Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ INTERVIEW Motocrosser DennyStephenson ~F By N a te Rauba O ~ ~ ...... ~ c<') C'l ;:>C\l ~ ~ 30 or the past few seasons, Denny Stephenson has been patiently waiting for his turn in the spotlight, to be a cham p ion. He knew those seasons were the years to learn, realized his chances of winning were slim , and accepted being beat, But Stephenson is through just learn ing and no w he's poised to ma ke his move. If his five wins in the seven rounds of the 125cc Eastern Regio nal Supercross Series are any indicatio n, Stephenson is almost surely guaranteed 10 becom e cham p this year. And , without bei ng cocky about it, he knows h is time has come. " My confidence is higher than it has ever been , and I thi nk that helps my ridin g a lot, " says the 19 year-old from Omaha, Nebraska. "Knowing that you have a chance of winning is better than coming 10 a race and thinkin g you 'd just like to win ." Las t year, and in 1988, thinkin g ab out wi n ni ng was just abo ut all Stephens on cou ld do. In the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Seri es he was up aga ins t some tou gh co mpe tition , and he kn ew it. Rookie sensa tio n Dam on Brad sh aw gra bbed a ll the a ttention o n his way to the titl e, and when Bradsh aw fell into the shadows Mike Kiedro wski was a lways there to step into the spotligh t. The two riders a lso sto le th e show in th e 125cc Nat ional s where Kiedrowski . played the lead role and took the tit le. In the supercross ' races Bradshaw and Kiedro wski cast a' shadow o n Step henson, who was usua ll y a little ways behind the m j ust waiting for a mista ke tha t would give him a victory. But th ose mistakes never came and Stephenson had to be conte nt to fin ish thi rd in last year's series, which was a step up from hi s fifth -pl ace finish in the 1988 series. " I felt I coul d run w i th the m (Bradshaw and Kiedro wski) at ti mes last yea r," says Step henso n , "other tim es I didn' t. They were probably a step ahead of me and I was a step ahead. of th e rest of th e pa ck. I was kind of in a class by myself. I cou ld start off bad and still get up to th ird , or I cou ld get th e holesh o t and end up th ird . I just kind of knew my p lace. I knew if I kep t wor king , I kn ew I wou ld have the chance th is year and woul d just wait my turn." It looks as tho ug h hi s tu rn has come, for despite a sha ky sta rt in th e 125cc Eastern Regional Su percross Ser ies when he go t o u t of shape and Mich ael Craig landed o n him at th e Houston Supercross, Stephenson came back strong and won the next five out of six races. T he streak began in Atlanta a nd carr ied him throug h Daytona, Dallas and back-t o-bark wins in th e Pont iac do ub lehea der, wh ere in th e first night of racing he ca me from last place to win. A fall in Tampa ended the streak, but Stephenson sti ll finished third to main tain a substantial lead in the point standings. Stephenson says his suc cess comes from not o n ly wai ti ng his turn, bu t 10 hi s swit ch from a Kawasaki Team Gree n support ride to T eam Suzu ki at the end of last seaso n . " Las t year at Kaw asak i I was always o n th e ou tside o f the. tfactory) team , tryin g to get the good parts," Stephen- . son exp la ins. " T he (Tea m Green ) mec ha nics were a lways good with help in g me o u t, b u t I was never accep ted as part of the tea m, (I was) j ust the support guy ." Since Kawasak i's 1990 125cc team was virt ua lly set at th e end of last seaso n wi th Jeff Matiasevich and J eff Emig, Steph en son went look in g for a Waiting his turn ride. He didn 't have to look far since H ond a ra ce tea m man ager Da ve Arn old approached him and he had opened tal ks wi th Suzuki as wel l. Step henson decided to go wit h the Honda support deal , but .du e to a big cu tbac k in Honda 's racing budget the deal fell th ro ug h. " I had sig ned a contract and everything, " says Stephenson. " I was trying to get bikes so I co u ld adapt to the m:' T he n somehow the H on da lead ers reneged o n my contract. Lucki ly we called Su zuki , no t knowing what they wer e goi ng to say, a nd th ey ha d so meth ing for me." Step henso n signed a o ne-year contrac t wit h Su zuki, and he's a lready saying he wants to be a part o f th e team next year as well. His father, Don, is the mechanic, and the two share a specia l relationship. "So me peo p le didn 't think I sho u ld have kept h im as my mech ani c," Stephenson says, " but he kno ws when to keep it mechanic/rider and fatherl son. A lo t of mechan ics won't do laund ry for their ri ders, bu t since he's my dad