Flat Trackin’ in Sturgis

I just wanted to add some information about my chance to see the Jackpine Gypsies Super TT, put on by American Flat Track (AFT) at the Jackpine Gypsies race track in Sturgis. My last post was just too long to add another section, but I was extremely pleased at a chance to see this history-in-the-making type of event, and, in my own way, participate.

Despite bikers, beers, and boobs being the leading theme for the rally for decades, it all started in the 1930’s with the Black Hills Motor Classic, a hill climb event put on by the Jackpine Gypsies. Club founder Clarence “Pappy” Hoel (sometimes spelled “Pappi”) is credited with spearheading the event and he remains a sort of patron saint of the rally.

As a race fan myself, I try to make it to the hill climb whenever I go to Sturgis, but I missed it this year. They also put on motocross racing and they have a small flat track as well. That allows AFT to race the short track one weekend, then bulldoze part of the track to make a TT course. To be a TT course the track must feature at least one jump and one right turn.

This course actually hops off the dirt and onto the pavement, which is just as slick since it gets covered with dirt. It was some epic racing, and thanks to my friend Lisa Niner (9R), I got to watch from the pits, which has the bikes coming right past you only a few feet away.

She was there crewing for Dan Bromley, #62. I knew the name from covering the sport some years back. He is a privateer and usually manages top-10 finishes. However, there was a new class, called AdventureTrakkers, that took the heavy adv bikes used for touring on the highways and forest service roads, and put them against each other on the race course.

That means heavy bikes, very close to stock, racing on the same course the purpose built flat track “framers” use (nicknamed such because they use a hand built frame with a street-based engine in them and are purpose built race machines). Dan was leading the points and even took home the win in his heat race and the main at Sturgis.

In fact, a week later he locked up the title in the final race of the season for that class, so it was fantastic to watch him sliding his big Suzuki DL1050 around the race track. But Dan also runs the SuperTwins class, which is made up of the fastest guys in the nation, dare I say the world, as flat track is a very American sport. His framer is the only Suzuki powered machine out there, with most privateers opting for a Kawasaki engine.

Harley-Davidson has a small, but factory operated team, and Estenson Racing is a private team with deep pockets, running Yamaha engines and being the only ones who consistently threaten the Harley factory team. Dan has a day job as a roofer, so just entering these races is a huge burden and a danger to his livelihood if he gets hurt. Some people can’t say no to it though, and I totally understand.

Since 9R is really short, she asked me to put on a team shirt (two sizes too small for me) and push the SuperTwins bike out to the starting line. It was a small thing but felt big. The purpose built machine—even sitting still—feels light and responsive. Warming up the engine, I could feel the quick response and hear its willingness to rev out, like a racehorse kicking the starting gate, ready to run free.

Dan started from the last row but got a stellar jump off the line, going from about 9th to 5th at the first turn. Some riders got to the inside of him though as things traffic-jammed into the second turn, and he was 7th. He would have finished there due to the narrowness of the race track and how hard it was to pass, but one bike’s engine quit and another lost his drive chain landing the big jump.

That meant Dan left with a win in one class and a 5th in the other; it was a great day for someone who is racing under his own banner. He was catching so much air that a pair of youngsters came up after the race to ask for an autograph. It’s warming in the heart to see young enthusiasts at a race track, especially when they find someone to cheer on.

You can see highlight of the main event on YouTube, as Flo Racing holds the broadcast rights and lets some snippets online. Dan is the Yellow & Black #62. He is easy to spot after the first jump, as he goes into that tight turn #2, because he takes a different line and gets forced to almost stop as everyone files into the narrow transition to asphalt.

After that they generally follow race leader Dallas Daniels, on the Estenson Yamaha, who was able to take some points away from the Harley team and keep things exciting.