AFT Series confirms 2018 schedule
American Flat Track has announced its 18-race calendar for the 2018 season, which begins with the DAYTONA TT at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 15, 2018, and finishes up just a stone’s throw from downtown New York City with the Meadowlands Mile – “an incredible new event to be held on the mile-long horse track at the famed Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to wrap up the season on October 6, 2018.
Billed as “America’s original extreme sport”, 2018 will be the 66th consecutive year of competition. The Daytona Bike Week series opener will be on a “bigger, better and faster Daytona TT circuit built inside the legendary tri-oval at the “World Center of Racing”. Seven-time Grand National Champion Chris Carr has redesigned the track to better showcase the speed and ferocity of pro flat track competition.”
Comprised of eight Mile races, five Half-Miles, three TTs, and two Short Track events, the 2018 series features two new venues – the mile track at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment and the short track at Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport, New York – and one location returning to the calendar, the mile track at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota.
Both the Minnesota Mile and Meadowlands Mile will take place at high-end horse-racing facilities with modern amenities, while Weedsport Speedway, situated between Rochester and Syracuse, New York, recently received significant upgrades and is now hailed as one of the country’s finest dirt speedways.
American Flat Track enters its second year of broadcast coverage on NBCSN and fifth year of live streaming coverage on FansChoice.tv. The organizers say that the “American Flat Track series concluded 2017 with record-breaking TV and live streaming numbers that resulted in the largest viewing audience in the storied history of the sport. An enhanced broadcast package, featuring improved coverage and exciting new broadcast airdates, is planned for 2018 and will be announced in the coming months.”
Complete 2018 American Flat Track Schedule:
1. March 15: DAYTONA TT – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
2. April 7: Atlanta Short Track – Dixie Speedway, Woodstock, Georgia
3. April 28: Texas Half-Mile – Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
4. May 5: Calistoga Half-Mile – Calistoga Speedway, Calistoga, California
5. May 12: Arizona Mile – Turf Paradise, Phoenix, Arizona
6. May 19: Sacramento Mile – Cal Expo, Sacramento, California
7. May 27*: Springfield Mile I – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Illinois
8. June 2: Red Mile – Red Mile, Lexington, Kentucky
9. June 16: OKC Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
10. June 30: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio
11. July 7: New York Short Track – Weedsport Speedway, Weedsport, New York
12. August 5: Buffalo Chip TT – Buffalo Chip Campgrounds, Sturgis, South Dakota
13. August 7: Black Hills Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, South Dakota
14. August 18: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, Illinois
15. September 2*: Springfield Mile II – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Illinois
16. September 8: Williams Grove Half-Mile – Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
17. September 29: Minnesota Mile – Canterbury Park, Shakopee, Minnesota
18. October 6: Meadowlands Mile – Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment, East Rutherford, New Jersey
*Note: As in 2017, AFT Singles will race a TT at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in conjunction with Springfield Mile I on May 26 and a Short Track during the Labor Day Weekend as part of the Springfield Mile II event on September 1.