Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

INTERVIEW MXer Scott Sheak By Er ic Johnson ~ n the East Coast, motocross fans refer to privateer Suzuki rider Scott Sheak as the "stealth" racer. Consistently carding im pressive results on the ultr a com p etit ive AMA 125cc Nationa l and supercross circui t, th e New York -bo rn co m petitor has raced the last few years in rel ative obs cu rity . But no m ore. On Sunday, March 3, on a sunny afternoon in Gainesvill e, Florida, Scott Sheak had a bre akthrou gh day. Turning in a stu n ning 3-3 m oto perform ance for second overall, Sheak to ok the m easu re of m an y a factory rid er . In one afternoon, Scott Sheak m an aged to go fro m a hard-ch argin g privateer to a Natio nal Champi onship contender. Remarkably rest rained and modest, per haps fro m h a v in g to claw an d scratch for everything he has received, Sheak is a quiet, polite racer who measures his words carefully. When we sa t down with him following his inspiring Gai nesville performance, Sheak seemed both thrilled and flattered to suddenly be on the receiving end of a significant amount of attention from the motocr oss world. Throughout the interview, Sheak was quick to cite those who had helpe d him become a force to be reckoned with, ob viously no t forgetting where he had come from. You 're from New York, but you're now living in south ern California? Yeah, I'm staying out in Corona. I like it there a lot. It' s a lot easier for me. I have access to everything, and there are a n umber of g rea t places to ride. I spoke to Stefan Everts recently and he asked me what Corona wa s all about. It seems to be a pretty notorious . place in the motocross world. Oh yeah. It gets' packed out there. There are so m an y great riders staying around th e area that it has become the central location of pro motocross. At the Gainesville National, yo u did quite well, fini shing second overall in the 125cc class. Did you expect to do so well? Yes. It all just came together. I have been training really hard and trying to get myself prepared. My hopes were really up . The first moto, coming off th e track, I was jus t so pu mped . It gave m e so much more confidence. It was a breakth roug h thing - it proved a lot to m e. Every thing just clicke d, it was a g reat feeling. How did Suzuk i react to y o u r Gainesville results? I don't think they ex pected it. And, of course, they were happy. You ride for Suzuki Sports. Are you a true privateer, or are you receiving a fair amount of su p p ort from the factory? . I'm a full privateer. The only th ing d ifferent from the Suzu ki Spo rt ride I had las t year is th at I receive a cou p le m ore bik es. The m ajor d iffer enc e is that I have p icked up a number of gre at sponsors for th is season. They hel p me ou tlot. Who ha s been helping you out? First of all, Su zuki and Pro Circuit. All of th e guys at Pro Circuit have been behind me for years. Answer, Pro Taper, Braking Brake Systems, Smith Goggles, MXA , Bell Helmets, CTi, Peak Performance - m y trainer Joe Liecalrdi, Atomic 22, Dunlop, Pro Art Work, Bel Ra y, Applied, Fast Line, Vans, VP, Goat Eyewear and Gush Clothing. We heard a rumor that y o u ca lled Suzuki Team Manager Roger DeCoster just before the season started and tactfully told him that Suzuki would be sorry that they did not h ire yo u onto the fact ory team . An y truth to the rumor? N o. I actually had not talked to Roger at all with th e exception of the Gainesville race, and I have not talk ed to him since. What did he say to you at Gainesville? H e jus t congratulated me. He was rea lly ha ppy and had a real big smile on his face. He said to me, "You turned a lot of head s today, es pecially m ine." It made me feel good. You pulled a lot of good re sults late last s ea so n , but you d id no t en d up with one of the Suzuki facto ry sea ts or w ith one of the more co veted p riva teer/support rides such as th e Pro Circuit team or Honda of Troy. Was it timing, o r were yo u looking fo r just the right situ ation ? I have been through a lot, and I h ave learned a lot the last few years . There are just a few tearns I want to be on. I'm pretty picky. I have to do what is best for me. I was offered one good ride, but I chose to be by myself. I felt that I could put together a better p ackage o n my own. I really want a factory ride and I think my way will help me get there. I have learned so m u ch in the la st year since I m ade the decision to go with m y own program. lt took a lot of work to pull all of the support together. It costs a . lot to race. l owe all of this to m y sponsors. W ithout th em, I should not h ave ' d one as w ell as I did. .Sinc'e Gainesville, and yo ur s tro n g ea rl y-season supercross re sults, have any of the factory team gu ys been lurking in the shadows of you bo x van ? I have not really talked to anyone. Not Roger, or any of the teams . I have a lot more races to go this year. I really want to improve my supercross results. That w ill help thi ngs. I have never had access to a supercross track, so that has hurt me a little bit. But w e are working on it. You are a busy person, aren't you? Yeah. We tes t during the week - getting things d one. It is so important. We really wanted to start the year off right - fig- . u re out w ha t we have to do. I have real ly m atured. I used to put in about 80 percent, but th at ' s n ot going to do it. I love racing, I want to be the best I can be. There's nothing