Off The Groove

In this week's episode we preview Round 10, the Ohio National in Lima and talk with the winningest TT rider in flat track, Henry Wiles. We cover everything from his early days of riding moto and wrestling, to his winning streak in Peoria. 00:59 - Lima Preview 01:59 - Henry Wiles intro 02:32 - Where were you born? 03:55 - How did you get into riding motorcycles? 04:38 - How long have you been racing motorcycles? 04:54 - What was it about racing that appealed to you? 05:34 - Where was your first win? 06:11 - Did you look up to any riders when you first got started? 07:25 - How did you get into flat tracking? 09:04 - How did you get the nickname Hammering Hank? 10:14 - Talks about wrestling career 14:04 - Talks about balancing being a father with racing 17:02 - Talks about 2009 & 2010 racing seasons 18:48 - Talk about his injury suffered in Daquin in 2011 20:12 - Talks about winning in Salinas with the injured knee 23:46 - Talks us through the Buffalo Chip finish in 2017 25:10 - Was 2017 a successful year in

In this week's episode, we recap last weekend’s events from Oklahoma City, and catch up with a yet another Pennsylvania flat tracker, Jake Shoemaker. We talk about what it is like balancing a full-time job and raising a daughter as a single parent, while also trying to make the time to still come play in the dirt with AFT on the weekends.

In this week's episode we preview this weekend's racing in my home state of Oklahoma and catch up with California-based privateer rider, James Monaco. We chat about everything from growing almonds to cleaning pools and prepping a race track. This guy has gone from racing on Kenny Roberts Ranch as a child, to racing his way into his first AFT Twins main event in 2017.

In this week's episode, we recap the Red Mile and catch up with my long-time friend, Danny Eslick. I've had the pleasure of watching this guy race since he was four years old. We talked through his first days of racing, his Daytona 200 wins, his 2018 racing seasons across road racing and flat track, and much more.

In this week's episode, we recap the week of flat track racing that was Springfield, preview this weekend of racing from Wisconsin to Kentucky, and catch up with one cool Hooligan racer from California. Jordan Graham may be a newcomer to the AFT scene, but he is definitely not new to riding motorcycles. This guy is one talented, passionate, and interesting dude!

In this episode, we recap the Sacto-Mile weekend, preview this weekend's events in Springfield, and catch up with a young Australian rider, Max Whale. At the age of seventeen, this kid's resume is already something to talk about. We talk about the differences between riding down under, and in the US, what he's learned in the six events he's competed in, and goals for the remainder of his first full season in the AFT singles class. 00:24 - Sacramento recap/Springfield preview 01:59 - Max Whale intro 02:40 - Where are you from? 03:36 - Talks working on his family’s farm 04:19 - When did you start riding motorcycles and why? 05:00 - Is it true they don’t use steel shoes in Australia? 05:36 - what’s the biggest difference for you racing here in the US? 06:12 - Matthew Guenther shout out 06:25 - Other riders helping him out 07:30 - What riders do you look up to? 08:45 - Scottie reviews Max’s resume 11:06 - Off-season planning & testing 11:58 - How are you traveling to events? 13:29 - Talks about racing his first

In this week's episode, we recap Arizona, look ahead to this weekend's mile event in Sacramento, and catch up with a race promoters of the Springfield Mile, Dave & Tommra Kiesow. We not only discover a bit more about their history, but some interesting history about this iconic race track they promote twice a race season and find out what fans attending the race next weekend can expect. 00:24 - Phoenix recap/Sacramento preview 02:07 - Dave & Tommra Kiesow intro 03:30 - Where were you guys born? 04:29 - How did you guys get involved with motorcycles? 05:27 - When did you start racing motorcycles? 06:09 - Do you still have any of your race bikes? 07:16 - Dave talks about an older XR-750 he’ll have at next weekend’s event 08:02 - How did you guys meet? 08:49 - Talks about the transition from IMDA to the Keisows as race promoters 10:04 - Talks about the roles they filled with the IMDA 10:49 - Talks about the riders they have helped through the Kiesow Racing program 11:38 - Do you stay in touch with riders you’

