Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

for the fun of it. One can have more fun by doing well, which comes from being able to perceive where, how much and how fast, not from hazy thinkingcaused by last week's drugs. KEVIN DOLAN AFM #739 Sunnyvale, CA Cover my son! WEST America' 5 weekly motorcycle newspaper Sharon Clayton. Mike Klingo-. Publ;sh~r ComptToll~r Skip Johnson. ASJociat~ Publisllu/ National Sa/~s Manager Carolin~ ~ndry. 'lie Publisher E.'CuutitJe Senelary' to - Editori.1 John Ulrich Editor Dale Brown. Sfmior Editor Kit Palmer, Associate Editor Rex Ret-st:. Feature Editor Advertiling Terry Prall, Sales Mtwoger Mike Spencer. Sales Manager Tim Ryan. Sales Manager Linda Brown. Advertising Coordinator Nancy Waslell, Adl~rtis;"g Editorial IIssi.vlanl - Rellte Truelson. AdlJerlising Assistant Gr.phictl .nd Production Lori Tyson. Graphic Artist Larry GiJl. Graphic Artist Marion Hatasbita. TyfJrMlter Sheila Larsm. TYlHsdln Dennis Grttnr~ Lab. Tech. Accounting/DIUI Proc:euing Donna Bryan. Accounts Receil'Gbie Coordinator Gen~a Rq>ass. /lnisltm' Fran Hamwey. Credit Circul.tion R~ba Smith. Manager Assistanl Sar h Taylor. Assistanl .. Jkbbi~ Walk~. Assislant Lyna Hood. Assistant Mich~lIt Hanna. Deller S.....nd Service Bob Elliolt. !kaler Sales MaNagt'T W.ntAdl Judy Hil~btTlC. ffallt Ad Sales Service .nd Support Chris Aitch~n. Reupt;ml;sl GR'gory Hanson. SCrs Welt 2201 Cherry' Ave.. Long Beach, CA P.O. Box 498. Long Beach. CA 90801· 0498 (2U) 427·74SS, L.A. Line 6S6·8844. Ent 4190 First Ave.. Tucker, GA. P.O. Box 805. Tucker, GA S0085·0805. (404) 9S4·7850. Cye" News/Wcst (USPS 141-540) is pub· IIshed weekly except the Cirst and lasl week of (he c-. lendar year for $25 per year b)' . Cycle News. Inc.• 2201 Cherry Avenue. Long Beach. CA 90806. Second class pos,ag< paid at Long Beach. CA. POSTMASTER: Send form 3679 to CycIe~,P.O.Box498,~8eM:h, CA 90801 -0498. Su bscri plion rd tes: One ye.ar. second class mail. 525: IwO years, second class mail. $45; Ihret" years. second class mail 568; 25 weeks. $13. ForeiKJ1 rdles aYdilable on request Cycle News welcomes unsolicited edirorial material including siories. CdTloons, photos. eiC. Such material. if published. becomes the exclusive properly of Cycle Ne~~. Such.acCt"pled material is subject to r~ISlon as IS n«es.sary in the- sole discrelion of Cycle News. Unsolicited material which is not used will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed stamped ·cnvelope. All unsolicited material will be handled with reasonable C'dre-. however. Cycle News assumes no responsibilicy for the safety, loss ordamage tosuch material. R~p~intjng in who,le or part only by permlSSI?n of t~epu.bltsher.Advenisingr.llt·s "and clrculauon Information will be sent upon request. See S.R.D.S. Copyright I!ll Cycle News, Inc. 1984. Tredemarlt Cycle News registered U.S. Petent Office. All rights reMrVed. ON THE FRONT PAGE: We chitted with HoncII'e 500cc NItionItI Ind Grind NItionII MX chlmpion DIVid 8111ey lbout hillUcCilifui '84 _ _. His comments begin on pille 24. Photo by Tom ~. Doc Wilcox against drugs I can't restrain myself any longer after seeing the letter from Larry Jensen, AFM #803 (Cycle News, August 29). I have read the letters on drugs with interest. lance had been known to have ~ beer with lunch and race ~-mile dirttrack. lance had been known to do the same on half-mile dirt tracks. TillJ one day Marlow Parks said to me, "Doc, you're not the same rider when you've had something to drink." He was right, I was wrong. I did not drink when I raced road races. I thought, and still do, we had to have 150% of our senses to be safe. I have seen riders run straight off a curve and lay there laughing while high on "grass. ". In my job as Flight Surgeon in the U.S. Air Force, I have been called on to investigate many "smoking holes" (in the ground) and the pilots had to have the same skills and senses that high speed road racers require. Humans do not get over the effects of alcohol or drugs in a few minutes, hours, or days! Larry seems to have a blind or short experience with drug casualties. I've seen thousands! I vote to get the drunks and junkies out of racing! HARRY "DOC" WILCOX Colonel, U.S.A.F. P.e.