MILWAUKEE (April 7, 2016) – 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.”
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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.
Check Harley-Davidson.com for a full listing of this season’s races; also follow Harley-Davidson on Facebook for racing updates.
The 2016 Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle Wrecking Crew
Brad Baker/Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle® Factory Team
Brad “The Bullet” Baker will be racing for a third season on the Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle Factory Team. In 2015, Baker won on the Lima, Ohio, half-mile and the Indy Mile in Indianapolis and claimed two other podium spots. He missed four races due to injury and placed eighth in GNC1 series points. Baker was a bronze medalist at the inaugural Harley-Davidson Flat Track at X Games Austin 2015. Baker was just 20 years old when he won the 2013 AMA Grand National Championship riding for the Dodge Brothers Racing team. Baker won the AMA Pro Singles Championship in 2009 before moving up to the Expert Twins class and winning the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Expert Rookie of the Year Award.
Davis Fisher/Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle® Factory Team
“Dashin’” Davis Fisher joins the Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle Factory Team for the 2016 flat track season following two impressive seasons racing in the AMA Pro Singles/GNC2 class. Riding for Parkinson Brothers Racing, Fisher won the 2015 GNC2 championship, dominating the series with four event wins and five second-place results. In 2014, Fisher finished second in AMA Pro Singles, missing that championship by a single point.
Kenny Coolbeth/Zanotti Racing
A three-time AMA Pro Grand National champion (2006-2008), the veteran Coolbeth has won 35 times in AMA Grand National competition, more than any active racer in the series. Coolbeth claimed three consecutive titles while racing for the Harley-Davidson Factory Team from 2006 to 2013. Aboard the Zanotti Racing Harley-Davidson XR750 in 2015, Coolbeth won twice and finished fourth in points. He was named the AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year in 1994 and won his first Grand National race in 2002.
Jake Johnson/Zanotti Racing
Jake Johnson won consecutive AMA Pro Grand National championships (2010-2011) on Zanotti Racing Harley-Davidson XR750 motorcycles and has won 18 times in AMA Grand National competition. He returns to the Zanotti team for 2016. In 2015, Johnson raced for the Harley-Davidson Factory Team in four races filling in for injured Brad Baker and finished twice on the podium. Johnson won the AMA Pro Singles championship in 2006 and was AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year in 2002.
About Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Since 1903, Harley-Davidson Motor Company has fulfilled dreams of personal freedom with cruiser, touring and custom motorcycles, riding experiences and events, and a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, general merchandise, riding gear and apparel. For more information, visit www.h-d.com.
