Sammy Halbert Wins X Games Gold and Fights for American Flat Track Top 3

Sammy Halbert ran away from the field at the 2017 X Games flat track race

It Runs in the Family

Some fortunate people are said to have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Well, Sammy Halbert may have been born with a silver steel boot on his left foot. Okay, maybe not. However, flat track racing is certainly a family affair in the Halbert home.

“My mom, dad, and grandpa all used to race flat track,” Halbert told K&N. “We always had bikes around. Then when I was ten and my older brother Jethro was twelve, we decided we wanted to get into racing, and from there that’s what we did as a family pretty much every weekend.”

Clearly, foot dragging, dirt roosting, and checker flag chasing runs deep in Halbert’s DNA.

X Games Gold

Halbert finished with an impressive 2nd in the inaugural Harley-Davidson X Games Flat Track competition in 2015 in Austin, Texas. In 2016, the X Games competition returned to Austin but Halbert finished with what was surely a disappointing 12th.

Halbert found gold in the Minneapolis, Minnesota X Games

"Winning X Games gold is like a dream come true for me and will be a weekend I never forget,” said Halbert.

American Flat Track Action

Halbert’s main racing gig is in the Professional American Flat Track circuit. In 2016, Halbert scored a win at Daytona I and racked up two additional podiums at Daytona II and the Circuit of the Americas. He finished the 2016 season with an encouraging fifth in the GNC1 points.

The 2017 AFT campaign has Halbert in a spirited battle for a season podium finish. After 11 rounds, Halbert is a single point behind Brad Baker for 3rd place overall in the series. He is the only rider that currently has a legitimate shot at breaking up the stranglehold that the Indian Wrecking Crew team currently has on AFT.

“I had a pretty consistent year going in AFT holding down third place in the championship until we had a mechanical at the Lima round,” Halbert said. “Since then I've closed back up on third place and hopefully can take that back over even while developing the Yamaha FZ-07 for flat track.”

The final rounds of the AFT season will tell the tale. Halbert is racing strong and is poised to ride the Estenson Racing Yamaha FZ-07 onto the season podium.

Into the Future

Halbert checking the set-up his race bike. Notice the attractive decal on the tail section

“At this point in my career, I'm only focused on flat track racing,” Halbert says. “I do enjoy doing road race and motocross track days though.”

K&N congratulates Sammy Halbert on his X Games win and his dogged pursuit of a top-three season in American Flat Track.

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