorcycle racing organization. His primary directives include developing growth strategies for the company’s professional racing disciplines and fostering synergistic relationships with strategic partners and licensees, including the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), MX Sports Pro Racing and Feld Motor Sports.
“I’m deeply honored and grateful to the Board for the opportunity to lead this incredible organization,” said Gene Crouch, CEO of AMA Pro Racing. “The motorcycle racing industry has entered an unprecedented era of cooperation and collaboration. I look forward to working closely with the Board and our strategic partners as we usher in the next chapter of growth for the sport.”
Crouch takes the baton as CEO from predecessor Michael Lock, who led the strategy to revitalize Progressive American Flat Track after taking the helm in 2016. Lock will now transition to the role of Executive Consultant for AMA Pro Racing where he will also support NASCAR and IMSA with special projects such as international racing strategies and NASCAR’s Garage 56 program for the 100th running of the 24 hours of Le Mans, scheduled for June 10-11 of this year.
Both Crouch and Lock will assume their new roles effective immediately.