Estenson Racing and Attack Performance famously aligned its efforts in an ambitious effort to field JD Beach in MotoAmerica competition for 2019 – a collaboration that allowed both Estenson Racing and Beach to focus on and make a serious run for the American Flat Track championship. That bold plan has already born considerable fruit on both sides, as Beach celebrated his maiden premier-class victories on dirt and pavement in back-to-back weekends earlier this season.

However, as successful as its joint-program has already proven, there was always the small hitch of a handful of scheduling conflicts to contend with. This weekend marks the first of those with the simultaneous running of the Indian Motorcycle of Lexington Red Mile and MotoAmerica’s doubleheader at Road America.

Beach elected to chase after Superbike points, a relatively simple arithmetic decision considering he’s currently 3rd in the Superbike championship and 11th in the AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines standings.

But that left Estenson Racing with a race-winning Yamaha MT-07 DT they’d prefer to not leave sitting idly while the rest of the field tackles the highly-anticipated first Mile of the AFT season.

Fortunately, the team’s Director of Racing Operations, Tommy Hayden, had a capable sub in mind, one who happened to be sitting idly himself — a MotoGP top-ten race finisher, winner of multiple MotoAmerica Superbike races, 2007 AMA Supersport national champion, 2002 Springfield TT podium finisher, and 1998 Nicky Hayden AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award winner, not to mention one of the most charismatic and popular motorcycle racers on the American scene for the past two decades.

It probably didn’t hurt that he also happened to be that aforementioned Director of Racing Operations’ little brother…Roger Hayden.

Hayden sporting his Estenson Racing shirt for the weekend.

The younger Hayden is enjoying his first season in retirement following a racing career that likely spans back — at least in some fashion or another — to before his first memory. But even when he stepped away, the Kentuckian never planned on completely severing ties with the sport. So the call to return to racing, at least temporarily, came as a welcome one.

Hayden said, “Tommy called me on his way home from Springfield on Sunday and asked if I was interested in riding the Red Mile this weekend in Lexington. Of course, I wanted to. Yeah, I was a little bit nervous — I haven’t rode a twin in a long time — but it just seemed like a good fit. At the end of the day, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ride some flat track again on a great team with a good bike and go have some fun.

Hayden aboard the Yoshimura Suzuki

“Even though I’ve been retired from roadracing, I’ve wanted to stay involved in racing as much as possible. Really, there haven’t been too many things come up. I’ve still been riding a lot with the local guys around here and doing a lot of cycling, so I was still in good shape. So I thought, ‘yeah, why not?’”

It didn’t hurt that Hayden was given the green light and inside line from the man whose ride he’d be throwing a leg over.

“I rode bicycles with JD today, and I got to talk to him a lot about the bike and stuff. That was pretty cool to have his support. It’s always a little uncomfortable when someone else jumps on your bike, but I think JD knows I’m not trying to take his ride or whatever. That’s his bike whenever it’s his weekend and everybody knows that, including myself. It’s just going to be fun. I think JD is excited for me.”

As he noted, Hayden hasn’t completely unplugged from the racing mindset. While he may have burst onto the scene as a pudgy teenager in the late ‘90s, over time Hayden developed a hard-earned reputation as one of the fittest riders in the paddock. And despite ending his Superbike career following the 2018 season, Hayden hasn’t retired to the couch.

“It was nice to be home this winter and have some time off and refocus and regroup,” he said. “The last couple years have been pretty tough, and I mentally needed a break. So it’s been nice. My wife and I finally get to take our honeymoon, and I’ve gotten to spend more time with my nieces and just do things I’ve missed out. It’s been cool. But for sure, I’ve missed racing.

“I’ve always said I want to stay involved in racing as long as possible on some level — whether it’s working with a team or younger riders. I did a little of announcing this year, but I would have liked to be more involved in racing. I was a little bummed that hadn’t worked out yet, but I’m ready to go.

