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/126556
eN 00 0') By Tom Mueller Traveling and working hard is where it's at for a successful racer, andfor 1981 U. S. Road Racing Champion Dale Singleton there were no exceptions. It was a year of fruitless results in GP radngfor "Pig Farmer," yet a year redeemed by Singleton's performance in the States and his subsequent champiollship. Anyone who has crossed Singleton's path knows he is one heck of an active person, whether on the road or at home. Time to spare is something the two-time Daytona 200 winner doesn't have a bunch of, and trying to pin him down for a hangin' out feature was difficult. The day finally came when Dale planned to be at home in Dalton, Georgia, working on his dream home which is now just about complete. He gave us the word to stop by so we hopped in the van and made the tnp. Here's what went on in a day in the life of Dale Singleton. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. l 14 had been to Dale's house before but couldn't quite remember the last few turns. There was an easy way to find out; I stopped at Dale's brothc-r Toot's new restaurant. The Biscuit, to find my way. I talked with Dale's mother and a few minutes later I was pulling into his yard. Dale was working alongside other workers, measuring his driveway for the final preparation and grading that was needed as it was it was to be asphalted the next day. From the ground. up, Dale and. his father, C.L r • have been the major force behind putting his house together, a project that has taken over two years. UTake 'these cabinets here," said Dale as we strolled through the kitchen. "I didn't know a thing about building cabinets, but I said I was going to so I did. That's the only way I could afford this house, Dad and I did ,it ourselves to save money. " The house is custom built and quite unique. It's a four bedroom model with an additional apartment included in the lower level which Dale plans to rent in the near future. Special items abound like a seethrough mirror from the master bedroom into the living room, a fireplace in the master bedroom, and a master bathroom with twin sinks and a 10 person Jacuzzi. "This thing is better - -with tbe ladies -thall .any Cadillac ever was," said Dale as he affectionately patted the side of the Jacuzzi. "We had a pretty good pany in it last nightl" Next to the master bath is Dale's office, novel in that four clocks line one wall, giving times in Tokyo, Dalton, London and Los Angeles. On another wall are two of his prized possessions, his checkered flags from Daytona 200 wins in '79 and 'Sl. "I work outside all day and then sit up here in my office until 11 or 12 at night getting my program ready for next year. It's so great to be home. It's like a vacation being here. I can't wait to wake up in the morning and sweat all day, cutting wood and getting things fIXed up. . "When I took a loan out to buy this propeny (six acres) when I was IS, I went into debt. rn.tell you what, when the alarm clock rings in the morning it'll make your feet hit the floor knowing you have a debt to pay." It was lunch time and Dale grabbed the phone, ordering carry-out food for the workers. Rushed ror time he rorgot himself, but made sure everyone else was red. Soon arter lunch the workers dispersed and moved on to another job, leaving Dale a rew minutes to talk. We went inside and he sraned to put together our lunch -- baked beans and bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. Just as we sat down to eat the phone rang again, but this call was worth answering. It was Barry Sheene's father, calling from England, and he had a buyer for one of Dale's race bikes. Most of Dale's race equipment from this year's European campaign was left at Sheene's house. That call sparked the need for a few more calls on Dale's part to round up all the extras that went with the bike rh.at was to be sold. He finally accomplished what needed to be done by calling the Beaulieu carpet factory in Dalton, his sponsor. He gave a message to have them send a Telex to Brussels, Belgium, getting the correct parts to Sheene's house. That taken care of, Dale returned to a slightly cooler meal. While eating we had a chance to talk about Dale's direction concerning his race program for 'S2. ''I'm trying to get it together for next year to the best of my ability. I try to be a professional; other than working on my house all I do is PRo My bike (Yamaha TZ7SO) is on display now at the First National Bank here in Dalton. I'm planning to speak at some high school and junior college functions around here, doing sOme ,~tuff on drug and alcohol abuse. I pushed further into how Dale was chosen for such speeches and he elaborated. "You see, when I was young I'd be at home working on my bikes and didn't have time to get drunk and smoke grass with my friends. That's the biggest problem America has, young people looking for a thrill with nothing to do. I had some real problems worrying about losing my friends, because I had something to do with my time. "In what I do you have to be extra nice to people, and some folks around here are jealous. They think I'm a world lravelin' road racin' sman aleck jerk. They might be jealous, but some of them are-still doing the same things they were doing in high school. I'm trying to make it. Heck, I'd like to be a millionaire, not just to be a rich bitch guy, but just to do it. Everybody's trying to make it nowadays." Dale's fast-paced mind didn't thrive on that topic for long and we were soon back to ralking about racing. One of his big pushes for 'S2 is getting the AMA to drop the restrictor rule for Formula One 7!'lOcc two-strokes, which he feels will bring back an advantage for privateers. (Continued to page 16)