Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ty. Not only has he walked away from some pretty spectacular crashes, but he would almost always climb right back on and race. This craft may also have been learned at Locti, but Rice also crectits the Cycle Bowl as a place that helped him develop his reputation for smoothness. '1 started racing at Lodi in 1%5," Rice recalled. "Back then, you could race Lodi on Friday night, Hayward on Saturday, and Fremont on Sunday. It was grassroots racing at its best These tracks trained you to the pro level. This is what's lacking today. You can't race two to three times a week in orthem California anymore. 1 was blac~-plate number one in 1967. Without Lodi, I might not have made it to the level I achieved. Lodi is one of those tracks where the moisture in the air makes a difference. There were many times when this absolutely drove me nuts, but it was a good learning experience. The moisture in the air and the track also helped me prepare for tracks like Ascot:' Like other racers, Rice had his heroes and rivals. "Ray Huff and Jorgy (Alex Joregenson) were always tough competitors," Rice remembered. "The Anderson brothers, Lance and Bruce, were tough, too. Bruce was my rival. 1had two idols: Dick Mann, of course, and Wally Weisier, my tuner. 1 m~t so many nice people at Lodi. I really mean it The one event there I will always remember was a 650cc Expert IT race. I got too sideways coming out of the turn and went sideways over the jump. I did a big tank-slapper and, since I was leading the race, everyone either ran over me or the bike. We had to carry that BSA off the track. The guy that was running dead last somehow was the only person who didn't go down. If the red flag hadn't come out, he would have won." Will there be a second generation of racers named Rice? "1 have a young son named Kyle," Rice said. "He's 3 1/2 months old right now. I'm going to let him pick his own path. I'm here for whatever he wants. Speaking as a father, I feel that what kids today need is a hobby or sport where they can start out young and continue into adUlthood. Dirt track racing is one sport which offers you that. If he did choose racing, the one thing I'd like to teach him is smoothness. Less sliding gives you more traction." When asked about his first race at Lodi, former AMA Grand National privateer Alex Jorgensen leaned on the service counter at his family's motorcycle shop in Stockton, California. "J knew you were going to ask me something I couldn't remember," Joregenson said. "Let's see, my first race at Lodi was on a 100cc Kawasaki, and I was .about 13 (around 1967). Local riders Jim .. Foley and Paul Johnson were the riders to beat on a regular basis. And of course when John Gennai and Rick Hocking came to town, I really had my work cut out for me. My fondest memory was when I put everything together at the final race of the season and won the 250cc and 650cc Expert races one year. I was also high point winner in these two classes. I walked away that day with four trophies that were taller than me!" Jorgensen is one of the elite few to win Nationals on all four types of ctirt tracks, and that's where he crectits his Lodi experience. "1 feel that racing at Locti helped me become a very versatile racer," Jorgensen . said. "I was able to compete in several ctifferent classes ranging from 100-25Occ. As I became more experienced, 1graduated up to the bigger 650cc bikes. With both short track and IT events, 1 was able to keep my skills honed. Living near the Alex Jorgenson gained acclaim as one of the AMA Grand National Series' great TT and short track riders In the 70s and early '80s. "Jorgy" cut his teeth by sliding countless comers at Ladi. track, I was fortunate to experiment with ctifferent brands, geometries, etc." Like his brother, Kim, Jorgensen has also had kids race at the track, sometimes with humorous results. "A few years ago my daughter decided to try racing a pee wee at Lodi," Jorgenson said. "Unfortunately, we were more concerned with teaching her about racing rather than the different flags. While leading the race, she got the white and checkered flags mixed up and pulled into the pits when she saw the white flag! But that's okay. She really spanked them boys!" Chris Carr, arguably Lodi's most famous son, has a memory like an elephant when it comes to his Lodi days. "That race track taught me as much about life as it has about racing," Carr explained while relaxing at the Cycle Bowl's clubhouse. "1 was 6 years and 6 days old when I had my first race at Lodi. 1 fell off. 1 ctidn't get hurt, but 1 ctid get mad. If 1 would have gotten up and finished, I would have gotten a trophy. Instead, I got a DNF. That was back in May of 1973, and I was in the Pee Wee class. I'll always remember that race." Carr now offers the following friendly advice - based on the lessons he learned at Lodi - to his fellow racers. "If you fall down like I did, get up and finish the race if you can," Carr said. "You can never have too much time on the race track. Everybody crashes at one . time or another. Everybody DNFs at some point. What you need is time and practice in your chosen profession. Not only will this make you a better racer, it'll also make you a better person." Carr has promoted several races at Lodi over the years, and once again turned promoter for two races there on I1pril26-27. The event, billed as the Burger King/ Applebee's Spring Oassic Short Track, was a tremendous success, drawing nearly 1500 spectators - one of the largest crowds ever to fill the club grounds. "I wanted to give something back to the people," Carr said. "We presented a 'pros-only' event on Saturday night. We also ran a large Pee Wee class at half-time to give the racers time to prepare for the main. Also, since we're big on the 100cc class at this track, we ran classes for 100s. Needless to say, I was really excited about promoting the race. All the fans and racers have been good to me. This was my way of giving something back and saying 'thank you:" And who were Carr's heroes at the Cycle Bowl? A hero for the '80s and '90s: Chris Carr's dirt track career culminated with an AMA Grand National Championship In 1992 aboard his factory Harley-Davidson before he moved onto the asphalt. Ten years earlier, Carr wore the number-one plate In the 250cc class at the Lodi Cycle Bowl.

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