AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
FLAT TRACK
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY
LARRY LAWRENCE
K
awasaki flat trackers have
been competitive on the
Grand National miles for
several seasons now, but the
Achilles Heel of the speedy little
vertical twins had been half miles
– there the venerable Harley-Da-
vidson XR750s still had an advan-
tage. Bryan Smith was the first to
prove a Kawasaki could win on a
Grand National Mile. On Saturday
night at Hagerstown Speedway,
Smith rewrote the record books
yet again by becoming the first
rider in history to win an AMA Pro
Grand National Half-Mile aboard
a Kawasaki.
When Kenny Coolbeth Jr.'s
Harley broke nine laps into the
25-lap National, it was Smith who
was there on his Villa-Esparza/
ROUND 6/JULY 5, 2014
HAGERSTOWN SPEEDWAY, HAGERSTOWN MARYLAND
P64
Bryan Smith gives Kawasaki its first
Grand National half-mile win
Hagerstown
History Maker
