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/127537
THURSDA Y NIGHTS c:».... SEE THE GREATEST SUPERCROSS RACERS IN HISTORY! ~c:» ~IE'IE' ~ EDITOR'S MEGAPHONE TEL E V ISI O N '------= By J ack Mangus hat are friends for?" Those are the last words I remember Chuck Clayton speaking. J ust a couple of weeks ago, he called and requ ested we run a political pl ug for a friend of his and I ques tioned the item 's con nection with motorcycling. Needless to say, Chu ck's "frie nds" comment ended the discussion an d the item ran. Now, my friend Chuck is gone. The victim of a stroke. The first words I remember heari ng Ch uck dir ect at me were " Atlanta or Cleveland?" I had applied for a position at Cycle News and he had seen my resume and an example of my wri ting. No lengthy discussion, just "Atlanta or Cleveland?" It was snowi ng in Balt imore and I said, " Atlanta." And two decades later, after 14 years in Atlanta and six in Lon g Beach, here I am, still with Cycle News, but Chu ck is go ne. . A year after I joined the newspaper, Chu ck turned the pub lisher's duties over to his wife, Sharo n, and then vacated the editor 's chair. He occasionally pu lled a fillin stint as editor, but he became more and more inactive as far as dail y busin ess of the newspap er was concern ed. But he always read it and critiq ued it. At times, his crit icism was burn ing. But it mostly came in the form of a gentl y spo ken suggestion. Once, over dinn er at Daytona in the company of several fellow staff members and others, Chuck voiced his displeasure wi th a pa rticular .issue. Nat ura ll y, I defended our work and , as is my wont, became hot under the collar. Not one to argue, Chu ck leaned back, smi led, and said: "Oh, well. You edit for news and I edit for style." And offered his wine glass for communal clinking. Now, Chu ck is gone. Then there was the time I arri ved at Lagu na Seca late in the day and was told tha t Chu ck had " torn apart" the latest issue an d had said, "The paper needs an editor." I fumed that evening, making a press conferencedinner miserable for those seated with or near me. Early the follo wing morning, I headed for the track where the Clayton's motorh orne was parked. Chuc k was out and about. I positioned myself at the end of the race track's midway, prepared to vent my anger. But as soon as I spot ted him st ro lli ng tow a rds me, th e anger . va n ishe d. He was wearing a p air of checkered flag sho rts. knee high socks that didn't come close to being color coordi na ted, and a T vshirt and cap tha t had seen better days. " Good morning, Jackson ," he said with a smile. My ang er disappeared as fast as it had flashed and we were soon charting about the weekend's racing . Now, Chuc k is gone. I'm not saying that Ch uck never reached the boilin g point. In my presence, he did - once. And that was at the U.S. Six Days par ty he threw in Massachusetts in 1973. The recently ou sted AMAexecutive director sho wed up, uninvit ed. The man had "resigned " the month before, after irregularit ies had been discovered in an account ing of the association's funds. Chu ck and I were carrying on a conversation when I saw his eyes flare. 'Following his line of sight, I was as shocked as he was to see the uni nvited guest strolling amongst the invitees. As Chuck look off in his direction , I followed in antic ipation of having to stop him from ph ysically accosting the man. No blows, other than verbal ones, were thro wn. Today, I recall the incident as an exemplary demonstra tion of reserve. A gentle man ? Yes, tha t' s how I' ll remember Chu ck Clayton. A gent le man. Godspeed, old friend. W ;; RiCk JOh nson Broc Glover , Jeff Ward and many, many more! Mike Bell S HOW D A T E March Marc h M arc h March 5 , 1992 12 , 19 9 2 19, 19 9 2 26, 19 9 2 # ' TIM E T ITLE O F SHOW '87 '88 '88 '88 91 20 9 121 9 122 9 123 Los A n ge les S u perbowl Ho usto n S up ercross Dallas S up ercr oss Pontia c S uper cross of Motocross 5 :30 5 :30 5 :30 5 :3 0 - 6 :30 6 :3 0 6 :30 6 :30 pm pm pm pm "rimes subject to change based on LA Kings games · check your local listings on Prime Ticket. On Tw o W heels present ed by: and your local' $ SUZUKI pro-level dealers Sim i Vall ey Yam & Suz Sim i Vall ey (80 5) 522-3434 Ana hiem Suzuki, Inc. Anahi em (714) 774 -6621 Suzuki Country Norco (71 4) 734 -0 64 0 Cole Brother s Nort h Hollywood (8 18) 980-3 7 15 Orange Co. Suzuki Costa M esa (7 14) 646 -2428 Fun 8ike Cent er San Diego (61 9) 278 -6635 Del Amo Suzu ki Inc. Redondo 8each (2 13) 542 -738 1 Hosted by Suzuki of Riverside Riverside (7 14 ) 788-6050 Bert 's Motorcycles Azuse (8 18) 33 4 -1288 Larry Huffman Sout hland Cycle Cent er Garden Grove (7 14) 893 ·5091 Saddleback Suzuki Laguna Hills (7 14) 770-6701 Escondido Cycle Cent er Escond ido (6 19) 74 5- 16 15 La Habra Suzuki La Habra (2 13) 691 -3 273 Inl and Empire Suz & Kaw . San 8ernardino (714)(88 -71 10 LOOK FOR THESE VIDEOS AT YOUR LOCA+ D~LER ' THE MATAZATT A CK V IDEO "I'M NO C HI CKEN"I 19 9 1 J A PA N ES E GRAND PRIX The '99 1 GP Seri es started out at Suzuka. Japan . w here the '90 series left off ...wit h red-hot racing l The ingredie nts for the new series showe d great prom ise: Way ne Rainey on the Yamaha and Kevin Schw antz on t he Suz uki had switched t o Dun lop rubber, w hi le Honda 's Way ne Gardn er and Mi ck This 60 -m inute tape w ill take you to every major Supercross race in the US as w ell as famo us M ammoth Mtn . MX t o see " t he Chicken " rip the competiti on . Wh ether he's rid ing a 125 or 250, Jeff w ill help you develop your own individual styl e of ri ding and show why person al technique is the most import ant aspect of ri din g motocross. D EALER S CALL If JI ~ ~ \Doohan cha ll enge d all com ers on Michelins and ...j;ddi e Lawso n moved to the Italian Cagiva team d uring t he wi nte r. Unk n ow n Quant it ies we re 250 champ J ohn Koci nski stani ng the season in the 500 class. along w it h up -and-coming r ider s Garr iga, De Radigues. Pons. Ruggia and M orill as. Newcomer US Superbi ke . Cham pion Doug Chan dle r filled out the prom ising field. What took place at Suzuka '9 1 is one of th e most st unn ing GP Videos ever! 800-3 56- 9168 / FAX 608 -356 -918 8 - - - - - ----- - - ------ -------------~-------------- ---- - - - - -, 1 . For FA STEST service attach old mailing label in spa ce below. If m ail ing lab el is not ava ilable. print your n am e and address in t his box . Attentiol!. - SubscriberS, - Ple ase all o w 3 weeks f o r c ha nge t o take eff ect. 2 . Pri nt y o ur NEW address h ere . N A ME A DD RESS CITY L _ STATE _ ZIP _ 3. Mail to : Circulation Department CYCLE NEWS, P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801-0498 J 31