Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

WHO IS DON WOODS, ANYWAY? . - -- M ~ . co ..., ~ w Z W ...J U >U Don Woods instructs Mert Lawwill in th-e fine art of riding professional half·mile. Is he a famous flat-tracker? "Only the chief boss in charge of all AMA racing, is who." by Charles Clayton Night was competing with the ligh ts of the Las Vegas strip when Old Number One Cycle News Van wheezed into the self-parking compound in front of one of Mr. Hughes' hotels. Don Woods' day was just ended, as Las Vegas' day was about to begin. Woods found me in the lobby amid remnants of the AMA Board meeting that had just broken up, and guided me to his suite where we could conduct our long-postponed interview undisturbed. At 34, Don is of medium height, with jus t-over-the-ears-Iength dark brown hair, a trim, woods-rider's body and a smile that bappens mostly at the comers, like a man trying to hide his front teeth. I could tell that the tape recorder made him nervous as soon as I fished it out of my bag. "What else have you got in there?" Woods wanted to know. "Oh, camera, pajamas, instant hot chocolate, a spoon... " I was on my way to start a new edition, I explained. See, Woods used to be editor of the Dixie edition of Cycle News before the AMA tapped him to head up their Southern Region. For two years he me t the deadlines and made the circulation of Cycle News Dixie grow. He has a wide and varied background of experience that he draws from in making .decisions. He was a sergeant in the Marines and a Helicopter pilot in the Army. He knows what California is like, because he lived there for a year. In 1971 he set a Maine-to-California touring record on a 125cc bike and is a trophied enduro rider, a prelty good motocrosser and was a drag racer of some renown in the South. Further, he has an uncanny way of picking winning longshots at major motorcycle races. As an Editor of Cycle News, he had a wide latitude and was rarely wrong in his judgmen ts. When the AMA asked Woods to come to work for them as their Regional Director in the East, Don saw a chance to carry out some of the reforms that he had been urging as an editor. I had to admit that AMA couldn't have made a better choice. A short time later, Don was promoted to Don Woods on an H-D 125 riding from coast to coast solo. Is he a long distance touring freak? Don Woods checks out an AMA racing program with Russ March attired in Cycle News jacket and camera. Is he a famous newspaper editor? the newly-<:reatect post of Competition Director, with responsibility for overseeing both professional. and sportsman activities in the U.S. In his new job as Execu tive of AMA Racing, Woods has the masterful insights of B.G. Pennell to draw upon. BG is the unsung wonder-woman of the AMA office who makes the whole thing work. Her official title is Don Woods' Secretary, but actually they are a collaborating pair who work to humanize the tough positions that the AMA as an institution must assume. I rarely use a record in an interview because of the nervousness factor, but 1 felt 1 needed it here, because Woods has a charming southern way of talking that I want to get right. CN: Your actual title is ... ? WOODS: Director of Competition. CN: When did you assume that position? WOODS: Unofficially, April First. C : April Fool's Day. Beautiful! You've made a lot of changes in a short time-. Pensioning off the old Referees ... WOODS: Well, we really haven't got into that program yet. There's a bad lack of new people. 'Course that's not my job, pensioning off the old refs- That's professional, the Professional Department. Bill (Boyce, Director of Professional Racing) was real busy at thilt time, when I first came in there. He was puttin' in 16, 18 hours a day and not really getting anywhere. The Professional Department had just become a monster, you know. He was trying to do everything himself, so we did some shaking up and rearranging. Got Bill to where he could manage. We're starting a real good Professional Referee training program. We hope to weed out some of the old guys, .. retire 'em. They're tired of refereein', most of them. We can still use these people, they're good. It's just the sport has grown so much and changed so much that we need younger people. It'll take a couple of years to get it like we need it. We need professional referees, just like baseball has professional umpires. I think we are gettin' close to the time where we may have some full time referees. Like other major sports. ~N: As Director of Competition, you're m full charge over both professional and amateur competition, right? Let's talk about amateur competition. What can we look for in 1973? Don,.Woodj.at a busy-iooking. action-packed desk in a big-time office. Is he a business tycoon?

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