Nichole Cheza to serve as honoree at AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships
Trailblazing female racer will welcome amateurs from around the country to championship event
Every summer, the AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships, set for June 27-July 4 in Du Quoin, Ill., invites an active or retired star from the pro ranks to greet amateur racers at the event.
This year the honoree is an up-and-coming rider who has already made a significant impact on the sport, even though her career is still young: Nichole Cheza. Cheza, from Clio, Mich., joins riders such as Chris Carr, Kenny Coolbeth and JR Schnabel in holding the special honor.
The presence of the honoree is a highlight for the amateur competitors, who get to shake hands, take pictures, ask questions and just hang out with one of their heroes. Director of AMA Racing Joe Bromley said that selecting Cheza was easy.
“Nichole is one of the bright rising stars of American dirt track, and we’re proud to have her come out and support the AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships,” Bromley said. “I’ve known Nichole for many years and raced against her father. Her dirt-track roots run deep, and she’ll be a great example for both the youth riders and the vet racers as they battle for national titles in Du Quoin.”
Cheza, whose sponsors include Global Products, Lancaster Harley-Davidson, National Cycle, KK Motorcycle Supply, Honda East Toledo and Bill’s Machining Service, said that the appeal of working with kids attracted her to the role.
“I really like kids, and I think that its great that more kids are getting involved in the sport of dirt track,” Cheza said. “I see a lot more young girls getting involved these days, and I think it’s really cool that they have someone to look up to.”
Cheza has a long history with the AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships.
“I started when I was about six, and I rode the event all the way until I was 16,” she said. “It was always a great week of fun. You get to be there with all your buddies, not only from the state that you’re from, but you meet so many new people. There’s so much to do. We’d go swimming and hang out in the pits and by the campfires at night. Of course, there’s a lot of great competition there, too. There are so many great racers who you only get to race once all year, and it really proves who’s number one.”
Cheza joined the pro ranks in 2004, becoming one of a few female racers to reach the top level of the sport.
“I didn’t really know I would move on to the next level until I was 14 or so,” Cheza said. “I just raced because I loved racing, and I had that drive to compete. After 2003, winning some amateur championships and the (AMA Racing) Female Athlete of the Year award gave me a new goal to work toward. I thought that maybe I can do this. Maybe I can go all the way. I kept with it and made my first main event in Joliet in 2007 — on ’7-7-07′ — and it was then that I knew it was possible and that I could do it.”
Bromley said that it’s refreshing to have an AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championship Honoree who represents the gender neutrality of dirt-track racing.
“Motorcycle racing, particularly track racing, is a unique sport in that the top level welcomes all comers,” Bromley said. “While it’s undeniable that more men than women currently participate at that level, there is no artificial distinction. Women compete on the same racetrack as men, and Nichole is one who definitely has earned her spot on the grid.”
Cheza will be on hand to meet, greet and answer racers’ questions all week during the AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships, but she did offer this early piece of advice: “Keep going. Anything’s possible. Always follow your dreams. If what you want to be is a professional racer, you can make it happen. Ride as much as you can. Train as much as you can. And have fun. You should not be racing if you’re not having fun.”
The AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships is the premier amateur dirt-track racing event in the country. The week of racing features competition in all four dirt-track disciplines — short track, TT, the half-mile and the Mile — and crowns national champions based on their accumulated points from each individual event. Racers from around the country will converge on Du Quoin, Ill., this summer to battle for national championship honors, as well as the AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award, which honors an amateur racer poised to make a statement on the pro level.
Rounds added to AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships Holeshot Series
AMA members who will be competing for national No. 1 plates at this summer’s AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships, set for June 27-July 4 in Du Quoin, Ill., now have three more opportunities to get a head start on the competition.
AMA Racing has added three rounds to the AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships Holeshot Series, which awards bonus points for the national titles up for grabs at Du Quoin. The new events are in Brownstown, Ill.; Salinas, Calif.; and Sturgis, S.D. In addition, the event that rained out April 18-19 in Little Rock, Ark., has been rescheduled for May 2-3. The remaining schedule for the Holeshot Series is listed below.
Riders who compete in all races in their class at an AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships Holeshot Series event earn five bonus points toward that class’ national title.
“By adding these premier racing venues, the AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships Holeshot Series truly has national appeal,” said Ken Saillant, track racing manager for AMA Racing. “Offering this opportunity to even more racers allows competitors from coast to coast to start chasing their national championship aspirations early. We now have an impressive schedule of events that includes racing in short track, TT and half-mile disciplines.”
To count toward a racer’s Grand Championships point total, the bonus points must be earned in the same class contested at the Grand Championships, where a rider can compete in up to three classes. A racer who competes in all of the races for his or her class at a Holeshot Series event will earn five bonus points toward that class championship regardless of finishing order. Full details of the Holeshot series bonus point program are available in the AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships Supplemental Regulations.
The AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships is the premier amateur dirt-track racing event in the country. The week of racing features competition in all four dirt-track disciplines — short track, TT, the half-mile and the Mile — and crowns national champions based on their accumulated points from each individual event. Racers from around the country will converge on Du Quoin, Ill., this summer to battle for national championship honors, as well as the AMA Racing Dirt Track Horizon Award, which honors the amateur racer poised to make a statement on the pro level.
AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships Holeshot Series
For more detailed event schedule information, please contact the promoters
May 2: Short Track, TT
May 3: Short Track
Crooked Creek Raceway
Little Rock, Ark.
Steve Nace Racing
(270) 442-7532
snace@apex.net
www.stevenaceracing.com
May 9: Fayette County Fairgrounds, Brownstown, Ill., TT, Short Track
May 10: Bond County Fairgrounds, Greenville, Ill., Half-mile
Steve Nace Racing
(270) 442-7532
snace@apex.net
www.stevenaceracing.com
May 22: Half-mile
May 23: TT
May 24: Short Track
Eddieville Motorsports Park, Goldendale, Wash.
Mark Anderson
(509) 990-4854
mark@diamondamotorsports.com
www.diamondamotorsports.com
May 22: Short Track
May 23: Half-mile
May 24: TT
Lenawee County Fairgrounds, Adrian, Mich.
Boulis Racing
Ethel Boulis
(810) 686-7083
May 24: Shippensburg Speedway, Shippensburg, Pa., TT, Short Track
May 25: York Fairgrounds, York, Pa., Half-mile
Shippensburg MC
Darryl Baer
(717) 796-0294
candybaer@comcast.net
May 29: Short Track
May 30: TT
Salinas Sports Complex, Salinas, Calif.
California Motorsport Promotions
Jim Beck
(831) 970-3055
jimbeck72@yahoo.com
www.californiamotorsportpromotions.com
May 30: Short Track
May 31: TT
Jackpine Gypsies Short Track, Sturgis, S.D.
Jackpine Gypsies MC
Pat Schieffer
(605) 347-6374 or (605) 490-3222
racerboy62y@hotmail.com
www.jackpinegypsies.com
June 6: Half-mile
June 7: Half-mile
Pickaway County Fairgrounds, Circleville, Ohio
Keene Racing LLC
Thomas Keene
(937) 432-9515
pquik@aol.com
http://keeneracing.blogspot.com
