Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

vorccs "Yawn. OLN should stand for OLdNews." Pingre_e Responds To l{esponse I am writing in response to Maft Pursely's response to my reaction to his actions on the racetrack in Fontana. Matt and I got together in practice and in the AMA Supermoto race at Fontana when I came around to lap him at the end of the race. I wasn't happy about b€in8 held up by him, and he wasn't happy with me. We both expressed our displeasure, and it really should have ended there. But when I saw last week's Cycle News where he accused me of riding back to the pits rather than fistfight him right on the racetrack, I wasn't reacting like a liftle girl, but more like a man with a family and gainful employment with- in the motorcycle racing industry The last thing that OLN or Toyota, both of whom I do TV work for, or Rocer X and Road Rocer X, each of whom I write for, would appreciate is me getting inro an ''old- fashioned dust-up'' with anyone on a race- track. Like l4att, I was mad as hell, bur lust as I finished the race before him, lguess lgot over my temper tantrum before him as well. I apologize to everyone involved in the series for actinS like some kind of disgrun- tled former factory rider-turned-reporter, and lapologize for Matt for not hanging back and further makinS a fool out of myself by holding a fistflght at the finish line. I would have been okay with losing a fight, but not my job or my sponsors. I reSret my actions on the track and the heated words I served up to the Cycie News reporter, but I do not regret my de€ision to end it then and there. Dovid Pingra Temeculo, CA Goodwin On Brymer I read Larry Lawrence's anicle about Don Brymer (Archives, lvlay 24). What you and many ofyour readers may not be aware of is that Don also was the catalyst for Supercross and the millions of dollars the top racers are now making, including Ricky Camichael's well-deserved estimated $8- l0 million - as wellas the huge expansion of motocross and other types of off-road motorcycling because of Supercross. I am ceftain it is now a multibillion dollar business. The humble beginning is an interesting story I had taken the gal I hoped to one day marD/ to a bi8 motocross in Carlsbad either in 1969 or 1970. I don't recall whether it was an Edison Dye or a Gavin Trippe event, but I believe Europeans were there. The lady. Diane Seidel. was singularly unim- pressed- She told me that she couldn't stand the dust, the overflowing toilets, the cold hot dogs and hot beer, the sound system you could not hea[ the lack of comfortable seats and the fact that after one or two laps you couldn't tell who was in the lead and you had to wait another minute for the "show" to come back into view, lt also did- n't help that it took us a couple of hours to get out of the disorganized park. Diane told me that if I ever took her to another event like that she would never go out with me again. I remember all that like it was yesterday. I also had prior experience with many of these problems from the promoter's point of view. ln the late 60s, as Iwas growing my music business I developed a spectator-ori- ented short-course for off-road buggies in the hills east of San Diego, called Hell On A Hill Raceway. Even at our first race we drew a very large €rowd; so large that we couldn't get everyone on to the park prop- erty, and after the event it truly was hours of hell getting everyone out of the Helter Skelter parking. ln addition, and the clinch- er that closed us down, was that in the large chicken ranch next to the racetrack, the noise and dust had caused the chickens to go into a pecking frenzy - 2000 of them died that we had to pay for. At the time I was just moving along hap- pily as a successful music promoter. Diane and I decided to take a year off to travel in an RV We went to Alaska first. and then toward Central America, beinS in Belize at the time a momentous event occurred, a trr-re epiphany an associate from the music business, John Bradley, who later produced many of our Supercross tel- evision shows, was forwarding magazines to me in the capital of each country we planned to visit. I had been a longtime trvo- wheel enthusiast, so John was forwardinS motorcycle maga2ines along with lime magazines, etc. One evening I had skimmed through an issue of Motorcyclist magazine, tossing it on the floor for later, closer scrutiny. But then I noticed it had fallen open to an article