Jake Zemke GAVE this sweet Honda dirt tracker away to a lucky youth ... vrekke and associates

This just in from Vreeke and Associates:

Torrance, California: Even though the world of professional racing presents an ultra-competitive scenario on any given weekend, there's still plenty of room for generosity and goodwill.

This was recently demonstrated by Honda Road Racing Team star Jake Zemke, who commissioned the creation of a 2006 Honda CRF250R flat-tracker to be given away at the 2006 AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships held July 2-9 in DuQuoin, Illinois. The bike was raffled off amongst the riders in the 85cc Modified 7-11 Premier class, with all riders who made the cut for the main receiving at least one ticket for the drawing, with the race winner receiving the most tickets. In the end, the odds played out to the advantage of race winner Hayden Gillim, an 11-year-old veteran racer from Owensboro, Kentucky.

"This is awesome," Gillim said. "I broke my elbow about five weeks ago and almost didn't come. I only had my cast off three days before coming here. I practiced as much as I could."

Zemke found great satisfaction in awarding the bike, and a little irony as well. "I understand that Hayden Gillim is a cousin of the racing Hayden brothers, and that he runs number 69 on his plate, just like my old Red Rider buddy Nicky Hayden. This has been a fantastic experience; I just wanted to give something back to the dirt track racing community. I came up through these ranks, just like the Hayden brothers and the Bostrom brothers. I'm planning to give away a bike annually, to make things a little easier for the kids and their parents who are sacrificing a lot to allow these kids to race. There are a lot of good riders coming up, and I want to support our sport."

Zemke's giveaway 2006 Honda CRF250R featured many racing modifications to get it flat-track-ready, thanks to assistance from Independent Suspension, Jardine Performance Products, Parts Unlimited, A&A Racing, Powerhouse, Pro Honda Oils and Dunlop Motorcycle Tires.