STEEL SHOE STORIES

Motorcycle racing, as we all know, is much more than wins and losses. The human element is — and always will be — the core element of competition, and nowhere is that more in play than in dirt track racing. With this issue focusing on some of the highlights of this so American sport, we wanted to take you behind the scenes and dig down into some of the less-obvious tales from this season, in the amateur ranks as well as the professional level. There’s good stuff here, so enjoy!

Compiled by Joy Burgess

It didn’t hit me until a couple days later,” Cameron Smith told American Motorcyclist when asked about his first career podium — and becoming the very first African American to podium in American Flat Track with his second-place finish at the OKC Mile on June 18.

“I don’t go to the track looking at the color of racers’ skin,” Cameron continued, “and when I got on the podium I wasn’t thinking that. A couple days later I realized, ‘Man, I think I’m the first one here!’ It feels great… like a big accomplishment.”

Indeed, it is.

Cameron’s been riding since the age of 5, but of course the journey toward that accomplishment hasn’t been easy. “A friend of the babysitter got me into it,” he told us, “and that Christmas my dad got me a little Honda CRF50. I started racing that in Pennsylvania at all the local races.”

After winning championships during his younger years as an amateur, Cameron went pro and made his first Pro National in 2015 on a 650 Twin. Still, he was a typical privateer, running his show out of the back of a van. Tough going, for sure. “As a privateer,” he told us, “you don’t really have the funds to get high-quality bikes and wheels and all the good stuff that gives you an upper hand on race day. I didn’t have the fastest bike or the best suspension or fancy wheels, but I had what I needed to get by, and we made that work.”

During all his years of racing, even on a limited budget, Cameron credits his parents for giving him what he needed to get by.

“My dad works me out every day,” he told us, “makes sure I’m doing what I need to do to be in the best shape for race day. My mom gets my race gear ready, makes sure we are organized. My dad and I work on the bikes and get them ready.”

“My parents have kept me going

mentally and physically,” he added. “Without them helping, it’d be hard to keep seeing the vision. With them behind me and telling me positive things, even when I didn’t do well, it helps on the mental side and makes me want to hang in there for that next race or that extra lap.”

That second-place — and careerbest — finish at the OKC Mile made the struggle worth it. “After struggling for so many years trying to get there,” Cameron told us, “being third and getting knocked out, or being second and making a rookie move and going backwards off the podium… to get second was just…well, I was shell-shocked! I was so pumped I didn’t even know what to say.”

For others racing out of the back of vans or struggling for their first podium, Cameron had this to say: “Stay in there. I don’t think anyone has it easy in their racing career. It’s in the tough times you’ve gotta try harder, stick harder…and things will fall in line.”

Well-earned advice. Congrats, Cam Smith! — Joy Burgess

Turner Racing/Honda Racing’s Trevor Brunner (No. 21) started riding when he was in preschool. “We had show-and-tell in preschool,” he told American Motorcyclist, “and a friend brought in a picture of himself racing a PW50 at a local track. I started hounding my dad saying I wanted to race, so we went to Dirt Cheap Motorcycles and bought a 1992 PW50. Took me a week or so of riding the bike around the yard until my dad let me go to the races, and it was an addiction after that.”

Currently racing in the talent-packed American Flat Track Singles class, it’s Trevor’s second year racing at the national level. “I got my first win at Springfield in 2020,” he said, “and last year I was awarded the Rookie of the Year award.”

Trevor’s consistently been one to watch this year in the Singles class, a class so stacked that it’s anyone’s guess who’ll win at any given race. At the OKC Mile he was fast all day. Fast in practice, fast in qualifying, and in his semi he grabbed the holeshot and was leading the pack when disaster hit.

“I’d stuck with the same line all day,” he remembered. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Did the same thing. I picked my feet up to scoot back and get some traction, and I hit a slick spot. With my feet on the pegs, I was in limbo. I got sideways and

just held on for dear life. Suddenly, I caught traction and it shot me up on the inside berm, where I went for a heckuva ride, eventually going over the bars at speed.”

“I don’t really remember much,” he said. “Your mind kinda goes blank when those situations happen. I went back and watched the crash later, and thankfully it turned out the way it did… because it looked really scary.”

It did look scary. When Trevor was taken to the hospital, everyone waited for the bad news…and then he showed up at the track the next day for the second OKC Mile!

“I couldn’t believe it,” AFT announcer and flat track historian Scottie Deubler said. “There he was at the track, standing there telling stories.”

“I was feeling a little beaten up… my pride more than anything,” Trevor said with a laugh. “But I was ready to prove myself again. When I won my semi that second night, it felt nice to have that reassurance that I was still there to win.”

What’s he got planned for the rest of the season?

“Number one,” he laughed, “stay on two wheels. I’m on the rise, I’m getting up there, and my big goal is to stay consistent within the top five. Obviously, I’m pushing for wins, too, thanks to Turner Racing and Honda Racing U.S. powered by Progressive.” — Joy Burgess

It always looks peachy and creamy from the outside,” American Flat Track SuperTwins rider Bronson Bauman told American Motorcyclist about running his own team this year after spending two years on the Indian factory squad. But being a privateer in a class that requires thousands of dollars to buy in is tough.

“I knew going in how tough it was gonna be,” he said, “and I feel like I’ve had a string of very bad luck lately. As a privateer I have to source my own parts, pay for them, order them, plan travel, buy fuel, and still have enough money to get to the race.”

A big challenge for Bronson is getting parts, especially after he blew his Indian FTR750’s motor in May. “That week,” he said, “it felt like everything I owned or touched broke. I blew up my lawnmower that same week, too! It’s all on my own dime, so when it comes to ordering parts I have to choose what’ll benefit me most. When it comes to buying those gofast parts, I’ve got to pick and choose my battles.”