00:24 - Calistoga recap/Phoenix preview 02:04 - Ben Lowe intro 02:35 - Big truck driver 03:15 - Why isn’t anyone talking about you? 03:52 - Where were you born? 04:00 - Do you like your nickname? 04:55 - How did you get into riding motorcycles? 06:13 - Do you remember your first race? 06:29 - What was it that got you hooked? 07:13 - What’s your favorite racing memory? 07:48 - Talks about making the decision to jump from amateur to pro 08:53 - What was the biggest change from racing amateur to going pro? 09:42 - Talks about his system for collecting race data 10:47 - Was your 2017 successful in your mind? 11:29 - What happened in Lexington last year? 13:54 - Talks about last year’s event in Peoria 14:30 - Do you like to ride moto? 15:10 - Why Michigan riders seem to ride harder than others 16:53 - Talks about how and why he made the switch from Honda to Kawasaki 19:08 - Who makes modifications to your bike? 21:23 - Expectations coming into 2018 21:58 - Talks about all the folks who contribute to his p

In this week's episode, we recap the Texas race weekend, look ahead to round 4 in Calistoga, and catch up with an up-and-coming AFT Singles rider Cameron Smith. We talked to him prior to the Texas event, where he had his best results of his 2018 season. We talked about how he got into riding motorcycles, his transition to racing at the pro level, and his goals for the 2018 season and beyond.

This week's guest is the tuner for the #23 team in the AFT Twins class, Ben Evans. A former racer with a long flat track resume, Ben was nice enough to take time from his busy schedule to talk with us after the team's podium finish in Atlanta. We talked about how he got into the sport, the challenges that come with preparing three different brands of motorcycles for the 2018 season, and his relationship with his rider, Jeffrey Carver Jr.

This week, we catch up with Kenny Coolbeth Jr., a flat track legend who recently announced he'd be retiring at the conclusion of the 2018 race season. We talked about what led him to a career racing motorcycles, take a look back on his twenty-five years of flat tracking, and talk about what is next for him after he hangs up the steel shoe.

We caught up with Jarod Vanderkooi prior to last weekend's race in Atlanta. We talked about his expectations heading into the second round of the 2018 season, what its like to have an opportunity to ride an Indian and Harley-Davidson factory bike in a six month span, and his love for B-Dubs.

This week we caught up with Stevi Smith. We talked about her own racing career and what its like growing up in a flat track family. Balancing a full-time job while managing her fiance J.R. Addison's race team, she still makes time to contribute to several others in the flat track community each race season.

Caught up with 2-time Singles champion and 2-time Grand National Champion, Jake Johnson. We talked about what brought him into the sport, his extensive resume (including his brief hiatus from flat track), and his transition to Estenson Racing for the 2018 season.

This week we catch up with Dave and Rhonda Waters. A great conversation with two great people who have been supporting flat track for decades. We talked about how they met, why they became team owners, and the challenges that come with balancing a full-time business along with two race programs. 00:24 - Scottie Update 00:42 - Dave & Rhonda Water intro 02:21 - Dave’s flat motorcycle racing background 03:21 - When Rhonda met Dave 03:40 - “I was too good, so they made me race with the guys…” 05:03 - What drew Rhonda into motorcycle racing 06:04 - Dave talks of current state of the sport 07:06 - What made you want to start a race team? 09:19 - Talks of being the only team running a KTM program 10:25 - Is Wyatt going to be riding the Yamaha more than the KTM (in 2018)? 11:25 - Was the 2017 with Wyatt a successful one in your mind? 12:14 - “…I didn’t know what Wyatt really looked like until I met him in Daytona…” 14:38 - Talks of what led to Wyatt jumping to a the AFT Twins class 15:41 - Story behind Sandriana Sh

Caught up with Bronson Bauman this a week before the season opener in Daytona. We talked about what its like racing for legendary tuner Bill Werner, his girlfriend (who also races), and his expectations for the upcoming season.

