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/739653
VOL. 53 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 18, 2016 P133 have huge respect for my friend, Donnie, who took that Honda fac- tory ride and stomped everyone, winning the 1982 Supercross and 250 MX National Championships. If not for the catastrophic injury he suffered in Germany, while practicing as part of the USA Motocross des Nations team, who knows how many more titles he may have won? Bailey took his spot on the des Nations team and the rest is history. As we BS'd our way up the I-15, "Hanny" (Sr., of course) casually mentioned that the pro- moter, Feld Motorsports, had in- vited him to the Monster Energy Cup for the purpose of inter- viewing him about what starting techniques the riders might use to navigate the radical new downhill start chute being used at this event. While he drove, we kind of went over what he was going to say during the pre-race interview and it was easy to see why he wasn't too nervous about it—they don't call him "Holeshot Hansen" for nothing! As you can imagine, we bench raced and talked smack about everything, everything but politics, that is. Donny was under strict orders from Becky not to talk politics with me and it worked out well. We covered a lot of ground during the four- hour drive and even squeezed in a half dozen calls to sometime Vegas resident, Chuck Sun, but no luck. I had arranged a last-minute room at the Eastside Cannery Hotel, thanks to AMA/FIM referee John Gallagher. Another old friend (and Vegas resident) I called along the way was two-time U.S. Open Speedway Champion Gene Woods whose "Gene Woods Racing Experi- ence" in Las Vegas is one of the nation's premiere go-cart tracks. When Gene invited me to bring some pals out to his track for some gas-powered bumping and grinding, I knew we had to find Chuck. His driving duties now com- pleted, Donnie hit the bar while I checked us in. After washing off the road grime, I caught up with him at the bar. I called Gallagher to thank him for the room hook- up and to see if he wanted to race go-carts and get some din- ner. To my surprise, he and his longtime girlfriend, Luann, were totally up for it and knew of a great place to eat. We even got a call back from "Effin' Chuck," who agreed to meet us for din- ner, despite just driving in from Oregon. John and Luann had a drink with us at the hotel bar and we headed to Bahama Breeze, my new favorite eating/drinking joint in Vegas. I should note that by the time we were seated, Dapper Don, (who calls himself germ pho- bic) had kissed the hands of no less than half a dozen women we had encountered, with a majority of them receptive to his "Rico Suave" moves. That said, Donnie is always a gentle- man, and though I witnessed no outright recoil, I would suggest against him running for president anytime soon. Chuck showed up as we were finishing our excellent meals, which prompted another couple of rounds. As designated driver, I had but one drink, but somehow won four shirts, sunglasses, two drink glasses and a metal Jose Cuervo sign, all in a raffle I did not even enter. Winning! From there, we drove to Gene's go-cart track, arriving at 9:45, right before closing time. I felt bad for getting there so late, but Gene just said to call him afterwards to let him know if we had fun. The crew was abso- lutely accommodating, fitting me, Donnie, John and Luann into helmets and neck donuts like Davi Millsaps used to wear back in 2005. They strapped us into our carts and the four of us put on a not-so-masterful display of rum-fueled driving for 20 laps (probably only 19 for them) that left us sweaty, happy and with each of us declaring victory. There is more to this tawdry tale of woe, including the usual farting, snoring, sleep-talking, more hand-kissing, celebrat- ing and oh yeah, they had a dirt bike race. All that and more in part two, coming soon. Hang in there; it's worth it, I promise. CN