I had skipped over. The article talked about Brymer's sell-out for short-track motorcy- cle races at Madison Square Garden. I immediately thought that if Don can do that with short trackers, couldn't I cram a motocross track into a stadium? Over a few stiff drinks, Diane and I tossed the idea around,'ryVhat if that race I took you to, that you hated so badly, was in a stadium so you could see the entire racetrack with no dust, from comfortable seats with clean rest- rooms, cold beer, etc. - wouldn't that be exciting?" Diane made it realeasy. She said, "lf you could pull that off, I'll marry you." The die was cast, I called a friend at Olympia brewerT to see if he would spon- sor it and he said yes. We then made a four- day around-the-clock drive back to Southern California. The Los Angeles Coliseum was the only stadium that I knew of that would fit what I was looking for. I called and spoke with the general manager, Bill Nicklaus, assuming he would tum me down. But low and behold, his son raced a Elultaco in motocross events. and he liked the idea. I sketched the first track on a co(ktail napkin that, unfortu- nately, I didn't keep. The track for the 1972 Superbowl of Motocross at the L.A. Coliseum, the first motocross in a stadium, built by trial and error cost $21,000. Bill Boyce, an old-time flat-tracker, then the race director for AMA, saw the poten- tial and went way out on a limb and took a gamble to sanction it. We received tons of help from the only gr-ry in the world, who at that time, had won both the 250cc and 500cc World Flotocross Champronships - Rolf Tibblen. I couldn't have done that with- out him and many other folks. I wish I knew how to contact Rolfnow He really deserves the title, "The co-father of Supercross." Sixteen-year old phenomenon l4arty Tripes won in front of about 27,000 fans - | believe the most, up until that time, to ever watch a motocross in America. Rick Simon of Di.t Bike maSazine, one ofthe most influ- ential race writers at the time, called it the "Salad bowl of Motocross" and predicted a quick demise for this tomfoolery- The rest, as they say, is history- At one time our Supercross events held five ofthe top-10 all-time aftendance [numbers], ever, at Anaheim Stadium for any type of event includ- ing number two, behind only Billy Graham. An experienced motonports wrter recertly told me we still hold those records. What a rush it was to be a part of this growth. A big thanks for being the catal/st, or perhapE the Srandfathe[ of Supercross to Don Brymer. Mike Goodlr,in vio the ,nternet Mike Goodwin is cuilently in the Los Angeles County Joil where he hos been since he wos orrested on December I 3. 200 l, for the nur- der of former roce profioter ond off-rood leg- end Micky ThomPson ond his wife, Trudy. Goodwin's ttiol begon recently in Posadeno, Cdlifonia, ond will rcsume on lune 7... Editor Old News Someone should tell the marketing folks at AMA Pro Racing that having OLN televise the Supermoto series is like having the')American ldol" decided before the show airs. OLN has been all about hockey and bull- riding reruns for the most part. with a liftle bass fishing tossed in. Yawn. OLN should stafld for OLdNews. Poul MctGndrl Ben4 OR CYCLE NEWS . JUNE r 4, 2006 5 Egolefrews volurlie xLlll EDITORIAI Ell C.mtte. - E.lrot xlt ?.1@r - OrFf,ood E4ta Sr.[ Adr - lsc,'r. Ed,td Hcnir, Rry Abrc - Cnrd6|nl,r Edn . Sh- H@rc - Con rE{tnla E lhr Al.n C.ah..ft -E!roP.& FAte O.!ld R. Holti.r - f,.t ooi E@.r E ftq Mlddh Llrd - Co, Er,lt4 She. Chrtq - PBid.nt it hd N@rrdb - PlOr,rn.r I4ARKETING . PRO]TIOTION R .n n.rill -rlae!!r CLASSIFIED ADS AD},IINISTRATION Fam KlEi. -,ad,ri,,itt ot E Ari*art SERVICE . SUPPORT Rlb.rt E*indd - scni.. dd J,Pport GRAPHICS . PRODUCTION laathl€Gn L.waor - Prodctlotr ltd.8r. Suiu (sn, nobcn ilatill' Chrllth. P.nd66 - 6r.?h,. Anid. ADVEETISING . WESTERN STATES 11t4) 7tt-1423 ?.E7 hr - ltodoirl /k!Er,nr, /t&!rqq ir.n il.Ell - W..t m Srbr l4d,!!!r I$.ndr C.ai6or{ - Xdd.E rdE t&rlrA C4d.clt Ar'l.l8h lo.h - a6Lt ,rt ADVERTISIHG . EASTERN STATES vm)779430+ Sh.rl ftldl, S@i. Smlri - &tr.m 5.h. /li.rdt .' C5h Alhn - Orr.. /rtdEaw & M,aC@dh,a.B ACCOUNTING . OATA PROCESSING D6n. B.y..Ohnod -rlR C.crCrnard Ge@E i.F$ -&rtle. Stry ir.n - CEdr irdqa.r CIRCULATION AIn. Anfliso - Cn r,ition i4.notlr C.rol H.ttio - P6<.8 ,|a Coc.di,rr.. S.nda i.dng!@ - D..r.r Cdrlt ..d NATIONAL HEADQUARTEiS lsol-M C.

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