2012 Tuscon International Raceway AMA Flat Track
The desert heat had no effect on Stevie Bonsey (Harley-Davidson/Goodwin Racing) as he shredded the competition during Saturday night’s AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com and Lucas Oil main event at the Tucson International Raceway.
Bonsey took the checkered flag by over a full second and recorded his best performance of the season. It’s been five years since AMA Pro Flat Track has held an event in Tucson, Arizona but the high-octane racing action made it worth the wait.
“I came out and did it in front of the Arizona fans here tonight,” said Bonsey. “My first victory was in California and luckily my second one came here in front of you guys. From start to finish, I felt good the whole race and I have to thank my guys for giving me this great opportunity.”
Bonsey was the pole sitter and clearly had the fastest bike of the night. Sixth-place finisher and defending Grand National Champion Jake Johnson (Harley-Davidson/ Zanotti Racing) got the holeshot out of the gate but that lead lasted less than a full lap as Bonsey went a little lower on the groove off turn four and reclaimed the lead…and never looked back.
Bryan Smith (Harley-Davidson/Crosley Radio) was alone in second place for the majority of the race but saw his comfortable 1.56-second lead over Sammy Halbert (Harley-Davidson/South East Harley) diminish on the final lap. Fortunately for Smith, he was able to hold off Halbert on the final run up the front-stretch to claim an impressive second-place finish.
The bright side for Halbert is that he edged fourth place finisher and current GNC combined points leader Jared Mees to close the gap between them with one final race remaining.
AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles
All season long, the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles have excelled under the shadows cast by the twin-cylinder engines, and this week was no exception. Shayna Texter (DFW Honda) won her third race of the season and was sharp right from the get-go.
“I have a lot of fans here and I want to give a shout out to them,” said Texter. “I also want to thank my team and sponsors; this was a big win for us.”
Texter started from pole and when she surrendered the lead to Rodney Spencer Jr. (Honda/831 Pinnit) on lap 12, it looked as if she was going to fall short of the victory. However, on the last turn of the final lap, justice was served as the young phenom ripped the lead right back from Spencer Jr. just in time to capture the checkered flag by a slim .131 second margin.
Spencer Jr. continued to stay hot as this race made for his second consecutive runner-up finish. Jason Isennock (Honda/Highs Dairy Stores) also impressed as he closed out the podium in what proved to be an intense battle for the third spot. AMA Pro Singles points leader Stephen Vanderkuur (Honda/Parkinson Brothers Racing) and Ryan Kearns (Honda/SM Racing) rounded out the top five riders, respectively.
Next Up
AMA Pro Flat Track heads to Pomona, Calif. for the The Law Tigers AMA Pro Flat Track Finals presented locally by Harley-Davidson of Pomona Valley and Glendale Harley-Davidson, scheduled for October 13, 2012 at the LA County Fairplex.
