Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128330
Chad Reed To Stay Put A t least another "who is going where?" .r"\question was answered this past week with the re -signing of Chad Reed and the Yamah a Factory Motocross Team . The 2004 250cc AHA 5upercross Champion signed on the dotted line and will stay put for at least a few more years. "The contract extension was fairly simpie," said Keith McCarty, Yamaha Racing division manager. "We wanted Chad Reed , his professionalism and talent, to further his career on Yamaha, and Reed wanted to stay, win more races and championships with the same equipment and team. Reed loves racing and , at the core, is a motorcycle enthusiast. He 'll practice and test from morning to late afternoon, drive home and ride TTR90s with his fiancee and friends until the sun sets . On the weekend, after interviews, autographs and the pit area is em pty, Reed hea ds back to the Yamaha tractor-trailer to watch race videos. With fan-like enthusi asm, Chad repeatedly hits the rewind button , reviewing and learning about his bike, his competitors and the track." "We 've won 20 supercross races in the last two years and achieved a career milestone, the 250 Supercross Championship," Reed said. "O bvio usly, I'm excited about continuing my career with Yamaha. Our bikes are unreal , which gives me the confi - dence to ride at 100 percent. Plus, I've seen my 'OS supercross bike alrea dy!" At th is past wee ke nd's AHA National Motocross at Budds Creek, we caught up to Reed and asked him a few ques tions abo ut the re -signing. What are the tenns of the deal? Three years with a second year op tion that co uld be something along the lines of my own team. I'm real excited, real happy to stay he re with Yamaha. I always wanted to be here, but at first it didn't seem like it was go ing to happen. Then everyone came together, and we're a big, happy team again wh ich makes me feel good. Talk a bit about your opt ion , The reason I wanted the option is that my agency, the Familie and Bob Moore, are working really hard at sponsorships, and there is a lot out there that I feel happy about. So I want to be involved in that, and that makes this dea l here with Yamaha the perfect situation. Ho w close w ere you t o signing w it h so meb o d y e lse? I had contract offers fro m a lot of people, but my goal and my fee lings we re always to stay at Yamaha. I didn't fo rget what I wanted. At first they [Yamaha] didn't seem to be wanting to meet me in the middle. Then something happened, some th ings changed , and everything went the way we wanted it to. I won my flrst-ever championship here and am surrounded by great people, which means a lot to me . Pat Schutte Hines dominates Englishtown F o r mo re than two decades, HarleyDavidso n struggled to gain cred ibility in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series' Pro Stoc k Bike class. Today, that isn't a prob lem . In w hat may well be the most do minating performance in the histo ry of the class, Scr eam in' EagleNance & Hine s Har leyDavidso n's Andr ew Hines won for the third time in six starts th is year at the K&N Filters Supernation als in Englishto w n, Ne w Jersey, o n June 20 . A week after w inning th e Columbus, Ohio, ro und Hines made a clea n swe ep of the Englishtown race as he qualified in the number-one spot, won the race , and set the new natio nal e lapsed time re co rd, earning the maximum of 138 points available to NHRA profess ional co mpetitors. "We had a perfect we e kend; eve rything we nt just right for us," Hines said. "The bike is real easy to ride right now, and that makes my jo b much eas ier. I'm ve ry co mforta ble right now." Early in qualifying, it was o bvious that Hines was going to be a handful as he rod e to the top spo t with a 7.07 . The next-q uickest rider was Hines' Screamin' Eagle Tea mmat e. GT Tonglet, with a 7. 16, and the q uickest fou r-cylinder bike was Matco Tools' Suzuki's Craig Treble w ith a 7. 17. If Hines loo ked strong in qualifying, then he was down right invincible on race day. In the opening round, he made w hat was then the quickest run in the history of the class with a 7.02 against Houston winner Karen Stoffer. 6 Chad Reed will stay w ith Yama ha. Hines contin ued to apply the pressure with a 7.07 against Fred Co llis' S&S Y-twin in round two and another 7.02 in th e semifinals against defending Englishtown win ner Shaw n Gann . No o the r rider was with in a te nth of a second of Hines du ring eliminations. Hines' final ro und opponent was Treble , w ho made it to his 15th car ee r final w ith wins over Fred Cam are na, reigning NHRA World cham p Geno Scali, and K&N Filters' Steve Johnson . Treble gained a starting line holeshot in the final and matched his best run of the weekend with a 7.13 , but it wasn't nearly enough, as Hines on ce again made th e quickest ru n in the histo ry of the class with a 7.01 at over 192 mph. "W hen I left the starting line , I didn't see him, and I started to think I might have a chance ," Treble said. "The n I hea rd that v. twi n come rumb ling up alongside me , and I knew it was ove r. I d id eve ryt hing I cou ld do, and it still wasn't eno ugh. Rig ht now, the rules really favor those Harleys." Had Hines' final-roun d run been just tw ohundred ths of a second quicker, he would have pocketed a $ 10,000 bonu s for being the first Pro Stoc k Bike ride r to run in the six-seca nd lone. "It wou ld have been nice to get the bo nus, but ho pefully we can get it at one of the ne xt few races ," Hines said. "We made a great ru n in the final, but the weather was a little too warm for a six-seco nd run . I'm sure it will happen pretty soon , tho ugh." Kevin McKenna JUNE 30, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS K&N's Tom Cat es Passes K&N Engineering announced the passing of one of its most seasoned and respected ramify members. Senior sales manager, Powersports Division, Tom Cates, whose K&N employment spanned more than two decades, succumbed to cancer on Friday, June 18th , 2004 , following a brief hospital stay. A U.S. Army veteran, Mr. Cates was 7S years old and is survived by his Wife, Georgia, daughters T ina, Anita and Tomi, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Tom Cates' passion for allthings related to motorcycles was surpassed only by his deep devotion and love for his wife, Georgia, and his family. His experience in powersports began at an early age as an active racer. After employment at Triumph and BSA, Mr. Cates accepted an offer from K&N found ers Ken Johnson and Norm McDon ald to be K&N general manager. In addition to working in the industry, Cates shared his vast experience and knowledge as an act ive member of the Motorcycle Industry Council. A private pilot, Cates also shared a love for flyingand often flew his own ex pe rimental airplane . "Tho ugh many at K&N knew Tom was wa ging a battle with cancer, he rarely missed wo rk, and through his ded ication, tenacity and sense of humor, it was hard to 40th A nniv ersary know he was ill at all," said K&N owner and chairman Jerry Mall. "I am sure that everyone who knew Tom will miss him greatly - especially his extended family here at K&N. Our prayers are with Tom's wife, Georgia. and his family." A memorial service will be held Saturday, June 26th , from 2-4 p.m. (PST) at the K&N Engineering Headquarters, 1455 Citrus Avenue , Riverside , CA 92507 (call 909/826-4000 for additio nal details). In lieu of gifts or flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the City of Hope and Beckman Research Institute. Donations can be made online at www.cityofhope.org/donate or by mail to : City of Hope, Central Processing, 1500 E. Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 910 IO. Ifyou do make a donation to City of Hope, please use "K&N Engineering " as the address of inte rest . This will allow City of Hope to se nd a card rega rding each donation made in Mr. Cates' name, and K&N will deliver the cards to the Cates family. Unt il further notice, K&N Engineering Powersports questions related to adve rtising, sponsorship and/o r promotions sho uld be directed to We ndy Gro ver (ext. 4181 ) in the K&N mark eting department. Sales matters should be d irected to Den nis Mahan (ext. 4102 ).