On the night he blew up his FTR, Bronson was racing an amateur race. Most guys would have packed up and headed home in defeat. Not Bronson.

“Instead of packing up and leaving,” American Flat Track announcer and flat track historian Scottie Deubler said, “he came out and helped me announce, helped out with track prep…he just helped everyone. Such a good dude! He coulda loaded up and gone home, but he stuck around and helped out.”

“Honestly,” Bronson said, “I wanted to jump off the grandstands after that bad luck, but people came up and had encouraging words for me: ‘Keep going!’ ‘You’ve got this!’ Flat track, that’s what it is, a family.”

What’s Bronson’s game plan for the rest of the season?

“It’s hard to say,” he replied. “American Flat Track just released new rules that hinder what I’m doing this season. Some aren’t a big deal, but the new weight limit for wheels means the 43-pound wheels I bought at the beginning of the season are basically $4,000 boat anchors now. Little guys like myself just don’t have the bankroll to buy four new wheels.”

“I’m going to see what I can figure out for wheels, and that’ll play a big factor in how long I can keep racing. I love this sport more than anything, and at the end of the day, it’s a small grassroots sport that really relies on the privateer.” — Joy Burgess

“Ireally didn’t want my daughter to race motorcycles,” former pro flat track racer

Mike Hacker — who won four Grand Nationals and an 883 championship — told

American Motorcyclist. “But when she got out on a dirt oval, it became obvious she had flat trackin’ in her blood.”

“My dad raced his whole life,” Riley told us, “and I was always at the track. I felt a love and passion for flat track, and I wanted to be like my dad.”

Riley raced for the very first time at a hometown race — put on by her dad and former pro flat tracker John Nickens — in Virginia, and she won her first main event.

“I love racing,” she said. “My favorite memory is winning my first Main and my dad riding on the back of my bike holding the checkered flag.”

She plans to keep racing, and her message to other girls is this: “Follow your dreams! It doesn’t matter if people say it’s a boy’s sport, because girls can do anything boys can.”

Nicely put, Riley! — Joy Burgess

AFT Singles phenom Morgen Mischler “goes Rotax” vs. national-class rivals at the famed Dairyland Classic — and wins for the first time on the bike

Not everyone’s aware, but many pro flat trackers race more than just AFT Nationals. They also ride local and regional events for extra practice and extra cash — both of which are in short supply to most racers.

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin’s Morgen Mischler is one such pro. Morgen, who’s currently fifth in the 2021 AFT Singles championship, jumped on his cousin Dan’s Rotax-powered framer back on June 11 at the Sheboygan Fairgrounds oval and proceeded to win the AMA-sanctioned 2021 Dairyland Classic, one of the most prestigious dirt track events in the country (and his third win there), and did it with a severe case of strep throat.

“I was feeling lousy,” Morgen told American Motorcyclist, “but Dan’s framer is so cool, and the Jerry Wilhelmy Rotax motor so strong, that I just had to do it. The lineup that night looked like an AFT National, with guys like [Henry] Wiles and [Trevor] Brunner, Bronson [Bauman], [Max] Whale, Jesse [Janisch] and Cole [Zabala] entered.” “I got a decent start in the Main,” he added, “and kept seeing Max’s orange fender in my peripheral vision. I was thinking, ‘Chill, Max! Don’t take me out!’ The bike and I were grooving, and once I got past Henry [Wiles] I figured I’d be good, and I was. At the flag I thought, ‘What sore throat?!’” [Laughs] “Our crowd loves great racing,” said promoter Bert Sumner, “but they love to see a local guy win the premier class most of all!” — Mitch Boehm

After hitting a fence at 80 mph, former pro flat tracker John Nickens walked away from racing. But you can’t really get flat track out of your blood, so he and friend Mike Hacker (another former pro racer) decided they’d put on a race in Virginia.

“Pennsylvania produces all these fast riders, and there aren’t any riders coming out of Virginia,” John told

American Motorcyclist, “so our goal was to get kids off video games and on motorcycles.”

John’s six-year-old twins — Ella and Jayden — both raced at the event. Ella just took her training wheels off to race flat track, and her brother Jayden raced in the same class and won.

What do they love about flat track? “I love going fast, sliding sideways, and traveling to meet new friends,” Jayden said. “I like riding with my daddy and brother, and I like getting trophies,” Ella chimed in.

We agree, John…fewer video games and more time on two wheels! — Joy Burgess

With hundreds of amateur and pro flat track events across the country, even the hardest-core flat track fans can’t hope to make them all. But there’s something new and happening in flat track…a group called Left Out that’s giving fans an inside — and live — look at what’s happening on the track and in the pits, with race promoters across the country giving the guys involved a green light and a full access pass for an upclose-and-personal look at the grassroots sport.

Left Out is the brainchild of three guys who know a heckuva lot about flat track: Scottie Deubler, AMA Life Member, flat track historian, former flat tracker and current American Flat Track announcer; Sammy Sabedra, former racer and current mechanic for AFT Production Twins racer Ryan Varnes; and Chris Carter, former Director of Broadcasting at NASCAR International, former Broadcast Consultant and Producer for FansChoice, International Producer for Pro Moto, and producer of Off the Groove and Carr on 2 Wheels (with AMA Hall of Famer Chris Carr) podcasts.

Special thanks to Left Out for significantly contributing to the stories in this issue of American Motorcyclist. Thanks, guys! — Joy Burgess

You can follow Left Out on Instagram @leftoutllc and on Facebook @LeftOutLLC.