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Stars of AMA Pro
Racing Honored at End-Of-Year Awards Banquet
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- Some of the fastest
motorcycle racers on the planet were honored at
the end-of-year AMA Pro Racing Awards Banquet,
held at the spectacular Barber Vintage
Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Ala., on
Saturday, Nov. 23. Champions from AMA Motocross,
AMA Supercross, AMA Superbike, AMA Flat Track,
AMA Hillclimb, AMA Supermoto and the AMA/ATVA
Pro ATV Championship took the stage to be
recognized for their successful seasons.
In addition to class champions and previously
announced awards for rookies of the year,
special awards were presented to those who stood
out among even this crowd of world-class
competitors.
The night's highest honor, the AMA SPEED
Athlete of the Year Award, was presented to 2008
AMA Motocross Champion James Stewart. Stewart
had an incredible year in the AMA Toyota
Motocross Championship Series, winning 24 of 24
motos to claim his first outdoor title in the
premier class.
"This is one of my highest honors," Stewart
said. "After seven years, I finally did
something good enough to win this. The
(motocross) season didn't start for me in May.
It started when I got hurt two weeks into (the
Supercross season). It had been three years in a
row that I haven't finished the outdoor season,
and I was sitting in the hospital thinking,
again, that my year was done before it even
started."
Instead, Stewart's season was one of the
greatest in history, with Stewart becoming only
the second rider ever to complete a perfect
outdoor record. The first was Ricky Carmichael,
who accomplished the feat twice.
Also at the banquet, Joe and Cheryl Swanson
were honored with the AMA Sportsman and
Sportswoman of the Year Award. For years, the
AMA Hillclimb Championship has happened because
the Swansons have tirelessly worked to make it a
possibility. Their constant extra effort helps
make the series a better experience for everyone
involved.
Winning the AMA Award for Mechanical
Excellence was Tom Houseworth, crew chief for
Ben Spies' championship-winning AMA Superbike
effort. In 2008, Spies had 10 wins and finished
outside the top two only once. Houseworth also
won the 2006 and 2007 AMA Supercross titles with
Spies, along with the 2007 AMA Superstock
championship.
"The key to doing well is all my guys doing
well, and the key to that is keeping them happy.
If they're happy, they do good work," Houseworth
said. "We all cover each others' butts. If
something goes wrong, someone else is there to
catch it. Everybody watches out for everybody
else."
About the American Motorcyclist
Association
Since 1924, the
AMA has promoted and protected the motorcycling
lifestyle. AMA members come from all walks of
life and they navigate many different roads on
their journey to the same destination: freedom
on two wheels. As the world's largest motorcycle
organization with nearly 300,000 members, the
AMA advocates for motorcyclists' interests in
the halls of local, state and federal
government, the committees of international
governing organizations and the court of public
opinion. Through member clubs, promoters and
partners, the AMA sanctions more motorsports
competition events than any other organization
in the world. Through its Motorcycle Hall of
Fame Museum, the AMA preserves the heritage of
motorcycling for future generations. For more
information, visit
www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com.
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