“That’s one reason I always wanted to stay in shape and stay active… I always joke with the younger guys around here, it’s like the song says, ‘if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.’

“I’m not as fit as I was at my fittest point in my career, but I’m still plenty fit to race motorcycles. I’ve been riding my dirt bike a lot the past couple weeks, and I’ve been cycling a ton since the weather got good. Like I said, I’m not exactly at my peak, but I’m definitely really, really fit.”

As decorated as his career record is, Saturday will mark two significant milestones for Hayden — one of which he hasn’t done in a very long time, and another that will be a first altogether.

“It’s been so long since I rode a twin, I don’t even know how long it’s been exactly. I was trying to think about that today… It’s been at least 15 years and probably longer than that. So that’s definitely a little intimidating. And there’s no better way to jump into the deep end than going straight to a Mile!

“And I’ve never raced a Yamaha. I’ve raced against them my whole life, but I’ve never ridden a Yamaha, so that’s going to be something new for me. I think it’s just really cool, not just to ride a Yamaha, but to have my brother as team manager too. I think we’re both pretty excited about it.”

As excited as he is, there’s no underestimating what Roger is up against this weekend.

Hayden said, “American Flat Track seems to be strong and rolling in the right direction. Ever since Tommy got involved with the Estenson team, he’s told him how the sport is evolving at a really high level. I watch all the races on FansChoice.tv; I can see they’re getting huge crowds and the racing looks great.

“The competition this year has been pretty amazing with how many different winners they’ve had. Flat track is at a really high level, and I know this is not going to be easy. I know these guys are super fast — they’re the real deal — the fastest flat trackers in the world. I know we have an uphill climb, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Hayden’s time away from top-level flat track has been so extended that he’ll face very few opponents he’s previously tangled with.

He said, “I think the only one left I’ve ever really raced with is Bryan Smith. (Jared) Mees came quite a bit after me. I raced Bryan Smith my whole amateur career, and we basically went pro at the same time. None of these other guys I’ve ever really raced against. I’ve ridden dirt bikes with a few of them at JD’s but never in a serious environment.

“And I guess, I have raced Larry (Pegram). But Larry is so old, really, he’s before my time (laughs). No, I’m just kidding. I like to give Larry a hard time, but it’s cool to see him out there doing so well, that’s for sure.”

The family connection goes much deeper than just having his big brother in his corner this weekend. His parents, Earl and Rose Hayden, have been named Grand Marshals at the event, and $1 from every ticket sold will go to benefit the Nicky Hayden Memorial Foundation.

The Hayden Family at COTA in 2019 as Nicky Hayden’s number is retired by MotoGP.

“It’s really cool. Actually, I was already planning on going to the race just as a fan, since I was home and my parents are the Grand Marshals and the deal with the ticket sale donation for Nicky’s foundation, which is just awesome.

“You have to think, that no matter how I do Saturday, Nicky’s going to have the biggest smile on his face looking down… And with it being in Kentucky on top of everything else…  Nicky loved Kentucky — “The Kentucky Kid.” It’s just going to be a great moment for the whole family.”

It’s been just over two years since Nicky passed away. 2006 MotoGP World Champion among a host of other achievements, it says a great deal about the person that Nicky Hayden was that his memory remains so present in paddocks around the world to this day.

“It is amazing,” Roger said. “It just goes back to someone’s character. You see guys in NASCAR running the #69 sticker, in Supercross, in MotoGP, in World Superbike, and obviously here in the US, even the flat trackers… A lot of kids can look at that and see it’s not just about having the best results — it’s about how you treat people. That’s why everyone liked Nicky; when you saw him at a practice track or anywhere really, he was just another guy. Just one of the dudes riding. He didn’t expect anything special or different treatment.

“That’s one reason why when I second guessed doing this, I thought, ‘I have to do this.’ Nicky would be so stoked for this. It’s like the perfect scenario, and I know he’ll be smiling down.”

(Story and photos from AmericanFlatTrack.com)