he'll do a lot of thi ngs norm al mechan ics won 't. Las t year we were togeth er on the road th e wh ole year, and a t times we go t at each o ther's th roat. But this year I fiy to the races and the time apart hel ps." Si nce Stephe nson co mes fro m a fam ily of race rs, it was natural for him to begin at a you ng age. H is father raced the Nation al s in the mid-70s as " o ne of th e guys wh o would always q ua lify to fill th e starti ng ga te," says th e elder Stephens on. " I go t my fir st motor cycle whe n I was four, before I go t a bicycle," says Stephe nso n. "I always wanted o ne, but aft er I got it I was too scared and intimidated by it to enjoy it. " His father sold that motorcycle, but a year later Steph enson was riding again and soon began racing . Racin g was his life, and still is, altho ug h he made sure he comp leted high schoo l in 1988. With his father as a teacher, Stephens on progressed through the standard amateu r raci ng prog ram . th e Grand, Nationa l Ch am p ionships in Pon ca City, AMA Am at eur National s in T ennessee, the Worl d Mini G rand Prix. . "I got bridesmaid a lot , a lot of seconds and thirds," he recalls. But Step he nson a lso rem ember s beat ing Brad shaw wh en th ey were just kids, and says that h is biggest am ateur win came when he battled Kiedrow ski down to th e last rnoto and beat him for the 250cc A Modified class titl e at th e 1988 AMA Amateur Na tiona l Ch am pi onships in Ten nessee. That was h is last year as an ama teur and in 1989 he h it the road as a pro and fin ished 13th in the I25cc Na tio na ls. There are two riders who Step henson feels cou ld put him back in the bridesmaid rol e th is year in the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Seri es. " Jeromy Bueh l is really hungry , and Mik e Jones has a lo t of expe rience and he wants it rea l bad too, " Stephenson says. But he' s co nfident he'll be the one to win th e champ io ns hip. " Every race I go to I know I can win. I just have to stay sma rt and not crash. It 's just a matter of taking myself ou t, I think. If I don 't let an y other riders take me o u t, I think I can win no mailer what . I'm looking forward to th e l2 5cc : Camel Sh ooto ut in Los Angeles." That race p uts th e to p 10 East ern Regi onal riders up aga inst th e top 10 from th e Western Region, with the winner awar ded $10,000. Stephen son doesn 't believe th at th ere's mu ch difference in the level of tal ent between th e Eas tern an d Western Region al riders. He feels the trac ks are about the o n ly thing that di stin guishes the two regions. " I prefer the East because I th in k that Joh n Savitski's Stadium Dirt Designs builds the best tracks," says Steph en son. " T he western guys have 10 rid e on Mickey Thompson tracks that are good, but no t as good as Savi tski's tracks. It 's go ing to be tough in L.A. The track is a lways fast, and all the riders will be tough for th e Sh ootout.' Fast tra cks are wh ere -Stephenson feels he needs to improve, and his results in th e 125cc Nationals haven't match ed hi s success indoors. In the Florida National o pener he fini shed with a pair of ninths, while in Californ ia he ended up with a 6-10 score. At the th ird round in Virginia, Stephens on impro ved slig h tly with 7-8 finis hes. "T he o ut doo r tracks have been reall y fast, a nd I don 't do as well o n faster trac ks," says Step henson. " I' ve consistently been in the top 10 and getti ng beat by some riders th at are good, but I do n 't think I should be gelling beat by them. I shou ld be runn ing top five. " I like th e t igh ter tracks ," he continues. " I feel I can be real smooth in supercross, but o utdoors you have to tota lly let it han g o u t, pin the th rot tle and hope for the best. Smooth is n't a lways th e winn er, it 's ihe iro nman, I guess. I' ve been working hard to im p rove o ut doors, running a 101 and ridi ng. T he bi ke right now is the best I've ever had , I feel it' s equal to any o ther rider 's bike. It's just going to tak e some ti me. " The way Stephe nso n has been riding in th e 125cc Eastern Regional SUJrrcross Series, it certa in ly looks like it' s just a mailer of tim e befor e he has is first title under hi s belt . And with his confidence and desire to win , he Just may reach his goa l o f making the DP five in th e l25cc Nat ionals. In e futu re .he'd lik e to be a National Ch ampion, but most off all he'd like to wear th e Supercross crown. " I want to win a Nat ional this yea, " Stephe nso n says. " Once you get a taste of victory, you've go tta ha ve more. C'I

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