Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127926
Title: California Speedway '97 Author: Gary Roberts Availab le through: Sherbou rne Pub lishi ng PO Box 640263 San Jose, CA 95154-0263 Pri ce: $15 f you 're interested in learning abou t the current state of spee dway motorcycle racing in the United States, chances are you' re going to run into two different th e ori es. Depend ing upon whom you ask, you will eith er hear tha t Ame rican speedway is a shadow of its fo r m er self an d is dying a slo w and painful dea th, or you migh t r u n into an o p ti m is t who will tell you that s pee d w ay is enjoying a r esurg e nce albeit w ith a to uc h of evo lution. With his book, "Californ ia Speed way '97," author Gary Robert s d efinit ely falls into the latter camp. Th e British-born Rob erts cer tai nly kn ows speedway, having enjoyed the s po rt in h is h ome cou n try si n ce his childhood da ys, and continuing to follow the American scene upon movin g to California in 1982, a tim e w he n man y would argue tha t American speedway had reac hed its zenit h, w hat with Bruce Pen hall's ba ck-t o-ba ck World cro wns. Yet Roberts w isel y took a sim p li s tic approach in "Californi a Speedway '97," preferring to offer it as mor e of a fan guide to the un initia ted newcomer interested in learning more about speedway . To that end, the b o ok d o es littl e wrong. Roberts meticulously brings the race fan up to da te on every asp ect of the spo rt as it relates to today, inserting chapters tha t deal with current and past race tracks, practice tracks, past and present riders, and e ven admiss ion a nd food and beer pri ces at th e vari ous California tracks . And he even makes mention o f t h e r esurgence of ra cing at Owego Speedway in New York - a nice touch. Beyo nd tha t, you wi ll also find complete resul ts of every major speedway event that took p lace in California d u ring the '97 seaso n - wi th the exception of the ' 97 U.S. Na tional, an d that wa s only d ue to press d eadlines. It all makes fo r a co m petent s p e ed w ay almanac, 150 pages in all, w ith lots of dec en t black-a nd-white illustrations to provide plenty of visual commentary on what is considered to be a pretty exciting sport. If the book falls short in any area, it w ould have to be in Roberts' choice of th e rid ers tha t w ere pro fil ed fo r th e "Ca li fornia Le gends" ch a p ter o f th e book. While it is tru e that Sonny Nutter is a legend in the sport and Phil Collins rode well when he ven tured to California in the late '80s, it is ha rd to justify mentioning these riders over su ch nota bles as Penh all , Mike and Steve Bast , Bobby Schwartz, and Kelly and Shawn Mora n . T he po int is th at there w ere plenty of better choices. That asid e, however, "Ca li fo rn ia Speedway '97" is a ba rgain for the $15 asking pric e, as it is packed wi th eno ug h in formation to p ro vid e a ny sp eed way fan, from newcomers to ha rd -cores, with en tertaini ng reading. We're a lread y looking forward to the 1998 edi tion. Scoll Rousseau I What's at the lea ding edge Of motorcycle news? Cycle News On tine ! Now you ca n a ccess insta nt ra ce results and the latest breaking stories in the world Of motorcycling, with Cycle News' home page on the World Wide Web. Updated weekly (a nd Often mid-week. as the latest news is developing), Cycle News Online provides: • • • • • • • • • • H Completeand current happenings " ln theWind The 1998 Cycle News Motorcycle Buyer's Guide Current Internationaland National Championship Calendar Listings Instonlly updated race results in N ocewatch" R Race Coverage Highlights, Motorcycle Tests, and Interviews The latest offerings from Cycle News video Theater Online motorcycle advertising from the leadingcompanies in the industry Team Smitty Archives . Back Issue Archives of Cycle News Online Real-Time Event Coverage in nvirtual Grandstand" • Check it out, and tell your friends! Motorcycle news will never be you can access Cycle News Online anytime, day or night, on the Worl Web at http://www.cyclenewS.C8 Internet Access Provided by MindSpring Enterprises 1 8001 719-4332 www.mindspring.com 35