Wadsworth, Ohio, resident Johnny Bova won a championship in national-level flat track competition this year – but he didn’t know it until NEO Moto News reached out to him. 

Bova clinched the Hooligan Class title at the last round of the AMA All-Star National Flat Track Series, which took place Aug. 27 on the half-mile at the Ashland County Fairgrounds in Ashland, Ohio. Bova competed in all four All-Star series rounds in 2022, scoring two wins and four additional podium finishes in eight races.

Bova entered the final round tied in points with Raun Wood of Hellertown, Pa., and his two victories at Ashland gave him a 30-point lead in the final standing. Wood did not participate in the Ashland round.

“I’m really happy about this,” Bova said in a phone interview with NEO Moto News. “This has been a long time coming.”

The Steve Nace-organized AMA All-Star National Flat Track Series was originally scheduled to have five rounds in 2022, but the last round at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill., was canceled. 

Bova said he didn’t realize he’d claimed the Hooligan Class championship until he received an email from NEO Moto News asking him for a quote about his championship-winning performance at Ashland.

Bova added that he competed aboard a bike he built with several friends that is powered by a Harley-Davidson 1,200cc Sportster engine. Bova also said that he got into competing in hooligan class racing by happenstance when he was given an opportunity to race one of his buddy’s hooligan machine.

Competing in national-level flat track competition is nothing new for Bova. He competed in several classes at the 2019 and 2020 AMA Flat Track Grand Championships and finished third in the 2022 Grand National Hooligan Championship standings.