Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

"Big Bill made big efforts that got big re sults" Honoring Big Bill just read on line tha t Big B ill Spencer as passed away. In th e 1970s I had little Penton, then KTM and acceso ry shop i n San L e a n d r o c all e d ra il s End. I often ha d ph on e c all s ro m B ill whe n he ran th e rac es at r em ont , such as n igh t m otocross nd week end marathons, et c . He was Iways enthusiasti c and upbeat, and mpossible not to like. He genu inely njoyed th e ra ce s and the riders, and ust being part of th at sce ne. After being aw ay from raci ng all hese years , I rediscovere d B ill do ing moto rcycl e -ra c ing coverage on T V , and now he is gone. I can't help but feel that th e end of an era ha s go ne w ith h im - an e ra w he n prom ote r s to o k an i nt erest in r i d e rs , h e lpe d th em w i th th eir ca reers , an d ha d a real inte rest in th e spo rt. I m ay be wrong, bu t I don't think it was about m oney wi th B ill Spe ncer. He was the rea l deal. Godspeed , Bil l. AI BanfrJ Via the Internet Honoring Big Bill II W hen I rec ei ved the news from m y d a u g h t e r that Bi ll S pen c e r h a d passed on , I st arted to r efl ect on some of the hundreds of gifts of th e time and kn ow ledg e th at Bill gr a ciously gav e to h el p th e cause of motorcycl e racing in N o rth ern Ca li fornia - and nation wide. His infl ue nce helped racin g in the ' 7 0 s ex p lo d e m ore so than anyo ne e ls e. I re membe r h ow his influence help ed th e TT, shor t track, scra mb les, etc ., go from a few dozen riders to events with 1200 riders weekly from a f ew t racks to dozens ac ro ss Northern California . His indoor racing started in the Bultaco warehouse ( u n o f f i c i a ll y). then moved to the San Jose County Fairg rounds. Not long after, we were at the San F ra nc i sc o Cow Palace , complete wi th Ev en Knievel dong his first indoor jump. Then it was nation wide in domed stadiums, the Yamaha Series that was won by Bultaco riders - B ill started all of these events . T he n in an effort to get the local media to report on motorcycle rac ing, B ill suggeste d starting a B ay A rea spo rt s wr it er s association - and that was so on acco mplished . The local races ende d up bein g rep orted on in 26 N orthe rn California ne w sp a p ers and the San F ran c i sco Ch r onicle started a weekly mot or cy cle colu m n . Yes, B ig Bill made big efforts that got big results . Ask Mark Brelsford and the m an y others. Bill set stand ards of compass io n that have yet to be matched . I guess we can alway s hope. Jim Baird Via the Internet Honoring Big Bill III Motorcycl ing has indeed lost one of its best friends in the passi ng of B ig Bill Spen cer. Like so man y rac er s, Bill tou ched m y career wh en I was ra cing , and wh en I went on t o be part of th e motorcycle industry he contin ued to c o ntri b ute to my work a s a friend and a m entor. I had the great pleasure of many ad ventures with Bill - fro m t he infa m o u s Houst on Sh o rt Tr ack /TT pl an e c h ar ters t o many m em o rabl e n ights at Dayt on a Beach . I al so had the pleasure of wo rki ng wi th B ill as a co-anno uncer at Lagu na , Sear s and seve ral other tracks , As saddened as I am at t he passing of Big Bill , there is comfort in knowing how many p eo p le h e touched over the m a ny years of his involvement with m oto rc y cl in g . I will always hold ma ny special memories ran ging from th e Corkscrew t o the bea c h . Go d spee d , ol d fr iend . Larry Coleman Via the Intemet Honoring Big Bill IV w as very sorry to he ar a bo ut t he p a ssing of B ill Sp en c er . W e h e ar repo rts ab ou t people who co ns iste ntly gave m or e th an th ey took from th e spo rt ... we ll , I often think tha t Bill was the m o ld from whic h tha t m odel was ta ke n. I first enc ountered hi s generos ity in 19 75 when I first filmed the Sa n Jose Mile and this continued when we last filmed it in 1985. His jubilance for the sport helped d rive us when it seemed there were "hidden forces " throwing rocks in our path during our Stroh Mile coverage in th e m id 1980s. Bill left a celebrated mark on our sport . I only w ish he had written a book about dirt track racing. He had unique insight and I will miss his bold enthusiasm for a sport that is uniquely American . PeterSfrJ" Via the Intemet motocross, even on a loc al lev el. But a s Cycle News