G
ary Nixon dashed into the
trailer, quick to oblige the
fan who had asked for
a photo of the two-time Grand
National champ. Nixon, who had
hung up his leathers many years
earlier, now seemed energized
that this race enthusiast had
sought him out and was even
asking knowledgeable questions
about his career.
"Here ya go," he said, return
-
ing with a black and white 8 x 10
photo of himself, sliding his big
number-nine Triumph. "I signed
it [his signature star dotting the
"I"] and I also put 'wfo' on there.
"And that," he added, with a
dead-eye look, "stands for wide
f***ing open!"
Most every racer knows (but
playfully doesn't reveal) what
"WFO" means. Perhaps, it's
wound full out? But in that mo
-
ment, that old race yarn was in-
explicably something more than
just bench-racing lingo. Because,
like E.F. Hutton, when Gary Nixon
talks, people listen.
"That was definitely Gary
Nixon," says his longtime friend
and former teammate Don
Emde. Brash, extremely honest
and upfront, those who had the
honor of knowing Nixon knew
that you would get it straight up
from the red-headed racer from
Oklahoma.
"Upfront" was exactly where
race fans would find Nixon, 50
years ago in 1973. Of the nine
road race events on the AMA
schedule that season, Nixon
handily won three of them and
challenged for the win in at least
three others. While perhaps that
is not Jett Lawrence-style domi
-
nation, it was about as close as
one could come at a time when
the field was overloaded with
talent. 1973 was the final season
for legends like Cal Rayborn,
Geoff Perry and Jarno Saarinen,
who would all start alongside
Kenny Roberts, Paul Smart, Gene
Romero and Kel Carruthers, to
name just a few of the greatest
names in the history of the sport
who would be racing together
for the last time. (Rayborn, Perry
and Saarinen would all lose their
lives in separate incidents later
that season.)
It was also a transitional
season in the technology game:
the crackling of liquid-cooled
two-stroke 350s, two-stroke 750
triples (both liquid and air-cooled
versions) shared the airwaves
with the throaty four-strokes
from Triumph, Harley-Davidson,
Norton and BMW. While the four-
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GARY NIXON:
WFO ALWAYS
BY KENT TAYLOR
Fifty years ago,
Gary Nixon was at
the top of his game.
