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/127585
TICKETS AT PARTICIPATING YAMAHA DEALERS brake and setting up outrageous powersli des, Kret z began exercising h is old two-wheel au thori ty. But th e ge n teel sporty ca r crowd d id not fool aroun d with a wild m a n like Kretz. Th ey instead got the racing sanctioning body to throw him out. Ha wley, ch aracteristically, m ad e sprint cars his weapons of choice, doing so in an era wh en they were absolutely the mo st dangerous race ca rs in existence. This was at Ascot Park, and at first nobody made him feel especially welcome; he was only permitted to pilot the very worst cars. Hawley made the best of the opportunity nonetheless. An old fringe eccentric known as Lester the Ch il d Moles te r ow ned a n eurotic, malevo lent little red ca r tha t H aw ley raced really fas t whenever the wildeyed a nd lon g-haired Lester inv eig led him into trying something that sound ed pa rt ic u la rl y luna ti c. Neil Keen, who knew Hawley from motorcycle racing , and took a pa ternal interest in him, used to be horrified by the wil d-eyed Lest er and ap palled by Hawley's readiness to do whatever he said. " Hawley, don't listen to this old nut," Keen used to rail, adding, helplessly, "I want to see yo u alive afterward." And this ca u sed Hawley to respond with bravado that Kretz himself might have envied: "Hey, not to worry. Car racin g's easy. Just haul down to the comer, tum left - and hurry when you can!" Well, Hawley always hurried, all right. But Les ter 's car seldom tra veled the d istance. . . Hawley's one big year in the Indy cars, 1972, tu rned ou t to be an aberration. His car owner folded up the operation afterward, and Hawley returned horne to Los Angeles. It beca me clea r to him that his life wasn 't going to extend much beyond Ascot Park - and it didn't, he ultimately ende d up interred in the cemetery across th e street, presumably the only racer now at rest there. But in his final years , Hawley becam e arguably the most prolific con tes tan t that Ascot knew': racing flat track Friday nights, sprinters on Saturdays, a IT s teep lechase or midget car race Sunday afterno on, then involved in a demoli tio n derby Sunday evening. At the end, Hawley grew melancholy and d rank too much. He wasn' t as fast as he'd once been, and certainly not so fearsome, so during a midget race an impatient younger driver mistook him for a slow fossil, bludgeoned into him, and literally knocked Hawley off the track. Hawley tookthis as a tonic - an elixir momentarily restoring him to his old days and old ways . Presenting himself to the younger driver, he smiled with happiness and announced, "Consider what I'm going to give you to be knowledge bumps." Then he told him to prepare to meet his maker, and proceeded to mete out such corporal punishment that the younger driver and all other mal e members of his family were put out of commission with injury. . Afterward, the sanctioning body of racing sought to sup press further disorde r by convening a kangaroo court to punish and reb uke Hawley with a lifetime s uspension (later reduced) . Afterward, this was seen as a ha rbinger of Hawley'S demise. He was just emerging from its effects when he suddenly died . Hero or hoo ligan - how is posterity to remember Don Hawl ey? The fact