-M.e. Former AFM #161 Former Nat'l #253 B.S. in Pharmacy Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine , Tucson, AZ Impaired riders Everyone screams about pal and other substances because they are lIIegal. However, take alcohol, which is legal, and you have the same basic plot. Even if the government would legalize pot, you would still have the same sort of problem: alcohol, pot or whatever throws off your timing, balance, and most important, your thinking and reaction time. In whatever case, the problem is that your body needs time, days, to filter this out. This is bad for every- one. I agree I would not want to bean a track with an impaired or an airhead rider. If I made a living racing motorcycles, I would watch it and be the best I could be. WAYNE PARTIN Garden Grove, CA Drugs and racing Thanks for making the three points after Larry Jensen's letter (Cycle News, August 29). Remember the announcer (Bruce Flanders) at Laguna talking about the partiers in the corkscrew? I didn't like that. That announcer and Jensen would like us to-believe that "recreational drugs" are okay. They need a~d want agreement on that. People like that sometimes have a vested interest. Shrinks need and want people to • think drugs are good. They rarely cure any~ne so they drug their patients, and If people thought drugs were bad they wouldn't let them use them. Or somewhere along the line, when they first took drugs, they knew it wasn't right, but people around them agreed that it was cool to be wasted. To make that decision right, they continued to do drugs and tried to get others to agree that it was right. That makes them right. (Am I moralizing yet?) Or they sell drugs and make money doing it. People do better work, produce more and generally have a better anitude about life when they are notand haven't been recently aHected by drugs. This is an observa ble fact for peoplewhodon't have a vested interest. Jensen says drug use isn't a black and white subject. He is right: there are gradations ,of how badly drugs destroy one. But. there are no $radalions of how a potson helps one to life. Jensen's concept that all it required to eliminate drugs is that one physi~lIy ~tress come's body a couple of times tS a farry tale. There is a program that will rid the body of toxins but it isa faray £rom Jensen's concept. Yes, many of us AFMers race just Your coverage (Cycle News, September 5)of the AMA National Western Regional Amateur Dirt Track Cha.~pionshipin PorterviJle was just ternflc. However, I don't understand why that the only remarks that were printed were those of riders on 250cc and up. We aLs? ~ad some very good races 10 our mlm-cycle events. Your reporter interviewed seve.ral riders including the LOp rider.in the 60cc and 80cc classes who won the half-mile on both bikes Friday - Mike Becerra. On Saturday Mike was involved in a ~reck coming out of turn two, whIch resulted in him being hit by two other bikes an.d breaking his leg and dtslocat1Og hIS elbow. Mike refused to go the hospital until after his riding buddy, Louie Cruz, finished the race winning on both his 60cc and 8Occ. That was only one crash involved in that class. Cruz also went down after the re-stan after Becerra's crash. Finally the referee pulled the entire class off the track giving them time to cool off before letling them run the race. Louie Cruz also won the following night on the 11. That was some very good racing. Please don't Leave the little guys out. After all, even the big time guys had to start on something smaller. They weren't 'born with a 250cc or a 500cc between their legs. Come on guys, let's be fair. CONNIE BECERRA Lindsay, CA Daytona Superbike 200 The Daytona 200 was the Rremier motorcycle .race in the U.S. Do the organizers fear thatF-l isout-teching and outspending its competitors? One look at auto racing will reveal this happening in any class. Or do they fear a dull race without Roberts? I think an F-l romp by Eddie, Freddie and Randy is preferable to a solo Spencer romp in Superbikes. I await the evidence before final judge.ment. ALLEN DENNISON Newport Beach, CA Battiin'Texans Just can't figure out those folks writing in about the St. Louis incident. Instead of throwing rocks at Poovey or Shobert, why not see it for ~.hat it was - typical Texas mentaltty! MIKE ROBINSON Concord, CA Hall of Fame for Raybom If you saw the film "On Any Sunday" you might remember seeing Cal Rayborn being stuffed into the Manning, Riley, and Riverd Streamliner. Cal was without a doubt head' and shoulders above the competition in AMA road racing in the sixties. His talent captured the World Land Speed Record for Harley at 265 mph. A picture of Cal and the actual streamliner, powered by an 89 c.i. V-twin Harley, is on display at the new Indy 500 Hall of Fame located on the infield at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Continued to page 22)

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