Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

"Mike LaRocco, you da man!" L , AMA Pro Racing Response It's easy to be a critic. To sit back and write articles that blithely pass judgment on the e fforts of others. And while witty prose laced with clever sarcasm may se ll magazines, it usually falls short when it comes to delivering re liab le information . He nny Ray Abrams' C hicanery column in the March 17 issue of Cycle News takes potshots at Dayton a International Brain e rd Internat io na l Speedway, Raceway, t he OE Ms and w hat seems to be his favorite target - AMA Pro Racing. T he t racks are characte rize d as being unsu itab le to host an AMA national ro ad race, t he OEM s ar e criticized for market ing big-bore spo rt bikes, and AMA Pro Racing is cr iticized fo r... w e ll, most everything. Nev e r mind t ha t Brainerd has an ex celle nt safety record . O r t hat t he justcompleted Dayton a 200 was t he safes t in years w ith not one red flag. Let 's not consider t he fact t hat Ho nda, Kawasaki , Suzuki and Yamaha are responding t o market demands and producing products that the public actually wants (and using racing as a means to market t hose products) . Finally, let's ignore everything AMA Pro Racing has done over the past few years t o impr ove profes sional racing in the Un ited Sta tes. No, it's easi e r t o ignore the positives when you r goal is simpl y to paint a ble ak picture. But professi o na l mo to rcycle racing in the United States isn't bleak. In fact it' s healthier and more vibrant t han ever. And t ho ugh we lo udly proclaim that fact, we also recog nize t here's ple nty more to do . We 'll co ntinue to push tracks to improve their facilit ies. We 'll kee p w o rking wit h t he padd ock and manufact urers t o creat e tech nical rules and class struct ures that make sen se . And w e 'll commun ica te wit h the medi a to try to make t he m understand w hat we're doing. Like any sanctio ning body, AMA Pro Racing is always goi ng to be at the center of co ntroversy. Eve ry decision we ma ke is subje ct to public debat e , and ma ny choices are unpopular - ev en w he n they're the right choice . We don't obj ect to ho ne st criticism . But broad, pessim istic insinuatio ns that focu s so lely on negatives wh ile ignoring tha t facts are not only irrespo nsible , they're just plain wrong. Kerry Graeber via th e Internet Graeber is the vice preSident , directar o( communications (or AMA Pro Racing... Editor Pfeifer Pfan I just read Dr. Ernie Lo uk's le tter in regard to Jack Pfeife r 's fourt h-p lace finish in the Dayton a 200. T hen I read it again. And then read it aloud to my wife. W hat a st o ry! I t hank Dr. Louk for writing and wish more of these types of stories were publis hed alo ngside t he tales of factory team glory. I had no idea about Mr. Pfe ife r 's behi nd-t he-scene s e ffo rts and was quite deeply moved by the impressive ly modifie d ma chine he ro de in the 200 . In many wa ys, privatee rs like Pfeifer and Ricky O rlando really are t he he ro es of t he day. Congratulat ions to th em all! No offense to the aw es o me skill and o rganizat io n of the factory riders and t he ir te ams , but I am m uch mo re impre ssed by what privat eers like Jack Pfe ifer do o n the ir very limited budg ets and ach ieve by sheer determination . If that 's no t an exc elle nt metaphor for life , I do n't know w hat is! Paul Bryant Santa Barba ra, CA Not A V-Rod! Co ngratulatio ns are in order to Terry Vance and Byron Hines for thei r first victory with their mega-cu bic inch V-Twin at Gainesville . The tenacity of Vance & Hines and cash po ol of Harley-D avidso n are bo t h industry lege nds. But let's not feed mo re B.S. hype to the ado ring mas ses who actu ally thi nk Harley-Davidson has do ne anythi ng more this past 100 years than invent overhead valves and keep its lub ricant inside its cra nkcases. T he Sight of W illie G. Davidson standing at the starting line of the Gainesville final, as if t here w as something act ually man ufact ur e d by Harl ey -D avidso n on those two finalists bikes (o ther than tank decals) was plagiarism in its purest form. I ca n hear it no w, from the ignorant worshipe rs of t he Milw auk ee mystique: "T he m V-rods ar e faster t han th at Ninja yur ridin'; they beat all the m rice- roc kets at the drags." Grante d, the latest billetcased Suzukis and Kawasak is do n't share muc h w ith their street-going siblings, but I don't t hink you'll see the ow ner of Kawasaki Heavy Indu stries sta nding on t he starting line o f a d rag race, implying some sort of co nnection with his product! Harley's half-deca de foray into AMA road rac ing was an abysma l failure . Even t he combined money and might of Roush Racing, Fo rd Motor C o mp an y, Harley Davidso n and Porsche, as w e ll as the riding skills o f the finest riders money cou ld buy, couldn't make the Harle y Letters to the editor should be sent to Voices, CycleNews, POBox 508 .4, Costo ~so, CA92628-5084; foxed 10 7 14·751-6685or emailed laedilo.