VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P143
Even they had to qualify for the
race, just like everyone else.
Coombs Sr. would not allow
preferential treatment here. At
that time, Coombs Sr. made
it clear that the Loretta Lynn's
Ranch site would be used only
once a year to maintain that level
playing field and the integrity of
the race.
The Ranch was the ideal place
to hold such an event. Not only
did it provide fairness, but it also
had several excellent ameni
-
ties, like many comfortable and
shaded campsites for the racers
and their families to happily call
home for the week, and the area,
in general, was simply just a nice
place to hang out, de
-
spite the hot tempera-
tures and high humid-
ity of mid-summer.
And there were plenty
of things for the kids
to do between motos,
like cooling off in the
Ranch's large pool,
wading in a nearby
creek, riding bicycles,
or just watching the
great racing. It was
more than a racetrack
or a racing event; it
was indeed a vacation destina
-
tion that the entire family, not
just the racers, could enjoy, and
when you consider all the travel
getting there and back for most
people, it was most families'
only vacation of the year, so it
had to be a place everyone could
enjoy. The timing was important,
too.
"[The race] will all take place
August 4-5-6-7," Dave Coombs
told Cycle News in March of
1982. "We felt it was important
to have the AMA National before
school started and during the
peak of family travel time. We
want people to make a vaca
-
tion out of the National because
Tennessee has a lot to offer
vacationers. Besides the ranch,
which is a great pleasure trip in
itself, there is Music City with
the Grand Ole Opry and Opryland
Amusement Park...."
Unfortunately, everything
LYNN'S MOTOCROSS
(Above) Larry Maiers interviews
one of the amateur racers. (Below)
Kawasaki has been a big supporter
of Loretta Lynn's since day one.
