Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

By 311 YEARS ASO._ JIIIIE 27, '972 Gary Jones (Yam) grac~d th~ cov~r of Issu~ #24 on his way to winning th~ 250cc class at th~ AMA Motocross Series in Tahoe VISta, Califomia. Jam~s W~in~rt (Yam) finished second, while Rex Staten (CZ) finished third. The 500cc class fell to Brad lackey (CZ), with Gary Chaplin (Mai) and Robert Brown (Hus) rounding out the top three... Cal Raybom (H-D) won the fourth running of the Indianapolis National Road Race at Indianapolis Raceway Park - for the fourth time. It seems Raybom and his Harley couldn't be beat at the track. Yvon DuHamel (Kaw) and Gene Romero (Tri) rounded out the top three. Kel Carruthers (Yam) topped the 250cc combined event.. Chuck Bowers (Pen), Gaylon Mosier (Mai) and Bryar Holcomb (Suz) won the 125. 250 and 500cc Expert classes at Saddleback CMC motocross, respectively. 20 YEARS ABO... JUliE 30, '982 Danny Chandler (Han) was photographed for the cover of Issue .24 on his way to winning the 500cc MX GP at Carlsbad Raceway. His 1-5 finishes were good enough for the overall in the Datsun-sponsored event, while fellow American Brad Lackey (Suz) finished second with a 3-3 score. Yamaha-mounted Bra<: Glover (2-2) won the 250cc Support class ahead of another Yamaha rider, Rick Johnson (5-1 )... Mike Baldwin (Han) won the AMA Grand Natlonal/Winston Pro Series road race in Loudon, New Hampshire, beating Eddie Lawson (Kaw) to the line. Wa~ Rainey (Kaw) beat Lawson to the line in the Superbike event... We interviewed Honda motocrosser Darrell Schultz, who was leading the 500cc National MX Championship at the time. He said, "I'd break every bone in my body to win a title.· ... Johnny O'Mara (Han) visited Europe to race the Swiss 125cc MX GP, and he won both motos going away. Eric Geboers (Suz) finished second overall. '0 YEARS ABO••• JUliE 24, '''2 Team Green's Larry Roeseler jumped across the cover of Issue #24 aboard his KX500 on his way to winning the Baja 500. His teammates Ted Hunnicutt and Paul Krause did their part, too, as they won the event by a mere one minute and 22 seconds ... Doug Polen (Due) topped Scott Russell (Kaw) to win round five of the AMA National Superbike Championship. Colin Edwards II (Yam) topped Kenny Roberts Jr. (Yam) to take the 250cc GP event... Ricky Graham (Han) and Scott Parker (H-D) split wins at the twin Syracuse Miles, rounds six and seven of the AMA Grand National Championship Dirt Track Series... Damon Bradshaw (Yam) won round four of the AMA 250cc National MX Championship at Hangtown in Sacramento, Califomia, via 1-2 moto finishes. Jeff Slanton (Han) kept the points lead with a 3-1 total. Steve Lamson (Suz), in his comeback ride after breaking his femur, won his first National at the locale - his hom~ track - with a 1-3 effort. Yamaha's Jeff Emlg (3-2) finished second overall. I LCD STEVE COX t's been more than half a decade since I quit racing motocross fulltime. During my racing years, I spent up to three days at the racetrack every weekend, and I not only witnessed many people who deserved a Golden Hammer Award, but I fell victim to a potential recipient more than once. The Golden Hammer is to be awarded to anyone who displays unusually gross mechanical ineptitude at the track - and, in my experience, it's usually a dad. With Father's Day coming up this Sunday, it should be noted that I'm not dad-bashing. Normally, dad is the only "mechanic" available to a rider as an amateur - or even a local pro. My dad, for example, was my one and only mechanic throughout my racing career. He was experienced, and generally able, but even he was known for the occasional mechanical brainfart. For example, he deserved the Golden Hammer one day at Perris Raceway when I was about 14. He accidentally dropped my RM 125 as it was being unloaded and bent the front-brake lever. I actually liked it that way, as it had bent perfectly so that I could grab it with my right middle finger (my brake finger of choice) and actually get really good leverage out of it. My dad, though, always tinkering, figured it was potentially unsafe that way - and maybe he was right. But, hindsight being what it is, I think it was safer the way it was. He replaced the lever with a new one before practice started, and it felt fine. I only made it about three turns, however, before my front end washed out in a corner. I thought it was really strange that that happened, because I was very familiar with the track and the bike, but I trudged on anyway, through the first-practice mud. Two turns later, I jumped a relatively small double and, immediately upon impact, the front wheel washed out on the downside and I literally ate dirt. I got up, a little shaken, and picked up my bike in order to push it off the track and out of the way of oncoming traffic - who couldn't see me from the front side of the jump. The bike wouldn't budge. The front wheel was locked solid. Luckily, the f1aggers saw me and no one hit me, but I had to stand there with the bike while my dad walked out to me, determined the problem, returned to the truck for a wrench, then came back to me and took off my front-brake lever. I then rode the remaining few laps of practice without the aid of the front brake. When I returned to the truck, I found out that, in a hurry to complete the lever change before