#67 Flat Track Trading Card

I've shown the two series of Aid to Injured Riders Flat Track Trading Cards in previous posts and they continue to be a successful fundraiser for AIR. Ever since we launched the first set of the 2014 series, we've been getting some heat from one rider in particular that was not included in the initial set. When we chose who was included in the 2014 set, we based it off of who currently held a national number (along with a few additional rules such as if the rider made a main event in 2014, etc.). Again, unfortunately this one rider was not included in those rules, so a card was never made. It took a solid year of hearing the disappointment from this rider until we decided to surprise him at the OKC AIR event with, in fact, his very own "special edition" card below:

The ladies of AIR were really excited to present this "special edition" Mike Hacker card for many reasons. Personally, I was excited because I grew up watching and rooting for Hacker. Since retiring from racing, he is still very much involved with the flat track community and is currently wrenching for the Harley-Davidson Factory Team. It has been an honor to make the card and have it printed for the OKC event. Nicalee and Jodi presented the card to him as I took a shaky poor-quality cell phone video of the action, it was a great moment. I would like to shout out again to Flat Trak Fotos for providing the photography to make this project possible. So here you go, be sure to get your very special #67 Mike Hacker card, he is more than ready to sign them!

Aid to Injured Riders Event Poster

Last Friday (June 17, 2016) the Aid to Injured Riders held their autograph event at Pole Position in Oklahoma City. The organization and I did a lot of work to prepare for the event, and I created several design pieces including the flyer shown in a previous post. An additional item was requested-an event-specific poster that would be available at the autograph event. The concept was to include previous Oklahoma racers (black and white photos). The other riders shown are those who had confirmed early to be at our event. It was important to me to include elements of Oklahoma City since the location was important, not only to the president of AIR, but also because it has been so many years since there was a national flat track motorcycle race in the city. I was able to tie all of these elements together in the image below. The limited edition poster was 16" x 20" and 100 editions were printed.

AIR had a very impressive turnout at the autograph/go kart event. I personally was overwhelmed by the support of the many riders that showed up and friends and family around the area. AIR managed to raise a decent amount of money through donations, raffles and a silent auction piece. Thank you to those who came out and joined in on the fun. I hope the AMA Pro Flat Track racing series comes back to the OKC Mile again next year and many years to come.

Bret Sowders #81G

Last month I had the opportunity to design AMA Pro Flat Track motorcycle racer, Bret Sowders' autograph sheets. It was decided to go with an 8x10 and we used a photo from flattrakfotos.com, a very talented photographer within the flat track racing scene. From there I chose a bold italic typeface that was similar to Bret Sowders' number plate.  I was given the several sponsor logos to include on the autograph sheet and incorporated some vector elements in the right corner to really make those logos pop. The vector elements added some dimension and a graphic feel to the overall design. On race day in Oklahoma City I had Bret sign one in the pits.

Aid to Injured Riders 2015 Flat Track Trading Cards

In 2014 I joined the Aid to Injured Riders to design projects for their fundraising efforts to support injured flat track motorcycle racers. We designed a 76-card deck, that was a successful project to say the least, that included the national numbered racers of the 2014 season. When the following season ended, there was a need to design a set for the 2015 season. This season saw several new riders make the main event to earn a new national number for the future 2016 season. There were also a set of rookies all gunning for The Saddlemen Rookie of the Year award, riders with X-Games medal stats and also a brand new national #1. With all of these riders with new accomplishments, we brainstormed to find the most efficient way to include the new riders in a 2015 set. I had thought of an idea of an "expansion pack" that could be included with the original 2014 set. We still had some unsold 2014 decks, so to make a full new deck in 2015 seemed like it would waste the 2014 set. Therefore, the additional 2015 "expansion pack" could be sold individually or alongside the 2014 set. The 2015 set included 17 riders with new statistics and is shown in a flyer design below:

The 2015 and the 2014 sets are available for sale at the race track typically in Jake Johnson & Chad Cose's pits. They are also available online at mkt.com/aid-to-injured-riders. Check them out and get yourself a full set. Also follow AIR on Facebook because we're all working very hard to put on several exciting events this year while supporting the sport of Flat Track. Another huge thank you to FlatTrakFotos for providing the killer action shots for the fronts of the cards.

Aid to Injured Riders (AIR)

Last winter I was fortunate enough to join the Aid to Injured Riders (AIR) nonprofit that raises money for flat track motorcycle racers who get injured during national events. In 1991 a deck of AMA Pro Flat Track cards were created and sold. These cards inspired AIR to recreate them using the 2014 national racers of the GNC1 class. I joined the AIR team to design the front and back of the 76-rider deck with the help of the other AIR girls collecting the information for the statistics on the back. Dave Hoenig of Flat Trak Fotos provided all of the action shots for the front of the cards, and he and the AMA provided the head shots. It was quite a joint effort, and it is a project I am very proud to be apart of. Below is the deck along with the front of all 76 cards. To purchase a deck, visit: http://mkt.com/aid-to-injured-riders