Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1524627
feet away at 60 mph. Then, your view was blocked by the thou- sands of fans between you and the rest of the track. You might catch a glimpse of the riders as they popped up and over the spectators' heads on the large jumps on the other side of the in- field, but that was about it. There was no supercross-type seating. I remember parking being a mess, too. Rain must have been Don's big- gest nightmare since the flat lay- out was not conducive for rapid drainage, and when it rained in Ohio in the middle of summer, it rained! In 2003, it rained so hard that the river overflowed, and the facility was left completely submerged by water and badly damaged. The July race had to be rescheduled to a later date, in September, and would now be the final round. To Don's dismay, the rains came again, and it flooded again, and the race had to be canceled altogether, reduc - ing the Championship from 12 to 11 rounds, which in the world of motocross and pretty much any championship sport for that mat- ter is the holy grail of no-nos. The 125cc title was still very much up for grabs, and when the news came out that the second Troy National of the year had been canceled, KTM's Grant Langston, who was leading Ryan Hughes by just seven points, was instantly declared champion while he and other racers were staying nearby the track at the home of friend and competitor Brock Sellards. Langston learned via the phone he was the new 125cc AMA Champion. Let the party begin! And so, it did. As it turned out, the flooding issue wasn't the only reason the AMA pulled the plug on the Troy National, which would be re- placed by Lakewood, Colorado. "It's multiple things," said Duke Finch, the AMA's motocross man- ager at the time, of the decision to yank Troy off the schedule. "This isn't what you would call natural- terrain motocross, by no means. Supercross is a dangerous sport, and this track is very 'supercross- ee,' but much faster than regular supercross. There are other facil- ity issues; the inability to get more than one road off the highway makes for long lines here, and the real nail in the coffin was get - ting flooded out twice last year. I mean, we were trying to work it out. Having to cut the series to 11 races last year was just heart - break for everybody, and that was the real nail in the coffin." However, not every racer felt the Kenworthy's track was an outdoor supercross track. "It really isn't [supercross]; it's still outdoors and really fast," said Ricky Carmichael, the last National moto and overall winner at Kenworthy's. "Yeah, it has jumps, [but] every - body knows how to jump," Chad Reed said. ''I'm not even on the same bike that I ride in super - cross. It's completely different; the ruts are gnarly, and the speeds are high, so, other than the jumps, it's not 'supercross-ee' that much." Obviously, it was not a popular decision among local Ohio fans to pull the plug on the race. Local racer Joe Oehlof said, "The AMA is here in Ohio, so it doesn't make sense that they were the ones who pulled it away from Don." "I really liked racing here, loved the fans and know that I'll miss this place," said James Stewart winner of the 125cc class at Troy's last National. "I know a lot of people didn't like this track for whatever reasons, but the two times I've raced here were excel - lent. It's too bad it's got to go." Too bad, indeed. Kenworthy's is still missed. CN CNIIARCHIVES P136 Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives Kenworthy's held its last National 20 years ago.