VOL. 50 ISSUE 44 NOVEMBER 5, 2013
P99
LOOKING BACK
deal. Not to be confused with a good deal.
The Jordan team was the model of what
many of us thought would drive through the
tunnel at Daytona International Speedway
on an annual basis after it was announced
that the Daytona Motorsports Group was
purchasing the property from the AMA.
You remember back then, right? DMG
came with its chest puffed out and we all
sat naively in the pressroom at Daytona
while Roger Edmondson and AMA President Rob Dingman told us that all was right
with the world. We sat there and sipped
the Kool-Aid like the doomed followers
of Heaven's Gate, believing everything
they said. We didn't end up dying in our
Nikes, but we most definitely thought road
racing in the U.S. was headed for the big
time. Turns out we were just in for a slower
death than what those in Ranch Santa Fe,
California, suffered.
But there was a success story that
came out of all this. In motocross. That's
where the Coombs family and its company
MX Sports has shown what's possible in
the same period of time. When the DMG
didn't show much interest in the AMA
Motocross National Championship, the
Coombs family stepped in. They were promoters. Through and through. They were
also motorcycle people, racing people.
Through and through. Now they are about
to close on another five-year lease with
DMG for the series – five years after running it quickly up the ladder of success.
Turns out that letting the Coombs have
their way with motocross may just be the
smartest thing DMG has done.
So how about we get smart again,
DMG? How about we let someone else
have a go?
CN
40 Years Ago
November 13, 1973
The BLM released its management program for recreational vehicle use of the
California desert and we put that plan
on the cover 40 years ago... In Houston, at the Rio Bravo MX Park, Jimmy
Weinert made history by becoming the
first American to ever win a Trans-AMA
event overall… Dave Hansen won the
AMA indoor dirt track opener at the Oakland Coliseum.
30 Years Ago
November 16, 1983
Ron Lechien and Eddie Lawson were
featured on the cover 30 years ago;
Lechien for winning the San Diego Supercross (it was his final ride on Yamaha
before moving to Honda) and Lawson
for staring at the Superbikers race at
Carlsbad… Mike Melton, who had already clinched the 1983 Enduro title,
won the final round in Delaware… Dan
Smith and Dan Ashcraft teamed up to win the Baja 1000.
20 Years Ago
November 10, 1993
We featured a start photo of the AMA/
CCS final at Daytona, as well as the
debut of the Ducati 916 at Milan....
Danny Hamel completed a sweep of
the AMA National Hare & Hound Series with a win at the 100s M.C. final
in Lucerne… Scott Summers won the
Lead Belt National Hare Scrambles in
Missouri… Kawasaki-mounted Kevin
Windham won his first major Pro race
at Muddy Creek.
10 Years Ago
November 5, 2003
We paid tribute to steel-shoe legend Ken
Maely, who passed away a few weeks
earlier, on the cover 10 years ago...
Russell Pearson claimed the Hare &
Hound National Championship with a
win at the final round in Winnemucca,
Nevada… Scott Brant won his first career U.S. National Speedway Championship.
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