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/1538605
CNII ARCHIVES P160 BY KENT TAYLOR (Right) Jim Rice (11) leads the way at the San Jose Mile in 1972. (Far right) Rice is perhaps know best for his spectacular get-off at the Sacramento Mile in 1970. L ast week, broken collar- bones and motorsports became almost laughably linked when NASCAR Xfinity driver Connor Zilisch suffered a clavicle fracture while attempting to celebrate his victory at Wat- kins Glen International Raceway. "Almost" is the correct adverb here to modify the adverb "laugh- ably," because Zilisch's injury required extensive surgery and puts the series points leader in a tenuous position for the remain- der of the season. Zilisch has maintained a sense of humor about the fall, which occurred while he was attempting to exit his race car in victory lane. Real race fans will rank this one as the second-most famous broken collarbone in racing his - tory. And it will be a quite distant runner-up to the legendary injury suffered by Jim Rice, which oc - curred during the 1972 San Jose dirt track mile. Jim Rice was already famous for another dirt track crash, a violent get-off at the Sacramento Mile in 1970. Film director Bruce Brown captured the incident while filming On Any Sunday. This cinematic gem has forever won a place in the hearts of motorcy - cling enthusiasts, and Rice's hero- ic emergence from the ambulance to return to his steed and finish the race is one of the movie's most unforgettable sequences. Two years later, Rice's gun - fighter spirit was back on display at San Jose, which had become one of the premier events on the AMA's Grand National circuit. Even magazines that paid little at - tention to dirt track racing would cover the San Jose mile. Cycle News was there (as always) and writer John Bethea witnessed a performance so mind-boggling that he would refer to it as "un - duplicated…greater than any this reporter has ever seen." The 1972 season presented race fans with some of the best competition this sport had ever witnessed. Champions like Dick Mann, Gene Romero and Mert Lawwill were watching the shrinking of the talent gap between themselves and future champs like Mark Brelsford, Kenny Roberts and Gary Scott. Rex Beauchamp, John Hateley, Chuck Palmgren, Dave Aldana and Don Castro (who would win the 1973 San Jose mile) were also on the grid that day, battling for precious points toward the Grand National Championship. When the green flag waved, it was Triumph-mounted Gary Scott out in front. Scott had turned in the day's fastest lap time while winning his heat race, and it looked as if he was on his way to victory in the 25-lap final. An Unbelievable Everyone knows Jim Rice for his crash at the Sacramento Mile in 1970, which was documented in the movie On Any Sunday, but he should really be known for what happened two years later.