Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

DICK MANN, PART TWO "Sometimes you look good and other times you don't look so regular." By David Swift "Do you ever wi.h you were doing something else?" He .miled broadly, thoughtfully. "No, I never really wished I was somewhere else but sometime. I van and eased down next to one of his wonder, 'Now, what am I doing here at IT bikes to change out of his leatlien. this . place, under the.e particular He went to collect his money for the conditions? " win and asked AMA Racing Director Our lengthy supper had drawn to a Bill Boyce if there was any lap money. close with several hundred concepts "No," said Boyce. I fI said earlier there being tossed about. Mann had said many things of utmost interest and only a was no lap money in this race." smattering of them could see print. In a "It says in the rule book there's supposed to be lap money in every concentrated attempt to understand every word he said. I made certain not ,National," countered Mann. to be distracted, and making notes can "N 0, I don't believe it doeS, Dick." Bugs left, disappointed. be distracting. Further, many concepts Before he drove off, I said "Y ou rode and explanations were simply beyond brilliantly." He flashed a shy smile and my reach because I am not a racer (or is then deadpanned, "Well, sometimes you it because I am not Dick Mann?) and I can make it look that way and other would not dare put them in a story . times you don't look so regular." unless I had written them down Early Saturday morning, July .24, verbatim. Mann left his home in Richmond for the At any rate, we shook hands and nine-hour drive to Ascot Park for the departed, he relaxed and refreshed 50-lap IT National. Upon arriving, he had he gotten a load off his chest?- and secured his place in the pits, a spot to I mentally exhausted but quite the south of the infield concession stand exhilarated simply due to the fact the and a spot that is the most poorly lit interview had taken place at all. After when the sun goes down. listening to him for the last couple of He didn't look a. enthusiastic as he houn I couldn't imagine the same gentle did at Kent. During his heat he couldn't fellow out dominating a huge BSA get around Dave Sehl but he did make three. Must be one of the paradoxes he the program. He was not happy about mentioned earlier. hi. quwfying time. Mann wasn't unusually quiet the next In the meantime, a f'Jlm crew would, day before the race. He didn't attain on occasion, hover and attack with a Krishna consciousness or .leep on a bed microphone and close-up, wide-angle of nails to p.ych himself for the lens, rattling what little concentration upcoming Kent 100-miler, and I had he could muster. almost expected him to. He i. As usual, the packed house gave a unpredictable, like everyone says. giant cheer every time his name was He ran a good heat, placing second, mentioned, and, as usual, Bugs would. and got a good spot on the line for the National. While waiting for the three-minute signal he.ploppeP down on the ground next to Gene Romero and took it ea.y. He won the race and it was one of the mos.t exciting road races held in this country. Mann and Kel Carruthers spent all but the last half-lap just inches apart even as they topped the 130-mile-an-hour straightaway. As he entered the impromptu winner's circle, Bugs politely refu.ed to carry the checkered nag for a lap. He took off his helmet and waited for Kel to pull up nex t to him. As soon as Kel had removed his, Bugs leaned over to him and smiled, "Kel, a hundred miles used to be a long way 'til you got here." Kel liked that. After all the glory was paid Dick Kel also got his well-deserved share - he got into the back of his brown Chevy ~ get. tly em arrassed. Sometimes he raj.es his hand in acknowledgement but often he tries to ignore it. Tonight, he was .eparated from the rest of his peen to be presented the "Man of the Year" award from "Motor Cycle Weekly". .He accepted it humbly, saying few words. At Daytona the year before, he was given a similar award when he was voted "most popular rider" or something like that by fellow riders. Mann felt that the award was contrived because many believed he was .upposed to retire that year. Also, the two-foot trophy was too big to carry back on the plane. A spectator found it in the parking lot after the race. . Being voted "Man of the Year" meant much more to him; it was a mandate of the people. Later he admitted he was proud of the honor. Starting the National from the outside of the second row, Mann stayed tigh t and was running a strong eighth. He barely covered ten laps when his crankshaft broke. The race wasn't quite the same after that. Forty laps of any National without Dick Mann is never quite as interesting. In the pits, Bugs sat alone; it was plain to .ee he wished to be left alone. Friends would enter his darkened area, stare at his bike for awhile, and leave. There is more power coming from his .ingle slumped figure than Bre.lford'. winning Harley. But the ubiquitous film crew suddenly raped his .olitude, asking