Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

...... .... I-< ~ 30 who once had no problem pa ying th e b ills w it h prize money have had to get real jobs just to keep competing. The cold financial r eality ha s fo rced many rid ers to~ limit their schedule - leaving racetracks that were too far a way to re ac h on a wee knight wi thout a full p rogram - or give up altogether. Clearl y, something had to be done to save the sp ort from sinking further into oblivion, and 1994 seemed likely to be a comeb ack ye a r. Thr ill ed b y Sam Ermo lenko and Team USA 's ov er seas success, the AMA - which had not been involve d with speed way since 1991 stepp ed in to patch up its previous d ifficu lties with speedway by provi di ng affordable licensi ng to go along wit h a co m mitmen t to increase th e s p o r t's recogn ition; an added benefit of which wou ld be th e reinsta tement o f t he American Fin al to th e international s peedway cal enda r . The p romote rs enthusiastically climbed aboard and a series of meetings was scheduled between the AMA and the Speedway Control Board (the U.S. rules comm ittee made up of riders and promoters) to discuss the 1994 rul es. During the first meeting, thr ee promoters - Speedway USA's Gene Woods; Lake Perris Spe edway's Brian Church; and Glen Helen Raceway's Joel Smith proposed some rules changes which they felt would enhance the sport and attract larger cro wds. On their agenda was a return to the use of the 2.75 x 22inch tire, and to nitromethane as a legal .fuel additive - just as the riders were allowed to use in the late '60s and ear!y 70s. The promoters were also in favor of the new "laydown" engine /frame combination and, for Smith's Glen Helen facility - which is located far from urban development and is not required to meet the same 102db sound restriction as are the state fairgrounds tracks an open muffler option. Rider representative Robert Pfetzing also voted for the rules changes. Opposed to these rules were: two rider reps, Bobby Schwartz and Brad Oxle y; Costa Mesa promoter Harry Oxley; and Auburn promoter Rich VanderMeeden. .Bart Bast, Northern California's rider representative, could have been the deciding vote, but Bast was not in attendance. Several more meetings were held and no common ground could be reached. Recognizing the fragile nature of the situation, the AMA stepped in and decided to leave the proposed rules changes as "promoter options." But then the AMA reassessed the si t u a tio n, and issued a memorandum stating that 1994 rules would be the same as 1993 with the exception of allowing the 22-inch tire. "We (the AMA) didn't want to put forth rules that would add expense to the sport when the situation was so fragile, and we certainly couldn't condone running without mufflers," said Bill Boyce, the AMA Consultant to the Vice President. "It could become a case of keeping up with the [oneses. I think these promoters really want to advertise (the new rules) . I don't think they really want it on the track - bu t I can understand their point. If they don't do things differently (in '94), they will be out of business in 1995." . In light of the discrepancy, the three "pro-choice" promoters withdrew their sanction applications. It may be true that some of the promoters are iri favor of the rules changes purely for advertising purposes - especially where nitromethane is concerned because they see the rules as a solution Different philosophies: Bobby Schwartz (left) and Robert P1etzlng (right) have been Iriendly racing rivals lor almost 15 years, but they . disagree on the USA-proposed rules. Schwartz leels the changes could hurt the sport, while P1etzlng sees no problem with them . FILE PHOTOBY JIM THORN to their past financial woes. But Woods, who like it or not appears to be the main proponent of the open rules, has been ho st ing full crowds at hi s Victorville track since taking over th e fin an ciall y dest itute venue in 1992. So wh ere 's the problem? "We (Victorville) don't have a problem, but it's not the same at Glen Helen and Perris," Woods said. "I don't want to see them go under. "The SCB has been regulating speedway throughout its existence and what's happened is that they've mad e it boring. The first people we have to p lease are our fan s," Woods sa id . " I th ink the whole thing is being blown out of proportion, anyway. We aren't forcing this on any of the riders. We're simply giving them the option to do w ha t they want. Speedway should be a democracy." . Brian Church agrees with Woods' phil osophy. "Speedway needs a big change, and we (Perris ) couldn't continue going the wa y we were and remain in business," Church said. "It's like ha ving a sw imming p ool - adding a li ttle ch lo r in e won't always keep it clean - you hav e to shock it sometimes. If speedway continues to go downhill, there won't be an y speedway tracks. What's worse?" Church said he believes that the rules changes will enhance competi tion b y creating a more level play in g field between current and older machinery. " A guy that has an old tw o-valve [awa can go out and be competi ti ve (under the new rules) ," Church said. "All we want to do is make th e rid ers more competitive, and ha ve closer racing ." Church won't deny th at the open rules ha ve advertising benefits, but he also doesn't feel that the added expense involved will further damage participation by riders out-spending themselves for a laydown motor or