Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126409
O'l t-O'l l'"'"'4 0-) >C':$ ~ roll off. Naturally, I have feelings like everyone else, and I ge t ups et. But I try a nd do m y yelling inside m y own hom e ." But you do feel strongly about the Santa Ana track. We'd like a few comments on that situation, particularly since the riders who rode there la st yea r were fined when they returned to the association tracks. " Yes, they were fined a token fine of $50. The Speedway Racin g Associa rion (former sa nctioning body) used to assess a $500 fine , a nd it was enforced rigid ly. By the way the National Speedway Associati on . u nder whose sa nction we ra n last yea r , was basically th e rid ers' association . T he promoters d id n't have a vote on th eir boa rd . We went to their meet ings as advisors. I'd be lying if I sa id we had no influe nce, we d id a nd do , bu t we let the riders run th e show as much as possible a nd m ak e a nd en force th e ru les because th ey are mu ch mor e d irectl y affect ed by th e majority of th e rul es tha n th e promoters are . And th ey und erstand th e problems. " As far as Santa Ana is co nce rned - I ha te to give th em any publi city m y person al feeling is that I go t shot at because I'm th e closest. They are less th an 10 miles from our Costa Mesa ra ce track . We aren 't in a spo rt tha t d raws tens of th ou sands of specta tors a week to anyone track. W e wor k ha rd to get spect a tors , th en someone op ens u p within 10 m iles without eve n r equ e stin g t o co me int o t he association . No one knew , really what he had for sa fety, for insu rance or a nythi ng else. "T he man jumps into a market area that is just su p porting th e one tra ck , and I d on 't see whe re it can support two . Fa ct is, it has proven it ca n' t in my estima tion . We sha re the same newspapers and radio stations and it gets co nfusi ng . I just don 't feel th er e is room for two trac ks that close . "It's common knowledge that I'm such a dictator and I run everything. .. The only thing they can't figure out is Ascot - they know I don't own Aggie's track - but they can'tfigure out how he got in. " 18 " If someone was to open a track in the San Fernando Valley or San Diego or , as t hey did last year, in Ventura , I'll be the first one to go help them because I want to see our sport grow and succeed. The only way that will happen is to have good promoters and more promoters. But I don't see any future in on e track stepping out right on another one's doorstep just because they th ink there is a bu ilt -in crowd . I feel , personally , th at is the situa tion with th e Santa An a track. It doesn't help th e spo rt grow to di vid e the existi ng crowd . W e are a littl e jealous of those peop le: we feel they are our people because we put a lot of years int o building a cro wd . When someone co mes in a nd parks on your door step , it upset s you ." With all the escalating costs is it still feasible for speed wa y racing to continue? " Yes. The promot ers ca n co nti n ue as lon g as t hey have a volume . Now if th e "I told the British promoters they have it all wrong; they way we do it in California is you get your wife to do all the work and you take all the credit!" volu me sta rts dropping off, we' ll have a prob lem . We have to have q uite a few people in the stands just to brea k even. A few yea rs ago , we co u ld break even on half th e peopl e we need now. For exa m ple, a sim ple thing, a nd th er e a re many of the m, is th e d irt th at goes on th e tra ck has go ne from $3.25 a ton to $9 .80 a ton in th e last eight Do you feel you would lose many of the people if you had to reflect those kind of increases in your prices? " Yes. Half the appeal of our event , wh y it is a fami ly eve nt , is because it is ine xpensive . A fellow ca n bring his wife and kids and mayb e spe nd Sl5 for everythi ng incl uding co kes a nd some hotdogs. If he tak es them all to the mo vies he'll spe nd $25 . I feel a lot of the ap peal is in th e price , so I am very ten der about ever raisi ng t he ticke t pri ce because I thi nk th at would hurt us. "We are goi ng to have to d raw some heavy number s, like 10,000 per nig!)t to ma ke a ll t he ri ders a nd promoters ' really happy aga in and the only way I ca n see that happen ing is to ge t int o mor e sophist ica ted a dve rtising, TV advertisi ng . The on ly way that will happen is if all th e promot ers get together and sp lit th e cost of th e spots a nd advertise all of th e tra cks in one