is, no matter ho w much he enjoyed punching, he loved racin g mo re. He loved it too much. Tim Witham , dead just this past win ter, was of the opinion tha t Hawley possessed the fas tes t set of reflexes of anybody he was ever associated with, Joe Leonard and Kenny Roberts includ ed. (:N presents AMA 125/500(( Nat ional Motocross W ashougal M otocross Park Wash~ugal, Washington August 6-7-8, 1993 Tickets: See participating YAMAHA dealers listed below for special YAMAHA WASHOUGAL 125/500 NATIONAL TICKETS. OREeON BAKER currsv. ..... 2223• l Oth Street Baker, OR 97814 (503) 523-3500 FLORENCE Aoruc:e V.IUh. 4390 Hwy 101 North Florence, OR97439 (503) 997·1157 GRESHAM v . . .... Sports Piau 1989 E. Powell Gresham, OR 97080 (503) 666-9438 SPRINGFIELD V--. .f Sprillgfldll 423 ' Q' Stree t Springfield, OR 97477 (503) 74H 839 ELLENSBURG V. ..... bdI·s 309 South Main Ellensburg, WA 98926 (509) 925-9330 KIRKLAND EastsIde M.tenperts 11414 · 120th Avenue N.E. Kirkl and, WA 98033 (206)821-8755 SPOKANE V. 1UIIa West 1 Exit 276 S. 4201 Grove ·90 Spokane, WA 99204 (509) 747·1969 TIGARD Beaverton HolI/Y• • 10380 S.w. Cascade Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 684-6600 ENUMCLAW b . ...... 5u/K_ ty. . 408 Roosevelt Enumclaw, WA 98022 (206) 825-4502 LONGVIEW l.oIIfYIew H.....V. . .... 1113 Vandercook Way Longview, WA 98632 (206) 636-1220 TACOMA LYNNWOOD 20420 Highway 99 Lynnwood, WA 98036 (206) 774-0505 E. WENATCHEE ""nsen's C, d e & Marl... 1051 Valley Malll'arkwa y E. Wenatchee, WA 98801 (509)884-243 1 200 N.E. Gillman Issa quah, WA 98027 (206) 391-4490 MT. VERNON Skagit Val.." V.....,...w 1589 Memorial Highway ML Vernon, WA 98273 (206) 428-7714 YAKIMA Owen's C,d e 1606 N. l st Street Yakima, WA 9890I (509) 575·1916 KENNEWICK ·V• • • b. CountrJ 428 E. Columbia Kennewick, WA 99336 (509) 586-4191 SPOKANE Spoka.eV...... E. 8700 Sprague Spokane, WA 99212 (509) 924·7233 UTAH SANDY Soutll V.II." V. ..... 248 W. 9240 South Sandy, UT 84070 (80I ) 566-9345 FEDERAL WAY Federal W., CJde Ceater 33003 Pacific Hwy South Federal Way, WA 98003 (206)927-6118 L,........ Va..... ISSAQUAH 1-9 H.nda/Y...... 0 WASHINGTON OREGON CITY Town Center MotoKJde 1301 Main Street Oregon City, OR 97045 (503) 657-4654 CENTRALIA Powenports 300 South Tower Centralia, WA 98531 (206) 736-0166 ROSEBURG Roseburg Pure Sports 1673N.E. Diamond Lake Rose burg, OR 97470 (503) 672-4179 BREMERTON Brotllen V. . .... 5205 • 1st Street Bremerton, WA 98312 (206) 479-6943 SALEM C,de Sperts of Salem 5103 Portland Road N.E. Salem, OR 97303 (503) 390-9000 CLE ELUM SportIaH V. ..... HC60Box 5100 Cle Elum,WA 98922 (509) 649-2259 Taco. . V...... 1222 S. Sprague Tacoma. WA 98405 (206)383-2453 YAMAHA Support the dealers who support the sport! - -- ... - - - - ••===- -. LA. SLEEVE CO. ----., ~-.... _ ... --- U I N E RAC I NG PARTS GEN ~ ~ ~ ~ --~ ~ ~ HI-PERFORMANCE PISTONS MX/ATV L------------ MANUFACTURED INJAPAN Waft' Adla,_fioft. (310) 4%7-7433 - lJJfjJ@ ll:. High performance race style pistons manufact ured from special high -silicon alumi num alloys. Piston kits supplied with rings. circlips, wrist pin. For leading makes and models. See your dealer. CC D LOS ANGELES SLEEVE CO ., INC. " It's A Race, We'reThePlace 1 8311 Chetle Ave., Santa Fe Springs, CA 90660 (3 1 0 ) 945-7578 Dealers call or write for your free catalog and decals 3