AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CEO MICHAEL LOCK: PART 1
P44
INTERVIEW
come down to Daytona for a
couple of weeks, meet the team,
get to know the sport, and tell me
what we should be doing."
So I flew down to Daytona and
I shadowed the team, I spoke to
riders, team owners, media, fans,
and just got to really immerse
myself in the sport. But to look at
it from a business development
point of view, what the hell do you
do? Is this destined to be forever
in the shadows? Why have the
golden days gone, and what were
the causes for it? What do we do
with the sport? And it became
clear very quickly that the actual
flag-to-flag racing was as good as
there is anywhere in the world.
Unlike most other sports you're
almost guaranteed close heart-
in-the-mouth racing every single
race. And the choreography of
the racing in flat track is amaz-
ing, the way they come off the
straight at full pelt, and moderate
their speed through the corners
by turning the bike sideways and
backing into the turns. And then of
course all the stories come back
to you about the golden age of the
American racers in the '70s and
'80s, and how they were all flat
trackers—Kenny and Wayne and
Eddie and Freddie, and how they
dominated globally for a decade
and a half on road race bikes
until the electronics took over.
But I also saw that this branch of
racing, in its contemporary form,
Thanks to Shayna
Texter, Lock hopes
that more women will
be inspired to race.
