Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

and Eddie have every thing w or ked ou t. The broken ignition bracket at Park ersburg was a freak thi ng. We fi ni s hed second the next week at the Li ma Half Mile. Bu t you know , I can't help but think that those 16 points could have cost me fourth pla ce in the point stand ings . That's just racing, though . I n the past, you have been known to be a rather wild rider, but you seem to have toned down your ri d ing ' style . consi derab ly . What changes d id yo u mak e? Well, I'm just trying to smooth out. I still like to charge hard. I'm not afraid to run it in to a tu m w ith anyo ne. It' s just maturity and realizing that you could be hurting yo u rself and someone else by riding that way . Looking at the tapes and reall y seeing what's going on out there showed me a few m istakes that I'v e mad e in th e past that put people in a jeopard izing position. When I sat back and thought about it, I rea lize my past mistakes an d decided tha t I just need to be more in control with what I'm doing with m yse lf, and on the race tr ack. Smoothing out and staying in control has really helped me. I got fifth last year, and that' s the best I've eve r done. Growing up was also a part of it, you know maturity. Another thing that kinda got me to smooth out was the fact that one of my s ponsors - Mike Lynch - has a so n nam ed Pau l who races. Well, Paul sorta looks up to me and conside rs me a role model. Well, if I'm a role model, I don't wanna be some w ildman. If this bo y looks up to me and like s what I do , I want to be a good example. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are? I don't know . . . I've got good corner speed and I don't mind running up in the turns with any of them. I think that the half miles are definitel y m y strengths. There are 13 half miles this year and only six miles scheduled this year. Will that work to your advantage? I'm really looking forward to those, that's for sure. On the half miles, th e mo tors aren't as important. You do have to have a good str ong mo tor because there's a couple big half miles out there, but if you have good comer speed - which I feel I do - you can make up the difference that you might lose on the straightaways. Wh at I'm lookin g fo r w a r d to is putting in a 100% effort on these ha lf miles . Steve Morehead has taught me a lot on the half miles, and I'm comfortable and confident. What about the other races? Well, Daytona Short Track is like a crap shoot. There are so man y guys that can go really fast on a short track, faster on one of those than on an ything else. Last year we were running good in practice, but had an ignition go out in time trials . Well, we didn't even make the program. Daytona is weird. The ITs? Well, I like Peoria, I can do good there and I usually make t!'e final .if the bike is running right. Chris Carr IS really gonna be tough to beat at Peoria,.that race might as well be called the Carr National. (Laughs) Castle Rock 15 another weird one. You s ta r t on the infield, whew, that's different. But Eddie CJ\r!s (Left) "Rodney Is like my so n," sa id Eddie Adkins, Farris' long-time sponsor. "Hell, there was even one time when Rodney was little when my wife wanted to adopt hlm."(Beiow) Though he can hold his own at the mile Nationals, Farris excels on the halfmile courses. With 13 half miles scheduled In '94, Farris has a lot to look forward to. has some good ideas and has some new things cookin' and we should be there. What is it going to lake to see Rodney Farris finally win his firs t National in '94? ' Well, it's hard to say. I've been training real hard all winter. Me and Eddie made this trick little sit-up stand. I'm riding as often as I can when everything isn't all frozen over. I'm definitely in better shape this year tha n I was before last season. Last year I started training after Daytona , but I figured tha t this year I should start before. I've been doing an aerob ics class everyday, and I'm fit. You do an aerobics class? That seems odd for a motorcycle racer. Do all of the mirrors bother you? Nah. (Laughs) It's fu nny as hell when you mess up and you know you messed up. Then yo u can see how funny you look in the mirrors. Then you try to look at the girls in front of you to catch you r beat , but then they're just as messed up as you are! That's when you really get screwed up . It's a fun class, though. Who will be the toughest thi s year? The Harley-Davidson factory is gonna be tough . You can bet Chris Carr w ill be 100%. Scotty doesn't need to prove .anything, but he's one of the ~t and will be back with fire in his eyes. Ricky Graham