like figuring it out for yours elf, huh? Earning it th e hard wa y, b y working for it. Right. It's wonderful. Seeing it pa yoff. It makes me wa nt it even more. How is the new RM? I love it. Afte r being on them in '95 , I d id not wan t to be off of the m th is year. I really got m y b ike sorted ou t abou t halfway th rough the '95 season an d my results sta rte d to show it. I really love th e b ik es . I'm n ow fully adjusted to them. You are from the East Co ast an d n ow living in south ern Ca li fo rn ia. D o yo u notice an Ea st /We st vibe within the sport? I don't think so . I love th e East Coast. I feel comfortabl e there . I w ant to b e respected on both coasts. Wh en I go to the Nationals back east, the people just go crazy. There are banners all over they're really into it. I have a lo t o f fans and people su pporting me. Tha t is w hy I love to ra ce b ac k east. Do you still stay in touch with eastern guys you cu t your teeth with i n racing? Oh yeah. I stay with Davey Yezek, Shane Lawso n a n d th ose g uys . We go w ay back. You did really well i n the amateur ranks. Your results were very strong. However, it has taken you a little bit of time to get up to sp eed at the professional le vel. Can you attribute that to anything? Coming up through, I was never really first. I was always second and third . Especially a t Loret ta Lynn'S. I didn't win everyth ing there until my last year in '9 3. I went into th e ' 94 season as a professional and struggled. My res ults were really bad . I struggled with injuries and being disorganized, etc. Going into ' 95 I was having a ro ugh tim e pulling together support and that is when Suzuki stepped in and picked me up. Pro Circuit was also 100 percent behind me. Towards the e nd of last year, I got it together an d m y res u lts really st arted to pick u p. It was basicall y tha t one year, 1994, w he re I had a rough time. I remember yo u s ta n d in g out in the rain and mud at Mo unt Morris la st year and watching yo u lead the first moto be fore you had some engine problems. You were really flying, and I wa s trying to figure out who you were. D id that moto change things for yo u at all ? Wa s it then that yo u knew you could be a seri ou s contender? Deep down inside, I always k new I could do it. I have a lot o f potential in the Nationals . I have come close but have had problems and bad luck . I have been able to improve m yse lf at every level. What do you think of the international g uys like MickaeI Pichon and Greg Albertyn getting rides in America? I don' t really know how to answer th at question . They a re grea t riders . It is good to see them race here. I guess it is great for the fans to roo t for Am ericans, but it is great for the GP guys to be here as well. Like any good sport, yo u have people from all ove r the w orld involved . It makes the sport look good. Do you have a preference between outdoor m otocross and supercros s? I like th e o u tdoo rs, th e o nly re ason being th at I ha ve p u t a lot m o re time in to ou tdoor m ot ocross. I g re w u p on outdoor tracks. I never had access to supercross tracks. O r a bulldozer to make one? Right. I ha ve a lways wan ted to get a su percross track put together but just d idn't have the money to do it. If I did, I th ink I wo ul d do just as well as anyone. But I ha ve been riding su percross a lot this year and it has made a big difference. I feel good about it. Where do you see yours elf in a year or two? Do you see you rself with one of the big four factory teams? Have you set goals? That's the way I'm going. I see myself on a factory te am . I have a lot more years to go. What is yo u r favorite part of being a professional racer? I like being looked up to. I like when the kids come around and ask for an au tograph or a jersey. I like to give th ings to them. When I was a kid, I really looked up to th e pros. They really brough t me into it. I told myself th at if I eve r make it, I' m not go ing to be cocky, and I'm n ot. I'm very a p preciative to w ha t I have. Which pros did you look up to when you were growing up? Jeff Ward, Bob H annah an d Goat Brek- er. What do you like to do when you are out on the road? It' s pretty hard . I love Th a i food, an d I'm a big pasta m an, so we hit all of the Italian pl aces. Du rin g th e d ay I'm constantly looking for a gym. I love to travel, bu t it is hard to adjust at times. Which tracks do you like? All of th e Nationals. Steel City , Unadilla, Bin ghampton, Bud ds Creek, Red Bud, Wash ougal are good . There are not too m an y that I. do not like. I go into eac h rac e loving that track. I th ink th at th ey are all good . When you were a kid was there a race or a moment that really stands out for you? Binghampton. I used to always go there and watch Goat Breker go off. He was a great inspi ration to me, and he still is to this d ay. W e are really good friends. Which is weird - how I u sed to w atch him and now w e are rea lly good friends. A n d Je ff W ar d. A n d Bob H ann ah . Watching him at Una d illa was incredi ble. Anything else you would li ke to say? I w ould like to th an k all of my sponsors and m y m echanic - Kenny Watson. Do you get along w ell? Yes. We are two different people . I'm from a small town in New York and he is from Venice Beach, California, but w e . got along well . We have figured each other out and it' s working great. I'm real happy. (~

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