Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

program. ot surprisingly, Ed Youngblood turned the pro posal down. There are other significant cha llenges with the GNC. Some ar e the racers and teams' responsibility, and some exist with the AMA and promoters. The one challen ge we don 't have toda y, however, is lack of a tremendous core fan base - people who are prepared to su pport dirt track racing in a significant and gen.erous fashion . . Dave Despain and his crew have given us a glimpse of wh at can happen when we all pull in one singular direction, with on e si ng u la r purpose. Our goal shou ld be to expand this concept worldwide, with a goal of benefiting not just one race, but the entire series and its future. Rod Lake San Jose, CA Lake has been associated with the Loralil.ake racin g team , th e Tom Cumming s racing team and the Roger s/L ake racin g team ... Editor And a fan I feel that a $100,000 fan-financed race is po ssible and also well wo rth it. I was for tunate enoug h to fly ou t from Californi a to attend the ina ugu ral Springfield event in 1998. Our grou p, as well as all th e fans, we re more than willing to throw in $5 or $10 to ensure that the event wo uld go on for the followi ng year. All the rid ers, and es pecia lly Dav e Despain, are d oing the best job they can in raising the money that these men so d eserve. Unti l a spo nsor comes on board for these eve n ts, o r for the entire year for that matter, the fans will do whatever it takes to get these riders the purses they deserve. I hope to at tend the even t in 2000, and if Morehead, Davis or any of the heroes come into the sta nds with the ir helmets, I will gladly pitc h in for 2001. Whatever it takes. Kevin Howard Turlock, CA The Wiechers I am writing this on behalf of Fritz , Julie and Krist a Wiechers. They wanted to thank all of you who helped comfort and support them throughout the loss of their son and brother, Freddy Wiechers. This was a tragic loss for the family and the sport of motocross. Freddy pulled a holesh ot on us, but this was the one we didn't want him to get. There are so many people who did so many special things for th e Wiechers. Joa n Tiearney was in Las Vega s at the RM Cup Challenge and coordinated a do nation fund that racers and their families contributed to. Brett Racine raced in Turlock that weekend and not only did he contribute his winnings, but so did many other pros and the track owners. These d ona tions are helping cover the costs of the expenses inv olved and the family's time away from work. Fernley was having a motocross the weekend after Freddy left us, and Marvin Small organized a small ceremony for the racers and he also officiated the memorial service. At the race in Fernley: some of the racers rode his bikes, wore his jerseys a n d had his numbers o n their p lates. Th ose racers were Jeff No rthrop, Mike Mason, Kenny Bell, Zeb Arms trong, Brian Foster and Travis Ha m. This was a very d ifficult race for th ose boys, b u t th ey ' raced through their tears for Freddy . There were numerous flowers , cards, a nd p lants sen t from sponsors, rac er s and racing families . The memoria l se rvice had a huge gathering and many of the people present were racers and their families, or wha t the Wiech ers consid er their racin g family. Som e of the racers spen t nights and time th roughout th is traged y with a fami ly they love. The Wiechers have been to so ma nv races, but they never realized how mu ch people loved th eir so n until th is happened. Everyone that came by, or sent a ca rd, m enti on ed h ow th ey will m iss Freddy' s beautiful smile, gr eat personality, and compe titiveness. Everything all of yo u d id made this traged y su rvivabl e. California a nd Nevada have th e best racing families and you are all wonderful people. Thank you for everything and see you at the races . The Wiechers Reno, NV Freddy Wiechers, 17, was killed while riding a moun tain bike on September 16. A scholarship fu nd has been set up in his name at the ICDA Charter S chool, attn : Freddy Wieclters Scholarship Fund, 1195 Corporate Blud., Suite B, Reno, NY 89502... Editor The Conti blitz After two years of hard work, Continental tires have won severa l 1999 AM A Grand Nati onal dirt track races, including the Sacramento Mile