Harley-Davidson Flat Track Racing and Texter Siblings Set to Make History at X Games
- Jun 4, 2015
The AMA Grand National Championship racing series has a long and illustrious history fueled by early rivalries between the Harley-Davidson Motor Company and the Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company. Flat track racing is the oldest form of motorcycle racing and the Harley-Davidson Motor Company remains highly involved in the sport. Harley is currently the title sponsor of the Harley-Davidson Grand National Championship 1 (GNC1) series. K&N is also deeply rooted in motorcycle racing. Before the invention of the World’s Best Air Filter, K&N sold motorcycles, motorcycle accessories, and supported a large K&N factory race team. K&N supported some of motorcycle racing’s finest including Johnny Issics, Ralph White, Stevie Nichols, and even a three-time world motorcycle grand prix champion, “King” Kenny Roberts. These days the GNC1 field has become more diverse with serious contenders riding Harley XR750, Kawasaki Ninja EX650, Ducati, KTM, Suzuki and for 2015 Yamaha powered twin-cylinder motorcycles. These racers must embody both intelligence and guts as they race around flat dirt oval tracks, sometimes longer than a mile, bar to bar at speeds up to 130 mph on the straightaway. Also new for 2015 is the inclusion of Harley-Davidson Flat-Track racing in the popular ESPN-fueled X Games festival of extreme sports. Also setting a precedent in X Games competition are the Texter siblings who hail from Pennsylvania. Cory Texter, age 27, and Shayna Texter, age 24, will soon be the first brother and sister tandem to be invited to the X Games in any event in its 20-year history. “There’s no other brother and sister in the world that went to X Games together. For us being the first in history, it’s definitely cool and something special that we’ll treasure forever,” said Shayna Texter. While the Texters were born into a racing family they didn’t always have aspirations of professional racing careers on their mind. It wasn’t until 2004 when the duo began entering flat track racing with the support of their father Randy Texter. The Texter siblings soon discovered they had a talent for pitching motorcycles into flat dirt corners and began to win races. Cory turned pro in 2007 and Shayna soon followed. It wasn’t always easy for these two young racers after losing their father in 2010 due to complications from his battle with cancer. Both Cory and Shayna struggled for a while following the death of their father. The two had to lean on one another more than ever before in 2011. Cory took a year off of racing to support his sister Shayna who became the first female in AMA history to win a GNC2 Pro Singles main event in 2011.
“Shayna winning Knoxville put us on the map as a family and kick started our careers,” said Cory. Cory took on the marketing aspect of their careers while Shayna picked up a wrench and took a hands-on approach with her motorcycles. “I enjoy it a lot. I almost enjoy working on them sometimes more than I enjoy riding them,” joked Shayna Texter. Although flat-track racing is the oldest form of motorcycle racing, the sport doesn’t enjoy the fame and bright lights of other forms of motorcycle competition, like Supercross. All that could begin to change come Thursday May 4th in Austin, Texas when flat track racing is thrust in front of thousands of extreme sports fanatics. “If you told me five years ago that we would be in the X Games I would have laughed at you. It’s never been on the radar,” said Cory. “It’s a really big deal. The X Games are something everyone knows. If I tell someone I race flat-track, they often don’t know what it is. It goes in one ear and out the other.” The first ever Harley-Davidson Flat-Track racing event of the X Games will take place Thursday May 4th at 8:30 PM. 24 invite-only flat track racers will race bar to bar on a 3/8 mile course in Austin, Texas. Different for the X Games will be the motocross-style starting gate instead of the AMA Pro Flat Track style start of gridded rows. The 24 invitees will be thinned down to a 12-person main event. At the X Games Cory Texter will ride the number 65, Randy Texter’s number, Racing Unlimited Kawasaki EX650. Shayna will be aboard the number 52 Crosley Radio Kawasaki EX650. All things aside, once the Texter siblings line up at the starting gate it will be like any other race. They will be determined to be faster than the entire field including each other. “We’re friends, we’re colleagues, we’re teammates, and we’re rivals. We’re quite the combination,” said Cory. |
