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J o Motor Co. chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Blustein. The third and fourth have been inducted into the Harley-Davidson Archives. In addition to the Championship Cup Series (CCS) events that will already be run under the PACE Motor Sports motorcycleracing umbrella, PACE Motor Sports announced that it has struck a deal with the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association (CMRA) that will see the Texas-based organization become a new region on the CCS schedule. The 11 additional dates that the CMRA brings to the table increase the total number of CCS regional road race events to 64. CMRA remains as an autonomous race club. but will run classes, equipment and procedural rules in accordance with the CCS rulebook. Jim Davis, professional motorcycle racing's beloved centenarian, the oldest surviving factory motorycycle racer and the last living man to have raced motorcycles in the board-track era, died on February 6 in a Daytona Beach hospital. He was 103 years old. Davis was born March 23, 1896, in Columbus, Ohio, and began racing professionally in 1911. He used to remark that he remembered that first race because he won it, and because his prize was a,pair of goggles and a quart of motorcycle oil. He would later go on to ride for the Indian and Harley-Davidson factories and become one of the few motorcycle racers in history to win National events under sanction of the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM), the Motorcycle and Allied Trades Association (M&ATA), and the AMA. Riding for the Indian factory, Davis won the first 100mile race that he ever entered, a one-mile dirt track in Detroit, Michigan, on June 14, 1914, and he earned S100 for his efforts. He aIso won the first AMA National race ever held, taking the checkered flag at the 25-mile National (one-mile oval) in Toledo, Ohio, on July 26,1914. Davis was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War I, where he served stateside as a motorcycle escort. He continued to race sporadically during his time in the service, and after the War, he returned to racing full time, setting an incredible string of records for the day and emerging as the era's most dominant racer. After marrying in 1918, Davis and his wife, Louise, moved to Southern California to tackle the incredibly fast CMRA will also continue to run its regional endurance racing series. "Joining forces with PACE Motor Sports and CCS brings a lot to our 600 members." CMRA president Laroy Montgomery said. ·PACE and CCS are sure to be major players in the future of our sport, and we felt it was important to be a part of that future." PACE director of roadracing Bill Syfan echoed Montgomery's enthusiasm for the alliance. ·CMRA has been a big part of the American racing scene for some time and has developed a lot of this country's best talent." Syfan said. ·We know that having them be a part of the PACE/CCS program will bring a lot to us and give them advantages they could not achieve on their own. " Lockhart Phillips USA has announced that it will be a sponsor to the Team and horrifyingly dangerous board tracks, winning several events before the tracks were finally dismantled in the name of safety. In the meantime, he earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Southern California. Perhaps Davis' greatest acheivement came on the two-mile dirt oval at Dodge City, Kansas, where he rode a factory Harley and set a race record of three hours, 40 minutes, four seconds en route to victory in the 300-mile event held there on July 5, 1920. He went on to tour Australia as a racer in the early '20s. He won overall National Championship titles in 1928 and 1929 by virtue of his performances in the five-race series that decided the championship in Syracuse, New York, each season. After winning 90 gold, 40 silver and 35 bronze medals, Davis retired from racing in the mid"'30s, but he remained active in the sport as an AMA official. He acted as the flagman for the very first 200-mile motorcycle race at Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1937. In 1948, he waved the checkered flag in Atlanta, Georgia, when Bobby Hill and Billy Huber came across the finish line in a dead heat to Kawasaki road racing squad for 2000. Lockhart Phillips will be supplying the team with LP USA Speedscreens and Akrapovic exhaust systems. Series. Why much-anticipated? Because it will feature last year's champion. Emesto Fonseca. going head to head against last year's westem champion Nathan Ramsey, who switched over to give him time to recover from an injured right thumb. According to Ramsey's wife. Monica. he will ride the first several rounds with a brace. Another rider many are looking forward to seeing is rookie Travis Pastrana. who also injured his thumb. According to his mother. Debbie, Pastrana is wearing a cast (which he recently had shortened) and is riding in Califomia through the early part of this week to determine whether or not he can compete. The cast goes across his palm. which would make riding difficult. but Pastrana is reportedly hopeful of at least riding for points. CN Former professional motorcycle racer John Wiesner, 61, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, died on January 24 at his home. During his racing career, Wiesner eamed the AMA National number 68. He is survived by his wife. Barbara; daughters Kathy Wiesner and Shaun May; brother William Sr.; sister Beverly Jacobs; and several nieces and nephews. While the AMAlEA Sports 250cc Supercross Series is already well under way, this weekend's round in Indianapolis. Indiana. marks the opening round of the muchanticipated 125cc Eastern Regional make for the first and only first-place tie in AMA championship motorcycleracing history. He was also instrumental in founding the motorcycle division of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and served as a riding instructor there for 14 years. In 1984, Davis received the Dud Perkins Award, the highest honor to be bestowed upon an individual by that organization. He was inducted into the Dirt Track Hall of Fame in 1998 and the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. Despite the fact that he had remained in perfect mental health throughout his life, Davis continued to battle the frailties of his age. He was admitted to a Daytona hospital last week, where he was diagnosed with bone cancer. He passed away at 2:46 a.m. Sunday. "This is such a huge loss, because Jim was the last connection to that whole era of dirt track and board-track racing," said Andrea Phillips, archivist for the Tr'ailblazers Motorcycle Club which is dedicated to the preservation of the history and sport of motorcycle racing" and a longtime friend of Davis. "He was always so generous with his time, his experiences and his memories from that time. It was something that none of us knew about, because he was the only one left from that time period. He was always willing to share stories with people, whether it was little kids or older people. No matter where he went, if there were motorcycle people around, they just· congregated around him. His memory was crystal clear. He was always a racer. I remember that one time during an interview, Jim sa id that he wished he was younger, just so that he could get on one of the dirt track bikes of today, because they were built so much better and were so much faster. He will be sorely missed." A memorial service for Davis has been scheduled to take place on March 7, during Bike Week, at Daytona Inter- cue' e n - - - In The Wind continued on page 64 J J J J J CJ J o J J o o o o 8 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o /' Jim Davis records 1916 - World speed record: 87 mph on a factory Indian. April 17, 1922 - One-mile boardtrack record: 32.53 seconds/110.66 mph; Beverly Hills, California. September 3, 1923 - 10-mile board-track record: five minutes, 37 seconds/106.50 mph; Kansas City, Missouri. September 7, 1925 - 5-mile boardtrack record: Two minutes, 41 seconds/111.80 mph; Laurel, Maryland. 1925 - 20-mile board-track record: 101.32 mph; Fresno, California. 1926 - Billed by Sports Co. of America as "one of the greatest and most fearless motorcycle racers the speed path has ever produced." national Speedway. The service is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Attendees are instructed to go to the tunnel at the east banking of the speedway and ask for directions for the service. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the "Daytona Monument Fund" c/o Dick Klamfoth, 10213 Honda Hills Rd., ThorneviJIe, OH 43076 e vv S • FEBRUARY 16, 2000 3 J J J n J J J