Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

i Troian Speedway: Birthplace Of Champions ~ ~ c.:J ...J U :>.. U By Maureen Lee It's not a very big track. Or fancy looldilg, for tha.t matter. And on ch1lly olgbts, at the little track beside the Long Beach Freeway, spectators get pretty cold. But Trojan Speedway has seldom lacked for business. When motorcycles started running there, it was known as South Gate Speedway, and some of the old die-bard fans who have been going there for years sUll refer to it as tha.t. Old names have a habit of lingering on. . The American Cycle Association ran short track races at first, but the ACA gave UP, and Trojan Enterprises - the people responsible for the Long Beach Arena Indoox: races - took over, and the name was changed o!fl.clally to Trojan. It wasn't long, however, before they felt a financial pinch and for a short while the track was dark except for weekend car racing. Then Rene Armenta took over track managementandtheACA came back into the picture. For a while everything went smoothly; the riders were turning out in even greater numbers and there were plenty of spectatOrs. But again, things started happening. Seasons changed, the croyods thinned, and track management and Wes Cooley, head of the ACA, had a disagreement. Again there were some dark weeks Most of the JAP owners were'still wiutfor the little Speedway. Then Armenta decided to try AMA ing to see if the sport would take hold, befQ1'e breaking their bikes out of storSportsman sanctions for the races. With age. So Speedway folded at Trojan. the Playboys M.e. as flagmen and DisIt was at Trojan, though, tha.t some trict 37 President, Jean Carter, acting fans saw their first Speedway bike, when as referee everyone was off racing again. Wes Cooley brought out one of his rather But the same thing happened: Weekly ancient machines, with Jim Doran riding expenses were far outweighing what was during intermission. Doron, at the time, coming through the gate, and the AMA was one of the few riders around who sanctioned programs were dropped. knew how to lead with the rear wheel. Armenta decided to throw hiw own So over the years the track has bad its races and things once again got off the ups and downs. But one tb1ng it never ground. In 1968, he added a small TT course, building a jump, a tiny snaky lacked was riders, and some of the section in the infield, and using part of na~on's best have cut their racing teeth the short track for sweeper turns and at Trojan, gaining valuable trackexperithe stra1gbtaway. This was very popular, ence. You can ride scrambles or desert unW you turn blue, but if you intend to and for a whlIe there were enough custobe a track racer it's track racing you mers to warrant two olgbts of motorcycle activities per week, TT and flatneed. track. But this eventually dropped off One of the most famous of the riders who once called TrOjan home is Keith and was combined into once-a-week, Mashburn. While he and Dave Smith were Thursday night (then moved to Friday), program. sUll in b1gb school they would ride 50cc bikes there every week, Keith on a Honda For a few weeks even the ladies showand Dave on a Tohotsu (remember those?) ed UP, and a Powder Puff class ran, And when the ACA did away with the 50 bringing in extra spectators to see girls class for lack of entries, the buddies ride on an actual track. But two things stopped tha.t. Lady racers depend on husmoved uP onto 100's. Keith went all the way, graduating uP to a 250 Greeves and bands to work on their bikes, and the machines weren't always ready from really learned to slide the turns. When week to week. Women also tend to have the day came for him to turn to Class C babies, therebY shortening their riding he was an excellent Novice and became the nation's top Amateur. Dave moved careers. When Speedway returned· to Southern more in another direction, becoming a . California, Trojan saw some of tha.t, too. . creditable road racer. But the bandwaggon was boarded a little Who can forget the battles between Lee Stumpenbaus and Steve Scott in the early. It was costly to convert the track 250 Expert division, or watching young surface back and forth each week from a semi-speedway surface to one where Al Baker, who grew uP as a desert raccars could run. And while Whiteman er, taking to the track like a duck to Stadium was booming in the Valley; there water? Rick Woods is another Trojan sUll weren't enough speddway machines alumnus and always had the crowd on or riders out to support two tracks. their toes. Not to mention the current Motocross star Gary Bai ley even gave Trojan a go ai one ti me. Even before the walls were filled with ads, the turns were filled with riders. number two pro rider, Dave Aldana. Right now there's a youngster bY the name of Jimmy Raymond who's following along the path of the famous one before him. It is tracks like Trojan tha.t keep the sport going, giving the beginner a place to try his wings, and we'd hate to see the day come when there are no longer places like it. Dave Aldana, currently number three in National Points Standing, is shown aboard the Suzuki 50 that he raced at Trojan.

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