W
hen his day shift at
Harry D. Foster Triumph
Motorcycles ended,
Mike Haney laid down his span
-
ners, put on his leathers, and, in
proper British fashion, headed
for teatime—or rather, TT time.
Haney was a motorcycle racer,
and in the 1960s, every dirt track
racer worth his steel shoe made
his way to J.C. Agajanian's Ascot
Park. It didn't matter who you
were or what you did anywhere
else because "if you were going
to be somebody in Class C rac
-
ing," Haney says, "then you had
to prove it at Ascot."
During his 12-year career,
Haney was one of the fastest
racers in the Southern California
region, leaving many a top-
ranked AMA racer eating the
dust kicked up from his self-
prepared Triumphs. But when
Ascot's race night was over, and
the factory-sponsored AMA pros
headed back out on the road,
Mike collected his meager first-
place prize money and drove his
Ford van to Torrance, back to his
day job working for Harry D. Fos
-
ter. He could only imagine what
he might be able to do if he could
get a chance to race at places
like Sedalia, Peoria, or maybe
even the Houston Astrodome.
But that was just a dream,
one being lived out by a hand
-
ful of guys lucky enough to call
themselves full-time racers.
Mike Haney was a working man,
a regular guy who raced for no
reason other than that he loved
motorcycles. His family had
roots in the Midwest but re
-
planted themselves in California,
which is where 14-year-old Mike
took $35 and bought his first mo-
torcycle, an Indian V-twin. It was
his second motorcycle, however,
a 350cc Velocette (a serious
off-road machine in 1957) that
opened the door to the world of
competition.
CNIIARCHIVES
P106
MODEST MIKE
BY KENT TAYLOR
DIRT TRACKER MIKE HANEY
Mike Haney on his
National-number-91 Triumph.
PHOTOS: DAN MAHONY
