14 Facts about Harley-Davidson Racing Department, Part 2
1. The Decade of Conformity
Harley-Davidson racing kick-started the decade with Larry Headrick winning the AMA Grand National Championship on a dirt-track, and other Harley riders winning 18 of the 24 National Championships. These wins came along with setting six new racing records.
By the mid mark of the 50's, Harley-Davidson took the win at the AMA Grand National Championship with rider Joe Leonard at the helm. This kicked off quite the streak with the Grand National series being won by Harley for the next eight years!
Harley was really on a roll with racing as they also began a seven-year stretch of winning at the Daytona 200 series. The racers that won were Brad Andres and Johnny Gibson. Roger Reiman, another winning Harley racer, took his victory on the speedway course which was brand new to the sport.
2. Roaring through Psychedelic Era
In 1960, Brad Andres took 1st place at the Daytona 200 riding a 750 KR. Fun fact: The top 14 racers at the time were all riding the KR models as well.
The KR motorcycle won again when Ralph White came in first at the Daytona 200 riding the 750. In the next year, the iconic Roger Reiman won the AMA Grand National Championship, then flipped around and scored back-to-back wins at Daytona 200 with that sweet 750. Bart Markel then set his eyes on the AMA Grand National Championship which he won in 1966.
3. The New Challenger
The AMA rules were changed, so what was Harley to do with the KR racer that had dominated the tracks year after year after year? They went and introduced the motorcycle you see up above, the more powerful XR-750. It's a Sportster based bike and is the newest chariot for the Class C racing category.
This bike proves to be more reliable and was even more dominant for the dirt track for the next three decades to come. In fact, in 1972 Mark Brelsford won the AMA Grand National Champion on it. For four years to come, Harley would win the AMA Grand National Championships for dirt track racing.
4. Greed is Good
Randy Goss went into the 80's with a win in the AMA Grand National Championship series, putting another notch on the HD belt. In 1981 racer Scott Parker began his time on the Harley team on the dirt track circuit. Scott Parker went on to become one of the greatest racers for Harley of all time. How great was Parker? In a single 10-year period, he won nine Grand National Championships and then 93 career victories in total.
Ricky Graham, Jay Springsteen, and Goss won the AMA in 1982, and Goss won the Championship in 1983. Closing out the decade for Harley, Scott Parker started his run for immortality by winning his first of nine AMA Grand National Championships.
5. The Decade of Attitude
The 1990's were a time when Harley needed a new face and direction to head the company racing division. Out with the dirt tracks and in with the liquid smooth asphalt as the world said hello to the sleek VR1000 and Superbike racing. The new high tech dual overhead cam liquid-cooled motorcycle was a completely new look and feel for Harley. The VR1000 was the very first unique racing motorcycle that Harley made. All the way from 1915 to 1993, all of the racing bikes Harley used were modified production models.
6. Making Roads Where There were None
Harley-Davidson Racing added a new piece to their team that would be as inspirational as it would be intriguing. The first woman to ever win a national racing event in the USA National Dirt Track Series, Jennifer Snyder, not only was a phenomenal racer but was also just 17 years old!
In 2005, team racer Andrew Hines won back-to-back NHRA Powerade Pro Stock Motorcycle Championships. Kenny Coolbeth won his second championship in 2007 at the AMA Flat Track Twins Championship competition. Coolbeth then came back in 2008 to solidify his legacy with his third consecutive win at the Grand National Championship. To end the decade, Jared Mees won at the AMA Flat Track Championship and gave Harley a sweet note to close things out.
7. From Here to Forever
In 2011, Eddie Krawiec won Harley-Davidson's fifth drag racing title for the year.
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