Cycle News

CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE C het Dykgraaf won a lot of motorcycle rac- es in his day, but he couldn't have picked a better one to win than the Springfield Mile in 1946. The single victory made Dykgraaf the AMA National Champion in the first full year of racing after resuming post World War II. The country was more than anxious to get back to normal activities after the war and his victory immediately made Dykgraaf one of the nation's big-name racers for the rest of his career. Ultimately Springfield proved to be Dykgraaf's only national victory, although he won numerous regional races across the Midwest, but as Chet said with an impish grin years later, "If you're going to win one race, it may as well be the big one." Born in Holland, Michigan, in 1914, Dykgraaf moved to downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, when he was 11 years old after his parents pur- chased and moved into a downtown hotel. Across the street from the hotel was a motorcycle dealer- ship. Dykgraaf was naturally attracted to motor- cycles at the shop so close by. When he turned 16, Dykgraff had saved a little money and bought a basket-case Harley-Davidson for $25. He put the bike together in the basement of the hotel and was soon riding the roads around Grand Rapids. In the late-1930s Dykgraaf began racing in novelty races in which a rider would have to stop each lap and drink a coke or eat a hotdog before continuing the race. In 1938, Dykgraaf won a slew of novice races and the officials bumped him up to amateur level that same year. In 1939, he became a rookie expert, but claimed he had a dog of a mo- torcycle that year that explained his mixed results. "The first money I won as a professional was a whooping three bucks," Dykgraaf recalled. "Back then it was three bucks to win, two dollars for second and a dollar for third. It was the '30s and we were still in the Depression, so money was hard to come by." In 1940 Dykgraaf went to Daytona for the first time to compete in the 200. He rode to a sixth-place finish, which ultimately proved to be his best result on the beach in six appearances. Later that season, he started racing an Art Hafer- built Indian, and just when he was getting used to his new ride, he suffered a crash in Shreve- port, Louisiana. Just before World War II put a temporary stop to racing in the United States, Dykgraff hooked up with Norton dealer John Essler and began campaigning the British-built machines. Dykgraaf was drafted into the Air Force during the war and was discharged in 1946. After the war, Dykgraaf resumed racing Nortons. The biggest win of his career came that year at the Springfield Mile. Rains made the track heavy and rough that year and Dykgraaf took the lead early on his IF YOU'RE GOING TO WIN ONE RACE… P108 Chet Dykgraaf accepts his trophy for winning the 1946 AMA National Championship at the Springfield Mile from the AMA's E.C. Smith.

• Cover