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/126978
~ ~ • • t Interview: Ted Boody_ Looking for a t- oo 0') better way "' 0') By Dave Despain Quick l Name these guys. Wro ng l That's Ted Boody on the left and future three-time Grand National Champion Jay Sp ringsteen on the righ t. "I t hink t his is one of t he neatest photos in my co llection, " said ~oody . "I t hink the guy in the m iddle was named Jeff Vi llamette." At the recen t Cam el P ro Series h alf m ile race at West Virginia Motor Sp eedway in Parkersburg, 6'3" Ted " T oo Tall" Boody, originally from Lansing, Michigan, and now of Sapulpa, .Oklahoma, turned in an impressive ride. The Honda-mounted privaleer had to win th e Last Chance . . . . Qu ~hh e r Ju st to ge t Into th e Natl~mal , but he ch arged th rough th e ~Ie.ld from dead-last startmg spot to fini sh fourth behind th e fac to ry Honda o f winner Bubba Shobert an d th e fa ctory Harl ey-D avid sons o f Chris Carr a nd Scott Parker. It was a typi cal da y-in-the-li fe o f T ed Boody, w ho tak es grea t p ride in his reputation as th e leading privateer in Grand National racing. Now, at th e age of 28. Boody hopes to make a career transition into car racing. Prior to the Parkersburg event, Cycle News talked wi th Boody abo ut hIS rem arkable 12 years as an AMA ~xpert, and a~out t~e cha llenges ~a t ~l~ a head. G iven h IS pnvat~r bla~, It S no surp nse that Boody lists hIS 1984 Stroh Mil e victory a t Sp ri n gfield, Illino is, ridin g th e College Bik e Shop H onda, as o ne o f th e hi gh lights of hi s long ca reer. • • • Wh en I won Springf ield , it was th e biggest dirt tra ck pu rse ever, a nd it was neat to beat th e factory H onda. I like doing things like th at. Guys like J a y Spri n gs tee n a re h appy tak ing what everybody el se's got and going out and stomping th eir butts with it. But I like being more the underdog, being on something a little different. Of co u rse. . the privateer has a tough wa y to go. If you're involved in doing th e whole program, which most bike racers are, it's hard. The car peop le I' ve been in vo lved with lat el y h a ve somebody that tak es ca re of everyt hi n g. They go work th eir job a ll week a nd th en show up o n th e weeken ds to ra ce. It's a ll done, everyth ing's rea dy to go, a nd wh en they're fini shed racing th ey go home a nd th e crew ta kes ca re o f th e ca r. Bike racing is different. You wo rry abo ut every thi ng a ll week , a nd th en whe n th e race is over yo u load it a ll u p yo u rse lf and tak e ca re o f it yourself. It 's not easy. You've seen both sides of that fence. You've been a factory guy as well as a privateer. Yeah, in fact [rode a Bultacoon kind of a factory support deal when I was a Novice. I was 16 in August of 1974 and got my license, and by the following January I had my points to move up to Junior. We had to run the cement indoors and all that kind of racing to get my points. Bu t on the NOVIce half-miles the best I ever got wa s fifth or sixth. I was already too bi~ a t that time. Garth Brow wa s a NOVIce at th e same time and , shoot, h e'd get o n those half miles and a lmost lap m e. But on th e sho rt tracks I co u ld keep up prett y good a n d I won so me o f th em . Garth, T erry Poovey a nd I all three had a deal with Bultaco. Wh en I went to Junior. I sold th e Bultaco a nd bought a Yamaha from Terry Brow. That bike had never finished a ra ce wi th him on it , but I put it together and won four or five times with it an d finish ed all but o ne race o n it. Back then, you were the newest member of the so-called "Michigan Mafia," that amazing generation of dirt track stars who rode fast HarleyDavidsons in the footsteps of Ban