Gardner Racing Confirms Line-Up

Gardner Racing team owner Steve Gardner called Cycle News to confirm that his 2001 Grand National race team has been finalized, with former USC Racing/Lancaster H-D rider Bryan Bigelow (shown) occupying one of the two seats, and current Gardner team member Steve Beattie remaining for another season. Bigelow finished sixth in the 2000 series standings, while Beattie finished outside the top 20 after missing several races due to the back injury that he sustained at the Memorial Day Weekend running of the Springfield Mile.

“Bryan is going to take Dan Stanley’s place on our team,” Gardner said. “We decided to let Dan go after Du Quoin this year. We just felt that it was better for everybody all the way around if we parted company. But we’re looking forward to having Bryan on the team with Steve. With the two being good friends already, maybe this will spark them to be more competitive – as if they needed to be more competitive. We’re looking forward to having a good year.”

Gardner reported that the team will retain its long-standing relationship with Walters Brothers Harley-Davidson, but added that Bigelow will be bringing Lancaster Harley-Davidson and several other sponsors into the fold. Former Grand National racer and AMA tech inspector Greg Crow will stay on as the team’s crew chief.