Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

By Gary Van Voorhis 'T exan Bubba Shobert is coming on strong as another graduate of the Rookie Expert class of 1980. Shobert, a native of Lubbock, TX, nearly took Rookie of the Year honors in the '80 season. He was running strong .and holding in 14th place in the Winston Pro Series point standings last year 20 when a broken arm from an accident in the Peoria "IT National sidelined him for the remainder of the season. . This season things really began to come together for 21-year-old Shobert and he collected his first National win with a last lap dash from the fourth turn to take the July 3 India. napolis Mile win away from Randy Coss. He is currently seventh in the Winston Pro Series point standings. "Bubba learns quick and is an aggressive and smart rider," says Sandy Rainey who has recently been traveling with Shobert and building his engines. "He didn't really have anybody to tell him where he was making mistakes 'and how to correct them in the first two seasons he raced . I give him a few pointers here and there and he picks it upright away. " Sandy is the father of Wa yne Rainey , who turned from dirt track to a spot on Kawasaki's Superbike team . A good' natured rivalry goes on between Bubbaand Wayne which began when Wayne won the Superbike final at Loudon and Bubba won Indy two weeks later. Some might say Shobert is shy or just plain quiet. It 's true it takes awhile to get to know him, but he can be loud and boisterous when he wants to. You only had to witness winner's circle at Indy to know that. Shobert would rather let his results do the talking for him. He doesn 't blow his own horn or brag about how great he is. Deep down inside he knows he has the talent and determi- nation to be very good. All he wants is a chance to prove himself. He is doing that in a big way. How did it feel to win your first National: It felt- really good. Everything just seemed . to go right. The bike was working really well and I was riding well. I've been lucky in that I'm getting a lot more help lately than I have been in the past. Sandy Rainey, has to get a lot of the credit. Not only did he ' build the bike, but he is also coaching me and has been able to tell me more of what I'm doing wrong and how to correct my problems than anyone else who has helped me. Before, I had to make a lot of the decisions myself - gearing, tire choice, tire pressure and things like that. Sandy has been a big help and it's easier to race because I don 't have to worry about so many th ings. Sandy has been racing or connected with racing for a long tim e and he has a lot of tricks. We try different things to see how they work. When I was by myself I had to go with what I felt was proven and would work rather than experiment. A lot of people, including Randy Goss, were surprised by your lap dash to the flag at Indy. Was that your game plan? No . I didn 't have any last lap plan. I led starting the last lap and knew Goss was going to try and get past, but I didn't know where so I waited. I didn't really think he would take me on the backstraight, but when he did I knew I could win it. I had been getting a better dri ve off turn four all day and I felt sure I could do the trick one more time. In the past I've made a lot of mis- takes that I wouldn't make now. Indy was a good race. I followed some of the top guys around and learned a lot from them. It helped, because I was confident I could do the job. Who provides the backing for your racing effort. Scott Machine, a machine shop in Lubbock, (TX) Dennis Bruster helps work on the bikes, Jack Sisemore, of Sisemore Traveland in Amarillo, Megacycle Cams, and Simpson Helmets provide the backing on my big bikes. My Kawasaki short tracker is backed by Kawasaki Good Times of Lubbock and some of my other sponsors as well. My mom and dad have been a big help and continue to support my racing as much as they can. What do you do in your spare time when not racing? I ususally spend a good deal of time .. working at Scott Machine learning . about machine shop work. This year I plan to buy a house in the off season so I might have to get an honest to goodness 40 hour a week regular job. The house won't be anything fancy, just one my grandmother owns. Houses aren 't going to get any cheaper. Do you follow a training program to keep in shape? I don 't really follow any set program. I try to stay as active as I can and try to ride three times a week if I can. However , during the summer that can be hard to do. The temperature in Lubbock in July and August can be near 100 degrees and that's just too hot to ride. The Michigan guys like Jay (Springsteen ), Scott (Parker) and now Ricky (Graham) have it made because it 's probably never too hot to go out and ride. I do work out at the Nautilus or at home. Once you're in shape you need to maintain that level. ' Have you ever thought about getting into road racing] Yes. At the beginning of the season I ran some club races out in California. Wayne (Rainey) has ,been really trying to get me into road racing, but it's so expensive to start out. He was lucky and got a good deal with Kawasaki right from the start. A privateer, even if you do have the money, doesn't really stand a chance against factory machinery. They're going to beat you every time. However, I haven't counted myself out. I'm working with Keith Code, of the California Superbike School, and I hope we can get something started at the end of th e year with eventually enough backing to get into road racing next season. Keith is a good teacher and has helped Wayne a lot. He said he was impressed with my dirt riding and feels I could become a good road racer. I'm willing to give it a try. Do you have a favorite track you like to race? . Not really. I like all the mile Nationals and I like the short tracks. I grew up riding short track in Texas and as competitive as they were a rider could learn a lot. I also rode some motocross and I still like to race when I can. Three years ago I was racing motocross quite a bit and I really gave some thought to going pro and riding motocross full time. As it was, I decided to stick with dirt track and see if I could make a career of it. Has sticking with dirt track proved to be the right decision? Well I'm not so sure. I believe if I had started road racing three years ago I could've been farther ahead than I am now in dirt tracking. After three years I can finally say I'm beginning to make a little money. What that really means is my racing doesn't cost as much as it used to. The bottom line is the money and the future are in road racing and not dirt track unless we get a lot more factory involvement. Racing is fun , but after awhile you have to begin to make some money. You can't just race for a long time and then when you quit not have anything to show for it. Did, you set yourself a goal at the beginning of this year? Last year I set a goal of finishing in . the top 10 in Winston Pro Series points. I had a pretty good chance of doing it because at mid-way through the season I was running 14th, but then I broke my arm in a crash at the Peoria TT. This year I'm in the top 10 with five races to go and I'm going to do my best to hang in there. I haven't thought about next year yet, but I guess being in the top five would please me a lot. I can see where I might have even done that this year if it hadn't been for some bad luck. The times I've had machinery trouble I had been running well late in the race. If I could've added those points to what I have now I'd be knocking on the door of a top five finish. However, that's racing. Who do you enjoy racing with? I like to ride with Ricky Graham because he goes out, not to outrun any particular rider, but to ride and win. Jay Springsteen is another favorite, because you can learn so much from racing with him. Just holding your own with Springsteen is a thrill. Then there are some riders who, whenyou line up beside them, will look over and the y want to beat you even if you 're running for sixth or ninth or 13th. They just want to beat you. There are also some veterans who try and intimidate you when you're just starting out.'You can 't let them do that. You have to prove to them they can't. I think I've been proving that. Does winning a National make you feel more confident? I believe so. After I won Indy everyone told me that I was due to win a National. Well, what I've done is to shut that out of my mind and think to myself that I haven't won one yet and I'm due again. That gets me pumped and I truly feel I can win another this year. ' •

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