spot rather than each of us just going to our own local radio station for a $50 spot which , by th e way, used to be $18 , .each individual track . I feel that type of advertising is a definite possibility for th is season. W e'll hav e to go also to th e big stations , KMET and KLOS for exa m ple, and ge t together to pay the high er rates. Not one of us can afford that type of advertising alone. Some people claim that you are a benevolent , or perhaps not so benevolent, dictator of speedway racing in this country. " It 's a lmos t co m mon kn owledge to th e po int where it is co nsid ered a fa ct. But it 's no t the truth. It 's com m on kn owled ge that I'm suc h a d ictator a nd I run every thi ng , that a large majorit y of th e rid ers even believe that I own the Sa n Bernardino track and the Ventu ra tra ck . Neither of those beli efs are tru e . I wish I d id own San Bernardino because it' s really doing well. The only one they haven't figured out is Ascot - they know I 5UPERDOmE 5UPE [R 55 Enjoy m,.PiBB " years . Ou r ticket prices have not followed that kind of inflation ." \ . NEW ORLEANS wide triple-bermed " Bel- Ray Bend :' 10 or more riders will be side by side as they all rocket out of th is turn and hit the " Scott Slope:' They return to the ground just in time to slam into a berm , get sideways and hit the " Bosch Bumps." They get a few seconds to recover before they tackle a 30-foot mountain and an airborne fligh t. the distance of over 12 parked cars . Upon land ing , a 180 0 turn is made and then the triple-jump " M r. Pibb Peaks" appear, t~at onlY THE SUPERDOME is the world 's largest enclosed stad ium . So large in fact. that the Astrodome could fit completely inside of it. The New Orleans skyline is dominated by its immense size and awesome beauty. When you enter the dome it creates the sensation of be ing in another world. This dramatic effect transforms the SUPERCROSS int o an incredible night you won 't soon forget. There isn't a stadium anywhere else on this planet whe re you can wat ch slow motion instant replays of raci ng , on 6 giant overhead screens. while sitting in plush theatre-style seats , and in 72 degree comfort. THE SUPERMEN of Supercross always seem to save the ir best rac ing for the wild New Orleans crowd. And you can bet that they will be unleash ing stored up nuclear energy on June 2, after having a 6-week break in the Supercross Schedule. "Hurricane" Hannah , who won every title he could last year, will be smokin' for his second Superdome trophy to put on his mantle. "Typhoon" Tripes will be trying even harder this year to do what he almost did last vear-s-btow the Hu rr icane out to sea. The "Jammer" has done it twice this year-everyone knows he can do it again . 77 other Supermen will be pumped to the max in the New Orleans excitement. Expect the berm-destroying , handlebar-bouncing best tram " Rocket Rex" Staten. Jim Ellis, Marty Smith , Gaylon Mos ier. Kent Ho werton, Darrel Shultz and all of America 's best earth movers. You've never seen the pros boogie to the max, until you've seen them in New Or leans , TH E SUPERTRACK is an engineering marvel constructed with 25 million pounds of loamy delta dirt. What the riders see from the starting gate is the toughest and most challeng ing track on the supercross tour. When the gate drops. the riders ex plode down the starting straight-a-way into the 't he fastest riders will clear. After squaring off another turn, irregular angled "whoops" come up that can send a rider over the bars and into the 12th row seats . The riders are then catching gears, at hyper speeds, through a big sweeper and down a long stra ight. to a jump that will suddenly send them straight up for a mid -air sideways turn. The forks are still compressed upon landing when the " H onda Hi ll" shows up for a possible "endo.' and an ungraceful start of the second lap . Only the riders who beat the Superdome Supertrack can be called Supermen of Supercross. TH E SU PER CITY of NEW OR LEANS w ill jam all night and all day for the whole Supercross Weekend. This is what mota-cross fans call the " MARDI-CROSS." Three days of parties, Creole food , bar stool racing and [ammin ' in the streets. The FRENCH QUAR TER, " from Bourbon Street to Esplanade :' offers some of the best restaurants and wildest bars in the world (along with foxy New Or leans ladies). Saturday, when the sun shines down on Lake Pontchartrain . you 'll find plenty of bi kini-clad Creole bunn ies along Lakeshore Drive. Rent a jet-ski and do a little wave-o-crossin .