Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly.•. Werner Retires from HarleyDavidson F act o ry Harley-Davidso n racing mechanic Bill Wern er, who wrenched his team riders to I 3 AMA Gra nd Na tional Cham pionshi ps and 150 Grand Nat ional wins , was honored by frie nds . co-workers and members of the motorcycle industry at his retirement party in Brookfield, Wisconsin, on June 15. Over 200 attended the event at the Venice Club Restaurant near Werner's home, including members of H-D management, Werner's Teamster's Union affiliates, and factory racers past and present, several addressing the crow d with memorable stories (rom Werner's 38-year association with the co mpany. "There are a lot of people wh o can say tha t they did th is or that wh ile t hey w orked at Har ley-Davidson," said Clyde Fes sler, who was Harley-D avidso n's director of marketing and race team manager from 19B3 through 1986 , "but there are few who can say that they are part of the legacy, tha t they left a legacy and that they are part of the legend that built Hartey- Davidson into what it is today. Bill Werner is one of those few people." Werner expressed his thanks to his family, friends and the Harley -Davidson Motor Company in his closing remarks. ''I'm honored and pleased to be here," Werner said. "I'm hum bled by the presence o f these people, who came from different part of the country to be here. This [dirt track] is an all-con sum ing sport, and the people that really live it unde rstan d the passion that's invo lved in no t only the riders but t he people who build the bikes . Th at' s consistent with a lot of pe o ple in the company. I'm no differen t than a lot o f people who go to work at Harley- Davidson . You take pride in what you do, you put your name on it. and that's that best that you can do. It's good for me as I get older to just kind of back off o f that a co uple notches. I look forward to waking up and going fishing with my grandson, who wants to catch sharks in Pewaukee Lake." While Werner's official retirement date is set for July 2, that may no t mark the end of his road in dirt track. "N obo dy just w alks away from th is sport and goes fishing," We rner said. "It's going to be on a lesser level, but I'll be invo lved. I have some ideas t hat I'd like to give back to the sport in certain ways ." (Left to rig ht) Scott Porker, L eopold ine "Leo" LoPol me, Bill We rner, Rich King, Jo y Sp ringste e n, Bill Davidso n and Willie G. Davidson all pose fo r a photo in front of the XR7S0 that was presented to Werner at his retirement party on June 1 S . McBride, Nickelberry Top Prostar St. Louis Th e PR Facto ry Sto re St. Louis Nat ionals is on e of t he newest events on th e AMNProstar to ur, and w it h the 2004 editio n it became one of the quickes t, w ith the ultra smoo th Gateway International Raceway surface yielding its share of rec o rds June 5-6 . The event, in o nly its seco nd yea r, held double duty as the rained -out final eliminatio ns of Virginia were cle aned up at St. Louis. In Top Fue l actio n Larry "Spiderm an" McBride picked up w here he left off at Virginia - re -e sta blishing himself as t he qu ickest motorcycle drag race r in the wo rld. McBride, w ho ran an unprecedented 5.87sec ond elapsed time at Virginia, edged the mark with a 5.866 at 237 mph in the final against Chris Hand , w ho ran 6.381217. McBride ran the tab le the next day for the St. Louis eve nt, qualifying on the pole and holding all the performance marks o n his way to his th irteenth straight final ro und appearance . For the seco nd time th is se ason McBride lined up against the Vance & Hines Harley of Doug Vancil in an event final. Vancil, w ho had run as fast as a 6.48/206 in eliminat ions . had an early shut-off 6.73 in the final as McBride cru ised to a 6.04 /237 for his th irteenth straig ht wi n. In the Pro I Funnybi ke series Mark Con ner br ought his Alamo City HD Harley Pro Fuele r to the pole w ith a 6.64/211 , and he lo oked to be o n a st ro ng on e in th e finals against Glen n Nicke lberry (pict ured) but br o ke a dr ive be lt midtrack, opening the doo r for N ickelberry, who stepped up his game wi th a 6.60/210 for his second win on the ye ar. N ickelberry has been a infrequent co mpe titor on the Pros tar circuit th is season, but in the two races he has attended, he w o n them both. Th e se ries heads nex t to Norwalk Raceway Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for the Norris MotorSports Cyclefest, June 26-27. www.cyclenews.com Matt Poli to Former Southern Calif ornia desert racer, flat tracker and factory Suzuki motocrosser Richard ThorwaJdson, who rose to national attention as a factory Suzuki rider in the early '7Os, died on June 20 as a result of the head injuries he sustained in a road racing crash on May 30. ThorwaIdson, 58, had remained in a coma since the crash. A club racer in the pioneer days of the Southern California racing scene, ThorwaIdson's star rose when he rode Suzuki's TM400 Cydone, a machine that had earneda reputation for being incorrigible, to victory in several prominent off-road events in the region. He was alsoa well-respected campaigner during the formative years of the AHA National Motocross series , finishing fou rth in the inaugural AHA National 500cc MX Series and then improving to a careerhigh second to friend and racing rivalGary Jones in the 1973 AHA 250cc National MX Series. Upon retiring, ThorwaIdson continued in the industry, founding Thor Racing- an aftermarket fabrication business - and going on to become a dealer of Honda motorcycles in the northern Nevada area all the while remaining active in competition in several different disciplines, includingroad racing. An AFM regular, Thorwaldson was also a flxture at the CCS events every spring and fall in Daytona Thorwaldson is survived by his wife, Patricia, daughter Marcy (Felch), son Richard Jr. and several grandch ildren. Memorial arrangements are pending. Check the family we bsite at www.richardthorwaldson.com for more details. T he AH A Progressive Insurance Flat Track C hampio nship race o n June 25, at Atomic Speedway in O ak Ridge, Tenness ee, will be a part of the II th annual Honda Hoot ce lebra tion , taking place June 23-26, in Knoxville, Tennessee. In ho nor of th is annu al motorcycle rally, Hon da is raising its posted co ntinge ncy awa rds for t he Ato mic Speedway race . Honda will tri ple th e posted contingency for th e winner of the event to $6000 and do uble t he am o unt for places second th rough fifth to $2000 (secon d), $1500 (third) , $ 1000 (fo urt h) and $500 (fifth). "We 're excited about the add ition o f an AMA Grand Natio nal to th is year 's Ho nda Ho ot," said American Honda's Bill Savino. "Flat -tra ck racing has such a rich history in the United States, and it 's gratify ing to see riders competing on Hondas again in the Grand Nat ionals. We 're happy to be ab le to reward t he competitors who put on such thrilling races week in and week out." Th is is the first AMA Grand Nationa l event to be held at the Atomic Speedway short track. Add itionally, it's the first time the Knoxville area has hosted the premier motorcycle d irt-track racing series in over 20 years. The nation's to p riders, including fo ur-time AHA Grand National C ham pion and AHA Speed Channel Athlete of the Year Chris Carr, are slated to compete in the event. The Hon da Hoot is an all-brand, four-day mot orcycle rally. Partici· pants can en joy great rides on twisty roads through lush, green forests and rolling hills, while discovering new destinations along the way. Addit ionally several key motorcy, cle manu facturers participate by offering demo rides on their most popular models. Continued on page 9 CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 30, 2004 7

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