Who keeps
the Rhinestone Cowboy
rollin'?
Kent Howerton's motorcyclc 'w as disappearing.
It had been in one piece earlier in the day; then,
as we made severaJ passes back and forth past
the work stand in the back room of Husqvarna's
service center during the afternoon, it slowly ,
gradually just went away.
It was Wednesday, October 27, only three
days since Kent had finished IO·J at the
incredibly muddy St. Peters Trans-AMA. For Kent, the
race had been a landmark in his career -- he'd won the
seco nd moto, beating five-time 500cc World Champion
Roger DeCoster in w hat was to go down as one of the
most try ina- events in American motocross history.
"I wa nted to show Roger that Americans are better
riders.. . " the happy Texan had said afterwards. Then
he'd-hopped a jet and flown back to San Antonio to
relax a bit and prepare himself for the next event at
Dallas on the following Sunday.
Kent had done his job. And he'd done it extremely
well. But for his mechanic Eric Crippa, the work had just
begun.
"Sometimes, it takes a day ; other times it's a three
and a half day job," Eric replied when asked how much
time he puts into the bike each week. "Mud weeks are
definitely more work than dry weeks," That week in
October was a three and a hal fer . And that's why Kent's
bike had disappeared.
On the Floor were a set of wheels; on the bench was a
nearly standard 360CR motor; the forks stood alone in a
corner; the frame was nowhere in sight .
" We ll Eric, you've finally done it," somebody
wisecracked, "It's disappeared completely! It 's gone!"
Eric looked up, his concentration momentarily
interrupted, and grinned that familiar
courteous.yet
