J
eff Haney was an early
bloomer. As a youth, the
strongly built rider from Mon-
terey, California, showed so
much raw racing potential that
Kenny Roberts hand-picked the
15-year-old Haney as the rider
to help introduce his new line of
flat-track racing frames, Roberts'
first business venture.
Haney's progression as a
racer accelerated at a rapid rate.
He became Honda's young-
est factory-sponsored flat-track
racer, and when he moved from
dirt to pavement, it was the same
story. Haney was a consistent
top-10 finisher in his first year
of AMA Superbike in 1984 and
turned in a surprise podium finish
in the 1985 Daytona 200.
The strange part was that the
Daytona podium was the pin-
nacle of Haney's racing career.
He turned in a few more decent
rides in both the Formula One
and Superbike classes, but
nothing approaching his Daytona
200 performance. As quickly as
he had risen to prominence in
the sport, he was equally rapid
in making his exit. Always a fit-
ness enthusiast, Haney started
working as full-time trainer for
Kevin Schwantz as the Texan
quickly rose through the ranks
in AMA and launched his career
in the road-racing World Cham-
pionships. With that, Haney had
found his calling. He became
one of the most in-demand
trainers of that era. As a racer
himself, Haney could easily
explain to the riders with whom
he worked the goals behind the
training methods, which at the
time were considered somewhat
unique, though they are now
commonplace.
Haney went on to work with
up-and-coming riders, regarding
CN
III ARCHIVES
P112
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
Fast Man Haney
(Left) Jeff Haney
(left) enjoys one
of his finest racing
moments when
he finished third
behind winner
Freddie Spencer
(center) and Wes
Cooley at the 1985
Daytona 200.