reported , h e ea sily q ua l if i ed for the b ig show - in t he 250c c cla ss no less. I fin d th e st o ry f asci nati ng, and I ca n't wait to follow t his in c redi bl e ath lete thro ugh the rest of the series. Go Sh aun, and wa y to go , Honda. RIcha rd Mul1ln Carlsbad. CA La ck Of Coverage Th ank y o u for putting in th e letter fro m the guy wh o co m p lained of th e la ck of coverage on Jennifer Snyder. It j us t prov es how people j u m p to co nc lusions before looking at th e big p ictur e. I would like to ha ve seen h im try and m eet the d eadline wi th a big sto ry. T he iss ue fo llowin g th at sma ll clip had a great layo ut and inform ation. People like him m ak e m e proud to be an American. Yeah , right! Keep up the good work on your coverage and don't listen to peo p le like that. JoPryce Via the Intem et Sti ll Not Ha ppy A few i ss ues b a c k an eve n t too k place that was extraord in ar y in rac ing . It should have been noted th usly on yo ur cover. In all m y ye ar s, I c an' t rec all as many re m arkab le happen ings at a si ng le rac e. A 17 -ye ar -o ld wi n n ing a Na t io na l d irt tra ck race; first fe m ale of an y age to win at thi s level of co m pe ti tio n; first time o ut in th e series w inning ; an unk nown fac to ry-sponso red wom an . Jennifer Sny de r looks mighty spe cial to me . I guess you guys di d n 't feel that way . Oh, by the way , as a reply from one of your editors stated per a phone conversation : "We usual l y ca n' t get good enough photos at night flat track races to make our c overs." I think that response and the other he gave me really doesn 't stand-up very well . You could have had some print on the cover or on the first coupie of pages . I could say a lot more, but I hope in the near future she gets the recogn it ion she deserves. Defending The Palm steve Skinner Via the Intemet In res p o n se to Rob Richards ' comments t h at Shaun Palmer doesn't deserv e a fac to ry loaner for th e o utdoor motocro ss series - get ov er it! I think it is unbeli ev abl e th at a " 30som ething -year-old skier" like Palmer ca n asc end to the top of tw o totall y d iffer ent and tough sports , and th en even think about being competitive in We a l so think Jennifer Snyder i s "m ighty special. " Unfortunately, it is d i{flc u lt to get qua lity color p hotoqrephy from what are often times poorly lighted dirt track Nationals. A nd that is why Snyder was n't featu red on our cov er, though we wo u ld ha ve liked nothing more tha n to be ab le to p u t her on the fro nt page... Edit or c ue I e Do esn't Agre e I totally d isag ree with your edi torial (Scooter Mania , Issue #20, May 23) about the F ort Worth AMA/P rogressive Insu rance Flat Track Cha m pionshi p (not Da ll as ) . Let's look at this from the perspect ive of the fan. Wh en I pu rc hased m y tickets for the race I w as told that if the ra c e cou ld n o t b e ru n on S a tu rday , it wo uld be run at 2 p .m. on Sunda y the followi ng d ay . T he fa ns sat in th e sta nd s fo r m ore than two hours w ith no word as to what was going to happ en due t o the rai n . Th e AMA han d l ed t his ve ry poorly. As for Bru c e B ob er di tc hi ng t he qual i f y ing t o squ eez e in thi s ra c e , it w a s a d i s grace. I live in Fort Worth and watch ed th e wea the r a ll weekend . Th e forec ast was fo r thund er st o rm s o n Saturd ay eve ning (race day ), and clear th e next day - on Sun day . Many of the fans had ca lled the Texas Motor Speedway and heard a message that stated the race would be run 2 p .m . on Sunday. I went to the track on Sunda y only to find the AMA packed up and gone. There were man y fans extremel y upset and dis gusted by this. As for the 75-percent payout, that is also a d isgrace. The track kept all of our ticket and concession money, not just 75 percent of it. It ap pears you may have written this editorial with second-hand info rm atio n . Maybe you were som ewhere in Dallas and not in Fort Worth . It seems the onl y w inner in this d isgraceful event was the Texas Motor Speedway, as the ride rs o nly got 7 5 percent and the fans paid full price to see n o r ac in g . This would never happen at Sp ringfield . Th e fan s wouldn 't allow it to happen. I ch al lenge yo u to print th is rebutta l from a re al flat track fan . Howa rd Burger FortWorth, 7X n e vv so J UN E 1 3 , 2001 5

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