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/126470
lot to do to bring spe edway up and I deserved more than that . After the Nationals we d id n't hear anything from him . My manager , Randy Garelle, said to me, "You should really do speedway." (Bu t) I had th e movie comi ng out; I do n't really m ake th at much money wit h speedway , and I've really got a lot of things going. H e sai d that I needed it for exposure, that I' ll enjoy it and it's a good thing . So I sa id , OK , fin e ; let' s set u p a m eeting with Harry. " We set up th e mee ting, but Ra ndy !:Otsick that day , so Harry and I went to lunch and we ta lked a bou t everythi ng but speedway. I ha d the feeling that he didn't wa nt to talk about speedway, a nd I th ink he felt th e sa me wa y. His last words at the mee ting were: " I' Il ta lk to Randy about the season." I sai d that was fine. Randy began calling him over the pe riod of a month and a half, a bou t once a week . Finally, about a month ago , around the last of February , he finally reached him , and Harry said, "I decided I'm not going to use Larry. I'm all set for the season; I'm going to use Flanders. I've got a couple of arna teur announcers that Flanders is going to break in . If he doesn't work out , th en I ca n bring them in ." And Randy sa id , "W hy? What' s th e story?" And Harry - according to Randy - sai d, "I'm tired of dealing with egos. I'm going to 'cut back to square one. I'm going to sta rt all over again and keep expenses down ." Randy sa id , "You should , but I th ink we should at least sit down and ta lk." But Harry was very reluctant and this was righ t before the European. American race . Harry really didn't seem like he wanted to talk , but he agreed to sit down with us March 12, which was two or three weeks after the International race. Randy called me , exp lai ned the situation, and I said , " Let's pass on it. He doesn't want to sue me; he 's made his plans." Randy sent him a letter that we were' booked, that Harry seemed to be a little reluctant, that we'd pass this year and maybe talk ' about next year. Was Harry counting on your services more as an enthusiast than as a professional? I honestly don't know. Harry can be very difficult to work with. When we talked in January, he was planning to bring a world -class event to this country in 1982. We talked about the difficulty and how much he 'd have to work to bring in new fans because speedway has slipped over the p ast few years. How? Several reasons. In my estimation and I'm just an outsider now - I would say lack of promotion. I think speedway is exciting; it' s one of the three most exciting motorspons in th e world. It 's not marketed properly outside the (motorcycle) ind ustry . Lack of promo· , tion, lack of reaching new people to keep it going - it's j ust not getting the word out. So its primary shortcoming is due to (alleged) lack of promotion. Yeah. Somebody who used to work for Oxley once said: "W hen it comes to putting on a speedway race, there's nobody that can beat Harry Oxley. He's the absolute best. Outside of that, there's nothing." Why is that so? I think it has to do with Harry's per· sonality. He doesn't open up to people. He doesn't utilize his staff to its fullest ability. I've never been invited to a press conference with Harry Oxley. Maybe I was in vited to one last year, but before that they never sa id , "Com e on down to the press conference and M.C. it." W ith Pace (Management , a supercross organizer) , I've M.C .'d all their press conferences and they're very happy z, _ _ _ _ _ _ . So, when Harry offered you his cut, was that the line he crossed with you between enthusiast and businessman? (p ause) It 's a good question . I don't know. Because it (the offer) must've bothered you then. It still must bother you. Sure. You put you r life into Il yea rs and really work to make it go , and then I get bounced ou t withou t even a phone call. I don't really nee d spe ed way. My income from speedway last year was very, very small for anything 1 do. I'm talking about th e mov ie (OA S, II), radio and TV com mercia ls, TV shows and a ll that. Bu t I felt that I was (w0T!.h) a lit tle more tha n that. Do you think that this is a realistic point of view? I would like to suggest that people look at it from my standpoint. I worked for 11 years for speedway at Costa Mesa , from $25 a night to a nice weekly salary . And I really tried my best to keep speedway going, to do everything I could. Suddenly Harry decides he wants to try a different direction, so he doesn't bother to call me - he doesn't even ta lk to me - and suddenly he 's got somebody else out there, and I don't think that's righ t. I think the th ing that bugs me is that he's told other people that I quit ; he 's told others that he fir ed me and 1 don't th ink tha t he will say what happened. I think th a t's wrong. I've seen your act at the races, and some people think that's the way you really are. Sure, a lot of people think that way. But Larry Huffman is a different man. Who is Larry Huffman? I think that I'm very serious about what I do and tha t I do the best job that I can. I was the firs t on e to wear a tuxedo to a motorcycle race and a lot of people have sai d that it brings a new image to motorcycling. I have to admit 1 didn't rea lize it at firsc" til we got away from the lea ther jackets, the Levis and the tennis shoes, like I used to wear - and wear a tuxedo. And we got a lot of press. In 1975 we were the most successful weekly motorsports show in North America . I feel that I had something to do with it. 1 feel at least Harry owes m e a phone call . Are you still waiting for that phone calI? . No. I've got 40 weekends booked this year. I just signed to do the Canadian Superbowl of Motocross in Toronto in June. I've got all this work , and I've got the movie coming out, which, if I think it does like it's supposed to, we'll be able to buy a house the size of Delaware. AI Martinez (the well-known Orange County custom pain t and body man) is a b ig speedway fan , and he 's friends with both Harry and I. He said, "W h at's you r feeli ngs on this thing?" And I told him the whole story. He said, "As fa r as 1 see it, you're the best announcer around . .. Harry's bringing in the Penhalls, the Kelly Morans and all the others th a t are overseas back for periodic races . As far as I'm concerned, he should bring you in on them , like once a month , and let you go crazy." And I sa id , "Yea h , but he hasn't (called) .. . I was dumped ." Al said, "You're both being bastards about it ." And 1 said , " Maybe we are, but I really don't have any choice." Somewhere down the road, do you look forwa rd to reconciling your differences with Harry? That would depend on Oxley. Martinez said, "You want me to set up a meeting? " And I said, "He's got my phone number. I'll be glad to sit down with him when he calls me. " What if I said that to Harry and he says it all depends on you? I'd have .t? come back and say I didn't