practice started, my dad had replaced the front-brakelever plunger-screw backward - and as I rode, it somehow put pressure on the plunger, eventually locking the front brake completely. I'd like to think that my dad wouldn't do something like that on purpose, but I tried to keep an eye on him from then on anyway. After all, I'm sure I'd done many things to deserve it - probably since just the previous day. In my experience, many dads are guilty of wanting to help their sons too much. Now-famous Metal Mulisha founder Larry Linkogle's dad, Les, was one of this breed. It seemed like every time Larry got off the track from practice, Les was working on his bike - even when it maybe didn't need it. On a few occasions, I witnessed Larry pull in from practice or his first mota and, knowing Les' disposition toward tinkering, say, "It's perfect, Dad - leave it alone." His dad almost always responded, wrench in hand, with, "Okay, let me jUst. .. " I have to admit that he probably made the bike better sometimes, but as is the nature with people, I remember more times than not that he made the bike worse. "Lightning" Les deserved more nominations than I can count. Is it possible to love your kid and want to help him too much? Sometimes, unfortunately, yes. I witnessed another example of this fatherly love just last year at Mammoth. I was covering the event for this fine (ahem) publication and watched as the father of one of today's brightest young Mini stars let's just call the rider "Mike" (since that's his name) - worked frantically for probably more than 30 minutes trying to rejet his son's YZ85 because "it's gotten a little colder out here." Mike's bike promptly seized on the start hill before he even made it to the first turn. Although the dad in this case maybe can't take all the blame, since he had a mechanic helping him out, he still played a critical role. Once again, I believe he truly meant well, but sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It's hard to fault the dad in this case just because wanted his son's bike to be running absolutely perfect for the big race, but he deserves a nomination just for the event's magnitude and the extremity and timeliness of the engine failure. Then there was the Dustin Evans incident. Dustin was a top-notch Intermediate in the late 1980s or early 1990s, regularly winning at the local level and either winning or finishing in the top three at big events such as the World Mini Grand Prix in Las Vegas. His father, Ken, picked up a newly rebuilt RM125 from Suzuki Country Racing in Norco, California, and was told to make sure he broke it in before Dustin rode it in anger. As he loaded it into his trailer on the way to the first race of the CMC Golden State Nationals, he started the cue' • machine and turned the idle up to let it run through a tank of gas inside the trailer before they got to the race, in order to break it in. When they stopped to check on the poor tiddler, it was locked up solid. Dustin didn't get to race his newly rebuilt 125 that weekend. Ken's nomination stems from his pure inventiveness. Why actually warm up a bike and ride it to break it in if you can just leave it running, unsupervised, in the trailer on the way to the races? What a way to save time. Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that dads are the only ones who are guilty of this mechanical clumsiness. I attended a weeklong school put on by "Big Bud" Antunez at Kelly Pichel's house in 1990 (which was a lot longer ago than it feels). I was there for a week of riding and training every day with a bunch of other riders - including Ray and Sean Mcintosh, Craig Decker, Jesse James, Kelly Pichel, and others, with Buddy arriving late in the week - and I didn't once change the air filter in my RM80. Not once. I was 13. All I knew up to that point was that my bike was always ready to go when I wanted it to be. On the final day of the week, all of our families showed up for the "Look how they improved" exhibition, and my bike wouldn't start. It turns out that it had sucked sand into the engine, and the cylinder and piston had essentially gotten a sand-washing. I don't know if I deserve a nomination, only because my bike broke because of a lack of maintenance, but if it counts, I'm guilty. My dad had to fix it later on in the week, and I had to ride Jesse James' RM80 for the exhibition. I never appreciated the work that my dad put into my motorcycles until that day. All I ever thought • about was riding. It just goes to show you that even dads that could have countless Golden Hammer nominations are generally doing an under-appreciated job for a kid he loves and is proud of. This Father's Day, just try to remember that being a dad is a job with little glory, and if tuning the perfect motorcycle for their son is how they get their happiness, I think it's a gre.at trade. Even if he didn't realize it, I always appreciated the work my dad did for me - at least from the day I seized my 80. Even when it seemed he was trying to kill me.... eN If you have a story regarding a potential winner of the Golden Hammer Award, please send It to us at Cycle News Editorial, Attn: Gotden Hammer Awards, 3505-M Cadillac Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. n _ vv S • JUNE 19,2002 119

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