On October 9th, at Yavapai Downs in Prescott Valley, Arizona, the 2010 AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship season will come to a close. The series will wrap up at the Budweiser Arizona Mile, and it should be a hell of a race.
Jake Johnson, Joe Kopp, Jared Mees, and Henry Wiles all have a chance of carrying the #1 plate in 2011, and there is just one mile long length of track left to decide the winner.
The Grand National Championship has been around since the 1950's, but it has seen its fair share of changes. The Grand National Championship started out with a mix of flat track racing, as well as a number of road races. It wasn't until 1986 that the two were split into two distinct disciplines.
In 2006, the Grand National Championship was restructured again to divide up the bikes. The twin-cylinder motors ran on mile and a half tracks, while the single-cylinders did TT's and short track racing.
This year, however, the AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship went back to its old format, and riders had to earn points in short track, TT, ½ mile, and mile disciplines.
The Dash is also a new addition to Flat Track racing, being added by the AMA in 2009. The Dash takes the top two riders from the three expert heats, and pits them against each other in a four lap race. The Dash is worth a few bonus points, but also $1000 in cash.
Going into the final weekend, Johnson has 265 points, Kopp 255, Mees 246, and Wiles 239.
With the Dash, and one Flat Track race left, the 2010 AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship is still anybody's for the taking.
