American Flat Track racer Nick Armstrong has done something we believe hasn't been done for at least 45 years, if ever.
He built a race bike chassis with his own hands and then won a national dirt track race on it. Name someone else who has done that. Not owned the company who built the chassis (Kenny Roberts), or who was a racer who built a chassis someone else won on (Mert Lawwill, among others), but cut, bent and welded the frame, then raced it to a win. In Nick's case, winning the Production Twins race at the Volusia Half-Mile, early in the 2022 season. And yes, we know it's a support class, but it's still a national class. We've had it suggested that Dick Mann might have, but no one we asked could confirm if he actually made the frames with his own hands that he won nationals with (Did Dick fabricate his Ossa frames or have someone do them for him?). Let us know if we've missed someone.
Nick's Competition Racing Frames chassis houses a Yamaha MT-07 (that he also rebuilt himself), and was built in the evenings after he finished his day job. We photographed Nick and the bike and interviewed him for Sideburn 51. Anyone into dirt track or motorcycle specials will enjoy it. That's a Gary Inman guarantee.
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Photos: Ed Subias
