Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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VOLUME 61 ISSUE 10 MARCH 12, 2024 P167 son series title, didn't, and neither did Gary Scott. It would be Scott, a rider often seen in the middle of controversy, who would lead a rider revolt that night, charg- ing that Goodyear was "playing games" by shoeing only certain bikes with the sticky new tires. "Tires were vitally important in dirt track racing," said former dirt track racer Tom Horton. A mem- ber of Team Yamaha's "B" team (which received bikes and parts during the mid-70s), Horton re- members racers spending hours with a grooving tool and razor blade, slicing the tire at certain spots to make it eat. "You would cut the leading edge and the next edge, but you had to be careful not to cut too deeply. "I remember a Junior race once where I wanted to beat Tom White, something I had never done. I grooved my tire deeply and it worked great—for four laps! On the fifth lap, it started chunking and Tom passed me and took the win." Whatever compound Goodyear unveiled with its new experimen- tal tire was enough to make a big difference, and Scott wasn't going to stand for it. A heated argument at the riders' meeting between the former champ and AMA referee Freddie Ephrem grew ugly, with Scott and other racers threatening to walk out. Ephrem counterpunched with a threat of his own, telling the pro - testing riders, "Every one of you is subject to suspension if you don't do what I say!" In an apparent effort to quell emotions, Ephrem asked both Terry Poovey and Mike Kidd to take off the special Goodyears. Poovey acquiesced, but only if he "could get 10 laps to break in a new tire." Mike Kidd, however, wasn't about to give up his edge on his competitors. "I've got it the way I want it, and I'm not chang - ing it," he said, brazenly adding, "I've got the advantage now, and I'm going to keep it!" The crowd said to be 5000 strong, wasn't aware of the rub- bery situation until they saw Gary Scott being forcibly removed by a uniformed member of the Volu- sia County Sheriff's office that was ready to charge Scott with inciting a riot. This sight prompt- ed them to begin chanting, "We want Scott! We want Scott!" A promoter's nightmare would be averted; however, after being briefly detained, Scott returned to the pits. He told Billy Labrie, "It's going to hurt us a little now, but let's give the people a show." With that, the steel-shoed war- riors went to battle, doing what they do best. Dirt track racing was indeed the best two-wheeled show in the business. The racers returned to the starting line and, to the surprise of no one, Kidd and Poovey ran away with the main event, leaving third place a full straight behind them. It would be the final night for the magical Goodyears, at least for the duration of the Harley- Davidson series. After the Friday night debacle, AMA's Director of Racing Mike DiPrete issued a statement that banned the use of the new magic tires. Appar- ently, AMA regulations dictated that Goodyear officially "recom- mend" the tires for use in AMA competition. No such word from the company, so the tires were now illegal. Saturday results show Hank Scott taking the win, with Kidd second and Poovey in fourth behind Charlie Roberts. Gary Scott, the rubber revolt ringleader, didn't crack the top 10 in either night of racing. Truth may be stranger than fiction, but the 1980 Harley-Davidson Series Daytona Short Tack was stranger than most anything else. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives Mike Kidd won Friday's controversial race on special tires that only a few riders were offered to use.