@cydenews.com. Pub h,hed lett rs do notnecessarily reRect theposition of Cycle News, Inc. lettersshould not exceed 200 e ; -_ .... words, and all are subject to editing . Anonymousaddresswill not be considered for publico~on. All letters should contain thewriter's nome, leners and daytime phone number... EdItor. VR- IOOO a winner. But Harley has shown a knack for trumpeting the succes s of othe r engineers as their own. The "Harley" 600cc short-tra ckers are about as much Harley-Davidson (w ith Ro n Wood's frame s and Rotax engines) as these V-Rods Willie is so giddy over! The only Harley that has enjoyed racing success in the last half-centu ry is the 45inch dinosaur that the AMA has codd led with its rulebook these past 30 yea rs in Grand National dirt track racing. Anybody need a quick primer o n why that sport is all but dead? No , I think Harley shou ld co me clean and admit that wh ile it has the ability to get $25,000 a pop for an overweight mon strosity that wo n't accelerate , tum o r stop w ith the rest of the industry, it can lay claim to the fastest decals in the NHRA. Rene LaPrel'Otte Novat o, CA More On Harley I was wondering, what part of the Vance & Hines drag bike is Harley? Engine cases? No . Cylinder heads? No. C ra nkshaft ? No. Connecting rods? No . Valves? No. Maybe the deca l on the tank. Maybe. If it is not a Harley, and it is not, why Call it a Harley? David Kensinger via the Internet Mikey The Great Congratulations to Mike LaRocco! Not fo r winning a supe rcross. I expect that from Mikey all the time . Congratulatio ns are in or der for pulling a holes hot . A laRocco Grand Slam - the holeshot, leading every lap , the race w in and the combination. Got one myself last season. For Indiana's o ld boys, they are rare. Connie Feist via the Internet Mikey The Great II Mike laRo cco, Congratulations! you da man! Mark Haskins via the Int ernet Mikey The Great III Mike laRocco is my hero - again! Showing the kids nothing but his tailpipe wire to wire in his 202nd supercross start is enough to bring tears to the eyes of other old-guy mo tocrossers like myself. Sheesh, if he o nlyco uld've learned to nail hole shots througho ut his career. The record books woul d be very different for sure. Respect Iron Mike... Chris Dayle via the Internet www.cyclenews.com Winsett Kudos I discovered a police officer filling out an acdden t report o n my car when leaving the National dirt track race at Dayto na. Rick Winsett Sr., the father of national winner Rick Winsett, had backed into my car causing minor damage. He waited for over an hour for me to re tum . When I still didn't show, he then too k the time to find the officer to make the report. He gave me his cell phone number and told me to give him a call with the estimate . Wh en I contacted him, I thanked him for be ing so honest , as he co uld have just left, and no one would have known . His comment was, "Hey, we 're racers." You just have to love people like him. I am sure he never eve n thought of just d riving away. They are not a large-budget race team, so every dollar counts, but not as much as do ing t he right thing. The integrity and honesty of this family, and dirt trackers in gene ral, is what makes this sport so great. My hat is off to the Winsetts . You have my respect - and a new fan. Thomas Moore Richmond Hill, GA Where's laRocco's Cover? Let me start by saying I have been reading Cycle News fo r 30 years now and have enjoyed every issue of those 30 years. I look forward to reading your "Voices" section because I enjoy hearing other people 's opinions about the sport - in particular,motocross . To date, I have never felt so strongly about an issue as to find myse lf writing to you with my own opinion - until now. I'm a 40-plus rider w ho feels prop s sho uld be given when they are tru ly deserved , and such is the case with Mike laRocco and his win at Indy. A lot of us o lder guys look to Mike as an inspiration, not that he 's 40, but as the senior of the supe rcross gro up. As an avid reader of your paper, I feel the ultimate prop is "the cover." So, much to my dismay as I picked up my issue of Cycle News, fully expecting to see a huge # 5 cro ssing the finish line with the chec kered flag on the cover, I was stunned by the sight of fIVe generic streetbikes mak ing the cover wit h the "Rock" tucked in the comer. With nothing against streetbikes , I feel the value between Mike laRocco's holeshot win, in his hometown, at this stage in his career, would have valued the entire cover, with perhaps the streetbikes tucked in the comer. Every mo tocrosser feels this way, and I don't know what Cycle News was thinking with th is one. Props to laRocco and his hometown win. Mike Canner via the Internet CYCLE NEWS • APRIL7 ,2004 5

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