Cycle News

VOL. 51 ISSUE 28 JULY 15, 2014 P111 the race was Steve McLaughlin, former AMA Superbike star racer and the man behind the founding of the AMA and World Superbike Championships. What was the man so closely associated with road racing do- ing coming in to attempt to pro- mote a Grand National race, that, while one of historic venues in the championship, is one that has in recent years proven to be financially challenging? Cycle News sat down with McLaughlin to find out his motiva- tion behind promoting the Sacra- mento Mile and how he believes his company can make the race a success in these challenging economic times. What inspired you to come in to promote the Sacramento Mile? I love dirt track, I always have. I used to hang out with the guys when I was a kid and watch them race. I traveled to a lot of the races one year with Gary Scott and Kenny Roberts. Cal Rayborn tried to get me to race at the San Jose Mile, but I told him I didn't race anything without a front brake [laughs]. I also had three respected friends come to me and tell me I could do this - they were Don Henry, a flat track marketer who goes back to the days with Chris Agajanian, the late Penny Nicolai, and the third was my ex-sister-in-law, Linda Ad- ams, who is a Sacramento pow- erhouse, who said she'd help guide the way into reviving the race, which she did. Sacramento is one of the historic venues on the AMA Pro Grand National calendar, but it had previously been canceled. What makes you think you can succeed where others have not been able to make the event work? Anyone who gets into mo- torsports does so because it's their love; no matter what, it's an emotional thing. There are two kinds of guys who do that, ones who are experienced at making union and the biggest motorcy- cling state would be wrong. We should all support this right now. Sacramento is now the only Mile race west of the Mississippi. There was some indication that the horse racing folks were putting up a fight over continuing the motorcycle rac- es at Sacramento. Was that a big issue you had to deal with? I'd heard a lot of horror sto- ries about the horse people and there is no question that in some money at it and others who sim- ply do it because they love it and throw everything into it. I think in the case of Bob Bellino [the former promoter of Sacramento and the recently canceled Santa Rosa Mile] you have a guy who loves the sport, was a former racer, and to give him credit, he stepped up and brought the race back. He did it when all the nay- sayers said it couldn't be done. For whatever reason Bob wasn't able to make it work, but the point is Sacramento is one of the most historic races in motorcycle racing. Its roots date back 100 years, so this is a tradition and to let it go in the biggest state in the instances the horse people are not motorcycle friendly. Yet when you sit down and talk with them a different picture emerges. I found the California Horse Racing Board quite understandable and wanting to find a solution, not the blame game. Since then we've found replacements for calcium chloride, an organic one. I found out more about dirt than I ever needed to know and I've got one of the best dirt guys in Dennis Pearson building the track. So these are things you've got to work on, but horse racing is in the same boat in many ways as flat track racing and we need to find solutions to working together "I found out more about dirt than I ever needed to know and I've got one of the best dirt guys in Dennis Pearson building the track." - Steve McLaughlin

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