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/128009
their staff for pu tti ng on a no ther fine National motocross at Was hougal , Washington. The racing was spectacula r, but I wa n ted to address another kind of heroics behi nd the scenes. . I ha d a unique opportunity to meet Danny "Ma goo" Chan dler, who ha s been my hero since he lived and raced near my home of Wa lnut Creek, California . Duri ng th e few m om e n t s [ spen t with him, he exhibited a trait all too rarely seen thes e days: good charac te r . Da nny told me of so me of the exci ting th in g s co ming up in his life, and th at he owes everythi ng to God . As a Chris tia n myself, I was deep ly m o v e d si nce no one r e a ll y knows exac tly h ow th ey wo uld rea ct given suc h a ch ange in life as we kn ow it. Da nny ' s li fe is a li vi n g testimony of s tre ng th a nd fort it u de becau se of hi s faith . Thanks, Danny. Kevin Newins Grants Pass, O R Right or rant? I was incensed to read in Cycle News that Scot t Ru ssell is cont racted to waste yet ano ther year of Ha rley-Davidson's roa d racin g bu dget. His disgraceful lack of Is Scott Russell an asset to the HarleyDavidson road racing team, or is he just wast ing time? determination and competitive spirit is an insult to fans and sponsors alike. As one who has followed the dism al progress of this team since its inception, [ think it's time the managem ent of Harley-Davidson also had a hard look at the limited effectiveness of Steve Scheibe as team manager. It' s obvious by the lack of results (in spite of fine rid ers like Miguel DuHa mel a nd more recently Pasca l Picotte), that Sch eibe can ' t ge t the job done. Whi le thi s may seem li ke a rant against Harley and the VR1000 team, let me ass ure you the re is nothing I'd like mo re than to see the orange a nd black bikes in the winner's circle on a regular basis. Doug Zielk e Coquitlam, BC, Canada Definitely a rant With the recen t increase in the popularity of su percross/ mo tocross over the last few years, has anyo ne sto pped to wonde r w het her we r e a ll y wan t th is grow th? . Sure it 's everyone's favori te sport, an d seeing so many new fans and participa nts just validates w hat most of us have k nown since the firs t tim e w e brea thed in premix. There is absolutely nothing on earth that compares with supercross /motocross . Period. But if this sport is to reach the level of popularity tha t NASCAR currently enj oys, then the average racer and fan need s to realize that in the words of Neil Young, " onc e y o u ' re gon e , you can 't com e back. " So, what is the benefit of growth for the hard core SX/MX racer and / or fan ? Higher ticke t prices? Longer lines at the ba throom? Mo re twea king d ru nks trying to start a fight with you because you looked at thei r date? The only benefit I ca n think of for the average fan is less d owntime load ing the VCR an d, oh boy, live TV coverage. Who cares if supercross is live on TV Saturday nigh t? Most o f u s will be in bed s lee p ing beca u se we' re racing the next day. Th e g row th of s upercross Zm o tocross is n' t go ing t o b enefit a nyo ne excep t th e people makin g m on ey off th e s port. And th os e tightwa d s are goi ng to kee p as mu ch o f th e p ie a s they can get away wi th . I d on't see the powers that be opening up their wallets jus t b e cau s e all of a s udden m o r e m o n ey is a vailable. Un til the racers learn to stand u p for mor e mon ey or brin g their own sponsorship money in to th e sport there isn 't going to be this hug e p a y shift everyon e keeps looking for and bitching about. In m y opinion, supercross /motocross is the perfect size right now. It is still somewhat of a well -kept secret. We get good TV airtime, a nd we're at the top of the extreme sports food chain. Everyone that matters ' respects us. The current size allows for the support of a counter cu lt u re that ca n pretty m u ch live life like th ey want. If things ge t much bigger, the big wheels bringing big dollars will demand big ru les. Once th e big machine ge ts ho ld of su percross / motocross, it w ill never be the same. We alrea dy see interview answers from a can every time someone step s up on the podi um. And that's not what this sport is all abou t. Loss of you r so u l is not a good thing.ยท It pisses me off every time the po wers that be come out and say we need to b e m ore li k e NASC A R. Su perc ross / mo tocross is not NASCAR and sho u ld sink or swi m based on its ow n merit s. Do th e great visiona ries g uiding this sport have so little imagination tha t all they can d o is em ulate someone else's ideas ? Or is the real truth tha t all they care about is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and the easiest way to get there is to plug in a proven formula like ASCAR. As the big machin e draws supe rcross / motocross int o its sigh ts, on e only need s to look at th e X Games for a n example of where we might need to go. Skateboarders and the BMX crowd view any attempt to commerciali ze their spo rt w it h g re at s kep ticism. Th e result ha s been controlled gro w th with their so ul still intact. Supercross/ motocross is like an ignored child "tha t will do an ything for attention. So, now the firs t atten tion sup ercro ss/ mo tocro ss gets, it grabs it wi tho ut qu estion . All thi s criticism an d no answers. I don't pret end to ha ve any a nswers. I just d on't like wha t I see in the crystal bal l. I a lso d on 't hea r a nyo ne aski ng ques tions . And I damn su re d on 't lik e the id ea of permanent nu mbers. It reeks of socialism. Mayb e if all the pros that have eve r foug ht for a Na tional num ber stood u p and sa id hell no , then so mething might change. Maybe they don ' t ca re . I don 't kn ow . Un til then I guess tha t we a ll need to get out our s lide ru les and try to figu re out the new numbering system. Sam Kistler . lacasadeldingo@mindspring.com Counterculture? Big machinei Socialism ? Do yourself a favor, Kistler, alld stop breathing ill all of that premix... Editor Last call for the VCGP Over the years some of the best riders in the wo rld have taxed their bodies and th ei r bikes at the Virginia City Grand Pr ix. Weather ha s never deterred the race, there have been dry and dusty years , rain and mud and , ye s, eve n snow. The Virginia City Grand Prix has been a part of motorcycle racing since 1970, b rough t about by the Wes tern Sta tes Racing Associa tion , a club originating ou t of Reno, Nevada . Many club members have worked hard to make th is even t excit ing fo r everyone invo lved . In 1969, below the cem etery, WSRA pu t on the first VCMX with the goal of drawing all the best riders an d starting so me thing big. Well, that didn't go over as planned , but the feed back was that we sho uld establish a desert race. Some 29 yea rs later, after much success, VCGP is go ing to let the ghosts of past victory rest in peace by offeri ng one mo re shot at the titl e of the VCGP classic. This event will be held Mother' s Day Weekend 2000, for the last time un d er the old form at . . Western States Racing Associati on would like to thank all the entrepeneurs of Virginia Ci ty, the Virginia City Volunteer Fire Department, Storey County Sheriff's Departm ent , Virgin ia Cit y Road Departmen t and the Bureau of Land Mana gement. We would also like to thank a ll th e m others w ho h av e shared their special holiday with us. So, in conclusion: Com e on e, com e all to the 30th Virginia City Grand Prix. It will be the grand finale. Western Slates Racing Associati on Reno, Nevada Letters to th e editor should be sent to Voices, Cycle News, P.O . Box 5084 , Costa Mesa, CA 92628 -5084, faxed to 714/751-6685 or e-rnai le d to editor@ cyclen ews.com. Published [e tte rs do no t n ecessarily reflect the position of Cycle News, Inc. Letters shou ld not exceed 200 wo rd s a nd all le tt er s are su b ject to editing. Ano ny mous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters shou ld contain the writer's name, address and da ytime phone number... Editor. en en en ~ ~ a; .c E CI> Ci. CI> en 7