Sorry. That's the best I could come up with on a holiday for the intro. Happy 4th of July everyone. Remember to let go of the firecracker BEFORE it explodes.

Here's the news:

WERA Cycle Jam Draws Large Turnout, Surprise Winners

BRASELTON, Ga. – The annual WERA Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta had all of the expected elements: large grids, close competition and fast lap times. Last weekend’s racing also included some surprise winners, as new faces appeared at the top of the podium.

Cycle Jam featured WERA’s Michelin National Endurance Series, Bridgestone National Challenge Series and most regions in the Pirelli Sportsman Series.  During the busy three days of racing, there were 1082 sprint entries and 39 endurance teams.

It was the endurance racing that got things underway on Friday. Ben Walters and Brett Champagne battled the heat and avoided numerous on-track incidents during the six-hour race to give Brand X the overall and Heavweight Superbike win on a Suzuki GSX-R1000. It is the first win for the team, who made their series debut just four rounds ago.

Vesrah Suzuki, who led early on and has won each round prior to Cycle Jam, had a rear shock failure on their Suzuki GSX-R1000. Nevertheless, Tray Batey, Lee Acree and John Jacobi rallied to finish second overall.

Suzuki Rider Development took the Mediumweight Superbike win on a Suzuki GSX-R600. Martin Cardenas, Chad Lewin and Morgan Broadhead also claimed third overall.

The Mediumweight Superstock win went to fourth-place finisher Dalke Motorsports. The team’s Yamaha YZF-R6 was piloted by Brian Dalke, Wrenn Smith, Giovanni Rojas, Skip Salenius and Ryan Clay.

Team Moe’s/TVR overcame an early crash to win Heavyweight Superstock on a Yamaha YZF-R1. Chuck Ivey, James Stroud and Joshua Day were seventh overall. Touring Sport Ducati earned their first Lightweght Superbike win, with Pete Friedland, Frank Shockley and Brad Phillips riding a Ducati SS1000DS.

Sunday’s National Challenge Series also had some new names on the leader board. In the expert ranks, AMA privateer Cory West won 600 Superstock, while Jeff Walker became only the second winner in Heavyweight Twins Superstock this year. Tommy Aquino won 600 Superbike, and Chad Hermann led the 750 Superbike field.

Dane Westby and Robert Jensen each earned two wins: Westby won Lightweight Twins Superstock and Formula 2, while Jensen earned the top spot in Open Superstock and Formula 1. Lee Acree added a 750 Superstock win to his multiple podiums during the weekend.

In the novice division, Chris Vanover took his first Open Superstock win of the year. Russell Wikle continued to impress, winning 600 and 750 Superstock, and 600 and 750 Superbike.

Josh Reed won both Lightweight Twins and Formula 2 novice, and the Heavyweight Twins victory went to John Brasfield.

The next round for the WERA Michelin National Endurance Series and Bridgestone National Challenge Series will be at Michigan’s Grattan Raceway from July 13-15.

Complete results for the WERA Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta and more can be found at www.WERA.com.

From WERA