7 minute read
ICE QUEEN
Kaley Johnson wins big at the 2021 High Voltage AMA Ice Race Grand Championship, where nearly 240 racers banged bars on ice and raised money for cancer research
By Joy Burgess with Kaley Johnson
Kaley Johnson (67J) won the Women’s class (right) and then raced against the boys in the 450, Open and Kold Kutter classes.
Jen Muecke
“Kaley Johnson,” mused AMA Grand Championship race promoter Ron Brefka, “wow! That girl surprised everyone at the 2021 High Voltage AMA Ice Race Grand Championship. She was so fast! She won the Women's class, and when they finished up she went over to beat the boys, too.”
On Miller’s Bay in Oshkosh, Wis. – the site of the longest running ice races in the state – the high temperature on Feb. 6, 2021, was just 8 degrees Fahrenheit, but that didn’t stop nearly 240 racers and plenty of fans from turning out for the AMA Ice Race Grand Championship. “Not one racer mentioned the cold,” Brefka told us, and for Kaley, dealing with the cold is just part of riding on the ice.
“Every year we seem to battle the cold,” Kaley said. “I remember going to ice nationals back in 2015 in Edgerton, Wis., and starting the day out getting frostbite on my cheeks after the first practice. My parents worried I wouldn’t make it through the day, but I ended up earning three national championships and
Close to 240 racers lined up to go racing at the 2021 High Voltage AMA Ice Race Grand Championship.
claiming the Ice Racer Of The Year award that day. So, from experience I’ve learned how to fight the cold while racing with improved equipment to keep me warm. I have heated handlebars, so cold hands weren’t a worry. Although aside from the cold temperatures, snow dust was a huge battle all day. I used heated goggles to be sure my goggles didn’t fog up with all the dust.”
Snow dust wasn’t the only obstacle she faced.
“I started the day rough,” Kaley said. “Just before my first heat race, my bike wouldn’t stay running due to a wonky kill switch. My older brother Kyle raced in the first heat race of the 450 class [which he went on to win later that day – Ed.], then came back to the trailer and swapped out my kill switch just in time for me to make it out for the fifth heat race of the 450 class.”
“It was a busy day for both of us,” she continued, “with my brother racing in three classes and me racing in four. But he still managed to provide me with the best bike setup for the track conditions by changing my gearing, swapping tires and adjusting my suspension. He’s always looking out for his little sister, even when I’m also his competition.”
“The highlight of the day was battling with him in the last chance qualifier of the Kold Kutter class after he crashed in his heat race while leading,” she added. “We
Little Levi Leddy took the checkered flag for a spin around the ice after winning both the PW50 and 50cc Open classes.
Kaley Johnson (67J) mixing it up with the boys. Gordon Halsey (4) finally won in the Senior class after chasing a championship win for 15 years.
finished first and second to both transfer to the main. Racing is a family thing for us, and I can say that I am the rider I am today due to the many, many hours my brother spent riding with me and critiquing me to be faster.”
In the Women's class, Kaley found herself battling with last year’s class winner Andrea Walsdorf, as well as Megan Funk, Hannah Lange, Julie Hanson and a handful of other female racers. Kaley won the class back in 2018 and was stoked to win again in 2021. “It was exciting to get the win again,” she said, “and so good to see the number of women riders participating this year!” Along with racing in the Women’s class, Kaley raced in the 450, Open and Kold Kutter classes, managing to earn a spot in all of those 12-rider Main events. “In all those classes,” she told us, “I had my work cut out for me, lining up on the back row in all three, but I managed to pull off sixth-place finishes in the 450 and Open classes, and an eighth in Kold Kutter. Back home in Michigan, all of the boys are used to me ‘beating up on them,’ but it is always interesting when I line up with new competition to see how shocked they all are to see me battling with them.”
AMA race promoter Ron Brefka raced in the High Voltage Hooligan class aboard his Shovelhead to “show people that there’s life after cancer.” Below: David Kilkenny’s S&S 883 Sportster that got him to a win in the High Voltage Hooligan class.
Jen Muecke
Kayley wasn’t the only one to deal with adversity before pulling off a win out on the ice. Dave Kilkenny competed in the High Voltage Hooligan division, a class that ran for the first time in the AMA Ice Race Grand Championship in 2020, and right before the main event had a flat tire. A bit of frantic work on the bike and he fixed the flat just in time to race…and won!
“There’s nothing my S&S Cycle Sportster can’t do,” Kilkenny told us about his win, “and Ron and the AMA ran a flawless program in challenging conditions.”
Persistence paid off for Gordey Halsey, too, who’d been chasing a championship win for years. “After trying for 15 years,” promoter Brefka told us, “Gordey finally won his first National Championship on his Honda ice racer in the Senior Class. He told me he screamed in his helmet as he crossed the finish line.”
Handling the many race promoter duties didn’t stop Brefka from getting out on the ice aboard his Shovelhead in the High Voltage Hooligan class. “I
wanted to show people that there’s life after cancer,” Brefka said. “When you’re a cancer survivor, you can still get out and enjoy life and ride…live your dream!”
As a cancer survivor, supporting cancer research is a cause close to Brefka’s heart. “We took an Indian FTR Jr., added AMA and High Voltage logos to the front plate, and raffled it off with proceeds going to cancer research.” All proceeds from the races went to the WeCare Fund, benefitting world-class cancer research at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
At the end of that chilly day on the ice, Brefka’s heart was bursting. “I’d like to say a special ‘thank you’ to all the racers, spectators, track officials, sponsors and volunteers that made this happen,” he said.
And Brefka’s not done racing for a cause. This summer, the High Voltage Half-Mile races debut on June 6, 2021, at the historic Elkhorn, Wis., half-mile cushion track during the Rustic Road Rally to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Visit Highvoltage414.com to find out how you can get involved.
2021 AMA ICE RACE GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS (BY CLASS)
HIGH VOLTAGE HOOLIGAN David Kilkenny
VETERANS Kyle Meiers
OPEN AMATEUR Brady Bargeron
WOMEN Kaley Johnson
250CC AMATEUR Avery Dix 450CC AMATEUR Kyle Johnson
SENIOR Gordon Halsey
VINTAGE Joe Stoppleworth
50CC OPEN Levi Leddy
PW50 Levi Leddy
65CC Blake Bradish
85CC Blake Bradish
RUBBER SOLO OPEN Dustin Cook
RUBBER SIDECAR DRIVER Kevin Lambert Sr.
RUBBER SIDECAR PASSENGER Kevin Lambert Jr.
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