AMA Announces Will Davis Trust Fund

| September 7, 2001
The AMA has released the following statement regarding the establishment of its Will Davis Family Trust Fund:

“We often refer to ourselves as the motorcycling community, and even though an intense level of competition surrounds our sport, there are times when it becomes imperative that we do indeed band together as a concerned community. Right now we find ourselves in such a time.

“On August 25, 2001, flat track racer Will Davis died following a multi-rider accident at the AMA Grand National Championship race in Sedalia, Missouri. The 36-year-old Davis had been a professional racer for the past 15 years, wholeheartedly engaged in a sport he loved. Although Davis never quite reached his goal of winning the AMA Grand National Championship, he was a perennial championship contender as evidenced by his two runner-up spots in the 1997 and 2000 seasons, and his 32 career race victories, which place him seventh on the all-time wins list.

“Will Davis leaves behind his wife, Rhonda, and son, Cole, and it is for their sake that AMA Pro Racing has established the Will Davis Family Trust Fund. It is entirely fitting that all of us in the racing community should come together to extend support to the Davis family at this time. Will was one of the best-loved riders on the dirt-track circuit, admired and respected by his fellow competitors and racing fans alike. Moreover, Will believed in looking out for the needs of others and he expressed his concern in very concrete ways, working often at hospitals with terminally ill children –charitable contributions that were acknowledged as AMA Pro Racing bestowed the AMA Professional Sportsman of the Year Award upon Will just last December.

“‘Our flat track family lost a great rider and a great person and he’ll be sorrowly missed,’ said AMA Pro Racing flat track manager Bruce Bober. “Now is the time for the entire motorcycling community to respond in like manner, in memory of Will and in support of his family. Through cooperation with the Illinois Motorcycle Dealers Association (IMDA), this fund and others are off to a great start; during the August 31 to September 2 weekend of dirt track racing at Springfield, Illinois, a total of $41,000 was donated to the trust fund. However, that’s only a start, and all of us here at AMA Pro Racing urge every motorcyclist to participate by sending a donation to:

The Will Davis Family Trust Fund
c/o AMA Pro Racing
13515 Yarmouth Drive
Pickerington, OH 43147-8273

“Motorcycling is great sport and a wonderful pastime, activities that build deep friendships. Thank you in advance for sharing your care and concern for the Davis family.”

By Scott Rousseau