Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ (j') lo-o CIJ .t::2 e CIJ > o Z Ricky Graham scored his first National victory lit Indianapolis this season at the same time recording the first 100 mph + (Right) Grahllm 1411 mixH It up with Scotty Perker 1111 and Alex Jorgensen 1441 lit San Jose• . . By Dale Brown Photos by R.J. Reynolds Sports and Charles Morey Ricky Graham, whOlC arrival in the fast lane of the Winston Pro Series was recorded by ABC's Wide World of Sports at the spring 1979 San JOIC Mile, is one of the sport's fastest rising new stars. After an inauspicious rookie season, Graham came into that memorable mile and battled first with Gary Scott, and then with eventual winner Steve Eklund, in a contest that saw the lead change several times a lap. Graham finished second in that race, and ultimately IlSth in the Winston Pro Series point standings. Before the 1980 season, Graham acquired a KloulWiscco sponlOrship, and perhaps more importantly, bikes and the services of veteran tuner Tex Peel. Together their act was a smash, as Ricky picked up his first National win at Indianapolis and recorded the first 100 mph plus average for a mile dirt track event. His second win, at Tulsa, threw the race for number one into chaos with two events left, but Ricky's chances for number one went down the drain when his rear tire went away and he crashed the following wcek at San Jose. Chances for number two went away when Graham, an avid trail rider, crashed while play riding with a friend and broke his hand a few days before Ascot's sealOn-cnding half mile. So he ended up third in the standings, an honor he shares with riders like new champ Randy Goa, Hank Scott, Gary Scott, Kenny Roberts and Jay Springsteen, all who have recorded third place finishes at the end of recent sealans. Ricky, 21, lives with girlfriend Mary Ann Jeffery in Salinas, CA, near the Monterey Peninsula area where he grew up. In addition to trail riding, he enjoys snow and water skiing. At the recent AMA Awards Banquet, Ricky was sporting a new beard - "keep myself warm during the winter," he quipped. We talked a few days before Ascot, and ironically enough, only a short while before he embarked on his ill-fated play ride. Here's what was said ... 12 You went from nth at the end of last year to third this year. How'd you do it? Just having all the parts and every· thing; having Tex Peel putting a lot of effort into it. We got all the parts we needed from the factory, so whenever we broke something we always had it together for the next week. Having Tex as a mechanic - he lives back east in Michigan, so we didn't have to ship anything back and forth, really helped. He was back there and the races were back there, so that made everything real easy. As far as your riding ability - did you perfect anything or just get lOme practice during the winter? I don't think I've ridden a whole lot better. It's just having the confidence at each race. knowing the bikes are top'notch everywhere we' go, I'm capable of winning just knowing that, and it really improved the confidence in Tex and me. We knew we had the capability to win all the different types of races: short track, TT. half mile, and mile. Where last year it was kind of touchy - I'd never been to any of the Nationals back east - this year I've been to each track at least once, outside of Tulsa, and Tex has been to all of them for years, so he knows what gearing to put on and everything. How did you and Tcx get hooked up? He was working with Terry Poovey a couple of years ago, 1978, and I bought Terry's Harley that year, when I was a rookie. I bought it for the last races of the year, San Jose and Ascot, so when Terry and Tex brought the bike out to California, they brought it to my dad's shop. They worked on their bikes there and we got to know each other. Throughout last year we just BS'd, and then at the end ·of last year Tex came and stayed with us again and we got to know each other better and better. Then at the end of the winter I called him up - it just worked together real good because he expected it and 1 expected it. I went back there last winter and stayed with him and four other people for a month or two and rode on the ice and stuff, so that worked out good. . Your first win, at Indianapolis, was allO the first ever National at the 100 mph average. Did that surprise you? Did you feel you were going that fast? No, it felt real good. You didn't even. have to look for traction the track had such a big groove on it. Gary Scott and I were racing the whole time; I knew he was right there. I guess he passed me about five times, so I was giving it everything I had. During the race it's difficult to tell how fast you're going. but you can tell something because you don't even have to pull back to get traction - super traction that day. The main reason we went so fast was because everything was going right. It was great. ~ed average for a dirt track event. Your next National win, at Tulsa, put you within su points of the number one spot and threw everything into a tumble. What were you thinking about going into San Jc.c? When you get up that close to that position, number one, everybody tries to tell you different things. I don't think it bothered me any as far as psyching me out or psyching me up. I tried to go into that race with the same attitude I went with into every race. Even though I had a lot of fans up there and a bunch of people I knew (I've been asked,) "didn't that bother you? Didn't it kind of make you try harder? Isn't that why you crashed?" I don't think it had anything to do with it. It was a freak thing that happened; it could happen to anybody. Spring· steen and Morehead crashed, too. The track wasn't real good that day and my tires went away. Other than that it felt good to be there, but it didn't last long enough. Well, you got a lICC11re third. Do you think that will open lOme doors for IOIDC more money ncxt year? I think it should. I think I'm entitled to quite a bit more money. This year we really didn't get any money from anybody. Klotz and Wiseco gave us a little bit, but not enough to talk about, enough to get us to Houston and Daytona but that's about it. We had to spend whatever we were winning, and Tex put a lot of his own money into it. He didn't have to put into it but he helped out. I recirculated the money I won and put it back into the program to keep us going, and buying tires when we needed them. Next year I hope to get enough where we won't have to put in any of the money we win, try to save a little, try to make some money in the game.

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