will be tough if he has a good motor. If he has anythin g even close to as good as the bike fie had last year - which I don't think he has - he'll be real fast. Steve Morehead is always tough on the half miles, and , there's a lot of those. Tha t will probably be the top four that I'll have to race with. I Who is your closest racing friend? Steve Morehead and I always get along grea t; we ha ve a lot of fun . It's also really a sha me - I heard that Danny Ingram is quittin g - he and I were the greatest friends. Between Danny and Steve, those are the guys I hung around with the most. I'm really gonna miss Danny. I hope he comes out to watch a few races, but I know that will kill him. What is the story behind the Gary Ni xon "star" helmet that you wear? Well, I' ve know n Nix on for about as long as I've known Edd ie: I've worked for him before in the shop, and I used to ride over at his place when I was little . He was just always my idol; he was my hero when I was growing up and still is. One day he just said, ' H ere, Rodney, why don ' t you s tart w ear ing m'y design?' I guess everybody has th eir own desi gn, and I wear Nixon 's becau se we're buddies. Everybody notices it, and . tha t's cool. Nixon has alw ays helped me - getting sponsors and all that stuff. What are your ult imate, long-term goals in racing? I don' t really have lo ng -te rm go a ls . What I'm look ing forward to d oing is winning 'some Na tionals this year. I'd like to be a challenger for th e number one plate - give them a run for it and let the m know I'm here. I just wanna do the best I can. I think I can win the championship if I get the righ t breaks . How long do you plan to continue racing, and what are your plans after you retire? That's hard to say. Look at Steve and Jay Springsteen. Those gu ys are in the ir late 30s an d they still go fast. They bea t guys 15 years younger. I'm feeling real comfortable, an d I'm training hard er than I ever ha ve. I'm feeling more comfortable than I ever have. As far as after ra cing is concerned, I've bee n doing heating and air conditioning wo rk in the off-season . I have a real nice boss, Richard King, here in Winchester tha t lets me take off all the time I need for racing. After I quit racing, I'll probably take some classes in tha t kind of stu ff. Ho w do you wa nt to be remembered, as a racer? . I don't know. How does anybody want to be reme mbered? As som eb od y that ~as there that ha d an impa ct in ra cing. As someone who helped promote the sport. This sport is the best yo u have ever seen, you know? In dir t track the people are wonde rfu l. They' ll do w hatever it takes to help the next gu y. The camarad er ie is what makes it all great. Where do you see the sport of dirt track going, and what changes do you think need to be made? I think the way it's go ing no w is bad. In my personal opinion, . when I w as growing up, the 750cc Grand National class was what yo u wanted . Wh en I was a kid the 750 class was yo u r drea m. Bu t n ow the AMA is bringing in all these 600 and 883 classes. They say it's bringing in th e sp ecta tors, but I don't agree. There's guys that are parking their 750s and racing the 600s and 883s because they figure it's an easier class to run, and that takes away from the 750 class. Then th ey kn ocked out the Junior class, and that was bad. That was the class that brought you up to the level of being a 750 Grand National rider . Now these other classes drag on all day, and that stinks for the spectators. They really came' out to see the 750 class and they ha ve to watch all this othe r shi t. Their asses must get tired sitting in those seats for eight hours. I know I wouldn't do it. Here' s an example: w hen the re' s a chance of rain or someth ing, the AMA runs the 750 class first, then runs the 600 or 883 classes lat er. As soon as the 750 class main is over, you can be t that those stands empty ou t. No one cares about those (other) races, that's not what they come to see. The AMA needs to go back to the way the Nationals used to be - when I was watching Kenny Roberts and all that stuff. The races started at 8:00 and they were over by 9:30 or 10:00. Then you still had time to go to the bars or whatever. But now there are so many classes out there dragging it along. Go ing to a National is no different than going to a regular pro race with l00s of classes. What do you predict for yourself this season? . This is gonna be the best year I'v e ever had. Definitely. I'm going to start the year on a good note and carry m y momentum from there. I'm looking for top three or better. Count on it. a

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