Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

AVIEW FROM THEByFENCE Eric Johnson " Drawing on the cocktail napkins • is one of the great rumors of all-time," said current AMA Motocross and Supercross referee Ron Crandall, who ha been involved with AMA Supercross since the sport's conception in 1972. "I have heard that story over 100,000 times. Mike Goodwin drew a sketch of the Coliseum and took it to two good bulldozer operators and asked them point blank: 'Can you guy do this kind of thing?' They said, 'Sure!' Then he went over to Vk Wilson at Saddleback Park to hear from another voice of reason. When he was done there, he contacted several other people and just kind of got ideas On just what could be done. The original story of the diagram On the cocktail napkin is true because the management of the Los Angeles Coliseum at that particular time - I know one of them pretty well - said, 'Yeah, we were having dinner and Mike had one too many cocktails and by golly, this is what he drew.' So that napkin story is pretty much true." And so it was. The new, wild and woolly sport of stadium motocross - or supercross as it was being touted - was born. Initially met with skepticism, doubt and curiosity, the spectacle was the braincruld of Southern Cahforrua entertainment promoter Mike Goodwin, who truly did initially generate and pitch the brainstorm to the L.A. Coliseum people on the face of a somewhat soggy and wrinkled cocktail napkin. At the time, Ron Crandall, who was working as Goodwin's right-hand man in creating and directing both track construction and event logistics, saw the entin~ process come together firsthand. "To Mike my job was to, and this was in his words, 'produce a stage that the actors are going to act on," said Crandall upon reflection. It was apparent, even then,. that Goodwill was truly showing his show-biz roots. Truth be told, the first incarnation of supercross was actually staged in early March, 1972, witrun the infield of the Daytona International Speedway, which was won by Jimmy Weinert (250cc) and Mark Blackwell (500cc). Daytona, the crown jewel of Bill France's sillmmering NASCAR empire, was looking for a support race to its highly successful Daytona 200 road race. East Coast motocross veteran Gary Bailey was commissioned to build the first track that spring, and a long, rough, bike-breaking circuit was soon etched out of the gra sy tri-oval section of the Daytona infield. By all accounts, Daytona was considered more of an "outdoor national" type ciretrl't, than that of a tight, stadium-floor supercross circuit. That said, Goodwin is credited with creating the first motocross race inside a true American stick-and-ball sports stadium. "As far as history goes, you have to give some credit to Gary Bailey for doing it in Daytona - putting it in there first," Crandall claims, "bu t Mike was the first one to tep out of the lille and lay his money down and put it in a true stadium. He had some great backing from two rock promoters who were in with rum, and who later went on to promote Cal Jam 1 and Cal Jam 2 at Ontario Motor Speedway. There was some history right there. "He was a very inventive man. You can say whatever you want about the man," Crandall goes on to say, "but the man was a genius. There is no other way to put it. He had a vision and he thought way above the level of the rest of us and carried out his ideas. Goodwin's ideas were pure and simple. He wanted to get people in, let them watch something really exciting and not get them dirty and dusty - and ,that was it." The initial Coliseum stadium track was crude and somewhat makeshift, and like anythillg the first time ou t, a total trial-and-error affair. "The AMA flew out a guy named John 'Lightbrown' Lancion to do the first one because nO one on the West Coast wouJd touch it because they just didn't understand the concep!," Crandall said. "Everybody was pretty skeptical at first. In fact, I remember at one point in time, Goodwin came running down the stadium steps looking like all the wild man and yelled: 'What are you guys building? A golf course? We are not going to putt out here, we're going to race motorcycles, and I want the damn thing rough!' Back out came the bulldozers." Soon thereafter, the riders took to the funky new circuit in an effort to get a feel of things. Despite some initial negativity, everybody seemed amiable to giving the new circuit a chance. Said Crandall: "Complaints were mirumal. It was the very beginnjng, so everybody was excited about trying to do something about furthering the sport." Later, that historic Saturday everung, an encouraging 23,000 spectators came out to watch the proceedings, where a young, 16-yearold San Diego-based racer named Marty Tripes rode away with the victory and into the history books. History had been made. America had just witne sed its very first true sujJercross event. When the smoke, screaming and dust settled, there were said to be a number of people with big srrules on their faces. "Everybody was talking about how awesome it was," Crandalf said. "They were saying: 'What a concept. It's about time that someone made it comfortable to watch a good motorcycle race - put it into an entertainment establishment.''' The experiment worked - a new sport wasbom. Other promoters soon became involved, tile motorcycle manufacturers jumped on board and sponsors such as Coca-Cola and the big beer companies started to sniff around and supercross began to evolve quickly. In 1974, events were added in Houston, Texas, and an official AMA-sanctioned supercross series was formed. Still operating on a steep learning curve and attempting to get a feel for the situation in general, the AMA crowned two champions during the 1974 season - Pierre Karsmakers (the 1973 AMA 500cc National Champion from Holland) in the 250cc divi ion and Ohio's Gary Semics in the 500cc class. And just trunk, come January 1997, supercross racing will again visit the site where it aU began some 25 years ago. Twice! l'X I 25 YEARS AGO... NOVEMBER 2, 1971 LOOKING BACK... . 1 . . - Hansen finished third. Honda's Danny Chandler i ... "', c.."".; .....; capped off his championsrup usqvarna's Heikki Mlkkoseason with a win in the 500cc la won the Support class, followed by Jim muddy Trans-AMA EIJis and Larry Wosick. ..The X held in Delta, U.S. Trophy Team of Frank hio. TOTlief Stacey, Jeff Fredette, Mike Hansen got second Rosso, Dick Burleson, Mike n a Husky and Melton, and Terry Cunninguzuki's Sylvain ••••• _ ; ::0:> ham-finished fourth behind Geboers finished ~'":bn_.... ~".'... Italy, West Germany and East third. Bultaco's : Germany at the 56th InternaTom Rapp won . . . . . . tional Six Days Enduro held the 250cc Nationon the Island of Elba, a1 class, followed by Italy...Curt Comer Jr. clinched the Husky's Dick Burleson and Mike Cram AMA/NATC Observed Trials ational Championship with a win at the penuJn a Maico... Bultaco's Larry Pfutzenreuter won the 21st annual Check Chase timate round held in Mt. Olive, Dlillois. . Parker, Arizona. Mark Patrick took ond on a Yamaha 360 5YEARS AGO... d Tom Muto fin~nr1J:J~-:-r-_ OCTOBER 30, 1991 ished third on a ike Faria wrapped up his Husky... Barry Briggs second consecutive U.s. inally lost the 1Ia,. aolcHeaM .... National Speedway ri tish League '''1lI: 10 Championship with a win at the peedway ChampiCosta Mesa Speedway in Southnship to Ivan ern California. Steve Lucero finauger after holdished second and Robert Pfetzing 'ng the title since took third ...Tim Frazier made .ts inception six hillclimbing history when he ears earlier. topped the 540cc class at the Devil's Staircase in Ohio, and became the first rider to wiTI every round of the AMA National Hillclimb Series. Needless to say, he also won the championship...Team Suzuki's Kevin Hines scored his second consecutive National Enduro victory with a will at the Buckhorn 100, near Shasta Dam, California. ATK's Kris Kudla took second and Husky's Dan Neilson got third. ('X 10'"", - H .;;:J-- II;... 'ta---"-...-: M \0 0\ 0\ ...-i C')' N l-< OJ .g ... o 79 U Five-time World MX Champion Roger DeCoster emerges from the Peristyle Jump during prsctlce st the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Supercross in 19n. Photo Cycle News Archives.

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