Racers at AMA Dirt Track Grand Championship to Compete for AMA Fast Brain Award

Racers at the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championship in Du Quoin, Ill., July 6-10, not only will race for AMA National No. 1 plates, but some of the fastest and brightest will also compete for the AMA Fast Brain Award, which includes an educational scholarship for the award winner.

Funded by AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Bill Werner, Zanotti Racing’s Dave Zanotti and AMA Life Member Stan Simpson, the 2015 AMA Fast Brain Award and its $1,500 educational scholarship benefit a young racer whose talent with a throttle is matched by his or her aptitude in the classroom.

The award winner’s selection will be based on performance at the week-long AMA Dirt Track Grand Championship at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, as well as official school transcripts supplied at the time of application.

Click here to download the 2015 application for the AMA Fast Brain Award: www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Libraries/Racing_Documents/2015_Fast_Brain_Application.sflb.ashx.

Reigning AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees will serve as this year’s honoree at the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championship, where racers will compete in individual dirt track disciplines, including half-mile, TT and short-track races. Non-youth classes also will run on Du Quoin’s world-famous Magic Mile.

The riders in each class with the highest point totals in all disciplines will be awarded AMA national championship No. 1 plates. The top amateur racers also compete for the AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award, which honors the amateur racer poised for success at the pro level.

Online entry for the 2015 AMA Dirt Track Grand Championship is available now. To sign up, see https://secure.tracksideonlineresults.com/flattrack/index.asp.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame recently named Marilyn Stemp and Steve Piehl to its board of directors.

Stemp is a pioneering figure in the motorcycle industry, founding IronWorks Magazine with her late husband, Dennis, and becoming the first female editor of a nationally circulated, mainstream motorcycle magazine. She also revived their trade magazine, Iron Trader News; edits the monthly Kiwi Indian News; contributes to several powersports media outlets; and is the founding editor of Sturgis Rider Daily. Stemp is a noted editor and writer of several motorcycle-focused books. Her consistent support for charitable efforts in the industry include the annual Biker Belles Celebration, Las Vegas BikeFest and as campaign chair for the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum’s development plan in 2014. She co-founded the Flying Piston charity events taking place in Daytona and Sturgis each year and is a National Ambassador for All Kids Bike. Stemp was inducted into both the Las Vegas Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the Sturgis Museum's Hall of Fame in 2018, and in 2022 she was recognized as one of the Top 100 Women in Powersports by DealerNews.