Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

bi t off a little bit more than he could chew. That was a stepping stone. I don't look back at it and say that it was bad, because I learned a lot of things, and we did a lot of great things together. I can't say that I was wasting time, be-cause I was out there, and it was a learning experience. You can't tart out at the top, because if you could, then we'd all be number one. Let's back up for a second. Whe.n you took the ride with the TCR team in 1995, do you think that maybe you bit off a little bit more than you could chew? Were you comfortable being an unknown on a top ride? You hadn't even ever been on a mile before. I look at that like T.e. (Tom Cummings) was the one who got me onto the Grand National circuit - I mean, if it wasn't for my dad building me my first 750, then T.e. wouldn't have seen me but I attribute 0 much of where I am today to T.e. I learned so much. Yes, I was a rookie, and I stepped into the big leagues right off the bat. I wasn't ready for it. If I were to get on one of T.C:s bikes now, I know I could do better, beca use he's one of the top tuners out there, and we always had the best equipment there. It was just that I never had any experience on a 750 then. When I first climbed on, it was like my fourth 750 race ever, and J crashed and fell off and got hurt. Q A BaSiCaIl , you're in same posiQtop-shelfyequipment,thethen.a You're tion now as you were on with championship-winning tuner - Johnny Goad. And despite the way it ended, 1998 really seemed to be a year where you made huge strides. You have to feel pretty good about that. Oh, yes. We set fast time for something like seven out of the nine races. In the beginning of the year, we were messing with chassis and some other stuff, and we had a lot of little failures. It was a lot of nickel-and-dime stuff, like a brake line coming loose or a throttle sticking. We had problems with the brakes for a while, but once we got that ironed out... I don't know. Maybe it took me breaking my foot at Peoria to get going (laughs). But it just seemed like we had the speed, but we couldn't get it clicking. After Peoria, everything just seemed like it fell into place. I think that seventh was my worst finish from Rapid City until Del Mar. We wound up finishing 10th. That was your first time in the top 10? Yes. In '96, Springer beat me out by one point, and in '97, Mike Hacker carne up and beat me by about five. We just had a lot of DNFs at the end of those seasons. Last year, we were behind in points, but we came on strong'. Me and Johnny and Kenny (Mohler) were just having a great time going to the races. Now I know that my equipment is every bit as good as the stuff I had with TCR. It's the best out there - good enough to win championships. We've got great backing. Q A YOU Johnny under Q someandprettythehooked up Ricky terrible circumstances. 'You got job after Graham died. Did you ever feel like you had big shoes to fill? I think that might have played on me a little at the beginning of the year. Johnny never put any pressure on me, but I kind of put it on myself. Also, I think it took us a while to really get comfortable together and just talk, and for me not to think that everything I did was being compared to what Ricky did because Johnny and Ricky had won championships together. For me to try to fill those shoes was huge, but I'm not trying to fill them. I'm trying to be myself, and I think that Johnny and Kenny have seen that I have the potential to do it. Otherwise, I don't think that I would be back with them for this season. Ricky was a great rider with a lot of experience, and with Johnny helping me to change my tyle, I think that's helped us get to where we are today. A Let's talk about that. It was really that your riding style changed drastically from Rapid City to the end of the year. Actually, you sort of look like Ricky did. What is it that you were doing, and what are you doing now that has made such an improvement? A I used to like my chassis low, and I I-\.was always sliding it in, backing it in,.using the gas and not being too concerned with the front wheel through the corner. The style now is to two-wheel around the corners, using the front tire to help me get traction. That was always my main' mistake: I used the gas too much. J couldn't get off the corners. Using the new technique, my corners are already made. Plus, we have a new chassis setup, and Johnny builds a motor that helps me out a lot. The O ~ obvious thing's idiot-proof. I just have to get on it and ride. You mentioned that you broke your foot last year at Peoria, and b ore that it was your knee. It seems like you crash a lot, and you're kind of brittle. Ever wonder what it would be like to not be riding injured? (Laughs) Inevitably, that's what we want to do. But if you look at all the crashes that I've had, I can honestly say tha t I believe none of them were ever because it was my fault. one of them were just on my own. I'm used to riding with pain. I think I can deal with it pretty good, but it's not something to be proud of, because I would rather not have a scratch on me. It was just that I was in situations where I shouldn't have been because of a bad holeshot or whatever. I'm going to work on my starts some more this year. I want to be out front and have guys trying to chase me down instead of the other way around, which puts me in harm's way. A What exactly happened in the Del Mar crash? Was the sun getting in your eyes on the back straightaway? The sun was bad, but that wasn't... I remember that I had to come from quite a ways back. Once I got rid of that pack of guys - Bigelow, Stanley, Joe Kopp - I got clear and could see that Carr and Roeder were ahead of me. With a clear track, J found a really good line through the corner. The un really d idn' t bother me, and I was able to reel those guys in. A couple laps later, I went by Chris in one and two. My line was up against the wall in three and four, and J'd tum it and come straight acro the apex and then tum it again coming out of four. Coming into the corner, J just turned it and started coming back across, and Chris got in a little hot and hit one of the holes - of which there were many. J guess our lines just intersected. Next thing I know, I was laying there with my feet up in the hay bales. Half my bike was in the parking lot, and half of it was stuck in the fence. I was really lucky. I hit a pole with my back, and it punctured my kidneys and bruised my lungs. That all healed up pretty good, but I did a lot of damage to the rotator cuff in my houlder. The doctor says it's a nine-month fix, but I'm way ahead of schedule. It's starting to feel pretty good. Q A was too bad, because Q That crash you're actually turningI think that Butler (22) leads Steve Morehead (42) and J.R. Schnabel (15K) during the Gardner Racing days. "I learned a lot with them," he said. out to be a crowd favorite at Del Mar. You like to ride some pretty spectacular lines there. You know me - J love a cu hion. Coming from Michigan, I just grew up on a lot of stuff like that. It's those grooves, where you have to keep the wheels in line, that always gave me trouble. A lot of guys run through the holes and get tired. I just pretend they're not there and blow through them. I attribute that to my physical training. I work out three times a week, and J ride or play volleyball. I'm always doing something. A QHOW A much can you bench? I max out at 280 pound . QAnd how much do you weigh? A- About 137 pounds. For me, it's like t"\..I just don't want to go out there and after 25 laps say, 'Tm tired." . You give off quite an air of confidence, so finish this sentence: I be eve that in 1999 I will... ...get my first Grand ational win t least one, for my parents and my wife especially, and for all the people who have backed me. If we play our cards right, more will come with it. I will be consistent, and if I stay consistent, then finishing in the top five is a realistic goal for us this year. Do you think that you can run for the championship? l believe so - if the consistency stay there, and if I take your advice and ge't good holeshots (laughs). That' always been my nemesi , but I think that I've whittled that down. But that (championship) is what it's all about. And with Tony Dodge, Danny Malfatti, Johnny and Sarah and Kenny, you just couldn't ask for a better group of people backing you. They care about you as a person before they care anything about what happens to that motorcycle. There's no pressure. They just want me to do and be the best tha t I can. I think that this year is going to be a really strong year for us. A 25

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