Legendary Flat Track Stars Join 2022 Inductees

Upcoming Hot Shoe Hall Of Fame Show, Jan. 29

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Jan. 6, 2022) - Many legendary flat track motorcycle racers will be inducted into the 2022 "Hot Shoe" Hall of Fame class on Saturday, Jan. 29, in the second annual "Hot Shoe" Motorcycle Industry Celebration at the Las Vegas' Notoriety Theatre on the famed Las Vegas Fremont Street Experience (450 E. Fremont St., 3rd Floor).

Former AMA national flat track champion Joe Kopp leads the list of famous dirt track specialists along with Rick Hocking, Jimmy Odom, Dave Hansen, John Gennai and Nichole Cheza-Mees for the popular "Hot Shoe" Hall of Fame display set at the Gene Woods' Racing Experience on Fremont Street.

"Our great collection of 'Hot Shoes' has been enhanced tremendously the newest inductees from flat track racing this year," said Woods, founder and curator of the "Hot Shoe" Hall of Fame. "Adding the likes of Joe Kopp, Rick Hocking, Jimmy Odom, Dave Hansen, John Gennai and Nichole Cheza-Mees to our gallery brings decades of superb racers and their 'Hot Shoes' to the Hall of Fame. All of these competitors have given us exciting memories from the past and contributed to the sport. Joining Ivan Mauger MBE, Eddie Mulder, Terry Vance, Jay Springsteen and Chris Carr with this latest list of riders brings in a superb 2022 Hall of Fame class. We expected another great event on Jan. 29."

Kopp, the Spokane, Wash., racer, was the 2000 AMA Grand National Champion and a four-time series runner-up (2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010). Joe is one of 15 riders to complete the Dirt Track "Grand Slam," Short Track, TT, Half-Mile and Mile victories. He also earned the 1999 and 2000 AMA 600 Hotshot and Supertracker Championships. Kopp competed in the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on a Team Latus Triumph Speed Triple, recording the second-fastest motorcycle time.

Hocking, the late Fremont, Calif., rider, was a hard charger with superb riding talent in all four flat track disciplines: Short Track, TT, Half-Mile and Mile. He won the AMA Grand National races in his rookie year in 1974 at the Albany, CA, Mile and Ascot Park Half-Mile. Hocking also won at the AMA Houston TT in 1976 and AMA Santa Fe TT in 1979. All four of Hocking's national wins came on Yamaha motorcycles. He was the first rider to compete on the famed TZ750cc for Yamaha in 1975 before Kenny Roberts' famed Indy Mile victory on the TZ750. Odom, a Northern California flat track star in 1960s and 1970s, won AMA Grand National races at Houston Short Track and Corona, CA, Half-Mile in 1971 aboard factory Yamaha machines. Odom was also a solid road racer, scoring four top-ten results at AMA national road races. In addition, he set a land speed record of 336 miles per hour at Bonneville. Odom continues in the flat track sport with track construction.

Hansen, the Hayward, CA, star, was another of the Northern California flat tracker to win an AMA Grand National race when he captured the 1974 Houston Astrodome event. He placed second the following night in the Houston Short Track. Dave was a two-time Indoor Short Track Series champion and proved to be a contender in any AMA TT contest. Hansen was part of the Northern California stars to come through the AMA tour in the 1970s, known as the "Golden Era" of Flat Track Racing.

Gennai, the late smooth-riding, soft-spoken rider from Los Gatos, Calif., ranks as one of the Northern California's top flat track stars with legendary performances at dirt tracks like Fremont, Hayward, Lodi, Santa Rosa, San Jose and Oakdale. Named AMA Novice rider of the year in 1972 when John rode for the famed A&A team. As a Junior riding the fast Tony Denius Triumph, Gennai won AMA races throughout the West Coast including the famed Ascot Park. One of John's major accomplishments came at the Ascot half-mile when he set the fastest lap (Expert or Junior) ever turned at 22.03 seconds in 1973. For years, the record stood overall and was the quickest Junior lap when Ascot closed in 1990. He placed on the podium in four AMA Grand National races.

Cheza-Mees, married to six-time AFT SuperTwins national champion Jared Mees, was the fourth woman to ever hold an Expert rider national number with her popular No. 15. Nichole competed in 32 AFT SuperTwins Grand National finals, the most of any woman in series history. At just 5-foot-1, 120 pounds, Cheza-Mees had the difficult chore of handling a 750cc Harley-Davidson on half-mile and mile dirt tracks. But Nichole proved very capable of racing the men including placing a career-best seventh at Knoxville, IA, half-mile and eighth at Springfield, IL, mile tracks. Cheza-Mees was the American Motorcyclist Association's Female Rider for the Year for 2003. Nichole climbed the motorcycle ranks to the prestigious Expert category in 2004 and captured the tough Twins "Dash for Cash" event at Springfield in 2008.

Last May, the grand opening of the "Hot Shoe" Hall of Fame was a big success when some 900 guests attended a star-studded affair of motorcycle legends. The Cycle News historic racing motorcycle display also will be at the Jan. 29 event as the "Hot Shoe" Hall of Fame event ties in with the annual Mecum Motorcycle Auction at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The "Hot Shoe" is the symbol that recognizes the cream of the crop of motorcycle racing stars who used a very specialized tool, the steel shoe, to assist them in navigating the dirt track corners.

An added attraction on Jan. 29 will be the highly acclaimed feature film by director Peter Starr, "Take It to The Limit," which will be shown to attendees at the Notoriety Theatre on Jan. 29 to highlight several of the "Hot Shoe" Hall of Fame inductees featured in the movie.

Located on the Fabulous Fremont Street in Las Vegas, the "Hot Shoe" Hall of Fame is part of the Las Vegas Fremont Experience and adjacent to the Gene Woods Racing Experience Indoor Electric Race Car Track (450 E.Fremont St., #171, Las Vegas). For those accepted into the Hall of Fame, the honorees' "Hot Shoe" is mounted on a Hall of Fame plaque. Recipients also receive their own version 8x10 plaque.

The Jan. 29 “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame event begins with the Cycle News motorcycle display at 4 p.m. Doors to the Notoriety Theatre open at 6 p.m. For further information on the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame celebration, visit the website at www.hotshoehof.com/reg/ or on Facebook at Hot Shoe Hall of Fame.

This is a FREE event but you must register at https://www.hotshoehof.com/reg to attend.

Contact: Tom Blattler, TB Communications, tomblattlercomm@gmail.com, 317.525.5692