Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

man is easy to detect. "1£ it wasn't for him. I wouldn't be where lam today." says Chandler. Still, both men realize that with Chandler's new-found fame. their professional relationship will more than likely be coming to an end as Chandler gets more lucrative offers to ride other machinery. "Of course, I'd like for him to ride my stu££," says Chisum, "but I know he ean get a better deal somewhere else. There won't be any sadness involved as long as he betters himself," One of the teams interested in Chandler [or next year is Honda. They already provide Chandler with support in IT and short track races and have been watching Chandler for' some time. Gene Romero, Honda's dirt tracJi team manager and former Nationa~ Champion, likes what he sees in Chandler, ". can't say anything ba~ about him." says Romero, "He doesn't get intimidated by the riders around him. no matter what number is on their plate. He's very mature; almost like as seasoned veteran. H won the short track at Santa Fe with what seemed like no e££ort at all. We're very much interested in him." Chandler doesn 'tlet the talk of big· money contracts bother him, choosing instead to concentrate on the business at hand. ''I'm just going to make as many races as I can and do the best I can. Honda has been behind me in the past. We haven't had a meeting or discussions about the future. I want to wait until this year's over. then see what happens." Doug Chendler displays the style that hal brought him national attention. (Inset) Chendler after hi. Sante Fe win. F. .t new kid on the bloek Doug Chandler By David Edwards Photos by Bert Sheperd and Edwards The 1983 Camel Pro Series will be remembered for its pleasant surprises. For one thing, Honda, after two years of soldiering along witlLtheir CX500-turned-NS750 mile bikes, finally got their long-track act together. As evidenced by Hank Scott's DuQuoin Mile win, the new RS750 is a viable threat to 22 .. ( : \ the Harley-Davidson stranglehold on the miles and half miles. And let's not forget Tammy Kirk, the feisty, history-making lady who sent a breath of fresh air through the Class C fraternity when she became the first woman ever to qualify for a National din track final and score National points. Then there's Doug Chandler. If you're a casual follower of the Camel Pro Series and can't quite place Chandler's name, that's under· standable. The 17-year-old Salinas. California, resident only got his Expert license in June and has only raced in four Nationals.lince then. But he's made the most of those opportunities. In his first race as an Expert. the Santa Fe IT on June 25, Chandler finished a creditable eighth. Three ks later at the Hagerstown Half • • L .. Mile, Chandler further impressed Class C railbirds with a seventh-place finish on the banked. multi-lineoval. The next week. Chandler slackened a few jaws when he cooly slid his Honda Support 250 into the winner's circle at the Santa Fe Short Track. the first rookie to win a National in more than two years. Chandler then jumped on a Carl Patrick-tuned Harley XR750 at the DuQuoin Mile two weeks later and proceeded to show savvy far beyond his years as he hung tough with winner Hank Scott and second·place finisher Bubba Shobert - two of the best on the miles - to take a very close third place after leading the race going into the final turn. Even more impressive was the fact that it was only the third time Chandler had been on a mile track. Chandler's four-race rampa~e has thrust him into the top 20 m the point standings and put him in the lead for rookie of the year honors, despite spotting his competitors a five-month, 11l-race headstart. .. Jill II "It feels really good." says Chandler of his impressive showings. "I've surprised myself. I'd just planned to go out and hope for some good finishes. I didn't really think I'd get out there and h,ave things takea££ like they have." Although Chandler's name may be new to the results section in National race reports. he is no stranger to dirt track competition. For more than a decade, starting at age six aboard a Honda Trail 50. he has been broadsliding around one type of track or the other. "I finished second in my first race on that Honda." remembers Chandler. "It was at the Monterey Fairgrounds. an eighth-mile track. Then I got an Indian 50. It had more gears and made a little more power. From there I slowly progressed through the ranks." It should be noted that Chandler's "slow" progression through the ranks included winning 10 National Ama· teur Championships and was capped o££ in 1978 when he took four titles and was named AMA Amateur Athlete of the Year. One of Chandler's earliest sponsors was Jim Chisum, then a motorcycle dealer, now in the cycle salvage business. "The Chandlers were neighbors." recalls Chisum, "and I was rac· ing in the Sportsman class. Of course, I had all the motorcycle magazines. and Doug would come over to the house and read all day. He'd tell my wife that he'd be doing that one of these days, Well, now he is." Chisum is stiU with Chandler today. providing bikes and equipment for the miles and half miles. as well as advice and support. When Chandler talks of Chisum, his fondness for lLIJ.I.II •••• II ••• I •••• II.I •• And what about the future for young Mr. Chandler? ". don't really have a plan or a set of goals for myself," he says. "I didn't get into racing with the idea of making it a career. I just did it because it was fun. Now Ijust want to be as good as lean and win some races. A National Championship would be nice. but I can't really look that far down the line yet. "Also, I'm very interested in road racing. I went to the California Superbike School and really liked it. Now we're talking of doing some club races. We're going to work slow. there's no big hurry. I'm still real young," adds Chandler. Keith Code, who runs the Superbike School, fills in the parts Chandler modestly leaves out. "He put in the fastest laps a first-time student has ever turned on the Laguna Sec'a course," says Code. "He's very smooth and very aggressive. The guy's got the latent talent. he's the right age and he's got the drive." Code has been talking to Honda about putting a program together for Chandler similar to the one he designed for Kawasaki's Superbikecontender Wayne Rainey. But even if that falls through. Code is so impressed by Chandler that he is will· ing to train him on his own. "Whatever happens, I'm going to work with him. I came in late on the chain with Doug, but if there's anything there, we're going to make the best of it," be says enthusiastically. Despite all the predictions of road racing potential. fat contracts, future wins and national championships. Chandler seems to be coping with the attention well and is keeping things in perspective. In fact. as soon as the racing season is over. he plans to attend college back in northern California. "I want to take some business classes," he says, "so I know what to do with all my money - if [ make any. that is." Of that there seems little doubt. As Code says of his [uture student. "He's got a winner's gleam in his eye. You n't mi t' " • ••... L1••••••••••••

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