Progressive AFT - News - Picking a National Number: Baker chooses No. 6

Picking a National Number: Baker chooses No. 6

November 24, 2014

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 24, 2014) - There is a sense of pride that comes with affixing a single-digit number to the front of your bike.

In AMA Pro Flat Track, the single digit means you’re one of the best, you’re a champion. So while the National No. 1 plate is, of course, the coveted prize every rider is fighting for, picking out that single-digit plate is the next best thing.

Brad Baker has picked his. The 2013 Grand National Champion will be National No. 6 starting next season.

“It was my first race number, my first actual race bike, a 50 race bike, came with the number 6 on it,” Baker said. “I won my first amateur national championship, I was No. 6.”

Baker had his pick of 4, 6 and 8, the three currently unassigned single-digit national numbers. But the decision was easy.

“It turned out good for me that 6 was available,” Baker said. “If they were all available, it’s probably still the number I would have picked.”

The 6 also has a special meaning to Baker as a Factory Harley-Davidson rider. Randy Goss was National No. 6 and a two-time Grand National Champion riding for Harley-Davidson.

National No. 6 hasn’t been in use since 1988.

Regardless of the number, Baker knows how important it is to be able to pick one so low.

“If you have a single-digit number, it’s an honor to take,” Baker said. “Being able to get a single-digit is showing the fans you’re a previous Grand National Champion. Not too many riders in the sport have been able to run a single-digit number.”

Baker’s title defense in 2014 didn’t get off to a great start. He suffered a broken arm and was hindered for the first half of the year. But, at the end of the year, the Dryad, Wash.-based rider showed the pace he used to win the title in 2013. There’s little doubt that a fully healthy Baker will be in the title hunt in 2015 on his newly numbered 6 machine.