FLAT TRACK RACER DALTON GAUTHIER
P94
Interview
G
et used to hearing the name
Dalton Gauthier. He might
be the most naturally gifted
flat track racer to come on the scene
since Jay Springsteen.
That sounds like a huge claim, but
veterans who have watched the sport
for years seem to be in awe of the
talent possessed by the 20-year-old
from Pine Grove, Pennsylvania. To
give further weight to the claims of his
prodigious talent one needs to look
no further than to what Gauthier (pro-
nounced Go-Tee-A) did after a two-
year layoff from racing. The kid got up
off the couch and finished second in
his first race back at the Daytona TT
AFT Singles round. Then two weeks
ago Gauthier simply checked out en
route to winning the Atlanta Short
Track AFT Singles event.
This most promising flat track pros-
pect was on a meteoric rise two years
ago before things went off the rails.
Gauthier had dominated the first
three rounds of AFT Singles that
season, but after a random drug test
at round three in Charlotte, Gauthier
was DQ'd from his Charlotte win and
suspended indefinitely from AMA Pro
Racing for violating the sanctioning
body's substance abuse policy.
Immediately after his suspension,
Gauthier issued a statement.
"I had marijuana in my system
when I was tested at the Charlotte
Half- Mile. I'm 18 years old and
made a rookie mistake. I take full
responsibility for my actions; it was
nobody's fault but my own. The
rules are clear, and I violated them.
My season is off to such an incred-
ible start; a distraction like this is
not what anyone wanted to see. I
apologize to my sponsors, my fans,
and everyone involved with Ameri-
A Major Comeback for Dalton Gauthier
after his 2017 Drug Suspension
Natural
the
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARRY LAWRENCE