irrelevent question. while the camera whirred inches from hi. nose. If it would have been with anyone el.e besides Mann, somebody might have gotten slugged. Bugs picked up hi. leathers, folded them and looked for a place to set them, ju.t to do something. In de.pair, he looked into the camera and .miled. As soon a. the gate. were opened he drove home.. The next week was Corona and Mann looked less enthusiastic than the week before. Perhaps he could .en.e what was going to happen. The track was bad; the race. were nothing but parade. and the start was all-important. The warm night and many cra.he. created a tense atmo.phere that would climax with an incredible error on th e AMA officials' part, that may end up co.ting Mann the .,.. , Grand National Championship. In his heat race he barely transferred to the .emi by diving deeply into the fITSt turn. The beautiful maneuver .hut out an opponent late in the race and gave Bugs the last tran.fer .pot. Immediately after the heat he held a short conference with an official, obviously up.et about .omething, then sat down next to his machine. When asked what the problem was, he muttered, ''There'. nothing you can do about it", meaning, "I don't know why I'm worrying about it, anyway." Still, Mann was more talkative than the week before. Earlier, he .aid he· enjoyed reading "fiction based on fact" and 1 wondered how he would ca.t· him.elf as a man born 100 years earlier. Would he manage to become a legendary figure then, as he is now? Would he be a gunfighter, a cowpuncher? He sat back and smiled, thoughtfully. It waS a long time before words appeared, and there was no doubt he liked the question. "We don't really know what it was like to be alive back then. A person might seem legendary to us right now because .ome writer had an idea to make this per.on legendary." He spoke of images: pioneen, miners, lonen, the type of individual that legend. could be built ,,-pon but die without a bit of recognition because they never wanted it. At that point he was reminded that his .emi was upcoming and that ended our interview. The .emi was a long time coming due to the horrible crash at the .tart of the Junior .emi. Loyal Penn and Mike Kidd were taken to th e hospital .0 the program was held until an ambulance returned. Dave Sehl and Cal Rayborn came over and .omeone said, "I hate .emi.... Everyone agreed. Rayborn, .omehow, .tarted talking about air conditioner. and roofmg materials so he and Mann compared note.. Bugs had just bought a motor home he explained the in.ulation. Suddenly he blurted, "Remember when we u.ed to worry about motors and all? Now our trouble. are with curtains. " Dick sat on the line between Nick Thoreaux and J ody Nichola•. This is a mo.t frigh tening moment, becau.e this is the last chance to make the Main. The first three guys to th.e fust corner would probably .tand the only chance and a dozen men were determined to be the very first. Bouncing Bob Malley was a. nervous as anyone; he had been corning under a lot of pre••ure lately from folks who don't like his starting antics. The start turned into friction between the pack and the starter. Malley lost. Keith Mashburn, starting from the outside of the first row, dropped the hammer way before anybody el.e. He had completely cro••ed the line before anybody el.e moved. At the same time, Sonny Burres, starting from the second row, had also jumped and was in the first row when Malley threw the nag. By then Mashburn had pulled in his clu tch and was ready to tum for the re.tart when he heard everybody el.e go. The whole pack got tired of second-guessing and went for the first tum. Everyone saw it and no one called it. Mann and Nicholas both got around .ome riders bu t didn't do well enough to tran.fer. When the checkered flag came out Bugs rode over to AMA We.tern Regional Referee Chub Kellem, under.tandably upset. He took his bike to the pit. and wandered about aimle••ly, .haken hy his own helple••ne... The crowd '. boo. were thick in the air as many racer. gathered, "What are you going to do, Bugs?" With Dick out of the Main it wouldn't take much for Romero to take the lead in the points standings. He whirled and marched back to the referee. as the crowd cheered him on. He never heard the cheering but he heard him.elf; "If we don't fill out our physical. right, we don't race. We are paying Malley not to do that! You've got to follow the rules, too!" He was face-to·face with Bill Boyce, wh.o flies from Ohio to each National to try to prevent the.e things from hap.pening. Boyce had .een a bad .tart; so had Malley and Kellem. But for an inexplicable reason none of them .aw fit to call it. "We can't run the race again. WC' just can't." Kellem was adamant. "Look, the rule••ay you can run up to 16 in a half-mile National. You .hould take the next four guy. in the .emi and put them in the Main." Bugs pointed to the rule book, then the rule. "You have the authority to rend.er that decision, righ there!" Kellem said, "I've just re·ndered." (Next week: Final Part) '0 M . & .... 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