nitro. "Look at motocross," Church sai d . "Look at how much that technology has advanced . What do those bikes cost? About $5000 for a new 250cc bike." Brad Oxley takes a very different and much dimmer view of the proposed changes. Though the veteran speed way racer and 1987 U.S. National Champion's father, Harry, is actually the promoter at Costa Mesa Speedway, the longest-running weekly speedway track in the U.5., Brad has been handling the da y-to-day affairs at the speedway for the past yea r. Oxley is concerned that the rules changes will ruin the sport by making it too expensive. "Just like other forms of motor- spo rts, we need to keep our costs down. There isn't a lot of money in speed way now," Oxley said . "Everybody knows nitro (which currently sells for about $45 per gallon) is a more expens ive proposition. It will be detrimental to the s how because with nitro, it becomes more a case of the haves and have riots ." Oxley said that perhaps the biggest potential problem with having two different sets of rules is that the riders wi th one bike will suffer the mo st. A rider who legally used nitro in his motorcycle at Lake Perris Speedway on Thursday cannot show up to race at Costa Mesa with any of that fuel in his bike on Friday night. "If you are tested at Costa Mesa and are found with any nitro in your tank. . you will be fined $250 and /or suspended, " Oxley said . "We will accept no excuses." " Everyone is looking for the quick fix - and there is no quick fix for the promoters. We have to try and look at the big picture here, and what that boils down to is looking at our presentation, and trying things like changing our program format," Oxley sai d. "It's sad to see the promoters going two different wa ys on this because I th ink that they (non-AMA promoters) have the right idea but are goin g about it in the wrong wa y. We're (Costa Mesa) going to run under AMA rules because their sanction d oes a lot to legit imize speedway. The only cha nge (from 1993) is that we will allow the 22-inch ti re per AMA rules." Oxley d id say that items such as the laydown en gines would be considered for leg ali zation by Costa Mesa in the fu tu re, but he added that the machinery is jus t too new and few , if any, of the layd own machines are currently working proper!y. . "I don't have any knock against those bikes, but I don't think many gu ys can afford to make a change," Oxley said. Hav ing raced speedway for 21 years, two-time National Champion Bobby Schwartz is one rider who has been around long enough to experience racing on both type s of tires and with both types of fuel. Schwartz sees no benefit from the proposed changes. "With the current climate of speedway, I just don't think that you need to add e xpense for no extra return," · . Schwartz said. "The bikes are fine and they go plenty fast now. The reason we used to run nitro was because the bikes were different; the carburetion was prehi s to ric so we would run 10-15% in ord er to clean up the bottom end. When we quit ru nning nitro, the ra cing was ju st fin e. Even tua lly , if I have to run nitro, I w ill . For now, I'm just gonna ride my motorcycle." Schwartz, like Woods, is one of the few rid ers th at could afford to run the op en rules without stra ining his finances. "With my sponso rs (Russell Racing), I could afford any thing I wa n t to run. We have a layd own bike now , but I still voted against the changes. More people aren't gonna co me because of th em," Schwartz said. "The promoters should (instead) be charging $5 per ticket and make s pee d w ay a low-dollar, family night out." Robert Pfetzing is another top competitor and sCB rider representative who see s no problem with the rule changes . Pf et zing voted in favor of allowing them. "Some of these promoters are strugg li ng, and in their minds they have some idea of ho w they want to run, " Pfetz ing sai d . "I thought, ' Hey, go for it: Basically, I'm just su pporting their wanting to try something different. You can't stifle sorneone's creativity. Besides, I reall y thin k we' re taking all this too se rio usly. Right off the bat, I'm not going to mak e any changes." A 14-year veteran, Pfet zing said he believes that the riders should be able to figure the whole rules thing out for themselves. . "The rid ers and the promoters aren 't s tu pi d . If three weeks in to the season we've lost 10 riders because of these rules, I think they can still change their minds. But if it works and you put more people in the stan ds, the riders are going to make more money," Pfetzing said. The impact that the two separate rule formulas will ha ve on speedwa y will remain unclear until all the speedway tracks are up and running. Costa Mesa ha s alre ady opened its season as of April 1, with Auburn in Northern California slated to start in late April. The rem a ini ng three Southern California tracks will be cranking up in early May under th e United Speedway Association, a group structured by the three non-AMA promoters. To encourage their participation at the tracks, riders will be issued new licenses by USA at no charge. No matter what, current interest in speedway appears as high or higher than it has been in recent years, and speedway will most likely remain on the motorcycling map, as it has since the '60s. Whether or not it will look more like a throw-back to the '60s is anyone's guess. Stay tuned. (N

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