wh ere " tire wear" wa s a critical issue. Congratulations, Chris Carr. Th e AMA wa nt s to elimi na te Continental and othe r new brand s by making the Grand ational Championship a "spec" one-brand series. According to the director of racing, di rt track is not profitable and they need the money. The spec bra nd who has offered the most money gets the series . The spec brand that is currently the top bidder has never made a GNC National main event. I am not faulting the new tire company for wanting to be involved with dirt track racing. No t at all. But I do not like the idea of any company buying a class becau se the AMA has done such a poor job of finding a series sponsor. The new brand has offered $100,000 towards the 2000 points fund . The current points fund is $100 ,000 . Do you think with the new tire mo ney the riders will get $200,000? . Why can't all the companies put up .contingency money and let the best tire win ? Stop cutti ng laps down and give the fans a 25-lap Na tional. We have offered to build any spec tire the AMA wa nts and they have told us to bu ild tires "just like Good year" so no one has an advantage. Is this racing? Good luck in 2000 gu ys. With the current decision makers and persons responsible for track preparation, you're goi ng to need all the help you can get. Call the AMA and let them know wh at you think about "spec" racing. Greg Tysor Atlanta, GA Tysor is the national sales manager for Continental tires... Editor Just go home . In regard to AMA Su perbi ke ra cin g Aussies go home! Both of you! Richard Sil vest ri Shermanjtstoltbbs.com Both are already there. But one w ill come back to defend his AMA Superbike Championship in 2000... Editor But an omission in Hagen's editorial was the lack of reference to Pat Gonsalves - the unnamed "Daytona's excellent track announce r." For y ea rs th e voice of Mospo rt and Shannonville, Pat is certainly the best current announcer in the sport of motorcycling. The sound of his voice at Daytona contributes greatly to the excitement about, and knowledge of, what's happening on the track all week long. Why would any road race promoter on the continent not beg Pat to annou nce his event? It beats the heck out of me. Jim Bates Pittsboro, NC Permanent MX numbers Smoke p ot, drink Beer, ge t waxed a ll yea r, get fired, an d you ge t National #3. Permanent num bers - a gen ius idea . Jerry Jetton Diamond Bar, CA Whipped? I read every week the interes ting com me nts that the Ll.S, press throw at the European s, and I und erstand that most of it is gen eral competitiveness between the U.s.A. and Europe, and that is very enjoyable. However, I refer to "Win dham Whips EuTOs" in Issue #37. While I agree tha t Windham was outstandi ng his own backyard, may I sugges t tha t for yo ur next issue that covers the Motocross des Na tions, that the front page shou ld read "Euros spank the Yanks ." I look forwa rd to hea ring the reasons for this yea r's failure: Too hot, track too hard , track too fast - w hatever. I look forward to the next issue. p.s. Cycle N= is tops. Tr evor Avery Essex, Englan d How about "Yan kee Go Home"? A very is the team owner for the 250cc factory Husqvam Qtealll... Editor Don't forget Pat Tracy .Hagen's guest editorial (Issue #36, Sep tem ber 15) abou t clueless roa d race a n nou ncers was absolu te ly s po t on. I vivid ly reme mbe r going to Pocono ma ny years ago to wa tch a n AMA Nationa l a n d he arin g th e anno u n cer refer to Randy Mamola as Randy Mamosa - and he did it all weekend long. . My hat ' s off to Richard Ch ambers. He transformed himself - with great d et erminati on - from privateer road racer to p rofessional announcer, a nd he's a plea sure to hear. Letters to the ed itor sho u ld be sent to Vo ices , Cycl e N ews, P.O . Box 5084, Co sta Mesa, CA 92628-5084, faxed to 714/751 -6685 or e-mailed to editor@ cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessa ril y reflect th e po sit ion of Cycl e News, Inc. Letters s h o uld n ot exc e ed 200 words and a ll le tters are su bject to ed iting . Ano ny mous letters will not be considered for publication . All letters shoul d contain the writer's n a m e, addre ss an d d ay ti me p h on e n umb er.. . Editor. m en M ~ o c:; o 5

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