Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

.. .. .. .. - , .. - ... .~.~.~.~.-.. ~.~.~.~.~.~...~.~...~.~.~ -,00: ~ . '. .... .-. ,". .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .-'00: The crooked promoter By Tommy Conner The following is a true story of an honest promoter, an enthusiast who sought to improve the sport by promoting fully sanctioned and insured motorcycle races. And then turned crooked. Sound familiar? The first year, all the race programs were run by the AMA rule book. The promoter wen t ou t- and leased a good race track and fron ted the earnest money for a full rider/spectator insurance package. Next came a trip to the annual AMA sanctioning meeting. There the promoter in troduced himself and told everyone of his plans for a full year of racing. With the rider's interest at heart, he purchased a large number of race sanctions and made sure that every one of them was poin ts-paying sanction. For the next three months he travelled allover his state calling on dealers who were racing oriented. He alsu called on all the well·known riders in his state and promoted himself and his upcoming races. Well, he pulled it off because he became very popular with young and old ovemigh l. Then came his first race in early spring and would you believe it was even on a holiday, which is death for most promoters. But not this one. That Sunday morning's newspaper's sport page was full of ads of racing staged for that Sunday afternoon which was a first for the paper, race track and promoter. Then came the races. The stands were fuU, the pits were full and so was the cash box. There was an exceptionally large turnout of riders in all classes from the tiddlers to the terrors. By the end of the day the promoter, even after a large investment in lease, track preparation, insurance. ambulance service, law enforcement, paid sports coverage, plus mileage expense paid to aU riders who resided over 100 miles came out with a nice net profit. He held fourteen more events that year at that same track and all were very successful. N ow came a long win ter and lots of time for the promoter to look baCk and review how much money he made and how much he spen t. The profit was good and the expenses were high. After thinking on this for a long time he decided what the hell, the riders and the AMA all thought he was the best thing that had ever happened to racing in his state since gasoline. He decided that he could cut back o~ track maintenance, insurance and rider expenses monjes and get away with it. He got away with it. Mainly because the riders liked his race program from the first year and so he coasted throug'l' the second year on his first year fame. The AMA and his spectating crowd never knew that their fartled and likeable promoter had already turned half crooked. The winter following his second successful season, the promoter once again looked back over his tally sheet, and wonder of wonders! His profit margin had increased while his expenses had declined. And nobody was the wiser. The third year, greed completely overcame the promoter and he decided to screw them all - the riders, the AMA, and the spectators - and ma,ke himself a pile of greenbacks. This is how he did it' He cut out all the insurance, all the ambulance cost (by using a GI COt in the back of a van) and all law enforcement personnel. All of these are "required" by the AMA and cost a great deal. The next few races went off without a hitch, but the rider turnout dropped off. No maller, the spectators kept the cash register ringing, not realizing they were getting short changed with a slipshod program. But th~ promoter's conscience began to bother him. During the three years he had been promoting races he had made many friends among the riders and their sponsors. It's one thing to sc~w a stranger, bu t when you start shafting your friends .... Then it happened. A rider lost control on the poorly prepared track surface and crashed lhrough the fence in to the crowd. He took three spectators with him, a man, a woman ---------_. a SALE On all cycle boots NEW TOP GEAR Up to $70 Value BAY AREA BULTACO $39.95 ~a~ NOT Seconds ~. Most Major Name Brands. Georgia Giant only .. $23.95 Harness Boots $17.95 Acme Boots $17.95 Hercules BOOlS $49.95 Vlndr~mini Carolina, cnlppewa, Georgia Giant, and Rally riders. We fit I better and we have sizes. Discount Prices! Work Shoes Unllmited 30 12086 Brookhurst, Garden Grove, Calif. 92640 (714) 537-6535 AND 12522 Westminster between Harbor & Fairview (714) 531-6555 SALES SERVICE Welding Porting Accessories 1352 Centineta. W. Los Angele, Corner o'f Santa Monica Blvd. & Centinela Open 9 to 6 Tue,·Sat 9 to 9 on Tt,ursday -. • .: c • u Santa Monicl BIYd. ; N It S .. "W+E ~. c ~ II c anti Monica Frwy. ~¥'.'. ~J I ~~;: r.,. ~. ;-- and a child. The man spent a week in the hospital with head injuries. This event almost ended up in court. But, being shrewd, smart and a sharp business man (and he had an attorney that was even sharper), the matter soon passed over - covered up with time and red tape. It was close and should have served as a warning, but this incident didn't bother the promoter. He just wen t on as before, as if nothing had happended. Tllen, something did happen that did move him, bother him, something that changed Ilim. In his next two races three riders fell due to bad track conditions and were injured seriously. These riders were the promoter's friends. Friends, not strangers. This stopped him and showed him that greed had made him a full time crook, making money at other people's expense. He swore to a few close friends that greed would never again dominate him. He bgan to spend the money he had made on the riders' safety and preparing the race track. He took off from his regular job and worked wi til a contractor for two weeks prior to the next race. Together they dug up and completely resurfaced the entire track. This was very costly because after spending many hundreds of dollars on dirt work, be sunk another thousand dollars on oil for the track topping. He lost, and it was all in vain, for his next three races were aU rained out and the promoter lost every penny he had spent on the track. This was in the summer of 1971 and he has never promoted a dirt track event since. Well, folks, you have read what I have told and I can state that it is all true. These same conditions exist all over the country, regardless of what city or state you reside in. It is good to know rhat this country does have many good, sincere race promote,rs around. They are mostly the ones who have been at it the longest. Remember please, the promoters, good or bad, have to operate their business at your expense. So the next time you are at your local race track, take a long, sJow look at your promoter. What do you see? I am sure the· readers of this column would like to know who the above-men tioned promoter is. I am sorry to say that the author of this column and that "crooked" promoter are one and the same person. C

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