This week, we put in a call to the man at the top, the CEO of American Flat Track, Michael Lock. We get to know the man behind the flat track resurgence, what drew him to the series and motorcycles in general, and expectations for the upcoming AFT season. 00:24 - Scottie update 00:47 - Michael Lock intro 01:30 - Talks of Flat Out Friday event 04:38 - Where are you from originally? 05:20 - How did you get into motorcycles? 09:05 - Talks of what inspired him to become a leader 10:55 - Talks of how his relationship with American Flat Track began 14:00 - What were your first impressions of the sport? 17:01 - Talks about changes to the sport over the past few years 19:39 - “…some things that are going to happen in the next 60-90 days are going to be game-changers…” 20:57 - Talks about changes to the race format in 2017 25:26 - Talks of the future of the Superprestigio 27:05 - What has Michael Lock and AFT been up to this off-season? 29:02 - Is there a reason behind why you have to ride one particular brand of m

Caught up with THE Johnny Lewis last week. We talked about the inspiration behind JL10 Training, his supermoto days, and his passion for motorcycles and the sport that has had an enormous impact on his life. This man has his hands in just about every aspect of flat track racing and loves to share his knowledge. 00:24 - Scottie update 01:20 - Johnny Lewis intro 02:40 - what have you been up to since Perris? 03:32 - “it’s one of those roller coasters you don’t ant to get off of...” 04:42 - what is the story behind JL10 Training? 07:51 - Talks of Cole Zabala 09:21 - Talks of Dallas Daniels 10:23 - “flat track is a very secretive sport” 11:26 - how do you customize training programs? 13:55 - “the motorcycle is a tool” 14:38 - Talks of sponsoring Chase Saathoff 17:14 - Talks of supermoto day’s 19:39 - how did you get into motorcycles? 21:35 - how do you feel about riding the most brands of twins into main events? 23:35 - Talks about the opportunity to race an Indian in 2017 28:20 - talks about the race finish in

Last week, while everyone else watched some other "flying tomato" capture gold in the 2018 Winter Olympics, I spent my time catching up with the 2017 AFT Singles Champion, Kolby Carlile. We got his take on last year's roller coaster season, talked about what he's done to build upon that success for 2018, and even discuss future plans of a possible twins ride for 2019. 00:24 - Scottie update 02:06 - Kolby Carlile intro 02:43 - What the heck were you doing in North Dakota? 03:46 - Talks about his move out to Phoenix 04:19 - Have you been riding a lot this off-season? 05:26 - How’d you get started in flat track? 06:19 - Talks of family supporting his racing 07:45 - Scottie’s helmet shop visit 08:54 - Thoughts on Lima race 11:11 - Talks of adversity in Calistoga 12:04 - Talks of tuner Andrew Butler 14:22 - who is going to be your stiffest competition this year? 16:04 -Talks of team dynamics and new teammate 17:28 - Talks of old teammate, Sammy Halbert 19:24 - Talks of future with Estenson (Twins?) 21:00

Caught up with Ryan Wells earlier this week during his drive home. We talked about the sequence of events that led him to Richie Morris Racing, his rookie season racing twins, his new home in Michigan, and his new love for ice racing. 00:24 - Scottie update 01:59 - Ryan Wells intro 02:49 - ice riding talk 05:39 - “I get my groove on” 07:42 - “ice riding is such a killer workout” 08:27 - how’d you get into flat track? 09:21 - talks about his bigger little brother 10:33 - “I love doing non-nationals...” 11:25 - talks about the timeline for his move to singles 13:26 - do you feel your 2017 was a success? 14:15 - what were your expectations heading into last season 15:10 - what’s the biggest difference between the singles/twins bikes? 16:22 - what was it like working with Jonny Gott? 19:12 - Wells’ Johnny Gott impression 19:40 - talks about decision to make the move from NY to Michigan 22:30 - “I ride with Jared, train with Bryan” 23:24 - what’s it going to take to win the 2017 Champion? 25:07 - any added press