training techniques and nutrition.
The list of riders with whom he's
worked over the years is long and
impressive and includes racing
stars such as Bubba Shobert,
Scott Russell, Miguel Duhamel
and Jason DiSalvo, to name just
a few.
Haney grew up in Monterey
and started riding a Honda 50
when he was a kid, under the
tutelage of his father, Terry,
who was a motocross racer. He
progressed to a Honda XR75
and started running it in youth
flat-track races all across the
Monterey Bay area and the San
Joaquin Valley of Central Califor-
nia. Haney raced against some of
the best youth riders of the area,
such as Doug Chandler, Ricky
Graham, Fred Merkel and Jimmy
Filice, among others.
"I was fortunate to grow up rac-
ing in that area during that time
period," Haney said. "You really
couldn't have asked for better
competition."
When he moved from mini-
bikes to motorcycle-racing divi-
sions, he caught the attention of
Kenny Roberts.
"I was racing at a track in
Oakdale and Kenny had just
started a company that built rac-
ing frames," Haney said. "They
were looking for an expert to ride
one of their bikes, and no one
wanted to race it. They asked
me if I wanted to give it a try, and
I said, 'Sure! I'll race it.' I went
out and won two races on it, and
that began my sponsorship from
Kenny Roberts."
Doug Chandler's future father-
in-law, Jerry Griffith, was building
the Roberts bikes, and Haney's
career was off and running. The
combination won several AMA
District 36 Amateur titles. When
he turned Pro, Haney dominated
the Friday night Ascot Park races
in Gardena, California, winning
every heat and main event in the
Novice Pro ranks.
In 1979, Griffith developed a
new flat tracker based on the
new XR500, and in one of the
bike's first races, Haney won the
Junior main on the Ascot Half
Mile, against all the Harley-David-
son XR750s. Haney went on to
win the Junior National at Castle
Rock as well.
Honda was pleased with the
results Haney was getting, and
at 17 he was signed by Honda
to race and work with Griffith to
help develop the team's flat-track
machines. In 1980, Haney turned
Expert Pro and rode Honda's
CX500-based flat-track bike from
its earliest days of development
in the AMA Grand Nationals.
While he had some decent finish-
es on the XR500 short-track and
TT bike in his rookie year, good
results were hard to come by on
the CX500 (with its sideways-
mounted motor) on the Half Mile
and Mile races.
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 47 NOVEMBER 23, 2021 P113
Haney (15) passed riders in bunches and got to the front early in the
'85 Daytona 200. He stayed there the rest of the race.
